Eraser-Gate

Josh McCollum had finished his first round of a Dakotas Tour event in Aberdeen, S.D., last week when he saw Mitch Davis, the points leader of the tour, walk past with a scorecard in his hand. The Dakotas Tour uses a pro-am format, and McCollum took notice because the pros aren't supposed to have their card unless it's in scoring. "I can't say for certain he was erasing something,” McCollum said, “but it looked like it to me." 

The Dakotas Tour is one of the longest-running mini-tours in the country. It plays events from June through August. Almost all mini-tour players would agree that financially it is by far the best mini-tour in the country. The tour can offer bigger purses because all but the final round is played with amateurs in the group. One pro competes with three amateurs, often from the club hosting the event or from the area. 

During tournament rounds, the amateurs keep the pro’s score, and the pro isn't supposed to handle the card until the group meets in the scoring area. But in talking with multiple players, this rule isn't strictly enforced. Often, the amateurs will hand the player the card on the final green or as the group walks to the clubhouse. 

After the first round July 19th, McCollum was sitting in the dining room at Moccasin Creek Country Club when he saw Davis with his card. After believing he saw Davis erase something, he immediately checked Davis’s score on Golf Genius. (Amateurs enter pros scores after each hole on the app.) It showed Davis with a 3-over 75. After Davis handed in his card, online scoring showed him with a 74. 

McCollum noticed that Davis's score on the 7th had been changed from a 5 to a 4. McCollum knew the amateurs Davis had played with from the previous year's event and approached them, asking what Davis made on the hole. According to McCollum, all three said he had made 5. McCollum then took his concerns to Dean Zahn, the director of golf at Moccasin Creek, who was running the event. 

Zahn pulled the card and noticed Davis’s score at the 7th hole had been erased and replaced with a 4. He approached the three amateurs who had played with Davis and asked about the hole. "One was positive he made 5, one was pretty sure he made 5, and one wasn't sure," Zahn told me. 

Zahn then found Davis, and in his office, Zahn asked what he had made on the hole. According to Zahn, Davis pulled out his card (all pros keep a card of their own to compare with the official card) and immediately admitted he had the wrong score on the official card. Zahn informed him he was disqualified. "He shook my hand and walked out," Zahn said. 

According to multiple players I spoke with, this wasn't the first time Davis's score had come into question. In a text message from last year obtained by Monday Q Info, two players who played with Davis questioned his score in the final round when the three had just played together. In part, it read, "If Golf Genius is right, it says he made 4 on 10, but he made 5. Clipped the tree, then hit it to seven feet for par and missed." The two players discussed whether to bring it up with anyone before ultimately deciding not to, as Davis had finished outside the money. The end of the text noted, "something to note for the future." 

Other accusations surfaced of balls being found in penalty areas where Davis would often have a shot at the green, including during the round in question at Moccasin Creek. McCollum said the amateurs in Davis's group told him that on the 6th hole, Davis hit a ball well right into high, thick fescue. Davis found the ball after the search was almost over, after the amateurs had given up looking, and far away from where the group believed the ball had landed. Davis had an open shot to the green. Zahn confirmed there was talk among the amateurs about that incident, but there was nothing they could determine for sure.

I reached out to Davis multiple times by text and left voicemails, but he didn’t respond.

Dakotas Tour owner Dennis Chandler said Davis wouldn't be disciplined, although "we will keep an eye on him." "We don't know his intent," Chandler said. When asked if he remembers a pro erasing and putting down an incorrect score in his years as a mini-tour owner, Chandler said he couldn't recall such an incident. 

Last Tuesday, McCollum and another player saw Davis on the range at the next Dakota Tour event and confronted him. They asked about the scoring error, and according to the players, Davis said, "I wrote down the wrong score." They then asked about dropping balls, and he said, "I don't know anything about that." The pair then asked Davis if he intended to tee it up in the second round of the event had the wrong score not been discovered. According to both players Davis said yes. 

"He never got mad once, never fought us on anything," McCollum said. As the conversation continued, according to McCollum and the other player, Davis fell to his knees, said he was going to faint, and said he couldn't continue the conversation. "He told us he was dehydrated, even though he had a gallon of water with him," the other player said. 

After McCollum and the other player had completed their warmup, they went to play their practice round. On their way down the 1st hole, they saw Davis hitting balls again on the range. 

The incident left many players angry. "Yeah, I'm pissed,” one player said. “I tied with him a few weeks back; the difference between a tie and solo finish was a few thousand dollars. That pays for a good part of my Q school."

Davis, who played collegiately at Indiana before turning pro last year. Prior to being disqualified Davis had played 14  Dakotas Tour events the last two seasons, winning three times, finishing runner-up three times, finishing in the top 14 in every event except for one, and earning over $53,000. He was also leading the points list this season, which comes with a large bonus at the end of the season. 

On Sunday Davis withdrew prior to the final round of the Dakotas Tour event after opening with rounds of 73 and 75. He was in second to last place, 15 shots out of the money. 

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