Scoring Error

Due to what was called an "administrative error," this week’s Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour will have 157 players, one more than the traditional field size.

On Wednesday, I received a message from someone who said a pair of twosomes were on the tee sheet. There are usually 52 threesomes in a 156-player field, but the Knoxville Open has 51 threesomes and two twosomes. 

Players must commit to an event through the online PGA Tour portal by the Friday afternoon before. It was discovered that Lanto Griffin was left off the tee sheet despite committing to the event. Because Griffin was left off, Rick Lamb moved into the field. 

Upon seeing their oversight, tour officials decided to add Griffin to the tee sheet, thus creating the additional player. 

"Whoever the last person in the field is owes me a beer if they win," Griffin told me with a laugh. 

Grant Hirschman is the first alternate, but he will get in the field only if two players withdraw before the opening round. 

The second alternate, Tag Ridings, was understandably frustrated. He was not informed that three players would have to withdraw for him to get into the field. Ridings expressed his disappointment, saying he would have saved on the flight from his home had he known he needed three withdrawals to play. 

The mistake could be a huge break for Lamb, who has made 112 career starts and has one win (after a successful Monday Q). This year he has made six of nine cuts, including five consecutive. But he sits only 125th in points. And, of course, there’s the slim chance that he could affect the cut line.

This is the second time this season that the Korn Ferry Tour won't tee off with the traditional number of players. At the second event of the year, the field at the Bahamas was one player short after no alternates were available to fill the field. 

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