PGA Tour star disqualified from WWT Championship for 'serious misconduct'
PGA Tour star Emilio Gonzalez faced disqualification during the second round of the WWT Championship for a "serious misconduct" rules violation. The Mexican golfer was found guilty of not making sufficient efforts to identify his ball and continued playing with a provisional ball.
On Friday, November 8, Gonzalez carded a 1-under 71, finishing at even par after 36 holes. Although he was already missing the cut by two strokes, he was disqualified for misconduct on the 15th hole of Friday's round.
During the second day at El Cardonal at Diamante, the 27-year-old golfer's tee shot on the par-4 15th hole landed in the desert area. After taking a penalty, he played with a provisional ball and made a bogey. Before that, he attempted to search for the original ball and found it within the allotted three minutes. However, he didn’t make sufficient efforts to identify his original ball, resulting in his disqualification.
Rule 18.3c(3) states that if a player finds their original ball before the provisional ball becomes the ball in play, they must make reasonable efforts to identify it.
"If the player fails to do so, the Committee may disqualify the player under Rule 1.2a if it decides that this was serious misconduct contrary to the spirit of the game," the rule states further.
The WWT Championship was Gonzalez's second start on the PGA Tour this season. However, he made 25 appearances on the Korn Ferry Tour and registered a couple of top-10s.
Gonzalez will compete at the PGA Tour’s Q-School, scheduled to take place in December at TPC Sawgrass' Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The top five finishers and ties will earn a PGA Tour card for next season.
3 players in the lead at the WWT Championship after the third round
Following the third round of the 2024 WWT Championship, three players are tied at the top at 18-under. Nico Echavarria continued his dominance and shot 4-under 68. Justin Lower fired a low 9-under 63 to join him alongside Carson Young, who carded a 5-under 67.
Echavarria is on the brink of winning two back-to-back titles, while Lower and Young also have a strong chance of claiming their first PGA Tour wins. Max Geyger and Austin Eckroat, at 15-under, aren’t far behind and can give a tough fight to the leaders.
The fourth round of the 2024 WWT Championship will tee off on Sunday, November 10, at 9:50 a.m. ET with Harry Hall, Kevin Streelman, and Sam Ryder beginning from the first hole. Simultaneously, Josh Teater, Michael Kim, and Luke List will tee off their round from the 10th hole.