Landon Michelson is his own harshest critic. And he deserves the criticism.
The 22-year-old cost himself a shot at the U.S. Open because he signed and turned in an incorrect scorecard at a qualifier in Florida Monday.
“Essentially, I’m here today talking to you and dealing with all this just because I’m a huge idiot,” he said Tuesday on The Golf Channel. “It’s all on me. It’s just golf … you have to be responsible for signing your own score and for writing everything down. It’s not my caddie’s fault. It’s not my playing partner’s fault. It’s my fault.”
Michelson showed up to the tournament as a first alternate but got his opportunity to compete when Freddie Jacobson elected to forgo his spot. He shot two rounds of 71 at Quail Valley in Vero Beach, Fla., tying for fourth place and earning a spot in the Open next week and setting the stage for an inspiring underdog story — until the mental mistake washed it all away.
The recent Rice University graduate accidently signed a 71-70 scorecard and was ultimately disqualified from competition.
“(I) got to the last hole and rushed to fill out the scorecard,” he said. “And (I) did not realize that I had signed for a four instead of a five on (the 11th hole).”
Michelson said it wasn’t until about 10 minutes after the round had ended that he realized his mistake.
Entering the weekend, Michelson was ranked No. 1,035 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He’s bound to slip a few spots after Monday’s gaffe.
Now, Aron Price of Australia — who tied with Michelson’s true score of 142 — will take the final slot of the weekend instead of forcing a playoff between the golfers while Michelson will likely be watching the Open from his couch like the rest of us.
