Padraig Harrington of Ireland, overnight leader of the Benson & Hedges International Open, has been disqualified after an error came to light on his first round scorecard. The scorecard had been signed twice, but Padraig's signature was not on his scorecard and according to Rule 6-6b the only procedure was disqualification. In the third round on Saturday, Harrington had burst five strokes clear of the chasing pack with a superb round of 64.
The news was announced half an hour before Harrington was due to tee off.
The European Tour's senior referee Andy McFee explained: "The Belfry Hotel spoke to us this morning and asked if we could get the cards of all potential winners so they could frame them.
"In the process our staff noticed that while his first-round card had two signatures on it, neither was Padraig's.
"Nowhere is there an attestation from the player that the round is accurate and that is a breach of the rules. The penalty is disqualification."
McFee spoke to Harrington as he was warming up on the driving range and took him alongside to give him the devastating news.
"We all know he is an extremely level-headed person and he knew there was nowhere else to go. I suspect he is desperately disappointed - we all are.
"I asked him to show me his signature and he couldn't. For some reason Michael Campbell had signed all three cards for the group and it was his signature where Harrington's was supposed to be.
"This goes to the very core of the game. Golf is not played in the constant gaze of a referee and because of that it is very easy to do things that aren't correct. You have to hold up your card to the rest of the world. It's a core principal."
Harrington was an example to everyone in how he accepted the most devastating thing to happen to him in his entire career.
"I'm not screaming inside. As I was on the phone I felt like 'God, I'm ringing round as if there's been a death.'
"There hasn't been. I haven't won the tournament and the great thing about being a professional golfer is that there's always next week.
"If you are going to win, you want to win right," he added. "I'd hate to have won and for somebody to point it out afterwards.
"I'd hope I would hand the trophy back if I was in that situation.
"The money does matter very much, but the tournament is more important."
