James Nagle’s run at the U.S. Junior Amateur ended even before he could make a mark. The rising high school senior from Ponte Vedra Beach was competing at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Grace Course in Pennsylvania when officials disqualified him for something he did not know about. People were not happy about this. Nagle opened up about the controversial incident later in a disappearing Instagram story.
“I played in the first round of the U.S. Junior today and unfortunately got disqualified. I was not informed that yardage books with green maps were not permitted to use while putting surface. My playing partner warned me that it wasn’t allowed, so I went to the nearest rules official and explained to them the situation. They told me to finish the round while they reviewed the situation. After shooting a 76 on the Gray Course, they asked me if I was sure I had used it more than once, and that it was for the sole purpose of getting green information. I said yes. This resulted in a DQ. Thank you, @USGA and @soukonvalleycc for putting an amazing event.”
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The Florida native, who carded a 6-over 76 in R1, breached Model Local Rule G-12 multiple times on Monday, July 20. According to the USGA, Rule 4.3A of G-12 states:
“During a round, a player must not use any written, printed, electronic or digital materials to help with reading their line of play for any stroke to be made from the putting green.”
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If a player breaches the rule for the first time, officials give them a general penalty. Second breach leads to disqualification. The PGA Tour doesn’t use G-12 and relies on a linear G-11 instead. Nagle didn’t know this, nor was he informed about this by the USGA beforehand, which is what makes the ruling controversial.
Instagram Story
The USGA also explained his disqualification on its official website.
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Nagle qualified for this year’s field by medaling at the Massachusetts sectional, closing his round with an eagle on the par-5 18th to seal his spot. He is a University of South Florida verbal commit and appeared on the 2020 Good Good YouTube, playing the Pinehurst Cradle course alongside Garrett Clark and PGA Tour winner Akshay Bhatia.
This is the second time a player has been disqualified at the U.S. Junior Amateur. Last year at Trinity Forest, Banks Steele, a U.S. Junior Amateur competitor, was disqualified in his second round after his caddie was found measuring wind by throwing a hat into the air, a breach of Rule 4.3a(2) per Golf Channel.
That said, Nagle’s performance has seen growth this season: 4 top-25 finishes in 6 starts. His best finish came at the Billy Horschel Atlanta Classic last year, where he finished sixth.
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