Phil Mickelson brought up his infamous 2018 US Open incident as he addressed a huge blunder made at the United States Women’s Golf National Championship. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) issued an apology after the fifth hole at Eagle Crest Golf Club was incorrectly placed.
Several players struggled in the opening round of the competition in Ypsilanti, Michigan, especially with the par-five fifth. The flag was positioned right on the severe slope on the green, proving unplayable at times, as the majority of players putted up to the pin but watched their balls come tumbling back down.
Out of a field of 156, 90 players scored a double bogey or worse and the vast majority of those came from frustrations on the green.
“We regret to confirm that an unfortunate situation occurred at the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship,” the NAIA said in a statement. “The hole on No. 5 was incorrectly placed in a challenging position.
“We take this matter seriously and have taken immediate steps to ensure this type of situation will not happen again. The NAIA is committed to the student-athlete experience.”
The course was lamented by a number of players and coaches, even outside of the fifth hole, as every single hole on day one of the competition played over par. The first hole, a 460ft par-five, played to a huge 6.87 average also, including 81 double bogeys or worse.
Even Mickelson got involved, joking that players should copy his 2018 US Open tactic of hitting a moving ball. He incurred a two-shot penalty for hitting a rolling ball to prevent it from rolling off the green.
I have a suggestion,” Mickelson wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), referring to the Shinnecock incident.
None of the players at Eagle Crest followed Mickelson’s instructions, as Sharon Shan of SCAD Savannah led individually from the opening day. British Columbia, the top-ranked team in the country, led Marian by four shots.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time women’s golf in America has been impacted by such an error. In 2023, the NCAA was forced to cancel the third round of the Division III Women’s Golf Championship after one pin on the course was said to have been put in an “unplayable” position on the green.
Two years ago, the sixth hole at Mission Inn’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, featured a hole cut similar to that at Eagle Crest.
It played a shot-and-a-half over par before play was suspended due to adverse weather conditions and the NCAA made a cut to the top 15 teams using 36-hole scores.
“They just said they were sorry and they felt bad,” one coach said at the time, and now another poor advert for women’s golf Stateside has been on display.
