A second-round collapse at the Woori Financial Championship ended with Ok Tae-hoon out of the event after he ran out of golf balls mid-round.

The disqualification followed six lost balls on one hole and brought attention to the KPGA’s one-ball rule, which limits what players can use once their supply is gone.

It's a rule used in many professional events, including on the KPGA Tour. Once a player starts a round with one ball type, every ball used for the rest of that round must be the same brand, model, and color. A player cannot switch to another model, even if it is from the same manufacturer. 

As per the USGA, "The one ball rule is an optional condition that Committees may choose to use. If this rule is in effect, you must play with the same brand, make and model of golf ball that you started the round with. This means that if you start playing with a Titleist Pro V1, you must play a Titleist Pro V1 for the remainder of the round and may not switch to another brand or even another model of Titleist golf ball."

Under the standard Rules of Golf, a player who runs out of balls can borrow one and continue. But when the one-ball rule is in effect, the replacement must still match the same approved ball type used at the start of the round. If the player cannot find one, there is no legal ball in play. 

At that point, the player has only two legal options: get another ball of the same brand, model, and color without delaying play, or stop. 

If no matching ball is available and the player cannot continue play, they must discontinue the round, which results in disqualification for failing to hole out. That is what happened to Ok Tae-hoon after he lost six balls on one hole and had none left to put into play.

How Ok Tae-hoon Ran Out at Woori Financial Championship

Starting on the 10th, he made a 9 on the par-4 fifth after a penalty drop, a failed recovery from rough, and a bunker miss pushed the hole out of control. 

The round ended on the par-5 seventh. His tee shot went off a cliff to the right of the fairway. Believing the ball could be lost, he played a provisional. That ball went the same way. He then hit five provisional balls into the same area and lost six balls on the hole. 

With no matching ball left to put in play under the KPGA’s one-ball rule, Ok told officials he had no more balls to use and left the course before finishing the round. The committee then ruled him disqualified.

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar