PARAMUS, N.J. -- Cameron Tringale began the FedEx Cup playoffs with a 66, one shot off the lead, and a clear conscience.
Tringale disqualified himself from the PGA Championship several days after the final major of the year ended. He was concerned he might have whiffed on a tap-in bogey putt on the 11th hole of the final round at Valhalla.
"The more I thought about it, I didn't want the way I play this game or my integrity questioned," Tringale said Thursday.
He called the PGA of America and was disqualified.
Tringale had tied for 33rd, so he lost out on the $53,000 in prize money. Perhaps more important, he lost 37 points in the FedEx Cup, which cost him eight spots in the standings. He went into The Barclays at No. 61.
Those points could loom large if Tringale can move into the top 30 after three playoff events and qualify for the Tour Championship, which would make him exempt for the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.
Tringale said in a statement last week that when he approached the hole to tap in his 3-inch putt for bogey, the putter swung over the ball.
"The issue had come up in the scoring trailer on Sunday. I didn't feel like it was a stroke and my competitor agreed," Tringale said. "We agreed on the score and that was fine. Although as the week went on, I think like Tuesday, I started to kind of review my week and that came up in my head. Is there a doubt if my playing competitor was doubting what that looked like?"
Matt Jones of Australia played the final round with Tringale and brought up the incident in the scoring trailer after they finished at Valhalla.
"I asked him what he had on that hole because we all saw what happened," Jones said Thursday. "And I asked him what he had on No. 11. He said, '4.' I just asked, 'Did you not make a stroke at that ball?' And he said there was no intent. Once a player says there was no intent to make a stroke, I left it at that and signed his scorecard.
"He doesn't have any type of reputation you would otherwise think to question him."
Tringale said he spoke with rules officials and eventually decided he should withdraw. The decision was announced Saturday and Tringale said he felt "definitely better."
"The more I played it out in my head ... if I play well, if I make it to East Lake, would I have been there if I did take a 5? So I just felt it was better to get it out and take myself out than to just be questioning and wondering for the rest of my life," he said.
He said he spoke to rules officials at the USGA and PGA of America. Both said only Tringale would know if he took a stroke and the decision had to be his alone.
"I was put in that position of, 'OK, I'm either out or I'm living with the question,' " he said. "So I said, 'Well, I'm taking a 5 and I'm out.' "
Jones said he was surprised and that he thinks Tringale should have left it alone.
"I thought it was over and done with," Jones said. "I would have preferred him to just leave it as it was. I was happy. I didn't see the need for him to DQ himself. If he was going to, he should have taken care of it in the scorer's tent. I wouldn't have signed his card if I thought otherwise."
He said the PGA official in the scoring area asked if they wanted to review on television.
"He said there was no intent," Jones said. "TV causes a lot of problems for other people. We don't need to go do that. I don't know if was [on television]. That's why I didn't even bother trying."
Tringale's 5-under round left him one stroke behind Bo Van Pelt, who opened with three consecutive birdies and chipped in for eagle late in his round for a 6-under 65. Van Pelt is No. 104 in the FedEx Cup and is not guaranteed advancing to next week's second round. Only the top 100 advance to the next tournament.
Paul Casey is No. 118 and played bogey-free at Ridgewood to join seven other players at 66.
Tringale played with Mahan and South Africa's Charl Scwartzel (2-under 69), the third group off the first tee.
"We had great rhythm in the round," Tringale said. "Everyone was playing well and hitting a lot of quality shots, so it kind of felt like I was just trying to keep up."
Ridgewood featured some of the deepest rough of the year, though the greens were soft enough to allow for birdies if players could keep it in the fairway. The average score was 70.8, with 44 rounds in the 60s.
Rory McIlroy was not among them.
The British Open and PGA champion went 13 holes before he made his first birdie and finished with a 74. That ended a streak of 14 consecutive rounds under par, and it was his highest score in the opening round since a 74 in the Irish Open in June.
Bryce Molder (Conway) needs a good finish to advance to Boston after entering the week at No. 122 on the points list, but he also shot a 3-over 74. Molder, starting his round on the back nine, bogeyed Nos. 10, 11 and 12 before birdieing his 14th hole, No. 5, and closing with a bogey on No. 9, his final hole of the day.
At No. 61, Tringale is safe for making the top 100 who advance to the next event outside Boston. The top 70 reach the third event in Denver, and the top 30 advance to East Lake for the Tour Championship and a shot at the $10 million prize.
LPGA
Ryu shoots 63
LONDON, Ontario -- On the eve of the Canadian Pacific Women's Open, So Yeon Ryu, Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park got together for dinner with some fellow South Korean golfers.
Park picked up the tab after winning the LPGA Championship, but all three benefited from the night out.
Ryu set a new course record with a 9-under 63, Choi was one shot behind her and Park three off the lead after the first round of the $2.25-million tournament at the London Hunt and Country Club. Traditional Korean food was on the menu, but Ryu credited the company, rather than the cuisine, for her strong start.
"We had a talk together to help us relax," Ryu said. "Sometimes when you're hanging out with really good friends, it can make you more relaxed and enjoy the golf. Today, I really enjoyed my golf. That comes from great friendship."
World No. 1 Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) is eight shots behind Ryu after posting a 1-under 70, a round that included three birdies and two bogeys.
Ryu's 63 was one shy of the tournament record, and her 9-under-par tied the best mark, set in 2009 by Song-Hee Kim. The 24-year-old hit nine birdies and played a bogey-free round.
Choi chipped in three times during her morning round, and her 8 under looked like it would stand up until Ryu got hot on the back nine. Choi knew she chipped in twice from inside of 10 yards and once from a bunker 25 yards away but had to check her scorecard to figure out how many birdies she hit.
"I felt good about my game, but I didn't really realize I had five birdies in a row," Choi said. "I didn't really think about I want to birdie every hole."
Swede Anna Nordqvist, who was playing with and pushed along by Ryu, was alone in third at 7 under.
"She made nine birdies today and I made seven," Nordqvist said. "It gives you a lot of momentum or a lot of positive energy just seeing a lot of birdies."
Park, who lamented missing a few 5- or 6-foot putts, was part of a group at 6 under along with Azahara Munoz, Danielle Kang and Xi Yu Lin. Other than that, she called it a "perfect round."
Park said that, given the conditions of the course, she would have to be more than 20-under par to win this tournament. Choi didn't think that was realistic until she wrapped up.
"Actually I was thinking like under 15," Choi said. "But after my score today, which means -- if I shoot like 8 under, I think everyone could shoot like 8-under, so we will see."
Sports on 08/22/2014