What really happened
Here's what happened.
(I know, because I was the official and scorekeeper for men's open final nine and was about twenty feet from the action the entire time.)
On hole 8, Nikko's second shot was a putt that ended up landing on top of the basket. He and everybody else correctly assumed that this was not a hole out. He went up to the basket, stared at the disc for a minute as if unsure what to do, and then picked up the disc and placed it in the basket without marking the shot.
I assumed he would have known the ruling beforehand so I didn't make any attempt to remind him before he walked up to the basket. I probably should have but at the time I didn't think it would be necessary.
I started walking toward him but due to the crowd I couldn't quite get to him in time - one of the other guys on the card (Devan, Cameron, or Tyler) told him he needed to mark his shot even if the disc is resting on top of the basket. He went ahead and placed his mini and then put his disc in the basket.
I spoke to him with the rest of the group present before we walked to the next tee and explained the rule that you're supposed to mark the shot beneath the basket and then hole out. I then said that its only a
warning for the first violation, and we all walked to the next tee and continued play. I double checked myself a few holes later, just to be sure.
803.03G. A player shall receive a warning for the first violation of a marking rule if observed by two or more players of the group or an official. One penalty throw shall be assessed for each subsequent violation of any marking rule during the round if observed by two or more players of the group or an official.
At first glance, this rule is slightly ambiguous about our situation. But then I referenced the article
Marking a Lie on the PDGA.com web site. I know that this page isn't necessarily canon but it provides a good coloring of the rule. I wouldn't have stroked him even if he hadn't marked and re-shot since there isn't anything in the rules that states that you need to go back and re-shoot after a marking violation.
Here's the rundown.
- His second shot landed on top of the basket.
- He failed to mark his shot before trying to hole out.
- After an explanation, he marked his shot in the approximate location of where the disc would have been had it been located on the playing surface (and received a general group consent that it was the correct location) and then holed out.
- He was told that it was a warning for the first violation of a marking rule.
- He did not commit any additional marking violations during the round.