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Australian Curtis Luck received a harsh lesson on Thursday on what it is to be a professional athlete.
Such a status is not only held by those who get paid to play but also by those who understand the discipline and attention to detail that go along with it. Luck was reminded of it the hard way.
Curtis Luck, the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship winner and current Korn Ferry Tour player, lost his tee time Thursday at the Albertsons Boise Open. As a result, he was disqualified with no mercy.
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The circuit made public the penalty applied to Curtis Luck and its legal basis. It did so through a post on the different social media accounts of the Korn Ferry Tour. Below is the text of the statement:
"Curtis Luck missed his first-round tee time (7:45 a.m.) and did not arrive within the five additional minutes allotted under Rule 5.3a, and was subsequently disqualified. Luck did not meet any of the three exceptions within Rule 5.3a."
The player explained to the press that he simply thought his tee time was 10 minutes later than it actually was. This is what he told Golf Digest:
"I just flat-out misread my tee time," said Luck, who was also using a replacement caddie this week. "I thought I was off at 7:55 a.m. and I was just on the range finishing my warm-up. I actually started walking to the tee at 7:46 a.m. It is very unfortunate that I was on site and didn't make it."
The problem is further complicated by the fact that the Albertsons Boise Open is not just another Korn Ferry Tour tournament. It is the first of the four events that integrate the finals of the circuit's season.
The ultimate goal for players is to reach the Top 30 in the Korn Ferry Tour rankings at the end of these four tournaments, as those players will earn their PGA Tour card for next season.
Curtis Luck is currently ranked 59th in the Korn Ferry Tour rankings. He will have to look to move up to the Top 30 with one less event than the rest of the competitors.
Who is Curtis Luck?
Curtis Luck, 27, is an Australian player who has played most of his career on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia. Before that, he had a successful amateur career.
Before turning professional, he won six tournaments: the 2012 Newman and Brooks Junior Championship, the 2014 Victorian Junior Masters, the New South Wales Medal, the Western Australian Amateur, the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, and the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
He turned professional in 2017 and, so far, has two wins: the 2016 Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open (PGA Tour Australasia) and the 2020 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship (Korn Ferry Tour).
Managed to play a full season on the PGA Tour (2018–19). He managed to make the cut in 10 of the 23 tournaments he played, and his best result was a Top 10 (T5 at the 2019 Zurich Classic in New Orleans).
Unfortunately for him, he was unable to earn his tenure and had to return to the developmental circuit.
