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2019 LONG BEACH MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

~ Conditions of Competition ~

Play is governed by the USGA Rules of Golf, Effective January 2019, the Local Rules as described in the Notice to Competitors distributed to players at the tournament site, and these Conditions of Competition. Unless otherwise noted, the penalty for breach of a Local Rule or Condition is the General Penalty.

STARTING TIMES: Qualifying Round One AND Qualifying Round One starting times will be posted on the Match Play Championship portal three days prior to the beginning of the tournament. Players will remain in the same groups for both rounds, with Round One starting times inversed for Round Two. At the conclusion of Qualifier play, the tournament bracket and Round of 64 pairings will be posted on the Championship portal by 8:00 PM on Saturday, June 1st.

DRESS CODE: Appropriate golf clothing must be worn at all times; no denim pants, short shorts, tee shirts, or tank tops.

CODE OF CONDUCT: By submitting an entry for any Long Beach Golf Festival-administered competition, the contestant understands that he/she may be Disqualified by the LBGF Committee under Rule 1.2b at any time before or during the competition for unbecoming conduct, including, but not limited to:

Willful damage of the golf course or golf course property
Club throwing
Offensive, threatening, or unbecoming language or actions
Verbal abuse of LBGF staff, officials, volunteers, host club staff, or other competitors
Potential endangerment of others
Manipulation of scores posted for handicapping purposes or other acts of cheating

TIME OF STARTING: All players must be present at the proper tee, ready to play, at their scheduled time, or if starting times fall behind, when the starter calls the first player in the group to play. Any player not present and ready to play at the time the first player in the group is called to the tee, shall be penalized the General Penalty. If the competitor arrives more than five (5) minutes late for his assigned time he SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED.

TEE MARKERS & HOLE LOCATIONS: All competitors will play from the BLUE tee markers during both Qualifying play and Bracket play. Flags indicate: red-front; white-middle; blue-back. Additionally, Hole Location Sheets will be available at the Starter’s table for all rounds of the Championship.

CONFORMING EQUIPMENT LISTS: For driver heads, Local Rule as prescribed in Section 8 of the Committee Procedures is in effect (Model Local Rule G-1). For golf balls, Local Rule as prescribed in Section 8 of the Committee Procedures is in effect (Model Local Rule G-3). Regarding club grooves and punch-mark specifications, Local Rule as prescribed in Section 8 of the Committee Procedures is in effect (Model Local Rule G-2).

DISTANCE-MEASURING DEVICES: Hand-held or other devices (yardage or GPS devices) may be used, but ONLY to measure distance. Players using devices with features that gauge or measure other conditions in addition to distance (e.g. wind or gradient) must switch those feature(s) off during tournament play (Rule 4.3a). The General Penalty will be assessed for a first violation, and the player will be Disqualified for a second violation.

CADDIES: Caddies are allowed, under the following conditions:

Caddies may drive or ride in the cart of the player for whom they are caddying, unless by so doing they would displace another player in the group.
Caddies must not hold up play or challenge Rules Committee or Tournament Officials' directions.
Caddies may not give a "playing lesson" during the tournament or hold up play in any manner. Caddies may be asked to leave by the Rules Committee or Tournament Director if a delay occurs due to their actions.
Individuals designated as Caddies are subject to the provision of Rule 10.3c for any breach of the Rules of Golf.

PROMPT PACE OF PLAY: Rule 5.6b states "A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace.” Accordingly, the Committee has established the following Local Rules: A group is deemed out of position when starting the play of any par 4 or par 5, which is clear of all players, and the elapsed time for the round averages 15 minutes or more for the holes completed. In such case, all players in the group shall be notified that they are being observed and timed. A player is subject to penalty if his group is out of position, has been informed that they will be timed, and takes more than 40 seconds to play ANY stroke. Penalties for failure to maintain a prompt pace are as defined: First offense – warning; second offense – one stroke; third offense – two additional strokes; fourth offense – Disqualification.

SCORECARDS: With respect to Qualifying rounds, signed and attested scorecards shall be returned, without delay, to the designated scoring area following the stipulated round. Once the player has exited the designated scoring area, the card is deemed officially submitted. With respect to Bracket play rounds, only one competitor in each match is required to appear in the designated scoring area upon completion of the match, but that player must bring a single scorecard that displays the agreed-upon results of the match and bears the signatures of both competitors.

CLOSE OF COMPETITION: The Qualifying Competition is closed when the Match Play bracket and pairings have been posted. The Match Play Competition is closed when awards have been presented.

PLAYOFF: In case of ties within the Qualifying field, seeding will be determined by a card-off, employing the countback method of successively comparing: (1) the final 9 holes; (2) the final 6 holes; (3) the final 3 holes; (4) the final hole. The exception to this is if there is a tie for the final place(s) in the 64-player bracket-play field. In that instance, the players involved in that tie will take part in a sudden death playoff to determine the final seed(s). The playoff will start on a tee designated by the Committee, and will begin within five minutes of the determination that a tie exists.

PRIZES: In accordance with USGA Rules regarding the definition of amateurs, all prizes will be awarded in the form of gift cards or vouchers that may be redeemed for their market value of goods or services. No cash prizes will be awarded. Prizes will be awarded to each player who wins a bracket-round match, and will be successively larger for further progression in the field.

POSTING SCORES: With respect to the two rounds of Qualifying play, the Long Beach Golf Festival Committee will NOT post competitor’s scores to the GHIN system, or to any equivalent handicapping service.