Cameron Tringale had the perfect pick-me-up.
Tringale, of Laguna Nigel, tied for 33rd in the PGA Championship at Valhalla, but later called the PGA of America and disqualified himself for signing an incorrect scorecard.
On Thursday, he shot 5-under-par 66 in the first round of the Barclays, the PGA Tour playoff opener, and was tied for second one stroke behind Bo Van Pelt at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.
“Definitely (felt) better,” said the 26-year-old Tringale, who played at Georgia Tech. “I felt like I really played well and it was a lot of fun. I hit a lot of good shots and birdied some of the really tough holes out there.
“I putted really well and capitalized on my opportunities.”
Tringale forfeited $53,000 in prize money for the incident at the PGA. He said he waved his putter over his ball prior to sinking a tap-in putt at the 11th hole of his final round at Valhalla.
Tringale said playing partner Matt Jones asked in the scoring trailer if Tringale was sure he had not taken a stroke at the ball and then signed the card.
“I didn’t feel like it was a stroke and my competitor agreed,” Tringale said. “We agreed on the score and that was fine.”
Tringale said his conscience got the best of him.
In reflecting on the tournament though, he kept coming back to the incident.
“As the week (after) went on, I started to review my week and that came up in my head,” he said. “Is there a doubt, if my playing competitor was doubting what that looked like. …
“The more I thought about it, I didn’t want the way I play this game or my integrity questioned. So I wrestled with it, spoke to some people, rules officials, and eventually came to the decision there’s enough doubt that I want to take myself out.”
Tringale notified the PGA of America and asked to be disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard, nearly a week after committing the scoring error.
