After finishing last in his fantasy football league last fall, a Kansas man faced the punishment of competing in a local U.S. Open qualifier. That punishment brought the man right back to his starting point: the bottom of the leaderboard.
John Eckert, a 26-year-old Overland Park native, finished last by a wide margin in Monday's U.S. Open qualifier in Kansas City, Mo. Winners Ryan Argotsinger and Andrew Beckler finished a whopping 40 strokes above Eckert, who carded a 40-over 112.
A guy lost his fantasy football league and had to ply US Open locals…and it didn’t go well. pic.twitter.com/A4VjaqPfr0
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) May 10, 2022
According to ESPN, Eckert snuck into the qualifier by registering himself as a professional player. This allowed him to bypass the USGA's requirement that amateurs have a handicap of 1.4 or lower. As a result of his actions, Eckert will reportedly lose access to USGA events and has already lost his amateur status.
Eckert, who told ESPN he plays roughly once a month, finished the front nine relatively strong – pars on Nos. 5, 7 and 9 – after recording a double bogey or worse on each of the first four holes.
"The nerves started to calm down and I settled into the round," Eckert said. "I managed to par three of my last five holes. After those holes, my confidence skyrocketed. If this were a two-round qualifier, the field may have been in trouble."
With the USGA ban looming, it seems Eckert will never get that chance.
