It’s quite simple really. He started the round with 15 clubs in his bag. The infraction was discovered when he was on the fourth tee.

Rule 4.1b in the Rules of Golf states that a player must not start a round with more than 14 clubs or have more than 14 clubs at any point during the round.

Joel Dahmen was penalized four strokes in the opening round of the Shriners Children’s Open when it was discovered on the fourth tee that he had more than 14 clubs in his bag.

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) October 17, 2024

The catch? The player is slapped with a two-stroke penalty for each hole played with the extra club, but there is only a maximum of four penalty strokes that can be added. That’s why Dahmen was given two shots on the first hole, two on the second and none on the third before noticing he had too many on the fourth.

The 36-year-old, who won the 2021 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, is No.124 in FedEx Cup standings and is looking to improve the number for better status on the PGA Tour in 2025. He missed nine cuts this year and his best finish is a 10th place tie at the RBC Canadian Open.

Dahmen tied for seventh place at the Shriners Children’s Open last year. This year, after the start where he was four over after two holes, he made two more bogeys and one birdie to turn at five-over 40 and was in last place in the 132-man field.