Michael Brennan was disqualified from the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday following his first round for using non-permitted green-reading materials.
The PGA Tour announced the DQ on Thursday evening after Brennan had opened with a 2-under 70 on the North Course and sat T-55 on the leaderboard.
The specific violation is of Model Local Rule G-11, which, according to the PGA Tour hard card for 2026, restricts the use of green-reading materials to only committee approved yardage books and hole location sheets, and a map of the entire course no larger than letter or A4 sized paper.
The USGA provides further explanation on the MLR:
Handwritten notes may be added to an approved yardage book or approved hole-location sheet before or during the round by the player or the player’s caddie only and are limited to information gathered by the player or caddie only.
Handwritten notes may contain information gained only through personal experiences of the player or the player’s caddie from the course or by watching a televised broadcast, but are limited to information gained: While observing a ball that was rolled or played (whether by the player, caddie or someone else), or through the player’s or caddie’s feel or general observations of the putting green.
Also, per the USGA, the first breach of MLR G-11 is a two-shot penalty. The second breach results in disqualification.
Brennan, 23, picked up his first PGA Tour victory at last fall’s Bank of Utah Championship, where he was competing on a sponsor exemption having already won the PGA Tour Americas points list last season.
The Farmers was his third start of this season after he missed the Sony Open cut and then tied for 56th at The American Express.
