After posting a $1 million prop bet involving golf and poker, Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt had his amateur status revoked by the U.S. Golf Association (USGA). In the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon on Monday, Schmidt will plead his case over why a preliminary injunction should be granted.
The challenge was laid out to any player in the worlds of poker or golf that could defeat Schmidt over 72 holes and 10 heads-up matches. When asked if he had though about the possibility of losing his amateur status as a result of the prop bet, Schmidt told Poker News Daily, “The potential for losing amateur status if I participated in the event was something I saw coming and was aware of. This happening in light of me not competing completely blindsided me.” In the end, no one took Schmidt up on his poker/golf challenge. However, the USGA still revoked his amateur status.
Schmidt recalled that on June 8th, he received an e-mail from the USGA stating that if he participated in the challenge, he risked losing his amateur status. Schmidt played by the rules and explained to Poker News Daily, “I told them I was aware of that and asked for an advisory opinion of how to move forward. The rules of golf allowed me to seek an opinion. In the end, it was determined that only if someone took me up on it, I would have an issue.”
Three days later, Schmidt received another e-mail stating that the USGA official who issued the advisory opinion had changed his mind. Instead of being in the clear, his amateur status was revoked as a result of issuing the challenge in the first place. The Associated Press notes that the USGA told Schmidt that he could re-apply for amateur status, but “the process wasn’t timely enough because of the registration fees he’d already paid to compete in events over the summer.”
Schmidt was up in arms over the change of heart and noted to Poker News Daily, “The rules of competitive events say that if you get a ruling that’s later deemed to be incorrect, they’re obligated to stand by it, and so I initially didn’t think much of it. Not only did they take my amateur status away, but they also gave me no recourse.” Instead, Schmidt will seek a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Portland. If successful, his amateur status may be immediately reinstated.
The online poker player asked USGA officials to comb through data on-hand to determine if a similar situation had occurred before. In the end, none was found over the past five years. Maintaining his status as an amateur is important to Schmidt, a native of Oregon. He explained, “They have no professional events here. I have a baby girl on the way and want to enjoy playing competitive golf close to home. If I have to play only in professional events, I’ll be forced to go on the road. I have no opportunity to play competitive golf here.” The PGA Tour, for example, offers numerous tournaments in California, but does not host events in Oregon or Washington.
In Oregon, golf tournaments typically occur from the middle of May until the middle of October, leaving Schmidt ample time to compete for the duration of the 2009 season. However, he noted, “I’ve missed out on events that are important to me. I didn’t do anything wrong, though. I asked for an advisory opinion and they said it was fine.”
Schmidt noted that the USGA charges violations of the “spirit of the game.” The same Associated Press article quoted USGA court documents saying, “Having promoted his prize money golf/poker contest for two months and having obtained tremendous publicity for himself, his entrepreneurial website and his prize money scheme, Mr. Schmidt cannot unring the bell no matter how hard he tries.” The news outlet also revealed that Schmidt will represent himself in court.
