'Big mistake': Pro's ball-mark blunder could cost him U.S. Open spot

Monday was the 2026 iteration of “Golf’s Longest Day,” the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The drama was thick across 10 Final Qualifying events in the U.S., Canada and England.

The action left dozens of players exuberant after punching their tickets to the third major of the year. But far more players are devastated this morning after failing to claim tee times at the U.S. Open, perhaps none more so than PGA Tour pro Adam Svensson.

In a playoff for the final three spots in the qualifying event in Toronto, Svensson made a mental blunder with his ball marker that could cost him a U.S. Open start.

Adam Svensson loses U.S. Open qualifier playoff after picking up ball marker

Lambton Golf & Country Club in Toronto played host to one of the 10 U.S. Open Final Qualifying event yesterday, with an impressive field fighting for six spots at Shinnecock Hills. At the end of the 36-hole marathon, Emiliano Grillo (nine under), Alejandro Tosti (eight under) and Marcelo Rozo (seven under) snagged the first three spots. But eight players were left tied in six under.

So an enormous sudden-death playoff followed, with eight players fighting for three U.S. Open spots and, crucially, two alternate spots.

William Mouw birdied the first playoff hole to claim the fourth U.S. Open spot, while two players, including popular PGA Tour pro Max Homa, made bogey to drop out.

That left five players to continue playing for two remaining spots. At the next hole, John Parry claimed the fifth spot with a birdie and another player made bogey, leaving three players to fight for the final spot.

Those players were Svensson, Matt Wallace and Max McGreevy. While there was only one official U.S. Open spot left to claim, there were still the first and second alternates to figure out.

Historically, the first alternate has a great chance of making the U.S. Open field when other players drop out. The second alternate? Not so much.

Wallace finished the hole first with a par. Svensson was safely on the green with a putt for par, but he marked his ball to allow McGreevy to putt first.

McGreevy successfully holed his putt for birdie to claim the sixth and final spot in the U.S. Open.

That’s when Svensson made the blunder that is likely haunting him this morning. In a moment of confusion, Svensson assumed the playoff was over after McGreevy holed his birdie. So he picked up his ball marker from the green.

The problem? The playoff wasn’t over yet. With Wallace in for par, Svensson needed to hole his own par putt to keep the playoff, and his hopes for the first alternate position, alive.

But by wrongly picking up his ball marker, Svensson forfeited the playoff, handing Wallace the first alternate.

Just before the three players shook hands, a rules official walked onto the green to break the difficult news to Svensson.

“This is a big deal, it’s a really big deal. There’s a good opportunity that Matt Wallace is going to play (the U.S. Open),” Golf Channel analyst Brendon de Jonge said when discussing the incident. “Often we see the first alternate get in. It’s a big mistake made there by Adam Svensson, and unfortunately at the end of a long day you can make these types of errors.”

There is still a chance Svensson makes it into the U.S. Open as the second alternate, which would represent his third start in the event and sixth major start overall. If there are a rash of withdrawals between now and next Thursday, when the opening round of the U.S. Open begins, he could get added to the field.

If not, the one-time PGA Tour winner will be regretting his blunder for a long time to come.