Opponent in Match Play Carried my Wedge for Seven Holes

[old dirty ballz]

i was playing in a team match play and a singles match also. so on hole 6 i noticed my 60 degree wedge was missing from my bag. thinking back to when i used it last was on hole 4, that i must of forgot to pick up when i finished the hole. i told the guys in my group that i lost my wedge. i didnt go back and look for it because i didnt want to slow up play. the next whole i seen the marshal and told him i left my wedge on hole 4 in front of the right green side bunker. he went to look for it and couldnt find it and he asked the groups behind me if they had picked it up, which they didnt. then on hole 11 i was in a spot where i really needed to use my 60 degree wedge so i asked the guys to double check their bags. and wouldnt you know my opponent had it in his bag. now my question is would my opponent be penalized for having 15 clubs in his bag if so what would the ruling be?

[Rulesman]

No.

After a player’s round has started, if the player picks up another player’s club that was left behind, or a club is mistakenly put in the player’s bag without their knowledge, the club is not treated as one of the player’s clubs for purposes of the 14-club limit (but it must not be used).

Edited May 24, 2023 by Rulesman

[bkuehn1952]

I guess the presumption in the above scenario was that someone inadvertently placed the club in the wrong bag. The club was not intentionally held in the wrong bag. With 4 players it is certainly possible someone could make such an error.

It seems like @old dirty ballz feels there may have been an intentional act in withholding the club. If someone admitted to doing so, I assume there would be a disqualification?

[Rulesman]

7 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I guess the presumption in the above scenario was that someone inadvertently placed the club in the wrong bag. The club was not intentionally held in the wrong bag. With 4 players it is certainly possible someone could make such an error.

It seems like @old dirty ballz feels there may have been an intentional act in withholding the club. If someone admitted to doing so, I assume there would be a disqualification?

Assuming the opponent deliberately put the club in his bag taking him over the 14 limit:

Matchplay: At the end of the hole being played or just completed, the match score is revised by deducting one hole for each hole where a breach happened, with a maximum deduction of two holes in the round.

 

DQ is for using the club. The above is for simply carrying.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Rulesman

[DaveP043]

11 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

It seems like @old dirty ballz feels there may have been an intentional act in withholding the club. If someone admitted to doing so, I assume there would be a disqualification?

 

3 hours ago, Rulesman said:

DQ is for using the club. The above is for simply carrying.

If the Opponent intentionally kept the Player's club, and later admitted he did so, he COULD be subject for DQ by the Committee for "serious misconduct" under Rule 1.2a, defined as "player behaviour that is so far removed from what is expected in golf that the most severe sanction of removing a player from the competition is justified."   However, if the Opponent claims he had no intention of keeping the Player from being able to use the club, claims it was accidental, there's no way that DQ would happen.