The 2009 Mid-Pacific Open will be remembered for Tadd Fujikawa successfully defending his title and winning by a record nine strokes.

Larry Stubblefield, University of Hawai'i freshman Jared Sawada, Maui's Lee Sakugawa and Joe Tokuhara, a visiting golfer from Japan, won't forget it either — for a far different reason. They were all disqualified, which must have also set a tournament record for most DQ's.

Stubblefield, a 2001 Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame inductee, was embarrassed by his disqualification. He had a Michelle Wie Moment. He left the scoring area without signing his scorecard as Wie did in the 2008 LPGA State Farm Classic, which deprived her of a pro career low round of 7-under 65. Stubblefield signed his scorecard when it was later called to his attention, but by then it was too late. It wasn't "as soon as possible," as Rule 6-6b states.

"I just forgot. I've never done it before," said Stubblefield. "I got razzed about it. Even my wife (Alexis) went nuts. She told me, 'You've got to be kidding me.' "

You can forgive Stubby for having a senior moment. But the other three guys who got DQ'd were left scratching their heads, hours after being informed that they had also breached Rule 6-6b. They signed their scorecards all right, but they didn't have the appropriate signatures verifying the recorded scores.

Nobody felt worse than Kaua'i pro Dan Nishimoto, also a member of the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame, who inadvertently started the chain of events that led to the mix-up. He withdrew after nine holes in the opening round because of a muscle spasm and left the golf course without signing Sawada's scorecard as the youngster's cart partner and marker. Sawada, Sakugawa and Tokuhara continued on, exchanging scorecards among them to record the back-nine scores. Because of the exchange, they each needed to have, besides their own John Hancock, signatures of their new markers to avoid breaching Rule 6-6b and they did not.

As a result, all three were disqualified and out $265 for the entry fee after only one round of golf.

"It was so unfortunate. It's such a rare occurrence but I had no choice but to disqualify them," said Hal Okita, a Hawai'i State Golf Association official who made the call.

Nobody felt worse than Nishimoto. "I really felt bad for the three guys when I found out about it," he said. "Jared shot even par the front nine. I was going to send him a note to apologize, then I found out later that night when Hal Okita called me that the other two guys were also disqualified."

Nishimoto said he didn't think about signing Sawada's scorecard because guys usually withdraw after 18 holes and that leaving after nine holes threw him off. But he thinks it's a silly rule. "What if somebody has to go to the hospital because of an emergency? You still got to have him sign?"

Stubblefield, who at least got to play three rounds before the first DQ of his career, said it's "an awful rule" and the rules committee should have taken into consideration the extenuating circumstances.

Getting DQ'd surprised Sawada, a 2008 Mililani High School graduate who's a member of the UH golf team. "They didn't tell me anything at the scoring table," he said. He found out about an hour and a half later when he came home.

"I was mad because I was happy because I was actually playing good and hopefully would have made the cut. I shot a 74, which was pretty good for me," Sawada said. He added his golf coach, Ronn Miyashiro, was even madder. "He thought it was unfair."

Added Sawada, "No one really knew what that rule was and no one really enforced it when someone dropped out." He thought about asking for a refund but his dad, Jordan Sawada, who sprung for the entry fee, told him to forget it. "A rule's a rule," he told his son.

Sakugawa, a 49-year-old food distributor who lives in Wailuku, also views it as a costly learning experience and doesn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"To me, it's over with already. I just want to move on, move on to the next tournament," said Sakugawa, a Maui High alum who played college baseball at Boise State. His next tournament will be the Hickam Invitational May 8 to 10 at the Mamala Bay Course.

"For me, it was a situation I never experienced because when somebody withdraws it's usually after 18 holes," he said. "We didn't think anything about it at the time (when Nishimoto left)," Sakugawa added.

"It's a small line in a big rule book. But Rule 6 deals with a player's responsibilities and players should know what they are," Okita said.

Like Sakugawa, Stubblefield is also moving on. He's getting ready to host the annual Hundred Holes of Golf benefit May 23 at the Wailea Blue on Maui. Yep, 100 holes in one day.

"We don't have to sign our scorecards," he said.