The American was penalised four shots midway through her final round after a TV Viewer emailed in to say that she incorrectly marked her ball on a green the previous day
Lexi Thompson Penalised Four Strokes To Lose Major
A heartbroken Lexi Thompson had her second major title taken away from her mid-round when a TV viewer got in touch about a possible rules discrepancy the previous day.
It was deemed that Thompson, 22, had marked her ball on a two-footer on the 17th in the third round and replaced it around an inch away.
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She was penalised two strokes for this, and two strokes for then signing for a wrong scorecard.
Walking off the 12th hole, Lexi Thompson was assessed a four-shot penalty for an incorrect marking of a ball and signing an incorrect scorecard yesterday at the #ANAInspiration
Posted by Golf Channel on Sunday, April 2, 2017
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Thompson was two strokes clear after 12 holes before LPGA Rules Official Sue Witters told her the news on the 13th tee.
The 22-year-old said, “Is this a joke?”. It wasn’t.
To her credit, Lexi birdied three of her closing six holes to reach a playoff, and even had a 20 footer for eagle on the last for what would have been a sensational victory.
She eventually settled for birdie and lost out to Korea’s Ryu So Yeon on the first extra playoff hole who now has won two major titles.
Lexi still had time for the fans after her round as she tearfully signed autographs and posed for pictures.
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The LPGA released this statement:
‘On Sunday afternoon, the LPGA received an email from a television viewer, saying that Lexi Thompson did not properly replace her ball prior to putting out on the 17th hole during Saturday’s third round of the ANA Inspiration. The claim was quickly investigated by LPGA Rules officials.
After a full review, it was determinded that Thompson breached Rule 20-7c (Playing From Wrong Place), and received a two-stroke penalty. She incurred an additional two-stroke penalty under Rule 6-6d for returning an incorrect scorecard in round three. She was immediately notified of the breach by LPGA Rules Committee in between holes 12 and 13 of the final round.’
Speaking to the Golf Channel, Lexi Thompson said, “It is unfortunate with what happened, I did not mean that at all, I had no idea that I did it.
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“I had to regroup myself, my caddie helped me out tremendously, we have a great relationship. I tried to gather myself and I made a great putt at 13.
“But it’s all to the fans, they helped me get through the rest of the round and I thank them a lot.
“I learned a lot about myself and how much I have in me. I wasn’t expecting what happened today to happen and I will learn from it.”