Talk about bad timing. Losing a tournament is a hard pill to swallow. But losing a tournament because of an infraction that happened a day before is even harder, as Lexi Thompson just recently found out. Lexi Thompson was on the verge of winning second major L.P.G.A. championship when she was informed of the bad news.
As Lexi Thompson was walking up the fairway after the 12th hole of the ANA Inspiration, an L.P.G.A. rules officer told her about an infraction she committed at the third round that caused her to lose the tournament, according to a report from the New York Times. The infraction was brought to the attention of the tournament official when a television viewer called the tournament organizers while watching the third-round telecast on Saturday. As a result of the infraction, Lexi Thompson was given a four-stroke penalty.
Lexi Thompson, 22, was penalized two strokes for improperly replacing her ball on the second to last green of her third round. The other two strokes were fro signing an incorrect scorecard.
Before the infraction was called into the attention of the tournament officials, Lexi Thompson was leading by two strokes against her Korean rival So Yeon Ryu. Because of the four-stroke penalty, Lexi Thompson's two-stroke lead suddenly disappeared and instead became a two-stroke deficit.
While other players would just simply crumble and give up, Lexi Thompson fought back. Despite the shocking setback, Lexi Thompson battled back and was able to force a playoff with So Yeon Ryu.
The four-stroke penalty, however, proved too costly for Lexi Thompson as she missed an eagle putt on the last hole of regulation. So Yeon Ryu eventually won it when she hit a birdie on the first extra hole.
Lexi Thompson being penalized while leading is the second time is as many years that a television viewer noticed an infraction. Dustin Johnson was also leading when he was penalized one stroke because his ball had moved on the fifth green before he putted, as reported by the Bleacher Report.
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