Retief Goosen shot an 11 on the 17th hole on Thursday, leaving Ernie Els tied for the lead at the South African Open after a 5-under 67.
Goosen, who finished the first round two strokes behind after a 69, was leading when two tee shots went into the bushes on No. 17. He found his second shot but had to take an unplayable drop.
He finished the hole with a nine but got a two-stroke penalty because his first drop rolled further than two club lengths from the original spot, making him drop again. But calls from viewers prompted European Tour senior referee Andy McFee to rule that Goosen should be penalized.
"He thought he had to re-drop. But you only do so if it rolls more than two club lengths from where it strikes the ground," McFee said. "His ball didn't do that, and it also didn't roll nearer the hole so his ball was in play."
"As soon as he picked it up to re-drop he incurred a one-stroke penalty. If he replaced it on the exact spot from where he lifted it, it would've stayed a one-stroke penalty. But because he didn't replace it, it became a two-stroke penalty and the nine became an 11."
Goosen opened with a birdie and followed that with a three more birdies and an eagle through 12 holes. He then bogeyed the 13th, eagled the 15th and birdied the 16th.
The South African closed with a birdie on the 18th to keep himself in contention and he avoided being disqualified because McFee informed him of the penalty before he signed his card.
Els, who is tied with Carl Suneson, Trevor Immelman and Andrew Raitt, had two birdies and an eagle on the back nine.
"Before that I wasn't playing great and wasn't sharp enough," Els said. "Those three holes really made the change in the round.
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