A tearful Lexi Thompson credited her caddy and fans for helping her get through an emotional roller coaster in the final round of the ANA Inspiration on Sunday after she was hit with a four-shot penalty then lost in a playoff.
Thompson had been leading by three and was walking to the 13th tee with her second major in sight when she was stopped dead in her tracks by a rules official, who told her of the penalty.
A TV viewer had alerted the LPGA Tour that the American had marked her ball then replaced it in the wrong place on the 17th hole a day earlier, which cost her two shots for the breach and two for signing an incorrect scorecard.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today
Thompson was incredulous after being notified.
“Is this a joke?” Thompson said. “Oh my God. Four-stroke penalty, that’s just ridiculous.”
The 22-year-old gathered herself and had an eagle putt to win on the final hole, but settled for birdie to force a playoff against Ryu So-yeon, with both locked at 14-under 274.
The South Korean then took the title with a birdie at the first extra hole.
Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung carded a 74 to finish tied for 56th place on two-over 290.
A devastated Thompson said she would learn from the incident, which prompted an outpouring of sympathy.
“My caddy helped me out tremendously,” she said. “He said: ‘Stay with it, you can still win. We can birdie this hole,’ and I tried to gather myself before I hit the tee shot.”
Thompson, who won her only major at the same event in 2014, said she was proud of the way she battled back.
“It’s great to have the fan base I do. They got me through the whole round,” she said. “It’s unfortunate what happened. I did not mean that. I fought strong to the finish and it was great to see the fans behind me.”
Thompson’s playing partner Suzann Pettersen said she knew there was a problem right away when the rules officials came out and praised Thompson for keeping her cool.
“For her to come back with those birdies shows the character she is,” Pettersen said. “I have got goose bumps.”
Tiger Woods led the chorus of golfers calling for TV viewers not to be allowed to influence results.
“Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes,” Woods said on Twitter.
Additional reporting by staff writer
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS