LPGA golfer adds 58 penalty strokes after realizing rules violation
Lee Ann Walker thought she was posting scores of 85 and 74 during the first two rounds of the Senior LPGA Championship.
Then a competitor’s caddie informed her halfway through her second round that her caddie had been standing in the wrong place as she putted. It was a violation of a rule new to the tour this season prohibiting caddies from standing behind players as they putt.
Walker found a rules official and self-reported the violation, according to Golf Channel.
“We had her recreate the times that that happened,” LPGA rules official Marty Robinson told Golfweek.
58 penalty strokes
Each violation comes with a two-stroke penalty. That added up 42 penalty strokes in Monday’s first round and 16 strokes added Tuesday for whopping new scores of 127 and 90. Walker — obviously — did not make the cut. She finished 73 strokes over par, 39 strokes behind her next closest competitor.
If there’s any solace for Walker, her total of 159 over two rounds would have put her just over the cut line. She wasn’t going to play in the three-day tournament’s final round with or without the penalties.
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