Professional golfer Haotong Li lost out on nearly $100,000 Saturday after a two-shot penalty deemed “grossly unfair” bumped him down nine spots in the standings.
Li, 23, was on the 18th green when judges accused his caddie of standing too close behind him to aid his alignment. Li’s score dropped from 71 to 73 and he went from third to 12th place.
Li received an outpouring of support from fellow pro golfers, who widely condemned the ruling, as reported by golf.com.
English professional golfer Eddie Pepperrell called the penalty a “shockingly bad decision.”
Hard to believe @haotong_li has been penalised for this. Frankly, I think it’s a shockingly bad decision and for the life of me I cannot see how Mike has lined Haotong up here 🤷🏼♂️. https://t.co/cJ4OZZbRKk
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) January 28, 2019
“What happened to you and Mike was a disgrace bud. Shouldn’t have happened. Chin up,” tweeted Ross Fisher, also of England.
European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley issued a statement on Monday saying that the referees were in compliance with the “new Rules of Golf,” which were issued earlier this year, but conceded that the call was “grossly unfair.”
Such a tough day until i saw this lovely picture thank you Audrey❤️ pic.twitter.com/2LdJXkVELG
— Haotong Li (@haotong_li) January 28, 2019
“Such a tough day until I say this lovely picture thank you Audrey,” Li tweeted after the ruling.
