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A18 SPORTS
Thursday 13 april 2017

LPGA still facing questions over Thompson penalty

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — The at the LPGA’s first major of 12th green on the final day. cident Tuesday at a press time. I had been seven
Lotte Championship is set to the year. Thompson was punished conference ahead of the shots behind and thinking it
begin Wednesday, 10 days Enough time and space, for mis-marking her ball on $2 million event at Ko Olina was kind of impossible, but
and 2,500 miles from the apparently, for some LPGA No. 17 the day before, a Golf Club, and all dodged all of a sudden I was three
stunning end of the ANA players to move on from foul noticed by a TV view- the question. Later, away shots behind and thinking I
Inspiration, won by So Yeon any outrage over the four- er who emailed the LPGA from the group, 2014 Lotte had a chance. At that mo-
Ryu in a sudden-death stroke penalty given to about it Sunday. Six golfers champion Michelle Wie ment I was dumbfounded.
playoff with Lexi Thompson Thompson coming off the were asked about the in-

Lexi Thompson watches her tee shot on the third hole during the
third round of the LPGA Tour ANA Inspiration golf tournament at
Mission Hills Country Club Saturday, April 1, 2017 in Rancho Mi-
rage, Calif.
Associated Press

opened up a bit, saying it I said, ‘I did what?’”
all hit close to home. That was pretty much
She was disqualified from Thompson’s reaction. And
her first tournament as a Dustin Johnson’s at last
professional, the 2005 Sam- year’s U.S. Open, when he
sung World Championship, was told on the 12th tee
when she was 15. She took that he might be penalized
a drop and one-stroke for causing his ball to move
penalty on the seventh on the fifth green. He was
hole of the third round and assessed two strokes after
ended up fourth on Sun- his round was over, but
day. Then a writer said he won anyway.
thought Wie had dropped A few weeks after that,
closer to the hole on Satur- Anna Nordqvist got a two-
day. LPGA officials agreed shot penalty for inadver-
and she was disqualified. tently touching the sand
“I got DQ’d a couple with her club in a bunker
times,” Wie said. “My first during a playoff with Britta-
reaction was at least she ny Lang. The violation was
(Thompson) wasn’t DQ’d. also proven by TV replay.
“It was a shock when it Nordqvist lost by two shots.
happened to me because “I just want to know what
they told me in the middle number people are call-
of the golf course. A rules ing,” Wie said. “What is this
official came up to me mysterious number people
and I was 10 under at the are calling?” q