Luke Donald took a two-stroke penalty during his first round at the Masters on Thursday after a fan reported a violation to a rules official.
The violation occurred on the ninth hole when Donald grounded his club while in a bunker. According to the rules, you are not allowed to touch the sand in a bunker for anything other than smoothing or cleaning, so grounding your club in frustration is a violation.
The violation was reported by a fan who was nearby Donald when he grounded his club in the bunker. The fan told Yahoo! Sports’ Jay Busbee that he did not set out to report the violation, but he and a friend struck up a conversation with a rules official they spotted. He mentioned what he saw Donald do, and that set the wheels in motion for Donald to be penalized.
Donald was informed of the violation after his round and did not dispute it. He signed his scorecard after being assessed the two-stroke penalty, which gave him a first-round score of 79.
Donald actually said after his round that he knew he had committed the violation and that he brought it up to Masters committee chairman Fred Ridley. He also tweeted about the penalty and called it a “dumb mistake.”
Got a 2 shot penalty on the 9th today. Left my bunker shot in the bunker and touched the sand before my next shot. Pretty dumb mistake
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) April 10, 2014
I can accept the odd poor shot but making a mistake like that is pretty frustrating and so unlike me…..
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) April 10, 2014
Oh well, nothing I can do about it now, brush it off and try and make a bunch of birdies tomorrow.
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) April 10, 2014
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Tiger Woods was busted last year when a fan also called in to report a violation he committed.
