Sunday 17 November 2019 17:57, UK
Russell Henley became the latest professional to suffer a bizarre rules penalty as he missed the halfway cut at the weather-hit Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Henley looked well placed to contend after he fired a second-round 69 to reach seven under par in Mexico, but he then fell victim to the PGA Tour's "one ball rule" and was forced to add eight strokes to his score.
The American was signing balls for the fans at the autograph zone when he noticed that one of the balls in his bag was a different model than the Titleist Pro V1x he was scheduled to have in play.
Henley then realised he had used the wrong ball from the ninth to the 12th hole, a breach of the Tour regulations which stipulate a player must use the same brand and model of ball throughout the round.
His unfortunate oversight incurred a two-shot penalty for each of the four holes he used the wrong ball, turning a 69 into a 77 which resulted in him missing the cut by two shots.
"It was a small dash, a different way it was marked that would have been easy to overlook," explained PGA Tour rules official Brad Fabel. "He came to us and said he didn't know how it had gotten in his bag. But he was great. I've got a ton of respect for that gentleman."
Henley's misfortune comes a week after Eddie Pepperell was disqualified from the Turkish Airlines Open when he ran out of balls during the third round.
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Marcel Siem also suffered an unusual breach of the rules at the Portugal Masters last month, when he mistakenly believed preferred lies were in place during the first round and was hit with a 10-shot penalty for lifting, cleaning and replacing his ball five times on the front nine.
And, just a day earlier, Lee Ann Walker was handed a remarkable 58-shot penalty at the Senior LPGA Championship because she was using her caddie to help her with her putting alignment on the greens, unaware of the new rule preventing that practice which came into effect on January 1.
