The Australian star missed out on £245,000 in prize money (Image: Getty Images)
star Cameron Davis was forced to kiss goodbye to £245,000 in prize money after an unconventional gaffe between himself and fellow ace Will Zalatoris. The pair were competing in the final round of The Sentry on Sunday (January 5) having been partnered up.
While the pair both walked away with healthy prize checks, they were left wanting more after inadvertently hitting each other’s golf ball for their third shots on the par-five 15th hole. The duo, who were playing on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Hawaii, were slapped with a two-shot penalty for their unintentional error.
The PGA Tour’s statement on the controversy read: “After realising their mistake upon reaching the green, they returned to play from the proper location of their third shot – but now playing their fifth shot rather than their third, per the Rules of Golf.”
Zalatoris, 28, took home £130,000 ($163,000) after finishing tied for 26th in the tournament while Davis, 29, who was tied 13th on the final leaderboard pocketed £327k ($410k). However, had the golfing duo not have been handed penalties, they would have risen to 15th and fifth as their final tournament positions.
The American would have instead earned £225k ($283k) while the Aussie would have taken home a mammoth £570k ($715k) – chalking up a devastating loss of £245k ($306k). While they’ll undoubtedly be disappointed with their lost earnings, they would have faced disqualification from the tournament had they not have corrected their mistake.
It was Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama who went on to win the event with a remarkable 35-under-par, which now ranks as the PGA Tour’s all-time record low score in regards to a 72-hole event.
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The three-time major runner-up made an bizarre mistake in the final round of the tournament (Image: Getty)
Davis certainly isn’t hurting financially, especially after banking £2million ($2.5million) when winning the Rocket Classic for the second time last year. The Sydney native narrowly beat Akshay Bhatia in a five-way shootout and paid tribute to his opponent in an emotional interview following his win.
“This is crazy,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone. But I’ve done a lot of grinding to get myself out of a hole and to all of a sudden do that, it’s pretty good.”