Ryo Hisatsune endured one of the most embarrassing moments of his DP World Tour career when dropping his golf club onto his ball during the final round of the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
Hisatsune, 23, was getting ready to play his third shot on the short par-4 8th from just shy of the green.
He walked up to the green to get a better view of the pin at the back left, and when he returned to his caddie he elected to choose a different club.
With a new club in hand, Hisatsune proceeded to drop it onto his golf ball.
As his ball moved further to the right, Hisatsune was left in disbelief as he put his hand to his head.
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He called over a rules official, and it’s understood he received a one-stroke penalty under stroke and distance (Rule 9.4b).
There are a few exceptions to the rule where there is no penalty such as accidentally knocking your ball off a tee peg or on the putting green.
But unfortunately there’s nothing to save an incident such as this for Hisatsune.
He replaced his ball to where it was initially resting on the fairway and he then went about his business from there.
Hisatsune chipped up on to the green and two-putted for a double-bogey six.
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Watch what happened here:
Hisatsune started the final round of the Australian Open well out of contention at 6-under par.
But he tumbled down the board on Sunday with a horror final-round 77.
He is a one-time DP World Tour winner having won the Open de France in September 2023.
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Hisatsune earned his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season by finishing as one of the top non-exempt players on the Race to Dubai in 2023.
He has kept hold of his card for the 2026 PGA Tour season after finishing 84th in the FedEx Cup Fall Standings last month.
Hisatsune has one of the most bizarre pre-shot routines where he takes a sip of water from his bottle before every shot.
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