TWO bungling golfers lost out on a combined £340,000 after an “amateur hour” mistake.
Will Zalatoris, 28, and Cameron Davis, 29, were in the same group in the final round of The Sentry.
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Will Zalatoris suffered a devastating mistake and paid the priceCredit: Getty
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Zalatoris and Cam Davis played each the other one’s ball on the 15th holeCredit: Getty
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The mistake cost a combined £342,000 for the duoCredit: X @SkySportsGolf
With world No1 Scottie Scheffler missing the tournament after a freak Christmas injury, the rest of the field were keen to take advantage.
But things went horribly wrong for Zalatoris and Davis.
World No48 Davis was at -23 and Zalatoris at -19 as they teed off on the par-five 15th hole at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Hawaii.
But after both men crunched their drives and then hit their second shots near the green of the 551-yard.
However, it was on their third shots that a shocking mix-up happened.
Three-time major runner-up Zalatoris managed to hit Davis’ ball – while the Australian hit his playing partner’s ball.
An on-course commentator explained: “I understand that Will Zalatoris played the wrong ball here.
“Playing the wrong ball is a two-stroke penalty and you must correct that mistake.
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“Now Cam Davis is also in that group and he went over and played Zalatoris’ ball without checking it as well so there is a two-stroke penalty for him as well.
“They both have to correct that and go back to where they last played.”
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As explained, the breach of the strict golf rules – intentional or accidental – is punished with a two-stroke penalty.
Both Zalatoris – ranked 63rd in the world – and Davis had to settle for bogeys on a hole that many of the leading players secured birdies on.
And that had a big impact on the final leaderboard, topped by Hideki Matsuyama on -35, three clear of Collin Morikawa to kick off the new PGA Tour season in style.
Davis finished on -22 while Zalatoris ended up on -19.
Had they both been two shots better off, Davis would have finished in a tie for fifth while -21 would have been good enough for T15 for Zalatoris.
And it also had huge ramifications on their pay cheques – with the pair a combined £342,000 worse off due to the drop down the leaderboard.
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The blunder prompted plenty of talk on TV and social media.
One commentator said: “Wow, what a pair of mistakes there, especially with the money and FedEx points involved here.
“That is just frustrating, disappointing, everything above.”
Another added: “It almost does not seem possible in today’s game that you could not play your own ball.”
And a third simply quipped: “That’s going to be expensive!”
On X, one fan wrote: “How could nobody stop them? Especially after the first one was hit. What is this? Amateur Hour?”
And a second replied: “Unbelievable Jeff! 30 yards apart! Shame for both, both really likeable. Hope not costly in FedEx points, OWGR etc..”
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Zalatoris finished T26 following the blunderCredit: Getty
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Zalatoris’ map from the 15th hole shows the penalty strokesCredit: PGA Tour
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Hideki Matsuyama picked up the title on -35Credit: Getty