By the time Ryo Hisatsune reached the eighth hole in the final round of the Crown Australian Open, he would have known that his chances of claiming the title had evaporated.
The Japanese star began the day at six-under and already facing an eight-shot deficit on leader Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
The blistering start he needed to even force his way into the conversation didn’t come and, instead, he headed to the eighth tee level for his round. However, things were about to get considerably worse for the 2023 Open de France champion.
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Hisatsune’s first two shots at the par-4 left him short of the green, with the 23-year-old facing a decision over which club to use for his third.
He returned one club to his caddie before whipping another out of his bag – only to drop it onto his ball, moving it several feet to the right.
Hisatsune’s body language said it all, taking his hat off in exasperation and placing a hand on his hip, surely suspecting a less-than-ideal situation had just become worse.
After summoning a rules official, the outcome was a one-stroke penalty under Rule 9.4b of the Rules of Golf, which states that: “If the player lifts or deliberately touches their ball at rest or causes it to move, the player gets one penalty stroke.”
With the rules official still present, Hisatsune replaced his ball in the original spot before proceeding to chip onto the green on his way to making a double-bogey.
The day didn’t get much better for him at the ninth, with his second bogey, before a triple bogey at the par-4 13th rubbed even more salt into his wounds.
Eventually, Hisatsune was probably pleased just to get off the course. He signed for a six-over 77 that left him tied for 51st – even for the tournament but 15 shots behind winner Neergaard-Petersen.
Ryo Hisatsune laboured to a 77 in the final round
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Hisatsune’s fumble at the eighth wasn’t the only peculiar incident at the Crown Australian Open. Earlier in the week, Rory McIlroy was forced to play a shot with his ball wrapped around a banana peel the day after he produced an air shot.
A compatriot of Hisatsune, Hideki Matsuyama, was also involved in a rules incident this week at the Hero World Challenge. There, his golf ball was run over by a cart, although on that occasion, he avoided a penalty as his ball had been moved by an outside influence.
