LPGA pro rips rules official after slow-play DQ controversy

Carlota Ciganda’s week at the Evian Championship was mired in controversy.

After completing her second round at the year’s fourth major, the two-time LPGA winner was disqualified from the championship for signing an incorrect scorecard. The DQ occurred after the Spaniard received a two-stroke penalty for slow play on the final hole. Ciganda, an LPGA veteran from Spain, disagreed with the ruling and appealed her case to the rules officials. However, after her appeal was denied, Ciganda refused to add the penalty strokes to her score and signed the card anyway, resulting in a DQ.

“Rule 3.3b(3) states that if a returned score is lower than the actual score, the player is disqualified from the competition,” the LPGA Tour said in a statement. “The exception to this Rule does not apply because Ciganda was aware of the penalty strokes received and upheld before signing her scorecard and leaving the recording area.”

One day after the controversial DQ, Ciganda took to social media to share her side of the incident — and criticize the rules official who levied the penalty.

“I got a few messages about the DQ from yesterday,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “I want to be very clear and the reason I did not sign a 7 on the last hole is because I don’t think I took 52 seconds like the Rules Official said. I had a 10 footer on the last hole, last [putt] and the group behind they were not even on the tee on a par 5. Very poor performance from the LPGA rules official, they don’t understand what professional golf is about, they only look at their stopwatch like if 20 seconds is going to make a difference. I had family and friends watching and they all said it was impossible I took that long to hit that putt!”

Ciganda was playing in the Evian for the 10th time in her career and just a year removed from a career-best T3 finish in the championship. The DQ was the first in a major championship of her career.

This isn’t the first time the 33-year-old has been involved in a slow-play controversy. At the 2021 LPGA Match Play, was assessed a slow-play penalty on the final hole of her match with Sarah Schmelzel. As a result of that penalty, Ciganda lost the hole — and the match — knocking her out of the event.

“Yesterday was tough out there with windy conditions and difficult pins,” Ciganda’s post continued. “I wish everyone gets treated the same and they don’t pick on the same players all the time!”