Pro DQ’d after strange, costly slow-play penalty at Evian Championship

Slow play is once again in pro golf’s spotlight — this time at the Evian Championship.

Carlota Ciganda, an LPGA veteran from Spain, was disqualified from the Evian after a bizarre slow-play rules dispute following her second round.

Ciganda’s group received a warning on No. 7 (the group’s 16th hole of the day) for being out of position. The group failed to make up time on No. 7 and were subsequently put on the clock on the following hole. On No. 9, Ciganda exceeded the allotted time and received a two-shot penalty as a result.

In the scoring area after the round, Ciganda appealed the penalty to LPGA rules officials. After her appeal was denied, Ciganda refused to add the strokes to her score and signed her scorecard anyways. She then left the scoring area of her own accord and was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

“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.”

Ciganda was directly on the cut line when the slow-play dispute took place. With a 36-hole total of four over (without the penalty strokes), Ciganda was in line to make the cut. However, after the two-stroke penalty, she was two shots outside the number.

This is not the first time Ciganda has been penalized for slow play. At the 2021 LPGA Match play, the 33-year-old 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.