Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Lexi Thompson was involved in a rules controversy.
No, it won’t resonate as painfully as her four-shot penalty at last year’s ANA Inspiration, which she eventually lost in a playoff. But in Round 2 at the Honda LPGA Thailand, she was slapped with another unconventional and harsh penalty all the same.
On her 15th hole, her ball came to rest near an advertising sign. At some courses on tour, these billboards are classified as man-made, moveable objects that can be shifted without penalty; at other tracks, they are “temporary immovable obstructions.” Thompson moved the sign out of her swing path, and unfortunately at Siam Country Club, the local rule deems that ad immovable. The penalty was two shots, and Thompson wasn’t notified of the infraction until she sat in the scorer’s tent after her round. Her 66 became a 68.
Jessica Korda fired a course-record 62 in the second round and sits at 16 under par, four shots ahead of Brittany Lincicome and six ahead of Thompson.
