Star amateur hit with rare penalty at PGA Tour event

At this week’s 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship, amateur Michael La Sasso is hoping to make the next big move in his golf career. But the reigning NCAA champ’s dream start was derailed when he was hit with a rare two-stroke penalty in the first round.

Here’s what you need to know.

NCAA champ Michael La Sasso’s burgeoning PGA Tour career

So far in his college golf career, La Sasso has put together a future pro golf pedigree. The 21-year-old Ole Miss Rebel won the 2025 NCAA individual national championship in May.

That win and his stellar college record as a whole have him in second on the PGA Tour University ranking. The player who finishes first earns his PGA Tour card.

While he missed the cut in his first four pro starts this year, including the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, La Sasso successfully made the cut in his last start at the 3M Open in July. He eventually finished T44.

But this week is extra special for La Sasso in that it’s being held so close to his school, Ole Miss.

As a result, he has a lot support following him around the Country Club of Jackson, as he explained in his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.

“This place has been great. I’ve had a lot of people come up and talk to me about this before the week even started so there’s been a lot of support,” La Sasso said. “It’s nice playing in the hometown. There’s a lot of people wearing Ole Miss gear, which is definitely nice to see familiar faces. It’s been great so far.”

And while La Sasso’s many supporters were treated to a fine display of golf from La Sasso on Thursday, it wasn’t all positive news for their favorite player in Round 1.

Michael La Sasso gets PGA Tour penalty for improving lie

At first when La Sasso finished his opening round at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he couldn’t have been more pleased. He initially recorded a six-under 66 that would have put him in solo second place behind a quartet of leaders at seven under.

But then two strokes were added to his score. Not all the details of the penalty are clear at the time of this writing, but here’s what we know happened.

On the par-4 6th hole, La Sasso’s 15th hole of the day, he hit his tee shot into the right rough, knocked his approach on the green and two-putted for par.

News

But according to several reports citing the Associated Press, La Sasso earned a penalty on the 6th for violating Rule 8.1a which governs improving lies. According to PGATour.com, the offense occurred before his second shot.

Rule 8.1a “restricts what you may do to improve any of the ‘conditions affecting your stroke.’ Except in the limited ways allowed in Rules 8.1b, c and d, you must not take any of these actions if they improve the conditions affecting your stroke: move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object, or immovable obstruction, integral object or boundary object, or tee-marker for the teeing area when playing a ball from that teeing area; move a loose impediment or movable obstruction into position (such as to build a stance); alter the surface of the ground. Remove or press down sand or loose soil. Remove dew, frost or water.”

We don’t know which of these specific violations La Sasso committed. But we do know that he was assessed a two-stroke penalty in accordance with the rules. La Sasso declined to speak to the media after his round to shed light on the incident.

But that’s where the bad news ends for La Sasso. Even with the penalty, he finished the round T13 at four under, just three shots off the lead.