Golf star hit with tough penalty for rare rule mistake that cost him £350K
DP World Tour player Gregorio de Leo thought he was about to win a big prize, but he ended up losing it all because of a tricky rule.
Golfers can earn a lot of money playing tournaments around the world. For example, last month Rory McIlroy won £3.36 million by winning his second Masters in a row at Augusta National.
But it’s not just the big tournaments that offer big cash. Players further down the rankings also have a chance to win life-changing money at events during the year.
One of these events was the Turkish Airlines Open, a DP World Tour tournament in Antalya, Turkey, with nearly £350,000 for the winner.
Gregorio de Leo from Italy looked like he had a great shot at winning. He was just one shot behind the leader at the 11th hole. But things went wrong when he took over 50 seconds to hit his tee shot. Because of this, he got a one-stroke penalty from the DP World Tour, which meant he lost a stroke on the par-3 hole, even though he actually made par.
After that, he also made bogeys on holes 15 and 17, finishing tied for seventh place, four shots behind the winner, Mikael Lindberg.
Instead of winning nearly £350,000, de Leo took home only £55,712 — almost £300,000 less.
A tour official explained to Golf Monthly: “De Leo got a one-shot penalty because he took more than the allowed time (50 seconds) plus an extra 30 seconds while being watched. The rule says that in this case, a one-shot penalty must be given. It happened on his tee shot on the 11th hole.”
Since 2020, the rules say players who are slow and get monitored can get immediate penalties. They have 50 seconds for the first shot when out of position, and 40 seconds for the second or third shots. If they take too long twice during the tournament, they get a one-shot penalty.