Three-time DP World Tour winner Scott Hend called himself up on an illegal drop during this week’s DGC Open on the Asian Tour at Delhi Golf Club.
Hend’s drop took place on the 18th hole during round 2, where he was on course to miss the cut. The Australian, winner of the 2016 Asian Tour Order of Merit, lost his ball on the 18th from a bunker and took a drop on the fringe outside of the bunker, within one club length of where the ball originally was, instead of back in the sand
Under Rule 18, when a golf ball is lost, “the player must take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke and playing the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made.”
Hend took to social media to explain the DQ, calling it a “muppet move” and a “rookie mistake.”
“For those wondering why I was DQ’d today in India….. Well, I hit a ball out of a bunker on the 18th, ball was lost, I then went back dropped a ball within a club length of the original place,” Hend explained on Twitter.
“Walking down the fairway after play’n the shot I wondered if I dropped in an incorrect position….. well YES I did, I should have dropped back in the bunker. I called this upon Myself. YES I was going to miss the cut anyways… But I’d rather play by the rules even if I was or wasn’t missing the cut. Even old Tour Pro’s make a mistake sometimes.
“Dropping within 1 club length doesn’t mean I could drop on the grass outside the bunker…. I had to drop back in the bunker. Muppet move on my behalf. Rookie error for sure. Energy level at -5 at that stage. Onwards and upwards.”
Hend also described the drop as a “brain meltdown” in a later tweet.
The ten-time Asian Tour winner was praised on social media for his handling of the incident, with one user describing him as a “class act.”
Hend’s three wins on the DP World Tour came at the 2014 Hong Kong Open, the 2016 Thailand Classic and the 2019 Maybank Championship. He also lost in a playoff two years running at the European Masters in 2016 and 2017.
He has played six tournaments so far this year, with his best finish coming at this month’s New Zealand Open where he was T12th. He currently ranks 605th in the world, having been as high as 59th in 2016.