Oh My Golf! LPGA Pro Lexi Thompson Loses Tournament After Viewer Reports Rule Violation
Thompson wound up losing after the eagle-eyed viewer sent an email reporting a violation officials missed.
Golfer Lexi Thompson ended up losing a tournament after a TV viewer reported a violation of the rules, which officials apparently missed.
An eagle-eyed viewer reported in an email that the 22-year-old golfer was in violation of the rules after discovering the placement of the ball was wrong.
Read: Massive Gator Interrupts Charity Golf Tournament, Couldn't Care Less
The viewer saw Thompson marking the position of the ball then picking it up. Video shows that when she puts it back, it's an inch closer to the hole.
The official, Sue Witters, approached the golfer the next day at Rancho Mirage, Calif. As she explained the mistake was going to cost her four strokes, Thompson replied, "Is this a joke?"
She ended up losing the tournament, which left her in tears and a state of shock.
“It's unfortunate what happened," she said following this loss. "I did not mean that at all. I didn't realize I did that."
But how she handled the placement controversy, fighting to get back on top until the 18th hole, is winning her a ton of new fans, and causing many to speak out.
Read: Trump Boots Author of 1993 Biography Off Golf Course: I Can't Play But I Bet Putin Can
Golf legend Tiger Woods expressed his support saying, "Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes.”
Singer Justin Timberlake, an avid golfer, also chimed in, tweeted: “@lexi is so classy. Handled that with grace and fight” on Twitter.
Watch: 6-Year-Old, Born With One Arm, Beats 45 PGA Professionals in One-Arm Golf Challenge
Trending on Inside Edition

'Borg Challenge' Craze Leads to 46 UMass Amherst Students Hospitalized, 28 Ambulances Called to Campus
Health
Double Amputee Speaks Out After Sports Star's Son Destroys Wheelchair
Sports
Letecia Stauch Murder Trial: She Says a Rapist Abducted Stepson; Cops Say She Killed the Boy and Hid His Body
Crime
4 Suspects Charged for the Murder of an 18-Year-Old Found Dead in a Mississippi National Forest
Crime
Where Is Arianna Fitts? Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Locating a Missing Girl 7 Years After She Vanished
Crime
Husband of Murdered Microsoft Exec's Ex-Wife Arrested After Allegedly Hiring Hitman to Carry Out Execution
Crime