Nasa Hataoka starting strong at the Shoprite LPGA Classic and shooting an impressive 6-under 65 on Friday, putting her in a tie for third just two shots behind the lead, she was disqualified for breaking a rule. Unfortunately, the disqualification she announced on Saturday overshadowed her initial promising start.
After reviewing video footage, the LPGA concluded that Hataoka spent more than three minutes searching for a lost ball on the par-5 ninth hole at Seaview Golf Club. This exceeded Rule 18.2a’s time limit requirement.
Despite eventually locating her errant shot in the tall fescue with help from a cameraman, this delay led to her violating Rule 14.7 because she failed to follow stroke and distance guidelines (Rule18 .2b). The incident occurred as part of her last round played there that day.
In a statement, the LPGA clarified that Hataoka had committed a “serious breach of Rule 14.7 with a penalty of disqualification if not corrected in time. The player had to correct this mistake until she left the scoring area.”
Over a dozen people, including Golf Channel on-course reporter Tom Abbott, were present during the incident. Abbott noted concerns about the search time but mentioned there needed to be an official time for the search. “There doesn’t seem to be any chat about the time it took to find the ball,” he commented on-air.
Jenny Shin, the 36-hole leader, expressed her thoughts on Twitter, criticizing the disqualification. “Nasa Hataoka getting DQ’ed because someone thought it was 25 seconds over 3 minutes after the scorecard was signed should not be happening,” Shin wrote. She suggested that a rules official should have been timing to prevent such issues, especially given the presence of an official during the incident. Shin also highlighted the potential impact on Hataoka’s Olympic prospects.
Japan’s second-highest ranked player, Hataoka, holds the No. 19 position in the Rolex Rankings and is only one spot ahead of Ayaka Furue at No. 22; therefore, this disqualification could significantly impact her future opportunities along with her current standing within the rankings.
As Hataoka navigates the aftermath of this controversial disqualification, the broader conversation about the timing and enforcement of golf rules continues to unfold.
