PGA Tour pros penalised in costly rules mix-up

The 2025 PGA Tour season is only one week old, but two pros have already been involved in a bizarre rules controversy.

The Plantation Course at Kapalua hosted The Sentry, the first Signature Event of the year, and scoring was at an all-time low.

Hideki Matsuyama set a PGA Tour 72-hole record of 35-under-par to win the event in Hawaii but, elsewhere, two players were losing shots.

After reaching the green of the 15th hole, a 551-yard par-5, Cam Davis and Will Zalatoris realised they had played each other’s ball.

As a result, the pair were hit with two-shot penalties and were forced to return to their previous shots and play from that position.

It was only then, after holing two putts, that Davis and Zalatoris signed for two double bogeys.

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Davis, 29, was inside the top ten before falling into a tie for 14th place, while Zalatoris began the final round in a tie for sixth before finishing outside of the top 20.

But the mix-up cost the players far more than their place on the leaderboard.

Ultimately, Davis tied for 13th and earned $410,000 but was set to earn just over $700,000 without the penalty strokes.

Meanwhile, Zalatoris banked just north of $160,000 for his T26 effort, but he would have scooped just over $283,000 for finishing two strokes better.

The duo cleared up the error before teeing off on the next hole to avoid being disqualified from the tournament, which boasted a $20 million purse.

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Perplexed by the incident, Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing said: “Wow, what a pair of mistakes there.

“Almost doesn’t seem possible in today’s game. You cannot play your own ball.”

Dan Hicks added: “Especially with the money involved here and the FedEx Cup points. It’s just frustrating, disappointing, everything above.

“Losing a little bit of focus, right? Just kind of get careless.”

For Zalatoris, it marked another twist in his return after he gained 19 pounds in four months over the winter.

After ending his season in the middle of August, the 28-year-old admitted to consuming 200 grams of protein every day as part of a 4,500-calorie diet.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.