“Is this a joke?” Lexi Thompson asked an LPGA rules official who had informed her between the 12th green and 13th tee of the final round of the ANA Championship that she was being assessed two two-stroke penalties

“No, it isn’t?” Sue Witters, vice president tour rules and competition for the LPGA, replied.

Fellow golfers fumed on Twitter as Thompson was assessed a penalty via television viewer, one day after the incident. Tiger Woods wrote: “Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes”, whereas Hunter Mahan wrote “signing of the scorecard and turning it in means nothing anymore.”

The LPGA received an email from a television viewer that Thompson did not properly replace her ball during the third round.

The LPGA statement read: “After a full review, it was determined that Thompson breached Rule 20-7 (Playing From Wrong Place), and received a two-stroke penalty. She incurred an additional two-stroke penalty under Rule 6-6d for returning an incorrect scorecard in round three.”

Unlike Dustin Johnson, who won the US Open in spite of a similar mid-round penalty last year, Thompson lost to So Yeon Ryu.

The result left a bitter taste in the mouth for many and questions firstly, the time that passed before the penalty was given, and the double penalty of signing an incorrect scorecard for such a late penalty.