RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Lexi Thompson received a four-stroke penalty with six holes to play in the final round of the ANA Inspiration on Sunday for making an incorrect ball placement one day earlier.
The extraordinary delayed penalty knocked Thompson out of the lead at the LPGA Tour's first major of the year.
After gathering her composure when her three-shot lead vanished, the 22-year-old responded with a birdie on the 13th hole to pull even with So Yeon Ryu, Minjee Lee and Suzann Pettersen atop the new leaderboard.
Thompson was penalized after a television viewer alerted officials that Thompson had marked her ball and then put it back in an improper place before a 1-foot putt on the 17th green in the third round Saturday.