Adam Scott incurred a two-shot rules penalty during the third round of the Cadillac Championship after hitting the wrong ball on Thursday. The Australian golfer called the mistake 'a silly thing to do' and reflected on its impact during his bogey-free 66 on Saturday. He expressed regret but remained optimistic about rebounding.
During Thursday's first round at Doral’s 582-yard, par-5 8th hole, Scott hit his second shot from the left rough with the wrong ball, violating Rule 6.3c of the Rules of Golf. He backtracked, took the two-stroke penalty, played his original ball, and finished the hole with a double-bogey seven. Scott then shot a four-over 76 that day and a 71 on Friday before carding his strong 66 on Saturday without a bogey. “Yeah, I mean, it’s such a silly thing to do,” Scott said afterward. “I think it’s the first time I’ve ever done it in my career. That’s probably one of those things everyone ends up doing once. But an odd set of circumstances leading up to me not checking it, which I think I’ve done thousands of times.” The penalty could have led to disqualification if uncorrected before starting another hole, but Scott addressed it promptly on the 8th. “To take two lumps there was, is tough, especially as you sit here now in the weekend and thinking if you’re two better you would be doing so well in the tournament,” he added. Despite the setback, he noted, “Golf can be cruel at times... you just have to get on with it and do the best you can.” The early-round error lingered in Scott's mind through the weekend rounds of the Cadillac Championship.
