Cape Town - Despite widespread criticism, the R&A has agreed that the two-shot penalty imposed on Li Haotong at the Dubai Desert Classic was correct.
Li fell foul of one of golf's new rules during the final round of the European Tour event, incurring a two-shot penalty that many believe was unjust and ended up costing him over €80 000 in prize money and a place in the top 10.
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Li was lining up a short putt for birdie on the 72nd green with his caddie, Mike Burrow, standing behind him. Burrow them moved away just as Li began to take his stance and holed the putt to earn a share of third place.
European Tour officials found Li in breach of a new ruling, introduced at the start of the year, that prevents caddies from helping their players with alignment.
Fellow European Tour players Lee Westwood, Matt Wallace and Rory McIlroy all slammed the penalty, while even European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley called it "grossly unfair", revealing he had contacted the R&A to voice his displeasure.
But the R&A stuck to its guns on Monday, with chief executive Martin Slumbers saying: "We have reviewed the Li Haotong ruling made by the European Tour referees and agree that it was correct.
"There has been some misunderstanding of the new Rule and I would point out that it is designed to prevent any opportunity for the caddie to stand behind the player as he begins to take his stance.
"Whether the player intends to be lined up is not the issue.
"We appreciate that it was a very unfortunate situation yesterday and I completely understand Keith Pelley's concerns when a Rules incident occurs at such a key stage of a European Tour event but there is no discretionary element to the Rule precisely so that it is easier to understand and can be applied consistently.
"We are continuing to monitor the impact of the new Rules but I made it clear to Keith that our focus is very much on maintaining the integrity of the Rules for all golfers worldwide."
Watch the incident below:
@EuropeanTour this is a marginal interpretation of the new Rule 10.2b @haotong_li good playing. pic.twitter.com/jNxT0aokxj
— Brian McKinley (@brijon5555) January 27, 2019
That’s a bit harsh!
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) January 27, 2019
After 2 weeks of golf in the @EuropeanTour i toke one thing in clear... the @RandA and @usga have to check those new 2019 golf rules... my Chinese brother @haotong_li didnt deserve that penalty on the 72nd... the line is to thin... ??
— Pablo Larrazabal (@plarrazabal) January 28, 2019
Hard to believe @haotong_li has been penalised for this. Frankly, I think it’s a shockingly bad decision and for the life of me I cannot see how Mike has lined Haotong up here ??????. https://t.co/cJ4OZZbRKk
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) January 28, 2019
Ridiculous to say that’s alignment. Sorry
— Matt Wallace (@mattsjwallace) January 27, 2019
