Tyrrell Hatton was knocked out of the Dell World Matchplay after incurring a two-stroke penalty in his three-man play off.
The Harleyford professional accidentally nudged his ball onto the green during the sudden death knockout and did not replace it.
Hatton and Spaniard, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, eventually lost out to Charles Howell III who advanced from their group.
The 25-year-old from Marlow had made a very good start to the group proceedings when he beat Howell and Jeunghun Wang in his first two matches.
However, he lost his final group game to Cabrera-Bello. If he had won that, he would have faced eventual finalist, Jon Rahm in the last 16, who lost out to Dustin Johnson in last Sunday’s final.
Next up for Hatton is the US Masters, which begins on April 6, at Augusta National, Georgia, where he will be making his debut.
He currently leads the stats in putting on the PGA Tour and the greens at Augusta should hold no fears for the world number 15.
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