Brazilian Victoria Lovelady was penalized one stroke for slow play on Thursday in the second round of the 2016 women's Olympic golf tournament.
According to Golfweek, Lovelady was given the penalty on the 15th hole after receiving a second bad time following the initial bad time on the 10th hole. The additional stroke turned a par 4 into a bogey 5, an extra stroke in a round of 4-over 75 to put her in 56th place in the 60-player field.
One of two players in the field from the host nation, Lovelady protested with officials, saying crowd noise -- namely from fans who have little exposure to golf's rules and gallery expectations -- caused her to back off the ball repeatedly.
“I tried to refute it, tried to appeal, but I didn’t have enough argument to convince them,” Lovelady said. “There was a lot of interruption noise from the crowds, which is normal. I had to back off a lot of shots.”
R&A rules official Grant Moir, the assigned official with Lovelady's group, wasn't having it.
“I told him, but he didn’t see it as valid,” Lovelady said. “They have to do their job. It’s the Olympics. They have to be very strict. I respect their choice. What can I do? I got a warning on 10, and that affected me way more. For sure it affected my bogey."
With 18-hole times ranging well past 5 hours in the first two rounds, International Golf Federation officials warned players ahead of the round to speed up. Lovelady didn't do that to the satisfaction of the officials, and she paid the price.
