Hideki Matsuyama lost $144,000 because of penalty stroke
Open Championship

Hideki Matsuyama lost $144,000 because of penalty stroke

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The pace of play in the third round of the Open Championship was downright atrocious, and, on top of that, the R&A was more than happy to put groups on the clock for being caught in the traffic jam.

Hideki Matsuyama was the biggest victim of the emphasis on pace when he was penalized a shot on the par-5 17th on Saturday for a second bad time while under the watchful eye of a referee.

It turns out that stroke cost the 21-year-old Japanese standout approximately $144,000. He finished the championship on Sunday at 2 over par, five back of champion Phil Mickelson. However, if he didn't land the one-shot penalty, Matsuyama would have finished tied for third with Ian Poulter, Adam Scott and Lee Westwood. The difference in pay? $143,818.

Instead, Matsuyama earned $247,809 as part of a tie for sixth with Tiger Woods and Zach Johnson.

The good news? The finish is still a career-best and second consecutive top-1o effort for Matsuyama in a major.

Perhaps the R&A will regret their misunderstanding of the USGA's "While We're Young" campaign, or Matsuyama will learn to avoid the stopwatch in the future.

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

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