PGA Tour star disqualified from £5.5m event over rule break after sponsor exemption

A PGA Tour star was disqualified midway through the World Wide Championship at Mexico's El Cardonal Course. Emilio Gonzalez, who had scored an opening round of 73 on the course designed by, returned for a two-under 71 in the second round.

However, he fell two shots short of making the cut, much to the disappointment of the home crowd. Despite being granted a sponsorship exemption to compete at the event, which boasted a hefty £5.5million ($7.2m) total purse, things took a turn for the worse for Gonzalez.

On Friday night, it was revealed that he had been disqualified and wouldn't even register a final ranking. The disqualification centred around a tee shot on the 15th hole that ended up in the desert area of the course.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Although his initial tee shot was found within the allotted three-minute period after he played a provisional shot, Gonzalez continued with his provisional shot, suggesting he didn't believe the re-discovered ball was his.

Emilio Gonzalez was slapped with the severe penalty as, according to the rules, a player must make a 'reasonable effort' to identify the ball clearly and determine whether the found one was his or not.

The PGA Tour announced the news on X, stating: "Emilio Gonzalez was disqualified after the second round of the World Wide Technology Championship due to a breach of Rule 18.3. (Provisional Ball)."

The disqualification capped off a disastrous outing for Gonzalez, who had previously said: "It's a matter to keep improving in the direction I'm going. I think I'm doing things right, trust my process and polishing my game on the green and around the green."