Eddie Pepperell thought he had recovered from a sluggish start to post a level-par 71 at the Qatar Masters on Thursday, but it counted for nothing after he was disqualified for a scorecard error.

The 29-year-old Englishman signed for a par at the 16th hole and a birdie at the 17th in Doha, having actually made those scores the other way round.

The 2018 Qatar champion revealed the mistake came from confusion between him and his partner at the Education City Golf Club.

"My DQ today wasn't due to me running out of balls or hitting anyone; instead, I signed for a wrong score," Pepperell wrote on Twitter.

The rules are the rules and I 100% accept that, but I can't help feeling that this particular way of disqualification is a fair distance away from common sense, and that's also disappointing. I enjoyed the course however and hopefully next time I'll do a better job 👍 — Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) March 5, 2020

"My total, 71, was correct and I indeed signed for that. However, my partner had me down for a 5 on one hole where I made a 6, and a 4 on another, where I made 3.

"Quite disappointing as I actually took the time to change the original error, only to make a costlier one myself."

Pepperell's disqualification in Qatar follows his bizarre exit from the Turkish Airlines Open last November, when he ran out of balls in the third round.

His hopes of making the cut for the Masters at the Augusta National next month are now in the balance. Pepperall, 63rd in the world rankings, would need to be ranked in the top 50 to guarantee qualification.