It couldn’t have come at a worse time. 7th January – the day Villegas turned 29 and the day he was disqualified from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Villegas chipped toward the green and the ball rolled back at him. While the ball was in motion Villegas moved a piece of grass with his club, clearing the path for the ball. Such action violates Rule 23-1, which states that:

When a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed.

Rather than taking a two stroke penalty, he incorrectly signed 72 instead of 74 to his scorecard and was disqualified.

What makes the story more interesting is the fact that all this could have gone unnoticed unless a keen eyed viewer, who saw Villegas’ action, used Twitter to ask whether removing a piece of grass was actually allowed in the game. The story took off like wildfire and soon reached tournament officials, who in turn took action and removed Villegas from the competition.

What do you think, were they right to disqualify Villegas?