LPGA's Carlota Ciganda wins match then PENALISED for slow play so loses match!

Spain's Carlota Ciganda won her first-round match at the LPGA Match Play on the 18th hole against America's Sarah Schmelzel, but was then controversially assessed a slow-play penalty for taking too long on the hole and so ended up losing the match. 

"On the 18th hole of her Day One match, Carlota Ciganda was assessed a loss-of-hole penalty for a breach of the LPGA’s Match Play Pace of Play Policy," read an LPGA Tour statement following the match. 

"Per the policy, a player is subject to penalty if she exceeds the allotted time for her total strokes taken on a hole by more than 10 seconds, averaging 30 seconds per shot.

"Ciganda exceeded the allotted time for the number of strokes taken on the 18th hole."

The Spaniard refused to comment after the round, clearly frustrated by the decision that had been taken by the LPGA Tour. 

Golf Channel's lead LPGA commentator Tom Abbot elaborated more on the incident with the following tweets: 

The @lpga not messing about with slow play this week, Carlota Ciganda wins the 18th hole to win the match against Sarah Schmelzel but is then penalised for slow play. Penalty is loss of hole, Schmelzel wins the match. @LPGAMatchPlay

— Tom Abbott (@TomAbbottGC) May 26, 2021

The players were warned earlier in the match and she knew she was being timed. https://t.co/vRRqcfyUBs

— Tom Abbott (@TomAbbottGC) May 26, 2021

"The LPGA is not messing about with slow play this week," tweeted Abbott. 

"Carlotta Ciganda wins the 18th hole to win the match against Sarah Schmelzel but is then penalised for slow play. Penalty is loss of hole, Schmelzel wins the match." 

He added: "The players were warned earlier in the match and she knew she was being timed."

All is not yet lost for Ciganda as it's a round-robin format but she will now need to defeat both Ariya Jutanugarn and Lauren Stephenson is she is to progress to the knockout stages this weekend.