Lexi Thompson Penalized 4 Strokes After Viewer Email, Tiger Woods Responds

Lexi Thompson was in prime position to win the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday, but penalties cost her dearly.

According to Randall Mell of GolfChannel.com, Thompson was given a two-stroke penalty for incorrectly marking the ball and another two-shot penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard. He noted the LPGA was informed of the incident via a viewer email, which led to video review.

Thompson went from 16-under par to 12-under par and relinquished the lead to Suzann Pettersen and Minjee Lee, per Mell. 

The LPGA would release a statement regarding their decision: 

Thompson asked, "Is this a joke?" when an official told her about the penalties, per Mell.

PGA great Tiger Woods reacted to the development:

Sean Steinemann of GOLF.com shared a look at the moment in question from Thompson's Saturday round:

To Thompson's credit, she battled back down the stretch and forced a playoff with a birdie on No. 18. However, she lost the playoff hole to So Yeon Ryu when the latter notched a clutch birdie to win the title.

Despite the controversy and near miss, Thompson is in the middle of a successful season that already includes a second-place finish at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic and fourth-place tie at the Honda LPGA Thailand on top of Sunday's finish.