LIV pro given two-shot penalty for breaking golf rule

Spain's David Puig had a forgettable Sunday at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

The 24-year-old LIV Golf recruit began the final round with hopes he could overcome Patrick Reed's three-shot deficit, secure his second DP World Tour title and some much-needed world ranking points. 

But an error-strewn final round saw him drop down the leaderboard at Emirates Golf Club. 

And things got worse for Puig after tournament officials informed him he fell foul of a golf rule on the 72nd hole. 

Puig registered a par on the closing hole, but his score was later changed to a double-bogey seven after he was adjudged to have grounded his club in the greenside bunker before playing his third shot. 

According to GolfDigest, Puig was not aware of what he did and did not fight the penalty after watching a replay of the incident. 

The mistake cost him a considerable amount of prize money. Instead of tying for third - which would've given him $508,500 - he dropped into a three-way tie for seventh place and $234,000. 

If you're like me and horrific at mental arithmetic, that's a difference of nearly $275,000. 

Puig turned professional in 2023 and signed with LIV Golf, linking up with Sergio Garcia on his Fireballs quartet. 

Puig, ranked 99th in the world, is yet to win on the PIF-backed breakaway. But he already has two professional wins on his resume. 

Puig won on the International Series in Singapore three years ago and the 2025 Australian PGA Championship.

He is being fined for competing in conflicting LIV Golf events whilst still holding DP World Tour membership. 

But he told reporters at the beginning of the week he is happy to pay. 

"I want to be part of the tour so I'll do everything I can and to you know to keep being part of it," he told TG.

"If that means paying whatever amount '’ll do it and obviously they've got to find a solution.

"I feel like which at some point I think they would and hopefully we all have the same rules and whatever they decide at the end it's what I'm going to do.

"It's expensive, but I'm willing to do that and that’s why I joined the tour. We'll see what happens. 

"In my case you know I'm willing to do as much as I can to be part of this tour."

Reed cruised to a four-shot victory in Dubai. 

He revealed in his winner's news conference that he still hasn't signed a contract extension with LIV Golf.