Scotland’s Chris Doak was left ruing a bizarre incident in playing a wrong ball during the opening round of the Irish Open in Cork.
Doak was four under par at the time and just three shots from the lead when he had to call a two-shot penalty on himself after playing the ball belonging to 21-year old Irish amateur partner, Dermot McElroy.
Both players had split the Fota Island fairway down Fota Island’s first that they were playing as their 10th and with Doak walking up to his Titleist and putting his second shot on the green.
Chris Doak forced to call a two shot penalty in playing wrong ball. Photo – David Lloyd / www.golffile.ie)
McElroy, who was in the last GB & I Walker Cup squad but didn’t make the side, then followed the Scot onto the green where it soon became obvious they had played each other’s ball.
Doak said: “It was a great round except for having to call a double bogey on myself after hitting a wrong ball.
“Both Dermot and I have two black dots on our ball. He marks his with a black dot on the numbers and I mark my ball with a dot above the number.
“The thing is that I have done it before as I then had three dots on my ball and the fellow I was playing with also had three dots.
“So that’s just unbelievable I’ve let it happen a second time but after going out in four under something like that just put me off my stride.
“I then bogeyed my 13th and birdied the next but dropped a shot at the last.”
Despite the mishap it put Doak in the leading Scottish honours among the 14 Tartan players competing in sports-mad Cork ending his round at 7pm with a two under par 69.
