“They don’t understand what professional golf is”: Carlota Ciganda blasts ‘very poor’ LPGA officials post DQ saga

Carlota Ciganda was disqualified from the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship after refusing to sign the second round scorecard on Friday, July 28. The Spanish golfer received a two-stroke penalty on the ninth hole of the second round for her slow play.

On the seventh hole, officials warned her group for poor play, but she was still caught taking slow shots and was penalized two strokes. Ciganda would have returned home if she had taken the punishment.

She refused to sign the scorecard and as a result, the LPGA Tour official disqualified her from the competition.

Carlota Ciganda slammed the official in a recent Instagram post where she explained her side of the story. She wrote:

“I got a few messages about the DQ from yesterday. I want to be very clear and the reason I did not sign a 7 on the last hole is because I don’t think I took 52 seconds like the Rules Official said. I had a 10 footer on the last hole, last put [sic] and the group behind they were not even on the tee on a par 5."

She continued:

"Very poor performance from the LPGA rules official, they don’t understand what professional golf is about, they only look at their stopwatch like if 20 seconds is going to make a difference. I had family and friends watching and they all said it was impossible I took that long to hit that putt!"

“Yesterday was tough out there with windy conditions and difficult pins and I wish everyone gets treated the same and they don’t pick on the same players all the time! That’s all!”

Carlota Ciganda's Instagram story (Image via Instagram/@carlotagolf)

Carlota has previously received a penalty for slow play at the 2021 Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play event.

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How many majors has Carlota Ciganda won?

Carlota Ciganda has an incredible track record of performing in major events, but is yet to win one.

Ciganda's best finish came in 2022 when she tied for third place at the Evian Championship. She has competed in all five major tournaments in her career, but is still looking for her first victory.

She finished fourth in the Chevron Championship twice, third at the Women PGA Championship, third at the US Women's Open in 2018, and seventh at the Women's British Open in 2018 and 2019.

Carlota Ciganda became a professional golfer in 2011 and joined the Ladies European Tour (LET) the following year. Her professional debut was at the Tenerife Ladies Match Play, where she finished second to Becky Brewerton. She then became a member of the LET and won the Murcia Ladies Open.

Later that year, she competed at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament and finished at T34, earning her Tour card. She has won eight events in her career including two on the LPGA Tour and six on the Ladies European Tour.

Carlota Ciganda was awarded the Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2012, the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner, and the Ladies European Tour Player of the Year in 2012 for her incredible debut.