Justin Rose “hit the wrong ball” that cost him a 2-stroke penalty at 2024 Sentry 

Justin Rose receives the first 2-stroke penalty of the season on the PGA Tour. The Sentry is currently underway and the English golfer made a mistake that led to a stroke penalty.

A minor miscommunication with his playing partner led to Rose receiving a 2-stoke penalty. The penalty was caused due to a rare incident where Rose accidentally hit his playing partner's ball.

Justin Rose teed off with fellow PGA Tour golfers Taylor Moore and Andrew Putnam at the 2024 Sentry. The trio were at the seventh hole and Rose was the first one to tee off. The Englishman hit a decent 359-yard shot. Subsequently, Moore hit a similar shot but was 37 yards shorter than Rose.

Due to a misunderstanding, the 11-time PGA Tour winner hit Moore's ball for the next shot instead of his own. Moore had changed his ball early in the round and Rose was unaware of the sudden change resulting in confusion at the Kapalua Plantations Course. Interestingly, both the balls on the course were marked '2' and Moore didn't convey the change to Rose. The American golfer apologized to Rose following the incident.

Rose had to accept the rules of the PGA Tour and was handed a 2-stroke penalty according to the violation of rule 6.3c. The veteran then took to X (formerly Twitter) and spoke about the incident.

"First day back at work after the festive period was interesting. I hit the wrong ball on the 7th!!," he wrote.

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Justin Rose has an uphill battle following a 2-stroke penalty at the Sentry Tournament of Champions

Justin Rose (Image via Getty)

The 2024 Sentry Tournament of Champions has seen unexpected performances from several golfers. Akshay Bhatia currently leads the pack with Norwegian golfer Viktor Hovland in the T2 position.

On the other hand, Justin Rose is trying to make up for the 2-stroke penalty incurred and has started to bounce back. The English golfer currently holds the 57 position. Following the wrong ball incident on Hole 7, Rose hit par on 10, 14, and 17. Additionally, he also recorded birdies on the 6 other holes giving him a boost in his position.

With plenty of action still remaining, Rose has a strong chance to regain his position and fight for a decent finish. However, a top 10 finish looks like an unlikely scenario for the 2013 U.S. Open winner.