A one-stroke slow-play penalty handed out on Saturday came back to haunt LPGA Tour Pro Arpichaya Yubol on Sunday. She finished the ShopRite LPGA exactly one shot behind the winner, the same margin as the penalty she never got back.

The 24-year-old from Thailand shot a final-round 66 at Seaview Hotel & Golf Club's Bay Course to finish solo second at eight-under overall. France's Celine Boutier won at nine under, and one shot separated them at the end.

The LPGA Tour's official media account confirmed Saturday evening, according to Golf.com, that Yubol was assessed a one-stroke penalty during her second round for "exceeding her maximum time allowed for her total strokes timed on hole No. 13."

Yubol was not specifically asked about the penalty post-round. She kept her answer measured.

"I do my best on my way as I can. And it's golf. Everything happen is happen. But I'm really happy," she said, according to the LPGA Tour.

The penalty changed her par on the par-4 13th hole into a bogey. She finished Saturday with a three-over 74.

Without that penalty stroke, she would have finished at nine under par, tied with Boutier, and entered a playoff for the title.

According to LPGA Tour rules reported by Golf Monthly, a group that is playing too slowly first receives a warning and is then timed. If a player takes six to 15 seconds longer than the allowed time, they receive a one-stroke penalty. Taking more than 15 extra seconds results in a two-stroke penalty.

Yubol's violation resulted in a one-stroke penalty.

It is the second time this LPGA season a player has lost by one shot after a slow-play penalty. Jin Hee Im was penalized a stroke at the JM Eagle LA Championship and lost in a playoff.

Yubol now joins Im as the only two players this season to finish one shot back after receiving a slow-play penalty in the penultimate round.

LPGA Tour Pro Arpichaya Yubol's Final Round at ShopRite LPGA

Sunday was very different for Arpichaya Yubol. After shooting a 74 in a weather-affected round on Saturday, she came to Seaview’s Bay Course ready to play aggressively.

She hit 11 of 14 fairways and reached 15 of 18 greens in regulation. Yubol also made seven birdies and two bogeys for a five-under 66.

She moved up five spots on the leaderboard and finished alone in second place at eight-under par overall. Her scores for the week were 65, 74, and 66.

The approach was deliberate from the start, as better weather set the tone.

"I check the weather first in the morning when I wake up. It was good weather, so it's not windy like yesterday," Yubol said, per the LPGA Tour. "I just kept thinking my game today is going to be like I can play a little bit aggressively."

Playing alongside close friend and competitor Chanettee Wannasaen also kept her relaxed under pressure.

"We walk on the course and play together, so we don't have anything stressful," she said.

Yubol is currently ranked 146th in the world, and her best major finish came at the 2024 US Women's Open, where she stood 5th.

Do you think the LPGA Tour's pace-of-play enforcement went too far, or is the rule the rule regardless of outcome?

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Sijo Paul