Two players disqualified

SPANISH youngster Borja Etchart was disqualified from the Andalucia Open following a rules controversy over which Norwegian Eirik Tage Johansen also received his marching orders.

Etchart, 21, playing on an invitation from tournament promoter Miguel Angel Jimenez, was accused of re-spotting his ball wrongly by partners Johansen and Scotland’s Andrew Coltart.

Johansen and Coltart reported that Etchart was putting a ball marker directly underneath his ball but replacing it slightly forward of the marker. Etchart refuted any infringement but accepted the observation, so tournament director Jose Maria Zamora had no alternative but to disqualify him.

Johansen, who was marking Etchart’s card for the first round at the Parador course, did not report his allegation until after the Spaniard had signed his card and therefore had to go too.

“I know Borja and I’m sure it was just an inadvertent action,” Zamora said. “I was told he had replaced his ball a centimetre, maybe even only half a centimetre, forward on two short putts.”

A tearful Etchart said he had not done anything wrong. “I accept this but I feel it was a bad gesture reporting it after I signed my card,” Etchart said.