ST LOUIS, Missouri: With a bizarre two-stroke penalty and rare hole-in-one, American Bart Bryant laid claim to the strangest experience on a marathon day at the BMW Championship on Saturday.

Bryant had golf fans scratching their heads when he was penalised two shots after playing partner Martin Laird tapped down his own pitch mark on the fringe of the par-three 16th green during second round play. By doing so Laird improved Bryant’s line from the rough, resulting in a two-shot penalty to Bryant for allowing his line to be improved. Bryant realised later that a rule might have been brokenand on the next hole sought out an official for clarification.

“It was just one of those unfortunate things, and after it happened, I didn’t even think about it until the middle of the next hole, and I went, something just doesn’t feel right, “Bryant told reporters. “I wasn’t going to sign my card until I talked to a rules official. I never thought it would affect anybody else in my group,I thought it would just affect me. I really didn’t think there was an issue but there was and I got a two-shot penalty,” he explained.

Bryant cancelled out the two-stroke penalty later in the afternoon in spectacular fashion when he aced the par-three 13th to leave him tied for 20th at four-under 206 heading into Sunday’s final round.