Women's golf fan tattles on Lexi Thompson, Tiger Woods fires back

April 3 (UPI) -- Saturday was not a great day on the course for Lexi Thompson at the ANA Inspiration, but Sunday was worse.

While she was walking to the 13th hole on the tournament's final day, an LPGA Tour rules official told her that she had earned a two-stroke penalty on Sunday for incorrectly replacing her ball on the green. A viewer contacted the LPGA Tour in an email, saying they thought they saw the blunder in the third round of the tournament.

On the fault, Thompson placed down a coin to mark her ball on the green. She then picked up the ball, before placing it down again in a location to the left of the original location. She also signed for an incorrect card in round 3, resulting in an additional two-stroke penalty at the Dinah Shore Course.

Thompson, 22, eventually lost the tournament, despite forcing a playoff with three late birdies. So Yeon Ryu claimed the trophy, earning $405,000 compared to Thompson's $250,000. Thompson entered the fourth round with a one-stroke lead on Ryu, before the penalty. She had a two-stroke lead on Ryu as she walked off of the 12th green on Sunday.

"Well it was an emotional day here for me, first off I do want to say what I had done was 100% not intentional at all I didn't realize I had done that," Thompson wrote on social media Sunday. "I want to say thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers and Mission Hills for making this week possible at the @anainspiration ! Also to the fans out there, words can't describe what you being there for me, meant to me. You helped me push thru those last holes so thank you for always believing in me. A big thanks to my caddy as well for always staying positive and being there for me when it got tough. I played some great golf so definitely a lot of positives to take from the week. Time for a very needed 3 weeks off now. Thank you everybody."

She was still gracious to the tournament champion on Monday.

"Let me start by congratulating Seo Yun Ryu on her playoff victory yesterday at the ANA Inspiration. She fought extremely hard and played amazing golf," Thompson wrote on social media.

"I don't want anything that happened yesterday to take away from Seo Yun's victory. The LPGA rules officials made a judgment call at the moment, and we as professional golfers must accept it, no matter how painful it is. What happened was not intentional at all, I would never do that purposely. And I hope everyone knows that."

"I want to thank the amazing fans out on the course for all their support. Their cheering helped get me through those last 6 holes. Hearing all the fans cheer me on after every shot, going to every tee, truly brought tears to my eyes every time."

"I also want to thank the fans around the world who have reached out to me to offer their support, and for being there for me in this difficult situation. Your support means so much to me...I'm so blessed to have you all as my fans. I love you all and the game of golf, and I look forward to seeing all of you very soon."

Fellow golfer Tiger Woods was also shocked by the ruling. He voiced his displeasure for fans being allowed to interfere with the tournament.

"Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes," Woods tweeted. "Let's go @Lexi, win this thing anyway."

Thompson, an American, ranks No. 2 on the Top 100 Money List, pulling in $489,387 in 2017. Ryu is No. 1 with $792,166. Ryu ranks No. 2 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, while Thompson ranks No. 4.