Edlund penalised for caddie error

Swedish golfer Dennis Edlund incurred an unusual one-stroke penalty in the Compass Group English Open today when his caddie picked up his ball on a croquet lawn.

Edlund was only one shot off the third-round lead when he hooked his second shot to the 476-yard ninth at the Forest of Arden.

The lawn is there for hotel guests and is out of bounds for club members, but for the tournament is in play.

Italian referee Niccolo Nesti gave Edlund the thumbs-up as he walked to the ball, but the caddie then grabbed the ball.

It was easy to see why. The white out of bounds line usually in force could still be seen, but Nesti explained that it had been coloured over with green and the white post behind indicated the boundary of the course.

Edlund, second in the event in 1997, had to drop the ball back into play on the same spot and did well to get down in a chip and putt for what should have been a par four, but went down on his card as a bogey.