South Korean Yang Yong-Eun's campaign to defend his HSBC Champions crown came to a sudden end on Sunday when he was disqualified from the tournament for signing his third-round card incorrectly.
"I'm shocked. It's unbelievable," said Yang, who had been in a pack of players tied for fifth at seven-under going into the final round after shooting a two-under 70 on Saturday.
"At the end of the day though, it's my fault for not checking the scores... I am very disappointed as this is my last tournament for this year."
Yang, 35, was disqualified for recording a bogey four at the 12th hole on Saturday when he actually shot a double bogey, tournament organisers said in a statement.
Officials were only made aware of the problem when a fan who had followed Yang around the course checked the scores on the Internet when he went home.
The fan rang the tournament organisers and when officials checked with Yang on Sunday morning before he teed off for the final round, he said he had indeed scored a five.
Yang in fact made two mistakes on his score card Saturday, signing for a par three on the 17th hole when he actually scored a birdie.
While the two mistakes cancelled each other out, organisers were forced to automatically disqualify him for recording the error on the 12th hole.
Yang last year emerged from golfing obscurity when he beat world number one Tiger Woods by two strokes to win the five-million-dollar HSBC Champions, Asia's richest golf event.
Tournament organisers on Sunday emphasised that Yang's mistakes should not be seen as deliberate.
"Yang was a wonderful champion. His win last year was magnificent for Asian golf... we wish him well for the future," said HSBC's head of sponsorship, Giles Morgan to The Indian Golf Blog.
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