9. Tiger Woods, 2013 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
On the fifth hole of the second round, Woods flared his drive to the right between the fairways of the fifth and sixth holes and into a scrubby plant in the sand. Woods asked playing competitor Martin Kaymer to confirm his ball was plugged and Kaymer agreed. Woods took what he believed was a free drop, chipped out sideways onto the fairway and made bogey.
Golfweek’s Alistair Tait questioned whether Woods was entitled to relief from an embedded ball in the sand. Tait took it up with rules official Miguel Vidor. Initially, he upheld that Tiger was entitled to the drop, but afterwards had second thoughts. He consulted with referee Andy McFee who agreed with Tait that relief wasn’t allowed in the sand, and Tiger was given a two-stroke penalty and missed the cut.