Cameron Davis and Will Zalatoris were left counting the cost of a bizarre rules violation on the final day of The Sentry golf tournament in Hawaii on Sunday

Cameron Davis missed out on £245,000 when he and fellow golf ace Will Zalatoris became entangled in a rare mix-up during The Sentry’s climax.

The duo were were competing in the final round of the tournament on Sunday (January 5), where they were playing as partners. While both bagged tidy sums of money through their participation, it’s not nearly what they could have banked after the golf pros mistakenly swapped balls for their third shots at the par-five 15th.

Both men were hitting the links of the scenic Plantation Course out in Kapalua, Hawaii, and got stung with a two-stroke penalty for their unintentional mix-up.

According to a statement from the PGA Tour: “After realising their mistake upon reaching the green, they returned to play from the proper location of their third shot but now playing their fifth shot rather than their third, per the Rules of Golf.”

Zalatoris, 28, managed to scoop up £130,000 ($163,000) post-tournament, ending in a shared spot at 26th place. While Davis, 29, pocketed a cool £327k ($410k) tied for the 13th slot. Should they have avoided the penalties, they could’ve clinched 15th and 5th spot, further fattening their wallets at the tournament’s finale, reports the Express.

In the absence of the costly blunder, the American golfer would have pocketed just £225,000 ($283k), while the Aussie was on track to rake in £570k ($715k) a staggering shortfall of £245k ($306k). Despite the financial sting of lost income, both players averted tournament disqualification by amending their error.

It was the formidable Hideki Matsuyama who ultimately clinched victory with an extraordinary 35-under-par. The Japanese ace set a new benchmark for the lowest score over four rounds in PGA Tour history, in relation to 72-hole events.

Will Zalatoris was forced to forfeit almost £100,000 in prize money ( Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Davis isn’t exactly languishing in monetary woes, having amassed a cool £2million ($2.5million) from his second triumph at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. The Sydney-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 champ narrowly outplayed Akshay Bhatia in a dramatic five-way face-off and offered a nod to his rival in an emotionally charged post-victory interview.

Attempting to hold back tears, Davis said: “This is crazy, I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone. But I’ve done a lot of grinding to get myself out of a hole and to all of a sudden do that, it’s pretty good.”