Honesty is the best policy, so the saying goes, but in professional golf, it also sometimes come with a heavy price, as in the case of Sahith Theegala.

In the third round of the Tour Championship, Theegala called a penalty on himself, saying in his backswing from a bunker he brushed the sand, a violation of Rule 12.2b, testing the sand. It was imperceptible, even to NBC Sports analyst Kevin Kisner, who suggested that at the end of the round he should demand from PGA Tour officials to give him his two strokes back.

A PGA Tour official, reviewing the video after Theegala’s round, concurred that he had brushed the sand, a two-stroke penalty that cost him this much: $2.5 million. He made $7.5 million for his third-place finish on Sunday, though with two fewer shots he’d have earned $10 million and tied Collin Morikawa for second place. Theegala shot 67-66-66-64. Again, the third-round 66 was with the two-shot penalty added.

The truth hurts.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com