When Anthony Kim jokingly described himself as a “walking calamity” after the first round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, little could he have realised that he would be the maker of his own downfall during the rain-delayed third round at the Sheshan International Golf Club yesterday.

The American world No 8 “shocked” himself by getting disqualified from the championship — his first event as a paid-up member of the European Tour — after playing on with a club he had damaged, and therefore altered, inadvertently.

Kim, the 23-year-old scourge of the Europe team at the Ryder Cup in Louisville in September, first thought he might have a problem with his driver after hitting two balls off the 8th tee, his first flying 150 yards out of bounds to the right, and his second almost following suit. “I hit a driver off the tee and I was walking with it,” Kim said. “I wasn’t angry, I was just walking down the fairway and the tip of the club hit the top of the sprinkler. I looked at it and it looked a bit different, but I wasn’t sure.”

After those two mis-hit drives, however, Kim said the club “looked worse” and asked for a rules official. “I told them what had happened and they told me that if it had changed, it was a disqualification. I was shocked.”

Andy McFee, the senior referee, said: “If you damage your club other than in the normal course of play, you cannot use it again. I said to Anthony I have no way of knowing if that club has been damaged so it is up to you. If you tell me that the club has been damaged and that is how you did it, it is a disqualification. And he said, ‘In that case I am disqualified.’ ”

Despite the disqualification, made easier by his appearance fee, Kim will be able to count the event towards the 12 tournaments that he must play in 2009 to keep membership of the tour and qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

Ian Poulter, meanwhile, was fuming after his Ryder Cup driver was stolen from his bag in the clubhouse. CCTV footage is believed to have shown the club being taken but the thief has not been identified. Yesterday, a reward was being offered for its return.

With the majority of the fourth round held over until today, Oliver Wilson, of England, who is closing in on his maiden victory with 16 holes to complete, slept on a lead of one stroke over Geoff Ogilvy, the former US Open champion, and two over Phil Mickelson and Sergio García.

Davis Love III won the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Florida yesterday — his first tournament win in more than two years. Love’s eight-under-par final round of 64 gave him a 72-hole total of 263 and a one-stroke victory. It was his twentieth career victory, giving him a lifetime exemption on the tour.