PGA Tour Pro Assessed Penalty After Being Late To Tee Time At Scottish Open

Mackenzie Hughes was assessed a two stroke penalty after the Canadian was late to his 14.45 third round tee time at The Renaissance Club

Mackenzie Hughes strikes a tee shot with a driver
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Genesis Scottish Open was stacked with quality going into the third round, as the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa were just some of the names in contention.

As the leaders went out at 15.40pm local time, there was an opportunity for those in pursuit to make early moves and put pressure on those at the top of the leaderboard. However, for Mackenzie Hughes, his day couldn't have started much worse... with the Canadian assessed a two stroke penalty after he was late for his tee time!

Getting underway at 14.45pm alongside Nicolai Hojgaard, it was soon revealed by PGA Tour Communications that Hughes was late arriving for his tee time, with a statement reading: "Mackenzie Hughes was assessed a two-stroke penalty for being late to his third-round tee time at the Genesis Scottish Open. The two-stroke penalty was applied to the par-4 first hole."

On Saturday, Hughes started his round four back of overnight leader, Aberg, but with the two shot penalty, it was in fact six strokes as he teed off at the first, with Hughes making a par that was bumped up to a double bogey.

In fairness to Hughes, he did birdie the third and sixth to get back to level-par for his day but, with the likes of Robert MacIntyre, Adam Scott and multiple others making charges, the 33-year-old found himself well outside the top 10 going into the back nine on Saturday at The Renaissance Club.

Mackenzie Hughes strikes a wedge shot off the green

Hughes at the first green during his third round at the Scottish Open

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It's not the first time we have heard an incident like this happen. Just a few weeks ago, Scott Vincent was playing at the International Series Morocco event and, after an eventful morning, was almost disqualified for missing his tee time.

In fairness to Vincent, his luggage had been misplaced, with the Iron Heads GC player forced to head back to the airport in an attempt to retrieve his bags. However, when it was discovered his bags weren't there, he raced back to the course and, following a wrong turn, returned to the golf club and was given a two-stroke penalty after not making his tee time. Despite this chaos, he managed to shoot a five-under-par round with rented clubs to sit two strokes back of the leaders.

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°

Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°

Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x