TROON, Scotland — Mackenzie Hughes will be looking to put last week’s Scottish Open mistake behind him at the season’s final major at Royal Troon, which begins Thursday.
The 33-year-old Canadian was in contention entering third-round play at Renaissance Club over the weekend, before showing up late for his 2:45 pm tee time. Hughes made it to the first tee inside the five-minute window to avoid disqualification, but was penalized two strokes.
Hughes reportedly was in no mood to talk about it to local reporters at the time, but on Monday at Royal Troon, the two-time PGA Tour winner discussed it with Postmedia.
“I misread my tee time and was there a few seconds late and got a penalty,” Hughes said. “It’s one of those things you just have to accept.”
The tabloids in this part of the world aren’t known for pulling punches and had a few things to say about the Canadian’s gaffe.
“PGA Tour star repeats Rory McIlroy’s embarrassing schoolboy error at Scottish Open,” wrote the Mirror’s headline.
Hughes was tied for 11th heading into Saturday’s third round after opening the Scottish Open with back-to-back scores of 66. His two-stroke penalty was assessed on the first hole of his third round.
“Mackenzie Hughes was assessed a two-stroke penalty for being late to his third-round tee time at the Genesis Scottish Open,” PGA Tour Communications posted on its X account. “The two-stroke penalty was applied to the par-4 first hole.”
Despite the penalty, Hughes birdied the third and sixth holes to get back to even-par for the day. He carded a third-round 69 that included the two-stroke penalty and fell out of contention.
After a two-over par final round on Sunday, he finished the week tied for 46th. RBC Canadian Open champion and Scotsman Robert MacIntyre went on to win his home national open.
“It was tough to swallow, but it is what it is and it happened,” Hughes said. “It’s done with now.”