PGA Tour star withdraws from Travelers Championship after horrific in-flight ordeal
Mackenzie Hughes struggled to a 76 in the first round of the Travelers Championship – which was a pretty good score considering the circumstances.
On Monday, after a five-hour flight from the US Open, Hughes was diagnosed with kidney stones and the lasting discomfort he was feeling was too much for him to continue playing at TPC River Highlands.
The Canadian posted a tweet with the grim details that led to the origin of his illness being identified:
Update on my WD from The Travelers pic.twitter.com/YA8zbb8dr6
— Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) June 22, 2023
“I felt a bit of discomfort in my right lower back. Once we took off though, the pain was unbearable. I went to the front of the plane and laid down on the floor, but nothing was helping.
“The pain was so bad it made me nauseous and I started to throw up. I laid on the floor for the entirety of the five-hour flight in pretty severe pain and throwing up.
“But I had no idea what it was – After a CT scan it turned out that I had kidney stones, which explains the intense pain I was having. I had a 4mm stone which the doctor said would likely pass, so it was just pain meds and rest the last few days as I tried to pass it.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t passed it yet and I’m still dealing with lots of discomfort.”
It certainly is a shame Hughes was forced to withdraw from the Travelers Championship having only made two cuts in his last seven starts.
He has two wins in his career on the PGA Tour and most recently won at the very start of the season at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
After nearly holing out from the fairway to shoot a 59, Denny McCarthy shot 10-under-par on day one in Connecticut to lead by two shots from Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
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