PGA Tour star DQ’d after ‘knowingly’ breaking rules
Another week, another bizarre rules breach on tour
There’s getting disqualified, and then there’s Mark Hubbard getting disqualified.
The American was booted from the Houston Open for having too many clubs in play.
Altogether now: You’re only allowed 14 clubs in your bag!
Not only that, the act, according to the PGA Tour, was deliberate.
Their statement read that Hubbard “knowingly added a 15th club at the turn and used the club several times without declaring it out of play”.
But why?
A tour official later added: “He said he started with a Callaway driver that wasn’t spinning enough [and he was] missing a lot of fairways, so, thinking it would be a two-stroke penalty for each use of a different driver, he ‘knowingly’ switched to a Ping driver at the turn.”
This is a violation of Rule 4.1c, which states: “When a player becomes aware during a round that they are in breach of Rule 4.1b (1), (2) or (3) for having more than 14 clubs or for making a stroke with another player’s club, the player must immediately take an action that clearly indicates each club that is being taken out of play.”
The 33-year-old was DQ’d following his second-round 74, though he would have missed the cut anyway.
File this one under a week to forget.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
