Mackenzie Hughes' US Open chances take hit when tee shot gets stuck in tree

Tom Gatto

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Mackenzie Hughes' US Open chances take hit when tee shot gets stuck in tree image

Mackenzie Hughes could not play his wayward tee shot where it lay on the 11th hole Sunday at the U.S. Open.

The Canadian was forced to take a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable lie after his ball struck the cart path and got wedged between tree branches overhead.

The bad bounce led to a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 hole and pushed him four strokes behind leader Louis Oosthuizen.

US OPEN: Live Round 4 scores, highlights 

Hughes entered Sunday at Torrey Pines tied for the lead with Oosthuizen and Russell Henley at 5 under. He went out in 1-over 36 and then parred the 10th before his adventure on 11.

His round didn't get any better after it. He bogeyed 12, 13 and 15 and parred the other four holes for a 41 on the back, a 6-over 77 on the round and a tie for 15th in the tournament at 1 over.

The Ontario native was attempting to become the first Canadian man since Mike Weir in 2003 (Masters) and the second overall to win a major.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.