LIV Golf player receives two-shot penalty, and barely avoids DQ, for rare rule violation

LIV Golf’s Scott Vincent had a memorable start to his round at the International Series Morocco.

Vincent, along with his brother Kieran, were the unfortunate victims of their clubs and bags getting lost en route to the Asian Tour event. Believing his luggage to be found prior to his Round 1 tee time, Vincent returned to the airport in Casablanca, a good 90 minutes away, only to discover his clubs had not turned up. By the time Vincent returned to the tournament property, he was in danger of missing his scheduled 12:30 p.m. start time.

According to the Rules of Golf, a player who arrives late or misses their tee time is disqualified from the event. There are three exceptions, however, one of which is arriving no more than five minutes late. Vincent made it to the first tee with 30 seconds to spare, avoiding getting knocked out of the tournament but receiving a two-shot penalty.

To Vincent’s credit, he overcame that initial two-shot deficit to shoot a five-under 68 on the par-73 course, two shots back of the first-round lead. Just as impressive is Vincent doing so with rental and borrowed clubs.

“Lucky enough, we have some really cool people out here on the Asian Tour – it is a friendly tour. A lot of people had clubs, bits and pieces, but obviously it is hard to make up a full set when you do not have anything, so we have a bit of a mixed bag here,” Vincent said. “I have talked a lot to myself about adapting, no matter what, whatever the situation might be. And so just being able to go out there with none of my stuff, even golf shoes, I am taking in the moment, and we will just take it as it comes.”

The good news for Vincent is his clubs were ultimately were located, although the same cannot be said for his Kieran, who is still playing with rentals on Day 2 of the International Series Morocco. Vincent, 32, is 54th out of 56 players in LIV Golf’s season-long individual standings.