Tour Pro Receives Four Stroke Penalty For Carrying 15 Clubs

Wesley Bryan incurred the penalty when he discovered he had two 7-irons in his bag – but he took the error in good spirits

Wesley Bryan plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the 2022 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mike Hall
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Wesley Bryan competed in the Monday Qualifiers for the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship, but his task was made harder by a four-stroke penalty as he had 15 clubs in his bag – one over the maximum permitted.

The 2017 RBC Heritage winner had been hoping to make the field for this week’s event at the Country Club of Jackson, but while he was battling for one of the four qualifying spots, a video posted to Twitter by the PGA Tour shows he had two 7-irons. A quick club count by his caddie confirmed there were, in fact, 15 clubs in his bag, meaning Bryan’s attempt to qualify immediately became harder.

However, far from being downbeat about the revelation, Bryan took the news in excellent spirits, laughing about his misfortune before saying: “You can go ahead and add four to my score, boys!” Bryan then prepared for his tee shot but not before saying: “Can you imagine if we were like 4 or 5-under at this point?" He then played a shot that left him distinctly unimpressed. The 32-year-old responded by saying: “Maybe I should have hit the other 7-iron.”

You can watch the video of the incident here.

 

Bryan wasn’t the only person to see the funny side of the incident. One of the replies to the video came from his brother, George, posting under the name of the popular YouTube channel the siblings host, Bryan Bros Golf, who took a lighthearted dig at his brother and the caddie: 

It's not the first time Bryan has made headlines for unusual incidents on the course. In March, he made the cut in the Valspar Championship after hitting a shot while on his knees, while in 2017 he broke the PGA Tour record for the fastest round, completing his final round in the BMW Championship in less than an hour and a half.

Bryan missed out on qualification this week, with Alejandro Tosti, Ben Silverman, Quade Cummins and Cole Hammer teeing it up in the tournament instead. Bryan, who is World No.729, last appeared on the PGA Tour in the Wyndham Championship in August but missed the cut. His most impressive finish in 2022 so far came with a tie for 15th at the Corales Puntacana Championship in March.

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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