Houston Open contender incurs penalty for picking up ball

Adam Schenk made a costly mistake Saturday at the HPE Houston Open.

Playing in the penultimate group, Schenk was penalized a shot after picking up his ball in the fifth fairway early in his third round at Memorial Park Golf Course, according to PGATour.com. After playing each of his last four rounds on the PGA Tour with preferred lies in effect, Schenk mistakenly though lift, clean and place was being used again.

The mishap was in violation of Rule 9.4, and after incurring the one-stroke penalty, Schenk replaced his ball and proceeded to bogey the hole, his first dropped shot of the round.

Full-field scores from the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open

Schenk, who birdied his opening hole, added a bogey at the par-5 eighth to turn in 1-over 36. He didn’t lose ground on the lead, though, as final group members Martin Trainer, Kevin Tway and Adam Long were a combined 4 over on the front nine Saturday.