Mackenzie

Hughes

The Canadian welcomed the addition of his third child last month, and has been on daddy duty instead of grinding on the golf course. “I’ve been able to practice a little bit here and there, but not the way I would like to. But that’s just kind of, it will be a little bit of the new norm. And that’s kind of a thing that you run into as you start building a family, which I, it’s been the greatest thing ever. But you have to be a little smart with your time and get your work in when you can.” Hughed pelted 16 GIR today and then gained 2.7 strokes around the green (1st) largely aided by a hole-out eagle at the par-5 ninth, from just inside of 80 feet. Hughes’ newly added distance helped him gain roughly a stroke off-the-tee as well, currently 5th in the field in that category.

The Canadian arrived at 5th in the FedExCup and he’s showing no signs of slowing down today at Memorial Park Golf Course. “More than anything trying to be more patient, more positive. I made a bit of a mess of the third hole, the par 5. I think the growth in my game is to come back on the next hole, which is pretty tough, and make a birdie, so nice bounce-back there. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen with a bad attitude.” Hughes also talked about adding distance to his skillset which would certainly help his game on most PGA TOUR courses. He’s known for his lights-out short game and he flashed that today in the form of putting (+4.2 SG:Putting). He arrived with a 2-for-2 record at Memorial Park, both going for top 30s.

The Canadian won the Sanderson Farms Championship last month but also has top 25s in each of his other two starts this season. It’s a strong start and he finds himself 5th in the early FedExCup standings as a result. Next up is a showdown with Memorial Park, a course where he’s posted a pair of top 30s in two tries (7th in 2020, 29th last year). Hughes is worth a look in weekly fantasy formats, given the converging trends.

Hughes became a PGA TOUR winner back in the fall of 2016 (The RSM Classic) and he’s picked up his second win six years later, also in the fall. The Canadian lost strokes of the tee today and landed just nine greens in regulation but that was the story all week for him (just T81 in fairways hit and T45 in GIR). From there, he gained 4.5 strokes around-the-green this week and another 3.7 strokes putting. “It’s kind of my MO a little bit is to scramble and save some pars. I had to do that a little bit today on the back nine. Yeah, did everything I possibly could, just grinded my butt off, and luckily it was good enough.” Hughes had posted five podium finishes in between his two wins but can now say he’s a two-time winner on TOUR which is always validating. It also locks up his playing status but he hasn’t had much trouble with that anyway, finishing top 100 in the FedExCup in 5-of-6 seasons played out on the PGA TOUR.

The Canadian caught fire toward the end of the second round, shooting a 63 and grabbing a share of the 36-hole lead in the process, and he built on that momentum Saturday with a 4-under 68 at the Country Club of Jackson to move to 14 under, one shot behind leader Mark Hubbard. Hughes circled six birdies on the round, including four over his final eight holes despite losing strokes on the greens overall in the third round. Hughes has had some brushes with the big stage, notably holding the 54-hole lead at last year’s U.S. Open, but his lone PGA Tour victory to date remains the 2016 RSM Classic which he won in a chilly Monday playoff. Hughes will now have a spot alongside Hubbard in the final pairing as he looks to close out win No. 2 in his 158th career Tour start.

Through two rounds of the Sanderson Farms Championship. Low rounds were abundant and birdies were dropping. Bogeys felt like doubles with the scoring so low. Hughes did exactly that. He was clinical on Friday. He hit 17/18 greens in regulation. He only hit 50% of fairways, but still gained +4.37 strokes on approach.

Hughes is in search for his second PGA Tour win. With so many golfers within striking distance, he will need two more near perfect rounds.

The Canadian, playing in his national open, started his week with a birdie at the par-5 ninth hole. He added to that with a 12'6" eagle conversion just two holes later. Hughes slowed his pace from there but can’t complain too much about a day-one 66. “I felt like I played well enough to maybe get one or two more, which selfishly you always want a couple more. With where I drove it, I drove the ball really nicely today, and that’s not normally a strength of mine but today it was a strength. So when I do that, I feel like I give myself a lot of chances. The day feels a little more stress-free.” The stats support that statement as he walked off the course ranked 9th in strokes gained off-the-tee, splitting 10-of-13 fairways on his way around St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Hughes got off to a fast start last week at Jack’s Place (co-leader after round one) before fading to a T37 finish.

The Canadian was one (of six) golfers to share the overnight lead but couldn’t find that same magic today. He lost strokes off-the-tee and on approach today, giving himself just four scoring chances from inside of 19 feet. His lone birdie came at the 12th, pouring one home from distance (55 feet). At the midpoint, he ranks just 73rd in fairways hit (17-of-28) and 69th in GIR (20). He’ll need to clean up the ball-striking over the weekend if he wants to poke his head back into contention.

The Kent State alum (NE Ohio), who rang up a field-high nine birdies against two bogeys and a double, is an 18-hole leader/co-leader for a fifth time in 156 events, previously 1-for-4 converting (P1, 2017 RSM Classic). It’s his first since the 2020 Travelers, where he kicked off with a still-career-low, 10-under 60 to lead by three before finishing T3 (60-68-68-67). On 10 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, the Canadian lost 1.101 strokes off-the-tee but gained 2.404 on approach, 1.391 around, and 3.011 on-the-green, converting three conventional scoring tries from between 15 and 21 feet. This is his fifth Memorial with one top 10 among two prior cashes, a T6 two tries ago in 2020 on 3-under 285 (74-66-73-72). See link below to post-round comments.