	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

RBC CANADIAN OPEN

July 30, 2017

Mackenzie Hughes

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Q. Looks like you'll be the low Canadian. Tell me about the final round. I know you stumbled at the end but tell us about today's round?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, a little bit tough coming out here today with not a chance to win. It was a bit disappointing yesterday, and I alluded to that in our interview. But today I wanted to come out and play a nice round and build momentum for next week going into Akron and the PGA.

I was pleased. Obviously it's a bit sour tasting right now making six on the last hole. It not playing very hard. It's downwind and made a bit of a miss there. Sour taste but overall it was a good day.

Q. This has been a pretty good week for you. First RBC Canadian Open as a professional, lots of fan support. Sum up the week for us.
MACKENZIE HUGHES: A lot of fun. I think that's the best way to describe it. It was great here in my local fan club, hearing them screaming and hollering whenever I made putts. Unfortunately I didn't make enough this week but I'm grateful for all of them being here and look forward to being back next year.

Q. Going to Akron next week, not quite a home game but it is kind of because you're going back to Kent State where you spent four years in college. What's that going to be like?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: That will be a lot of fun. These next few weeks are going to be semi-home games. Got Charlotte where I'm based out of right now for the PGA and then next week be close to Kent State. I'll have a lot of familiar faces the next couple weeks, as well, and it will be a nice little stretch. I'm very much looking forward to another WGC.

Q. I can guarantee you, I know this is why it's a home game for you thi week because I understand you're going to leave here and go to a baby shower; is that correct?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: That is correct. You heard correct. I'm playing Sunday at the Canadian Open and then I'm having a baby shower at my parents' house. It's a bit of a hectic Sunday but wouldn't have it any other way, seeing all my fans out here today and being able to talk to them.

Q. You're about to become a father pretty soon.
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Correct. That's on the horizon. Get some toys and I'm sure that baby will be all stocked up by the time it gets here.

Q. How important was it for you to play this way today in front of these crowds?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Obviously yesterday was a disappointing finish. But I wanted to come out here and finish strong and show some pride and try and be low Canadian.

But yeah, last hole was a bit sour tasting and I'm probably going to think about that one for a little while. I had my sights set on three and I made six. That's a pretty tough pill to swallow, but lesson learned, don't get ahead of yourself.

Overall it was a fun day and a really fun week.

Q. You've won at every level you've played on. You're now a PGA TOUR winner. How does that help you plan ahead for the 2018 season?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, being a rookie this year has been tough. There's been some growing pains. Obviously getting a win has been a huge relief but there's so much I need to learn still, and scheduling is probably No. 1. Scheduling next year will be a lot different. It will probably play a fair bit less. Played a lot this year. Probably take it a little more easy on myself. I think anyone out here for the first time in their first year kind of goes through that and I'm learning kind of the ins and outs.

Q. You're so close to home. I just overheard you say you'll be having a baby shower for your expecting wife with your family tonight. How much does that help you take your mind off the course when you're not here?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, it's a good distraction. It can also go the other way, too. There's lots going on and lots of chaos. But it's been all good. I mean, you don't get many home games like this, so whenever you do, you kind of soak them up and enjoy looking around in the galleries and seeing a bunch of friends and family. It's really, really great.

So I really just try to soak that up and on every hole, they have been hooting and hollering and kind of making me sort of blush. It's been a lot of fun.

Q. How would you assess your Sunday?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: The day overall, great. Sour ending. Wanted to finish with a bang there. I hit the ball in the fairway, it's probably an 8-iron in there, and I just pushed my drive. A bit disappointing to finish like that, but overall it was a great finish and happy with the way I fought.

The week as a whole was a lot of fun. So many people out supporting me from Dundas and all over Canada. I could feel that support all the way around. All the Canadian fans listening, thank you for the support and I'll try and do it again next year.

Q. What about going forward, what are your goals for the rest of the season?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Well, priority No. 1 is to make East Lake. I'm in a good spot right now but I need to play well these next few weeks and hopefully lock it up. That's No. 1.

If I could somehow squeak out a win in the next few weeks, that would be even better and trying to make that Presidents Cup team. We'll see. If I can play the way I did today and kind of build off some of that momentum, I'm feeling good going forward.

Q. Looks like you're going to win the Rivermead. Your thoughts on that?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Consolation prize, I would say. I wasn't really thinking about it today. I just wanted to climb up there as far as I could. You know, it's a nice honor for sure, and you know, I'm beating a lot of good players that came out of Canada this week. I think if you asked Graham or I or David, I think we all wanted to win. So being low Canadian is great, but next year I'm coming back for more.

Q. You've had a lot of support this week, but there must have also been some distractions that you're maybe not used to. How did that affect you?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I think any time you play a home game, it can be -- it's great, and it can also be tough. That expectation and that hope to play well for everybody, and you want to get those crowds going. I let them down yesterday. I let myself down yesterday.

But you know, it happens, and overall, it was a lot of fun. The crowd kind of kept me in it today and my family kept me in it. That's the upside of that is when you kind of -- maybe they see you slumping down a little bit, they give you that one little scream, and hoot and holler, and you're right back up and your chin's back up and you're kind of going forward.

It was a lot of fun. I don't think you'd want a home game every week, but having it every now and then is really nice.

Q. Knowing what you know now, and also knowing the tournament is going to be in your backyard for the foreseeable future, is there anything you do differently in the future?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: You know, I don't think so. I think I had it down pat this week. I stayed at home. I got in late last week and I stayed at home for a little bit. Then I came up here and started staying in Oakville really this weekend. My wife and I just kind of stayed on our own.

I'm making time for family but it's also try to do business here and try to get my job done. It's hard. You want to do it all but if you do it all, you're going to be average at everything.

So I'm trying to win a golf tournament and it's stuff if you spread yourself too thin. I'll probably do it the same, and I'm sure as I get more experienced doing this, I'll learn the ins and outs even better. But I think I did a pretty good job.

Q. How did the wind pick up when you were out there and do you see it being a factor this afternoon?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, it was tricky. Coming down, in those valley holes especially, it's swirling. A hole like 14, we've had it kind of been down last couple days, and now it's in off the right.

So that makes that hole tremendously difficult. Yesterday was a wedge and today was a 5-iron into that hole. I think the leaders are going to have some tough shots coming through that stretch. I think the guy that plays 11, 12, 13, 14 the best is probably going to win the tournament.

Q. Graham joked on Friday about the curse of Pat Fletcher. Are you starting to think that maybe the curse is real?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: You know, I don't know if it's real but I just know it's really hard to win a golf tournament, especially on the PGA TOUR. That's what I attribute it to; and the fact that we're trying to win this one and only one in Canada every year, there's a lot of things that have to go your way.

I don't want to call it a curse yet but once I play in about 15, I'll let you know.

Q. Did you talk to Mike or Nick Price about The Presidents Cup at all?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Actually I was talking to Mike yesterday or two days ago at lunch. We were just kind of reminiscing about some of his past experiences. Then we talked about his role with the team, and he's going to be out there next week in Akron.

Obviously I know I'm a ways out from making that team, but you know, if I go out and win Firestone, then I'm obviously in contention to get on that team.

He'll be out there and hopefully I can put some good form together and a few good rounds and just see where that puts me. I'm not going to put anymore pressure on myself to try and win. If I go out there and play the way I did today, I'll like my chances.

But yeah, there will be more Presidents Cups in the future, but you never know what might happen. I have a few weeks to try and move myself up there. I don't even know if he's looking at me. He might not even think I'm on the radar; I don't know. But hopefully I can make a spot.

Q. Have you played Akron before?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I played a couple times in college. A really nice golf course, demanding, and you have to drive the ball really well there.

I'm excited for a major-type venue, and hopefully it's a nice week.

Q. Can you explain what was going on with the drop on 18?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I had the hospitality tent on my backswing in the first drop. So I was trying to come out from that, coming out on an arc. Then dropping on the path, once I got my relief from that obstruction. The ball rolled closer to the hole both times. So I'm going to place it on the path, and from there, I'm taking my relief off the path a little to the right. It's a bit of a -- it's tedious steps you have to go through. You have to go through that step to drop on the path and then go over to the right.

I mean, in a perfect world, you go straight over the path because you know you're going to end up there any ways. Could have saved us a couple minutes. But the rules are the rules. Maybe in the future they will condense it a little bit and make it faster. Just I just did what they told me to do.

Q. How big was that early eagle to set the tone for a better day today?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, getting off to a great start is huge. I had some chances to get a few more under par early and I didn't quite make the putts that I would have liked. But again, I'm happy with shooting 4-under, and if I had done it yesterday, as well, I would have been right there. So 4-under is not -- I'm steaming about the bogey but yesterday, I just wasted so many shots yesterday.

Today obviously I had nothing to lose. So I was trying to make sure I give all my birdie putts a run at the hole. I'm not playing overly aggressive to the point where I'm being careless, but took a few more chances. They didn't all pay off and I didn't make birdie on all of those, but definitely tried to be a little more aggressive.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297