WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 25, 2021

Mackenzie Hughes

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You were throwing darts out there today. I'll tell you what, that was a convincing win over Webb Simpson. How good a round was this for you?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, you know, I was kind of joking with my caddie there, on 8 and 9 I kind of got away with a couple loose shots, ended up winning 8 and 9. Sometimes you need a bit of that luck in match play. Flipped the script a few times. Then this back nine here, played some really nice golf, kept the pressure on Webb, and very thrilled to beat a player like Webb. Obviously his resume speaks for itself, so yeah, very, very excited with the win.

Q. Maybe the big hole was 13 because he stuck it to about three feet. You had 10 and you made the birdie putt, which was huge.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I knew that was a big point in the match, and I felt like if I could make that one, kind of stall his momentum a little bit there, he had birdied 12 and was kind of getting a little bit back in the match, so that one was huge, and to birdie the next hole after that to kind of get back to where I had my 3-up lead was big.

Q. Your putting stroke looked so fluid. How good has it been?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I normally putt fairly well and feel like it's a strength of my game, but yeah, it's been nice this week, and I've felt good with the putter, and the greens, we're seeing them pretty well, my caddie and I. So it's been fun.

Q. What was the difference in the match today to get your victory?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, it was a hard-fought battle. I knew going into today that Webb was going to be a tough opponent. Obviously he's played great for the last handful of years and been so steady, so really today there was a couple of swing moments. I felt like on 8 and 9 today, I kind of got away with a couple loose shots, won a couple holes there, and then around the back nine there I really hit my irons nicely, gave myself some good looks, and 13th hole I made a big putt from about 10 feet after he was in there about three feet, and that was nice to hold off some of his momentum there, and yeah, was lucky enough to close it out early.

Q. All you need is a tie tomorrow or move on to Saturday's group of 16. What's your focus heading into that match tomorrow?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I mean, same way I've been doing the last couple days. I know if you win, that will take care of all the rest. I won't try and tie tomorrow, I'll try and hopefully win the match again. But I have another tough opponent in Talor Gooch tomorrow, so my hands are full. Every match out here is tough, so I'll just do my best and see what happens.