WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 25, 2023

Mackenzie Hughes

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. MacKenzie, congratulations, you took on Max Homa, one of the hottest golfers on the PGA TOUR, but you didn't make any mistakes today, threw some birdies at him and a hard-earned victory.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I played solid, kept the heat on him most of the day, and to be honest, didn't have to do anything like super spectacular.

Max would probably attest that he didn't have his best stuff today, so a lot of times it kind of forced me into the middle of the green to keep the heat on him. Most of the day had some control there.

Around 12, 13, there were some opportunities for him to inch closer, and made a couple nice saves.

Yeah, that felt good, and yeah, nice to get the win.

Q. Do you change your approach when you know the other guy doesn't have his "A" game?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: A little bit, yeah. You just don't have to be as aggressive, don't have to force things as much.

On 11, the par-3, I hit a 6-iron kind of knowing I was going to play it 25 feet past the hole and just let him do the work, let him try and catch me. Yeah, you might change approach a little bit, but you've got to stay aggressive in these formats and try and make birdies.

Q. Things got a little tight around the turn. What was the key to getting this one done today?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I knew it was going to be a tough match. Max kind of kept the pressure on me. Made a great save on 10, birdied 11, and my job was just to not give him any holes. I knew it was playing tough and it was hard to make birdies. Wind was blustery.

Just kind of one of those matches where you felt like if you kept running him out of holes and made him catch you, then things were going to work out pretty good.

Q. Third straight year in this event; how has your match play philosophy evolved over the three years?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I think you need to expect the unexpected in this format and you've got to keep your mindset. I think you've got to keep your mindset, like on the last hole there, expecting Max to do something crazy, maybe hole a wedge or make that putt, and that forced me to make my four-footer.

So you're kind of always expecting that, and you're trying to stay on the offensive, which sometimes you can get on the heels and you think, all right, I'm going to win the hole, and all of a sudden something happened. This format can change on a dime.