VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 22, 2024

Mackenzie Hughes

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you sum up that round today and how would you compare it to yesterday's round?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: I would say today was pretty scrappy. I felt like I drove the ball pretty nicely, for the most part, hit some nice iron shots, but also hit some loose ones where I kind of got myself in some tough spots and I was able to kind of get through those, for the most part. I made the one bogey on 3, but for the most part, I got myself out of some tough spots and made some great up-and-downs.

So tomorrow I'm going to need to be a little sharper tee to green and I'll do some work tomorrow morning before I play and kind of try and get some nice feels. But, yeah, I would say all in all it was kind of a hard-fought day.

Q. What was your best moment out there, do you feel?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: That's tough. The eagle on 1, that gets you off to a great start, obviously. I would say the up-and-down I made on 13 from left of the green after getting one up-and-down on 12 from a plugged lie. 13, I was in jail and I hit it to like 3 feet and made par. That kind of gave me a nice boost into that finish and I birdied the next hole.

So I would say between the up-and-down on 13 and the eagle on 1 those are pretty close.

Q. What was your mindset coming in here? Just looking at the sort of results of your season it's been steady, nothing spectacular but solid. Do you come here sort of looking to make something happen or waiting for something to happen?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: I think that's kind of one of the things I'm working on, is not trying to make things happen. Obviously, in this game and on this TOUR, you're judged by your results and they're right in front of you all the time. But I've kind of felt like my game was close these last few weeks. I mean, the last few Signature Events I've basically finished 30th or 25th, and I feel like I'm on the precipice of like a great week. And obviously you know in those tournaments, everyone's so bunched up like a couple shots here and there and those are top 10s.

So I think that I came in here with some positive vibes, some good momentum. Even though my results have been steady at best, I felt like there was the upside for a great week.

Q. When you come to this venue, you know the golf course well and everybody says it's challenging and it's fun to play. What do you like about it the most?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: There really isn't any tricks to it. Everything's right in front of you. Yeah, it's so much different than our test last week. Last week you've got manmade hazards and water everywhere and it's very visually daunting. This course doesn't have as much of that, but it's just really hard from start to finish. Even some of the shorter holes have your attention. I just think that hard golf courses kind of fit the way I like to play. You get to be scrappy at times, when you're playing well you can shoot a good score and move way up. So, yeah, I love coming here, even though my record suggests otherwise.

Q. You made one cut or two cuts now in your five or six starts here.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah.

Q. What do you do this evening before tomorrow's round?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: I got some family here from, they're actually here, they're from Ontario, but they're wintering down here in Florida, so two sets of aunts and uncles, so I'm sure we'll go get some dinner after this and I'll catch up with them and, yeah, then head back to the hotel, get some rest and get ready for tomorrow.