THE 152ND OPEN

July 20, 2024

Mackenzie Hughes

Mixed Zone

Q. Are you happy to be out of that weather?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Wow. Yeah, that was a tough day.

Q. How would you assess your day today?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: It was just really, really hard with that kind of rain, and then the wind on that back side was all into our face. We were hitting 3-woods into par-4s and then 3-wood into 15. We went with a 3-wood on 11, 3-wood into 17, the par-3. I mean, it was just like -- it was pretty much playing impossible.

The weather for the afternoon groups is just -- I know it's not really necessarily the draw that we had, but just playing at this time in the afternoon compared to playing at, let's say, 10:00 this morning, we almost would have been better off to be at 4-over, go out there and shoot 4-under and got near the lead that way because right now it's just playing so hard. These guys coming in, these holes are -- look, Shane has got 220 into 13. Everything is playing so long and playing so far.

I don't even know how to describe if 75 is a decent score. I feel like it's not terrible, but certainly would have liked to have been a few better, but it's just really really hard right now.

Q. How exhausting mentally is it to try and concentrate through three, four hours of that?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, it's really tough. Very difficult because every single shot requires attention, focus. Even the little basic ones. Yeah, you're just fighting for every single shot.

It's a long, grueling day, and happy to be done.

Q. Does it almost feel like a different course?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Oh, it's not even close. 18 is a great example. Yesterday I hit 4-iron, sand wedge off 18. Today I hit driver, 4-iron. I mean, I could barely get to the green. The golf course is unrecognisable, really. It's playing really hard.

I'll be curious to see how these guys do coming down the stretch. I know they've got their hands full coming in the last four, five holes.

Q. What about things like clubs slipping, feet slipping? Did you have a lot of that today?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I tried to wear a sweater basically until about 9 or 10, and then on 11 tee I'm like, screw it, I'm going rain jacket, rain glove because it was so hard to keep my grips dry. Gloves were wet. I was just like, I've just got to put a rain glove on and kind of lean into it. I didn't wear rain pants, and I'm soaking wet. My pants are just absolutely drenched.

Again, like I said, if you teed off this morning at 10:30 -- I teed off at 2:30, and I played one hole without rain, and once about 2:50 hit, it was playing quite difficult.

If you got in early like a Sungjae Im and played great, I had a chance to go shoot a score. Right now you're watching guys, and it's next to impossible. That's the way these things work. You've got a full day of tee times. Those morning guys got a huge break, and the afternoon guys had a hard time.

Q. Is it hard for the bag man? Being a caddie on a day like today is a hell of a thing, too.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: No, he did a great job. Kept things -- I don't even know. They weren't dry, but kept things in control. Yeah, did a good job kind of managing all the stuff that goes on in the rain. These are the kind of days you need an extra arm. No, he did a great job, and it was a really tough day for both of us.

Q. How about the spectators sitting through this out there. On 18 did you hear some people yelling your name and there were some Canadian flags?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, it was funny because on 18 -- maybe it was 16, I was talking to my caddie, I said, it's amazing how many people are out here on a day like today when it's just absolutely piss weather. They're all here. They want to see the golf. It's tough to watch golf in this kind of weather, I'm sure, when you're under your umbrella.

But they were out there. They were a pretty cheerful bunch for the most part, given the weather.

No, it was a long day, and looking forward to throwing my clothes in the garbage.

Q. And a bowl of Scottish soup maybe?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, a little soup, a little coffee would be nice, too.