THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 27, 2024

Corey Conners

Mackenzie Hughes

Royal Montreal Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You're now winning Presidents Cup teammates. Where does this rank for you?

COREY CONNERS: This was a special day. The crowd was in it from the get go. We wanted to get off to a good start, and we kept our foot on the gas and played some awesome golf. Mac hit some unbelievable shots.

It was such a fun day and great to share it with such a good friend.

Q. Mac, I know you were disappointed to miss out the last time around, but you have embraced this from the word go. Let's start with the beer chug on the first tee yesterday. Was that always in the plan?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Not really. It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing the morning of. I wish I had a Molson Canadian but it was a Stella. I wanted to get the energy going. That was kind of my goal yesterday, and today I got to play some shots and play with an amazing partner and friend in Corey.

This is one of the highlights of my life right here. This is one of the funnest days I've ever had on the golf course.

Q. Everybody north of the border has been waiting for that, that right there. How do we send out two Canadians? How do we get two of our best players in the world to make this feel like a real home game? Mission accomplished. How fun was that?

COREY CONNERS: That was a blast today. Right from the 1st tee, the crowd was in it. They were behind us. We felt their energy, fed off their energy.

Awesome to share this day with Mac. We were feeding off each other, and it was such an amazing experience.

Q. Corey, what did you guys say to each other last night? Yesterday obviously there were shoulders down on property. There was a lot of encouraging words and people thinking, this is the year, this is the year. How did you guys rally last night?

COREY CONNERS: Our team has a strong belief system, and they knew that it was one day. It was one day of golf. We knew there was lots of golf to be played and we wanted to keep our morale high.

Our spirits were high last night. We were singing all the way home on the bus. We knew what we had in store, and we did it today.

Q. Mac, you sat down yesterday, we spoke on the course yesterday. How pumped were you to play today and to get to play with one of your best friends?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, obviously yesterday I was kind of anxious and I was trying to find things to do, cheering on my teammates. I wanted to be in there, wanted to get in the fight.

Today is a dream come true playing with Corey. He's probably the best partner you could have in alternate shot. He's so reliable, so consistent. I just kind of was along for the ride. It was a blast.

Q. How much did the crowds pump you up today?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, obviously Corey and I were excited to play together, but we also wanted the crowd. The crowd delivered in a big way today. Corey and I won the match, but the crowd was the third member of our team. They were huge today. We felt their energy on every tee, every green, walking down every hole. That was big for us, and we need more of that this week.

Q. Corey, how much did the crowd energize you?

COREY CONNERS: Yeah, they were behind us. It was really vital to our success. They were cheering us on the whole way. It was just a blast to play in front of the fans in our home country and to get the victory. A really special day.

Q. Mac, what was the message last night that maybe changed the way things were going today?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: You know, we have a really fun group of people. We left last night, and our caddie leader, Bussy, so many great people with just crazy good energy, and we left here last night thinking we can still do this thing, it's one day of golf.

There was a lot of belief amongst the room, amongst the guys, that hey, we can still do this. We're still a great team, and we've got a lot of golf left to play.

We came here this morning, we had our heads held high, chin up, and we were ready to play.

Q. You guys have played a ton of matches together in your life but never one like this with these stakes. What does it mean to get your first Presidents Cup point together?

COREY CONNERS: Yeah, really, really special. Mac and I make a great team. We team up a lot in practice rounds, and we came out with a mindset that we were just going to do what we usually do.

It was such a fun day to play alongside Mac. He's been a great friend for so long. We hit some great shots when needed, and it was just a blast. The crowd helped get us through, and it was such a fun day.

Q. You seemed to feed off each other from the first hole.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, I've said this before. Corey is the ultimate partner for alternate shot. He made my job really easy today. Yeah, it was just a blast.

Playing in this competition and in this environment is the best thing in the world, but playing with one of your best friends is that much more special.

Q. You must have dreamed of this for a long time. Could you have dreamed any better than this?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Not really. This is as good as it gets. Corey and I played awesome today as a team. That's what it's all about.

We play week in, week out on the PGA TOUR as individuals, but to do it as a team together and with all these guys, it's unbelievable.

Q. This is turning into one of the greatest Presidents Cup turnarounds ever. What happened last night to keep you guys up?

MACKENZIE HUGHES: Yeah, we left yesterday at the door when we walked out. We had a great bus ride home. There was so much good energy, so many fun people on this team, and just such an amazing group.

We came here today knowing what we had to do, put our best foot forward and see what happens, and we're finally putting some points on the board.