Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Herb Page was going about his business Tuesday morning when Mackenzie Hughes, one of his former star players on the Kent State University men’s golf team, reached out to him on FaceTime.
Hughes said he wanted to say hello because he was killing time at the kind of corporate function that PGA Tour players are often invited to speak. But just as Page did a bit on his story, Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners pressed into the frame on Hughes’ phone.
The three were in the middle of a practice round at Royal Montreal Golf Club, scouting the course ahead of the President’s Cup. The three Canadians, all Kent State graduates, would be named captains of the International team a few hours later and wanted to surprise their collegiate coach with the news.
“I almost cried,” said Page, adding that he got goosebumps from repeating the story. “They are better people than they are golfers. I know that’s kind of a cliché, but even after they graduate, they keep me in the loop. I’m still part of their little journey.”
Hughes was a year ahead of Pendrith and Conners on the Golden Flashes, but they all overlapped at the university in northeast Ohio in the early 2010s. They all turned professional and are now three of the top Canadians on the PGA Tour.
Canadian golf legend Mike Weir made three of his six captain picks on September 3 for the President’s Cup which starts this Thursday at Royal Montreal. Their inclusion on the International team’s roster marks the first time three Canadians have played in the best-of-the-best tournament, with Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Connors of Listowel, Ont.
It was the morning of Weir’s announcement that Hughes was playing his little “prank” on Page.
“It meant so much to me. I couldn’t have been happier,” said Page, who retired from coaching five years ago. “This is the way these three young men are, who they are and what they stand for. It was pretty cool.
“He got me so bad. I can’t believe how he did it. It was crazy.”
Hughes said Page, who hails from Markham, Ont., left an indelible mark on him, Pendrith and Connors and there was no way they wouldn’t tell him directly to be named to the President’s Cup.
“My time at Kent State helped shape the player I am,” Hughes said. ” (Page) was like a father figure to me at Kent State, someone I trusted a lot and whose opinion I respected a lot.
“He would be the first to tell you that there was a lot of tough love, and some difficult conversations that we had, and that’s what I think helps you grow and evolve as a person and a golfer.”
The Kent State Golden Flashes of the early 2010s are arguably one of the most complete men’s golf teams in NCAA history.
While other teams can claim more victories on the PGA Tour – the 1995 Stanford University team, for example, went on to win 86 PGA Tour titles, but 82 of them thanks to Tiger Woods with Notah Begay III adding four – the Canadian trio in It can be argued that Kent State with the American John Hahn has been the most successful together with five victories between Hughes, Pendrith and Connors.
“It was a pretty strong team,” Hughes said, noting that Hahn went on to play on the European PI World Tour. “Now, at the time, I don’t think we had it all together and everyone clicked as a team.
“But you look back on it and the individuals who played and what they achieved was a pretty incredible group.”
Page, who recruited and coached that team, is more outgoing.
“That period was pretty good, pretty good,” he said. “Of course, during that time, Alabama was making runs with Justin Thomas and Texas was making runs with Jordan Spieth.
“The thing about all three (Kent State golfers), they got better and better and better. They weren’t big stars, nationally, coming out of Ontario. I don’t want to say this in a bad way, but it’s not like I have to cater to tons of schools to get them to come to Kent State.”
Hughes has added Page to his VIP guest list at the Royal Montreal Golf Club so his old coach won’t miss a single swing from his former student-athletes when play begins Thursday.
“I’m flying in Monday night because I’m going to be there all damn week,” Page said with a laugh. “And I’m not flying out until Monday morning because when they lift that cup, I’m going to be there.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 23, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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