Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Maybe Mackenzie Hughes is exactly what the International team needs as this year’s President’s Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad that will compete in the match at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His giving skills, cool demeanor under pressure, existing connections with teammates and club leadership could help the team – which includes non-American players outside of Europe – make it nine tournaments which loses a skid to the United States in the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes as he joined fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain of the 12-man international team. “I pretty much knew, when it was announced that the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where it was going to go .
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners return to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC in 2022.
Hughes was 14th in the 2022 International team rankings and could easily have been included in that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the Golf circuit LIV.
However, instead, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa chose the lowest ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), Kim Si-woo of South Korea (20th) and Cameron Davis of Australia (25th). .
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but I also understood the choice,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays regularly at Quail Hollow. “I think, like a lot of boys, they don’t get picked on you anymore so look back at your own play and I wish I had made that choice easier for them.
“I did myself no favors in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a tough pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes is a problem for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he is third in strokes gained around the green and fifth in strokes gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I would like to think that maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the games. You have to go out and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to pick him. Hughes is 51st in FedEx Cup Fall competition and has broken seven straight tournaments, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solid throughout the year. Really like his short game, short game all around,” Weir said on September 3 after announcing his captain’s choice. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac gravel. So that’s the reason I chose it.”
Hughes’ intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on the Kent State University men’s golf team before turning pro. They are also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC, who regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“Having those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted .”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council for the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his selections as captain, Hughes’ character came to the fore again and again when he was asked why he had been named in the team.
“I have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” Weir said. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR – Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues to seek a spot in the DP World Tour playoffs. The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai rankings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved up eight spots to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at the Irish Open last week. He will be back there on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, NS, is 38th on the points list for the second tier of the Korn Ferry Tour. He leads the Canadian contingent to the National Children’s Hospital Championship this week. Joining him at The Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio will be Wil Bateman of Edmonton (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR – Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian in this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He is No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will begin on Friday and will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR – There are four Canadians in the Kroger City Championship this week. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Alena Sharp of Hamilton (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all play it at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR – Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian entering the El Dorado Murphy USA Shootout. She is 54th on the second tier points list. She will be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 18, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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