Hughes opens strong

Ontario golfer proving he belongs at Canadian Open

Mackenzie Hughes finally feels like he belongs.

And he posted a score during the opening round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey on Thursday to prove it.

Starting on the 10th tee, the Dundas, Ont., native carded a 5-under 67, with six birdies and a bogey, to stay right in the thick of things and announce to everyone that Canadians should be taken seriously here.

“You can’t win it on Thursday, but you can lose it on Thursday,” said Hughes, who sits 26th in the FedExCup standings. “I put myself in a pretty good spot. I know that the scores are out there today and someone might go out and shoot seven or eight under, but it’s a fourround tournament and I’m off to a great start.”

He’s right, somebody did. Americans Hudson Swafford and Brandon Hagy carded 65s in wet morning conditions that made the 7,253-yard par-72 course ripe for picking. Their scores had held up when play was suspended due to rain at 3:45 p.m., and were later matched by Americans Matt Every, Kevin Chappell and Ollie Schniederjans.

Another 11 golfers, including two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, were one shot back, with Hughes among a group of 15 in the clubhouse at 67.

Hughes had 20 to 30 friends and family following him around a course he hadn’t played since 2013, when as an amateur whe missed the cut for a second straight year. He’s among 17 Canadians trying to end a drought dating back to 1954, when Pat Fletcher was the last Canuck to win the event.

Graham DeLaet (-4) of Weyburn, Sask., is a shot back of Hughes, followed by Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. (-3).