HUGHES RIDES THE MASTERS ROLLER-COASTER
Canadian star in comfortable position after weathering second-round struggles
Mackenzie Hughes finished his second round at the Masters exactly where he started, but it was a rather long journey.
Beginning the day at even par, Hughes birdied two of his first three holes to jump into a tie for fourth. Then came five bogeys over the next seven holes to put his weekend in jeopardy. Finally, it was three birdies over his final six holes to give him a comfortable position on the leaderboard.
It all added up to a 72 on the scorecard, same as Thursday's opening round, which was an accomplishment on a challenging Augusta National course. But every golfer knows the real story often doesn't show up on the scorecard.
“You sort of come to understand that rounds are going to have the ebbs and flows,” Hughes said. “You never know when you're going to run off three birdies in a row or four birdies in a row. So, I think, keeping that in mind and keeping that patience does wonders.
“Early on in my career, I might have let that round get away from me, but a little more maturity, and you bring it back to even.”
As far as sports quotes go, those are nice, make sense. But what if I told you that, in his postround words, there is everything the Hamilton native has been searching for his entire career.
Hughes has been looking for the last piece of the puzzle for a while.
The 30-year-old has every golf shot he needs. Fellow Canadian Corey Conners — who will enter the weekend at 2-under — said earlier this week that his pal's short game is as good as any he's ever seen. When it comes to making putts, all the way back to Futurelinks battles with Conners at Listowel Golf Club in Ontario, Hughes has had a knack for holing them when they count. If there's one part of his game he's working on. it's hitting off the tee, but when in rhythm, that works just fine, too.
For Hughes, the toughest thing to control on the golf course has been his mind.
Anyone who has ever cared about the score they write on a scorecard knows what negative thoughts can do to a golf game. This is where Hughes has made the biggest gains, and what has taken him on a journey that's recently made stops in the final group at last year's Honda Classic, at the Tour Championship, and led him here to Augusta National.
I had a conversation with Hughes by phone at his home in Charlotte, N.C., a few days before he left for the Masters.
“The biggest change for me has been a commitment to really trying to be my best self on the golf course, from a mental standpoint.” he said. “And that's something that I'll continue to work on and get better at, but I've certainly got a lot better. My best weeks are weeks where I feel like I'm in the most control of my thoughts and my mind. If I'm in control of that, I usually like the way things turn out.”
Hughes began last season missing nine of 11 cuts, his best result a tie for 55th. He arrived at the 2020 Honda Classic and the opening round began much like previous weeks, poorly. Midway through the round, his caddy Jace Walker saw frustration threatening to torpedo another round, but the St. Thomas, Ont. native managed to get through to Hughes.
“He said something to me that really stuck with me and that was a big turning point for me,” Hughes said. “His words were something along the lines of, `Let's hang tough here and grind it out, in two hours you'll be happy you did.' I finished that round pretty strong and went on to finish second.” The advice might sound simple, but it took Hughes away from a moment of negativity and challenged him to think about how he would feel afterward if he let the round slip away. It worked. Hughes went on to shoot 66-66 on the weekend and battle with eventual winner Sungjae Im down to the 72nd hole.
After great rounds, Hughes takes notes, and now has a long list of things he's done when playing really well. He tracks his best tournaments, writing down what he was thinking that day, and the thoughts he had about his swing and putting. The notes have taught him a lot about his game, but still, he says, not as much as he's learned about him self during tough times.
“You do a lot more digging when it's bad,” He said. “You're really doing a lot of soul searching and trying to figure out what it is that's going to help you turn that corner. Golf can knock you down at times, but you've got to just get back in there and be ready to go”
A career is long and golf is hard, so it would be presumptuous to say that one day at the Honda flipped a switch, but it certainly was a spark. Hughes went on to enjoy his best season, finishing 14th in the final Fedex Cup standings, and he's carried the momentum into this season with appearances at two WGCS, the Players and the Masters.
In bad times, golf can feel endlessly complicated; in good times, it becomes surprisingly simple. As for Friday's roller-coaster Masters round of 72, Hughes will save the introspection for another day.
“It was a nice start, it was a rough middle, and it was a nice ending,” he said.