Hughes knows all about rough days on the course
Canadian golfer shares some kind words with playing companion after his 9-over
Golfers spend a lot of time focusing on themselves, especially those who make it to the PGA Tour and the Masters. That didn't stop Mackenzie Hughes from thinking of others after a hard-fought opening round on Thursday at Augusta National.
Minutes after rolling in a six-foot par putt on the 18th hole and signing for a solid 1-over-par round of 73, Hughes sought out Matthew Wolff, one of his playing companions. Wolff had a tough day at the season's first major, shooting a 9-over 81. Like many who follow golf, Hughes was well aware of Wolff's propensity for getting down on himself. With his hand on Wolff 's shoulder, Hughes shared a few kind words before wandering over to speak to me following his round.
“Matt had a hard day,” Hughes told Postmedia. “I just told him that he's a tremendous competitor and that we all want to do great, but his golf score does not define who he is as a person.”
Wolff might not know it, but Hughes understands him better than most. For the past few years, the 31-year-old Canadian has worked very hard on staying positive on the golf course and credits a better attitude as one of the main reasons for his ascent to the upper echelon of the tour. To my knowledge, Hughes' issues with negativity had mercifully remained on the golf course, but he certainly understands how they can bleed into the rest of a player's life, especially one who came from college with high expectations like Wolff.
“I've been young, and I've been there where you're really hard on yourself and you expect greatness every day,” Hughes said. “Then you're out here for a long time, and you realize you're going to have lots of days that you don't like. It's just the nature of sports. So I just tried to maybe give him a couple words of encouragement because we've all been there before.”
Out on the golf course, it was a good day for Hughes, who felt comfortable with his game. After two bogeys and seven pars on his first nine, he bounced back with consecutive birdies beginning at the par-three 12th in Amen Corner. His clean second nine was ruined by a lone bogey stemming from a (cover your ears) dead-shanked wedge on the par-five 15th. After his third shot sailed straight at the patrons to the right of the green, Hughes showed great humour acknowledging the shot with a smile, a raised arm and a tip of his cap.
“I actually played better than the score indicated,” Hughes said. “I felt like I hit a lot of great shots and it was a pretty solid round. Lots of good stuff.”
WEIR HOLDS HIS OWN
Canada's only Masters champ showed that his rejuvenated game can take on Augusta, no matter how long the course becomes.
After beginning his day with a missed three-footer and making a double bogey on the opening hole, Mike Weir, 51, played the rest of his round at level par and came off the course with a 2-over 74 and was a tad unsatisfied.
“With the wedges in my hand, I felt like I hit some really nice shots into 2, 8, 11, and 15 and just didn't convert those,” he said. “I thought they were really going to be close to the hole, maybe tap-ins, and that's Augusta National . ... I could have gotten it under par today, which would have been great.”