Mackenzie Hughes grew up in Dundas, Ont., just a short distance from Hamilton Golf and Country Club, which hosts this year’s RBC Canadian Open. He’s hoping some local knowledge will help him become the first Canadian since 1954 to win the country’s national title.
Mackenzie Hughes knows Hamilton Golf and Country Club better than anyone in the field at the RBC Canadian Open this week. That’s because Hughes, a winner on the PGA Tour in his rookie season, grew up near the course, has played dozens of rounds at Hamilton, which is actually located in Ancaster, and is confident going into the tournament. He’s got friends and family there—including his in-laws who are traveling from near Buffalo—cheering him on this week. Some may see that as an added distraction in an already challenging week, but not Hughes.
“I’ll see lots of friends and people I know from Hamilton and Dundas—there will be some good support and I like that,” he says. “For the last few years I’ve used that as a positive. I have people who cheer for me regardless of how I play and that’s a great feeling. It is a privilege to play this close to home and have these people come to watch.”
Of course the ghost of Pat Fletcher—the last Canadian to win the tournament in 1954—looms over every Canadian playing at our National Open. Lots have come close, including Mike Weir in 2004, and more recently Jared du Toit, and David Hearn, but Hughes says he’s not concerned about battling against history. “I come to this tournament thinking I want to be in contention and I want to win,” says Hughes, who won in his rookie year on the PGA Tour. “I don’t think about some big burden that is hanging over me. It is what it is and at some point, it’ll end, but there’s not much we can do thinking about it.”
With late additions who qualified Monday for the tournament, there are 26 Canadians in the field. Hughes’ take is there’s no reason a Canadian couldn’t win this week, though he admits it is a challenge. That said, plenty of Canadian PGA Tour players have arrived in the midst of good years. Hughes, Roger Sloan and Adam Hadwin have finished second, Corey Conners won, and Mike Gligic won on the Web.com Tour. That gives Hughes plenty of optimism heading into the week.
“Of the Canadians we have there’s a good group of guys who have a good chance to do it,” he says. “There’s me, and Corey who won, and Adam and Roger who had runner-up finishes. Nick [Taylor] is playing well. There’s a lot of hope in that sense. We don’t need a foursome of Canadians in the final group—just a couple of guys hanging round the leaderboard on Sunday near the lead. One of them can get it done. You have to beat 155 guys one week in your own country with all the hype. But it could happen.
What about the golf course? Hughes has plenty of experience playing Hamilton. A wet spring has made the rough thick, and Hughes is hoping for a dry week that will put a bit of a bounce into the course.
“It is a course that suits my game and that I love,” he says. “I’m trying to get a sense of what it’ll take. Will it take 20-under or will it take 12? It isn’t as soft as you’d think and if they get a decent forecast, it’ll be tough. That’ll make the fairways tougher to hit. And it’ll become a golf course where shooting 2 or 3-under is a good score.”