Mackenzie Robert Hughes (born November 23, 1990) is a Canadian professional golfer.

Mackenzie Hughes
Personal information
Full nameMackenzie Robert Hughes
Born (1990-11-23) November 23, 1990 (age 33)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality Canada
ResidenceCharlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Spouse
Jenna Shaw
(m. 2016)
Children3
Career
CollegeKent State University
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour Canada
Web.com Tour
Professional wins4
Highest ranking39 (November 21, 2020)[1]
(as of November 17, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT29: 2023
PGA ChampionshipT58: 2020
U.S. OpenT15: 2021
The Open ChampionshipT6: 2021
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Canada
Order of Merit winner
2013

Early life and amateur career

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Hughes was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a graduate of Kent State University, where he played on the golf team with fellow Canadian PGA Tour pro golfers Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.[2] Hughes won the 2011 and 2012 Canadian Amateur Championship.[3][4]

Hughes was the number one Canadian Amateur in 2011. He was a member of Team Canada's National Squad in 2008, 2011, and 2012.

Professional career

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Hughes turned professional in 2012 and played on the eGolf Professional Tour and PGA Tour Canada. He played in 2012 and 2013 Canadian Opens but missed the cut in both events.

In June 2013, Hughes qualified for the U.S. Open, winning a playoff at his sectional qualifying site. He won his first professional tournament at the 2013 Cape Breton Celtic Classic on PGA Tour Canada. He would go on to win the 2013 PGA Tour Canada Order of Merit and earn a Web.com Tour card for 2014, fully exempt as the money leader. Hughes made seven cuts in twenty events, finishing well outside retaining any status. After spending the 2015 season on PGA Tour Canada, he earned Web.com Tour status for 2016 through Q School. In August 2016, he won the Price Cutter Charity Championship en route to graduating to the PGA Tour for the 2016–17 season.

In November 2016, in his fifth PGA Tour start as a member, Hughes won the RSM Classic, becoming the first Canadian-born golfer to win on the PGA Tour since Nick Taylor at the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship, and the first to win a non-alternate event since Mike Weir at the 2007 Fry's Electronics Open. He was also the first rookie in over 20 years (Tim Herron at the 1996 Honda Classic) to win wire-to-wire.[5]

In 2017, he finished 10th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 16th at The Players Championship, and 13th at the Dell Technologies Championship.

In March 2019, Hughes finished tied for second at the PGA Tour's Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. He lost by one stroke to winner Graeme McDowell.

In March 2020, Hughes finished second at The Honda Classic finishing one stroke behind champion Im Sung-jae.[6] He shot 66-66 on the weekend. In June he finished tied for third place in the Travelers Championship and entered the top 100 in the world rankings for the first time.

Hughes held the lead after the third round at the 2021 U.S. Open but finished T15. He was also in contention at the 2021 Open Championship, eventually finishing T6 and recording the best ever finish for a Canadian at The Open Championship.[7]

In October 2022, Hughes won his second PGA Tour title at the Sanderson Farms Championship in a playoff over Sepp Straka.[8]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (4)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Nov 21, 2016 RSM Classic 61-67-68-69=265 −17 Playoff   Blayne Barber,   Billy Horschel,
  Henrik Norlander,   Camilo Villegas
2 Oct 2, 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship 71-63-68-69=271 −17 Playoff   Sepp Straka

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2016 RSM Classic   Blayne Barber,   Billy Horschel,
  Henrik Norlander,   Camilo Villegas
Won with par on third extra hole
Horschel eliminated by par on first hole
2 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship   Sepp Straka Won with birdie on second extra hole

Web.com Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Aug 14, 2016 Price Cutter Charity Championship 67-67-64-66=264 −24 1 stroke   Richy Werenski

PGA Tour Canada wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Sep 8, 2013 Cape Breton Celtic Classic 68-69-71-66=274 −14 1 stroke   Ryan Williams

Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament T40 T50 T29
PGA Championship T58 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T15 T24 T49 CUT
The Open Championship NT T6 CUT T16
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 3
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 2
Totals 0 0 0 0 1 4 20 9
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2021 U.S. Open – 2022 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (2021 Open)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Players Championship T16 T57 C CUT CUT CUT T26
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Championship T32 T44
Match Play NT1 R16 T18 QF
Invitational T66 T44
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

1Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 47 2021 Ending 21 Nov 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "Conners, Hughes & Pendrith inducted into Kent State Hall of Fame". Golf Canada. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Hughes goes back-to-back at Canadian Men's Amateur". August 12, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  4. ^ "Mackenzie Hughes defends Canadian Amateur title". RCGA. August 10, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  5. ^ "Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes wins RSM Classic in four-man playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. November 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Berhow, Josh (March 2, 2020). "Playing for late friend, Mackenzie Hughes breaks out of slump in a big way". Golf.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Stanley, Adam (July 18, 2021). "Best-ever Canadian finish consolation prize for Mackenzie Hughes at Open Championship". Toronto Star.
  8. ^ "Canada's Mackenzie Hughes wins Sanderson Farms Championship for second PGA victory". Sportsnet. Associated Press. October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
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