Mackenzie Hughes ready for whatever Royal Troon can bring

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TROON, Scotland — Canadian Mackenzie Hughes stood half-way inside a pot bunker and awkwardly hit some recovery shots in the practice area at Royal Troon on Monday.

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It’s the type of shots fans will see this week at the Open Championship on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland. And it’s just the type that a television commentator might opine are ultra-difficult because players don’t practice them.

Except here at the Open Championship.

“I was just in the bunker here for 15 minutes hitting some shots with one leg in the bunker and one leg out,” Hughes told Postmedia. “Just because of all the funky spots out here, which you don’t get in the States. It’s a fun challenge.”

Yes, what fun indeed.

Here at golf’s oldest championship, the ability and willingness to embrace the sense of humour of both Mother Nature and the Golf Gods is what often separates whiners from winners. These glorious living artifacts of golf history such as the nearly 150-year-old Royal Troon aren’t anything like the perfectly manicured playgrounds typically found for golfers in North America.

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“I love links golf,” Hughes said. “My first Open was 2021 at Royal St. George’s and I played well there.”

The 33-year-old Canadian finished tied for sixth at that first Open Championship and will be one of four Canadians in the field at Royal Troon beginning Thursday.

“I love the turf, the options, the shots, the creativity that is required,” Hughes said. “And I also feel like it’s a bit of a throw the book out the window week.

“Like, it’s blowing 20 miles per hour in your face and you’ve got 120 yards and there’s a variety of options you can take. You can play it on the ground, or through the air. I like that challenge of it and the variety of shots you can hit.”

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Hughes has some familiarity with the course, having played the 2012 British Amateur here, and says he remembers it quite well. The Dundas, Ont., native played a practice round Monday with fellow Canucks Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin, and expects to catch up with Nick Taylor over the next few days of preparation.

Hughes has been known for his wonderful short game since his days as a junior golfer and says the variety of shots available around the greens are one of the main reasons he loves links golf. Although, he also explains, that short game wizards don’t necessarily have an advantage.

“I think that for someone with good touch around the greens and a good short game it’s fun, but I also would say that on these slower greens it might help someone that doesn’t have as good of a short game,” he said. “I feel like there aren’t many spots where you can get severely short-sided or out of position because of the slower speed of the greens.”

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Seaside golf necessitates slower green speeds since heavy wind is almost always in the forecast. Gusting winds mixed with links golf’s slopy greens would cause balls on PGA Tour-speed greens to blow around on their own, which makes playing golf quite difficult.

Another trait of links golf is the ability to almost always play the ball on the ground, rather than through the air, if a player so chooses. This, again, is a necessity borne from the heavy seaside winds.

“Guys that don’t love chipping the ball can putt it from many different areas here, so they can be pretty good with a putter and get around. Whereas if you’re in the States and have to hit short game shots, you can’t really do that, you can’t just putt everywhere.

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“So I think some guys will just grab the putter a lot and just putt, which is OK and you can do that,” Hughes said, with only the tiniest hint of disdain in his voice. “But I do feel that around these greens can be fun for someone with a good short game.”

It has been a mixed bag for the notoriously streaky Hughes this season, with five top tens including a strong week at the RBC Canadian Open that ended in heartbreak after a poor Sunday led to a T7 finish in Hamilton.

The two-time PGA Tour winner is safely inside the top-70 cut-off for the coming PGA Tour playoffs, sitting 53rd in the FedEx Cup standings.

“This year’s been good, but I’m frustrated that I haven’t put four great rounds together,” he said. “The Canadian Open is an example of that, it’s just one round that’s missing, but I feel it’s close and it won’t take much. I’m excited for this last stretch.”

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