JACKSON, Miss. — From a masterful green jacket to a jug players dream of drinking out of, golf has a collection of prestigious trophies as synonymous with the sport as the clubs in bags. For Mackenzie Hughes, the defending Sanderson Farms Championship winner, the collection is a bit more eccentric.
“When my oldest son asked me to win a trophy, he didn’t have that one in mind,” Hughes said Tuesday.
The Sanderson Farms Championship, which tees off Thursday at The Country Club of Jackson, features a rooster planted on top of a pedestal. Between that and a bear head he won at an amateur tournament when he was 20, the trophy shelf at the Hughes household is different from most.
Sanderson Farms: Thursday tee times | Photos
But as Hughes − who won consecutive Canadian Amateur Championships in 2011 and 2012 − looks to become the first PGA Tour golfer to win back-to-back titles in Mississippi since Dwight Nevil in 1973 and 1974, Hughes isn’t complaining about the hardware.
“I told (my son) I really can’t be too specific or too selective with trophies,” said the 32-year-old father of three who makes his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Whenever they come, we’re going to take them when they come.”
Hughes reliving the glory of 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship
As he played the back nine of Tuesday’s practice round, the memories began to roll in. Hughes was reminded of the shots he hit in high-pressure situations which led to a playoff victory against Sepp Straka.
He saved four pars in a seven-hole stretch and capped it off by sinking an eight-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Those are memories Hughes will never forget.
“It was just nice to relive those things,” Hughes said. “It’s a feeling that you want to have more often. … I just want to play some good golf and get myself in position to feel those things again because that’s what we all love to do the most is to compete for trophies and try and win tournaments. Yeah, definitely motivated to try and recapture those feelings from last year.”
Mackenzie Hughes of Canada reacts after putting in to win on the second playoff hole against Sepp Straka of Austria on the 18th green during the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson on October 02, 2022 in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
Hughes has only one other top-10 finish this season, and he has one top-30 finish since the AT&T Byron…
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