Mackenzie Hughes rose above his own consistency to win the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship in a two-hole playoff with a walk-off birdie against Sepp Straka. Hughes gutted out a 69 in regulation that concluded with a nasty up and down at the 72nd hole to get into the playoff, which he punctuated with an early fist pump that proved to be accurate. The victory, Hughes’ second on the Tour, ends a drought of 155 professional starts between wins. 

When I say Hughes rose above his own consistency, here is what I mean: The Canadian is your prototypically average PGA Tour player. He makes a lot of cuts, notches a lot of top 30s and top 40s, but he rarely wins because he rarely has those standard deviation weeks needed to win on the PGA Tour. Interestingly, he had one of those last year when he gained 12 strokes (a borderline winning number at a lot of events) at the RSM Classic but failed to capitalize.

That wasn’t the case this time around. Hughes took advantage of some terrific tee-to-green play (he finished first in the field this week in strokes gained from tee to green) and closed out a victory that had been so elusive. 

“I kept telling myself the whole week that I was going to do it,” Hughes said. “That was the only thing I saw in my mind. Those par saves down the stretch, just trying to will the ball in the hole. I’d say that describes my game a bit is that grit and perseverance. The second one felt harder than the first one, that’s for sure.”

The par saves were pretty incredible. The one on the 72nd hole was difficult, but he had an up and down from a greenside bunker on the first hole of the playoff that was just as delectable.

Hughes almost never finishes outside the top 75 in the FedEx Cup, but just as infrequently finishes in the top 25. He’s just a solid player who rarely tastes victory. There are a lot of those guys on the PGA Tour, but Hughes seems more bent on winning than most. It’s not as taxing to simply exist as an average PGA Tour player, but Hughes should be applauded for doing what so few seem to want to do: putting himself in contention to win and hitting the shots (and putts) to actually pull it off.

The man he defeated, Straka, has now lost two playoffs in his last four PGA Tour starts. He was terrific all week — he shot all four rounds in the 60s — and could be poised for a breakout year. The oily-swinging Austrian looks exactly like somebody who is going to have a career year that culminates in a 3-0-1 record at next year’s Ryder Cup in Rome right before Luke Donald pours his beloved Diet Coke from the Ryder Cup straight into the back of Straka’s throat.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though. This was event No. 2 of 47 for the PGA Tour season, and while it lacked the chaotic ending of the first one — when Danny Willett kicked away a winning opportunity to Max Homa — it still provided some good context for the rest of the season. Straka, as a breakout European, and Hughes as somebody who, as some would say given that football season is fully underway, might have that dog in him. Grade (for both): A+

Here are the rest of our grades for the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship.

Mark Hubbard (T5): It was not a Sunday to remember for Hubbard, who was the 54-hole leader. He shot 2-over par in the final round — the only player in the top 12 to shoot over par at all — and couldn’t cash in the healthy lead he built up over the first three days. Hubbard is an especially easy player to root for, and it’s always fun to have him in contention. Unfortunately, he just didn’t have his best stuff when having it would have resulted in his first-ever PGA Tour victory. Grade: A-

Davis Riley (T19): After the first day, I thought we might get a Sam Burns redux, with Riley kick-starting his season with an early win and some whispers about whether he could make next year’s United States Ryder Cup team. Instead, he faded over the last three days with rounds of 71-70-71. Riley struggled immensely off the tee. not normally a weakness of his — and the result was that he let a group of players who were looking up at him after 18 holes overtake him over the final 54. Grade: B

Sam Burns (T30): Burns was the highest-ranked player in the field this week, so his T30 has to be a disappointment — especially coming off a strong Presidents Cup week and at a golf course where he won just a year ago. Burns was awesome off the tee, but he struggled elsewhere and couldn’t find his iron game (he finished second in approach shots a year ago and 49th this week). This says nothing about his long-term ability or what I expect from him this season, but it’s likely not the start to the season he envisioned. Grade: B-

Source link

Thomas Detry signed for a second consecutive 5-under 67 to earn a share of the lead of the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship heading into the weekend. A PGA Tour rookie in name only, Detry sits at 10 under alongside Mackenzie Hughes who fired a 9-under 63 on Friday to push his name back into contention.

Securing some status on the PGA Tour late last summer courtesy of a T4 finish at the Boise Open in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Detry has been in the midst of quality golf for quite some time. His success in Idaho was on the heels of a top-10 finish at the Scottish Open and followed by a top-five result at the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship.

Since taking his talents to the PGA Tour, Detry has kicked off his rookie season without a hitch in spite of his extensive travel schedule. The 29-year-old impressed at the Fortinet Championship with a T12 result and looks well on his way to improving on his efforts in Napa.

Playing in Europe the past six seasons, Detry is inexplicably without a professional victory since his Challenge Tour days in 2016. Experiencing a number of close calls, perhaps the change of scenery, location and tour will allow him to finally enter the winner’s circle. 

Hoping this is not the case are a number of his chasers including his co-leader Hughes. Reigning Honda Classic champion Sepp Straka also appears to be up for the challenge as he arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, fresh off a scorching hot FedEx Cup Playoffs. The Austrian is alone in third and a couple strokes ahead of hometown hero Davis Riley who grabbed a share of the first-round lead and now stands at 7 under after a so-so second round.

The leaders

1. Thomas Detry and Mackenzie Hughes (-10):

More than 150 starts removed from his lone victory on the PGA Tour, Hughes is positioned perfectly at the halfway point to end this winless drought. The Canadian experienced a middling 2021-22 season that featured only three top-10 finishes, and after missing out on the Presidents Cup in his own neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, the motivation to play well has never been higher with sights on the 2024 competition in his home country.

“Yeah, I watched [the Presidents Cup]. I had some family in town that week, so we didn’t make it out, but I watched and was keeping tabs on the boys and pulling like heck for them to pull it out,” Hughes said. “It was motivating for sure. I wanted to be there really badly, and it was something I had kind of marked on my calendar for the last year and a half. Once I knew it was coming to Charlotte, that was — I wanted to be on that team. It hurt, but that’s the way it goes in this game sometimes. I’ll work hard to be on that team in two years in Montreal.”

Other contenders

3. Sepp Straka (-9)

T4. Mark Hubbard, Garrick Higgo, Scott Stallings (-8)

T7. Davis Riley, Nick Hardy, Stephan Jaeger (-7)

Mississippi’s Riley is still in this tournament after 36 holes. After commanding a share of the first-round lead with a 6-under 66, Riley stalled on Friday with a 1-under 71. Describing this week as “one of the worst driving weeks I’ve had so far in a long time,” the local kid has gotten the job done in spite of the big stick. More than capable of wielding this club effectively, if able to right the wrongs from the first two days over the weekend, Riley will have a real chance to nab his first victory on the PGA Tour in his own backyard.

“It would mean the world to have a chance to win this golf tournament,” Riley said. “But like I was saying (Thursday), there’s a lot of work to be done. Yeah, the game is in a good spot. I didn’t score and do things quite as well as I did (Thursday), but I’m still doing a lot of things good. I just need to take a tweak or two here or there and get ready to go again (Saturday).”

Grillo early contender for reaction of the season

Only six rounds into the 2022-23, Emiliano Grillo may already have the best reaction to any shot this season. Channeling his inner Hideki Matsuyama or even Mark Hubbard at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Argentinian was disgusted with his tee shot on the par-3 13th. 

In lieu of the casual club drop, Grillo went a step further and flung his club into the high grass only for his ball to settle 11 feet from the pin. While his birdie effort ultimately slid by, Grillo signed for a bogey-free 7-under 65 and sits four strokes off the lead.

Is it too early to look ahead to the 2023 Ryder Cup?

My CBS Sports colleague Kyle Porter pegged first-round leader Riley as a potential future Ryder Cup participant and I can’t help but look ahead to Rome next fall. Instead of discussing the U.S. side, it is the backend of the European Team which I find extremely intriguing and could make or break its efforts to recapture the cup.

Both Detry and Straka should have a realistic opportunity to garner a selection from Captain Luke Donald if they continue to play in this manner for the foreseeable future. While hardly on the minds of the Europeans as they head into the weekend in Jackson with a chance to win, I am sure somewhere Donald is taking notes.

2022 Sanderson Farms Championship updated odds and picks

• Thomas Detry: 9/2
• Mackenzie Hughes: 7-1
• Sepp Straka: 7-1
• Scott Stallings: 17/2
• Davis Riley: 12-1
• Mark Hubbard: 16-1
• Sam Burns: 18-1
• Nick Hardy: 22-1
• Garrick Higgo: 22-1
• Emiliano Grillo: 28-1
• Stephan Jaeger: 28-1

The easy pick is Burns who sits at 5 under and only five strokes back despite losing more than two strokes on the greens through the first two rounds. Ranking second in strokes gained tee-to-green, conventional wisdom suggests a putter like Burns should be able to figure things out moving forward. 

Personally, I love Straka ‘s chances to raise his second trophy in less than a year, but the number is a smidge short for my taste. If not interested in either Straka or Burns, rookie Taylor Montgomery (-4) at 60-1 is a worthwhile option.

Source link