Scott Radley: Mackenzie Hughes’ $144,000 putt — that’s a lot of money rolling into the cup
Standing on the 18th green on Sunday, he knew that barring a miracle of some kind he wasn't going to win the RSM Classic. He'd had a magnificent final round shooting 62 with nine birdies to put him in second place but Talor Gooch was just as good and had a three-stroke lead he wasn't letting get away.
Yet, when Mackenzie Hughes dropped a 22-foot birdie putt to move alone into second place, he still pumped his fist. Why? Was it happiness at that putt or satisfaction at his round or something else?
From finishing tied for second versus (outright) second was, I don't know the exact math on it but $150,000 to $200,000," the Dundas native says. So there's that."
Yeah, that's worth a pump.
Since he brought it up, let's talk about money for a bit.
There's no question that the highest level of golf is a lucrative business. Become one of the few who makes it on to the PGA Tour and then do well and you'll set yourself up for life. Several lifetimes, actually. Sixty-five pros have won at least $25 million in their careers. That doesn't include endorsements that could grow that figure significantly.
Hughes is in his sixth season playing on Tour. He's had some big paydays having won an event - the 2016 RSM Classic, the same event he nearly took again this weekend - coming second four times, third twice, fourth once and finishing elsewhere in the top 10 eight more times. Add it all up and he's won $9,172,133 US.
Even so, he says he still hasn't grown used to it.
This weekend's $784,800? He'll be the first to tell you, that's a lot.
When I was playing in Canada, my first full year of pro I made $52,000 and I won the money list," the 30 year old says. And that was Canadian dollars."
As he grew up hitting balls from dawn to dusk at Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, he never thought about money. He imagined wearing the green jacket at the Masters, never the cash that comes with it. The idea that someone would pay him royal sums to do what he loves? Crazy.
So, he says he still finds it stunning when he peeks at his bank account on the Tuesday after a tournament and the prize money has been wired in there.
I remember the first time I checked when I won the RSM," he says. It was pretty cool. I had never seen an amount like that before."
The irony is that you'd never know he's collecting these paycheques from his lifestyle.
He doesn't drive fancy cars, doesn't wear a $100,000 watch and hasn't really splurged on anything crazy since things started turning green. In fact, he's been teased about his practicality. Especially when he won the RSM Classic five years ago and was asked what he was going to do with the $1.1 million purse.
His answer? He said he'd likely upgrade his TV.
I don't have to have things," he says. I don't have to have fancy shoes or wallets. I'm just not wired that way."
He says he and his wife, Jenna, would rather spend it on other people or use it to help. They plan to start a foundation at some point.
While he downplays the cash, it's hardly a bad thing. This is his living, after all. But, he says what he really wants is to turn some of those second-place finishes into trophies. To get the chance to do that, you have to play in events. To keep doing that - and to get invitations to the really big ones and the majors - you have to do well in tournaments.
If you do, the money follows.
Which leads us back to that fist pump on 18. Had Hughes missed, he would have finished tied for second which would've been worth $640,800. Still a nice weekend's work. But, by sinking it he finished alone in the runner-up position and earned himself an additional $144,000. Plus the additional FedEx points.
That's a heck of a putt.
We're able to play for big purses every week and we're very lucky to do that," he says. And I feel very lucky to be part of that."
Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com