PGA Tour’s Mackenzie Hughes “pretty gutted” after RBC Canadian Open finish

Mackenzie Hughes entered the final day of the RBC Canadian Open within reach of the title. The Hamilton, Ontario, Canada native started his day hot with four shots off the lead. However, the hometown guy saw his game go stale and watched Robert MacIntyre get the victory.

Hughes went 3-under through his first four holes. From there, his game went stagnant. He made one more birdie at the 6th but dropped three shots in the last 10 holes.

“Pretty gutted. Yeah, I wanted this one pretty badly,” Hughes said after his round on Sunday. “This one will sting for a while. I got off to the start I needed to get off to...”

“Yesterday, I felt pretty good with my swing, and I would say the other three days, I really fought it. I didn’t feel like I had my stuff. It was a struggle to get comfortable and to get myself set. Disappointed to finish the way I did. I had a chance going into that last nine and couldn’t put anything together. Pretty bummed.”

Hughes felt like he had a good idea of what he needed to shoot to win but could not make that happen. He had an opening as MacIntyre did not start hot, but his swing would not cooperate.

“I knew I was kind of right there,” Hughes said. “I saw the board on 9 and figured that was a big putt. I almost made the par of my life there. Missing that and then seeing him at 16, I knew I had a big hill to climb. I know it’s a big week with a lot of energy spent — I don’t know if I fell flat there at the end or what, but I couldn’t put it together.”

With his home course being just a few miles away, Hughes wanted this tournament badly. Instead, he finished at 10-under and tied for seventh alongside Maverick McNealy and Ryan Fox.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.