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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP


May 11, 2017


Mackenzie Hughes


Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Q. You looked like a veteran out there today. What do you feel like you excelled at this afternoon?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I was really patient. It was a really hard golf course -- it's a hard golf course when there's no wind and when the wind was blowing this afternoon it was pretty firm and you just have to keep the ball in front of you. I missed some short putts, but you just stick with it. And having no bogeys around this place was definitely helpful.

Q. First competitive event here at THE PLAYERS for you, do you feel like you've completely understand or you do understand how to play it now or is it still a work in progress?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I think it's still a work in progress. Today was a great day, but I'm sure there's spots on the golf course that I'm unfamiliar with still and so we'll just try and keep it in the short grass the next few days and see what happens.

Q. What frame of mind does a great round of golf like this do for you, especially an opening round?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I think it's, especially going to Sea Island -- I know this is a bigger stage -- but I got out to the lead there and I told myself, once I got in that position that there was lots of golf left to be played, but I knew I could be in that position. And I just stayed within myself and just stuck to what I've been doing. I know what I'm doing works, so I know what's going on around me and just get the job done.

Q. Your first round at THE PLAYERS Championship in competition and what a round, 5-under 67. How pleasing is that start?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: Very pleasing. It's one of those days where I kept it out of trouble. I didn't hit every fairway, every green, but I missed in the right spots, and when I needed to make a par putt I did. It was a fun day.

Q. When we saw you before we learned that you got a lot of inner confidence. Take us through that second shot into 18. I had a look at your lie and really, to pull that off, your belief must be very strong.
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I had a little window and actually it wasn't as hard a shot as it looked like. It was a full 6-iron, under the first tree, and if I hit it just right it was going to go over the next two trees. And, I mean, I hit it just perfect and when I saw it go up in the air I thought it's going to be good, I didn't know how good, and then obviously it got a nice bounce in that little collection area and came on to the green, which was a big bonus. But, yeah, it was worth the risk because the chip out to the fairway was no guarantee, I could have chipped that in the water just as easily as trying to go for it, so I said, take a chance here and it paid off.

Q. THE PLAYERS, Sawgrass Championship Course is a tough one. How did you manage to find your way around it so well? What is it about your game that suits this course?
MACKENZIE HUGHES: I'm a good driver of the golf ball, so I drove the ball in play and I was in the fairway a fair bit, so that's the biggest part for me, I think. Once you got in the fairway, these pins you can get at if you're in the short grass. I was able to do that today and try to do more of that the next three days.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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