The Flyover: The RSM Classic

THE OVERVIEW In the last 13 months, Mac Hughes a) married his fiancée Jenna Shaw; b) won his first PGA TOUR event; c) saw the birth of his first child; and d) changed his name. Essentially, it’s been one life-altering event after another for the Canadian. “I would say the name change is probably the biggest deal of all those things,â€� Hughes said with a grin. “It’s really hard to adapt to that.â€� OK, maybe not too much. Formally known as Mackenzie Hughes, he often told everybody he met just to call him Mac. Last week, he decided to make it official. “If that’s what I’m going to go by,â€� he said, “I’ll just write it down on paper so everyone just calls me that, make my life a little easier.â€� (Side note: Hughes received the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year in 2013. Don’t expect the Mackenzie Tour to shorten its name to the Mac Tour.) Life might be easier going forward for Hughes, but it’s certainly been productive over that 13-month span. On Oct. 22, 2016, he married Jenna, and a month later, he won a five-man playoff at The RSM Classic to become a TOUR winner in just his ninth career start. Two days after that, he celebrated his 26th birthday. That victory – he became the 13th different Canadian to win a TOUR event – left him in a great position in the FedExCup standings. He eventually finished 36th. That’s an impressive result for any TOUR rookie, but Hughes was disappointed in failing to advance to the TOUR Championship. “Not making East Lake was tough,â€� Hughes said, “but there’s not a lot of rookies that are able to say they had a chance to get there, or to even get there. Yeah, that stung for a little bit.â€� So now he’s back in Sea Island this week as the defending champ, this time as a father. His son Kenton was born last month on Oct. 30. A week later, Hughes played the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, missing the cut. Earlier this week, while driving toward the course, he saw promotional posters of him cradling the trophy from last year. It’s been a whirlwind stretch. “I’ve had so much fun the last two weeks being a dad,â€� he said. “But even being away in Mexico last week was tough. First time leaving and being away for a week when my wife’s home alone, it was tough. So I’m learning how to deal with these things.â€� As for the name of his son, well, the natural inclination will be to call him Kent. After all, it offers a connection with Kent State, the university that both Mac and Jenna attended. But unlike what he did with his own first name, Mac doesn’t plan to shorten his son’s name, one in which they didn’t finalize until the next morning after his birth. “We want him to go by Kenton,â€� Hughes said. “I’m sure Kent will inevitably come up as a short form at some point. I will always say Kenton.â€� He’s the tournament host, but Sea Island hasn’t treated him well. Three MCs and just one top-25 finish (T-4 in 2012) in seven starts. Good to have him back on TOUR after sitting out since June with an injury. How quickly can he find his groove? Making his season debut after producing his most productive campaign of his career. Looking forward to his encore. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER RANK PLAYER COMMENT THE FLYOVER In 2010 when Sea Island hosted The RSM Classic for the first time, the 470-yard par-4 18th at the Seaside layout ranked as the toughest hole on the course (a 4.198 stroke average). Since then, other holes have played tougher each year, but the 18th remains a difficult hole to play. It has never yielded a stroke average below par in any single year, although it came closest last year with a 4.013 average when it ranked as the sixth most difficult hole. Here’s a look at the finishing hole that could very well determine the winner on Sunday. LANDING ZONE The 429-yard par-4 fourth is the most difficult hole on the Seaside Course. It played to a stroke average of 4.147 a year ago, ranking it T-140 among the 538 par 4s played on the PGA TOUR last season. Water on the other side of the right-side cart path will collect a few errant drives; a year ago, there were 26 penalty shots incurred, 13 of those in the third round. Here’s a look at where all tee shots at the fourth landed last year. WEATHER CHECK Other than a small chance of showers this weekend, weather conditions should be pleasant this week – at least until Sunday when gusts of up to 25 mph could impact play. PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams’ forecast includes temperatures from the mid- to upper-70s on Saturday are expected “ahead of an approaching cold front. This front may produce isolated showers Saturday night into Sunday. Otherwise, breezy and cooler conditions return Sunday with highs in the 60s.â€� For the latest weather forecast from Sea Island, Georgia, click here for the Travelers Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It’s great because I can drive up. That’s a great event, and Davis is a great role model for all of us, a Hall of Famer, and he’s got his name around the event. We need to be there. ODDS AND ENDS 1. TWO COURSES. The par-70 Seaside Course will be the primary venue this week, with the par-72 Plantation Course in the rotation for the first two rounds. Plantation is the easier of the two; a year ago, it played to a stroke average of 2.237 under par, while the stroke average for Seaside was 1.111 under par. “They’re both kind of different styles,â€� said Mac Hughes. “I think the Seaside’s more, I don’t want to say linksy but it has that linksy feel to it, and the Plantation’s a bit more tree lined. But they’re both great.â€� 2. SHORT DRIVES. The 7,005-yard Seaside Course has ranked as one of the shortest driving distance courses of any TOUR since it became a host venue in 2010. It has been inside the top 10 of driving distance average each season; a year ago, the average distance was 277.3 yards, ranking it seventh shortest among all courses. Less than 15 percent of all drives at Seaside were 300 yards or more, again one of the smaller percentages of all courses. 3. 67 OR BETTER. Charles Howell III has more rounds of 67 or better at The RSM Classic than anybody else, having done it 12 times since the tournament’s inception in 2010. Next on the list are Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson with 10 rounds of 67 or better.

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