Mackenzie Hughes was absent from the opening session. 2024 Presidents CupBut he gave an impassioned speech to his teammates Thursday night after the Americans took a commanding 5-0 lead on the opening day.
He wanted to rally and inspire his teammates on the international team and hoped that the tournament would not turn out to be the same disastrous tournament that international teams have experienced so many times over the past 20 years. The United States has won nine consecutive Presidents Cups since 2005.
Nevertheless, everything Hughes said worked.
The Internationals fought back Friday, completely flipping the script and delivering a sweep of their own. The score was tied at five points each heading into Saturday morning's four-ball game.
“The main message was just to keep your head high and your spirits high, and we all believed that,” Hughes said.
“Today was obviously a great day, but it starts with believing we can do it, and the whole bus, everyone in that cabin believed.”
Hughes got off to a strong start Friday against fellow Canadian Corey Connors. With the Canadian crowd behind them, Hughes and Connors won the first two holes over Tony Finau and Windham Clark and never looked back.
They dominated the Americans and relied on the Canadian crowd to effortlessly waltz around the Royal Montreal. There was no stopping the former Kent State stars, who shined on every hole except the 12th, but the contest was long over by then. The Canadians settled on the next hole, the par-3 13th, when Connors hit an iron shot to 5 feet. Hughes then made a birdie putt to seal the victory at 6&5.
“Today was a special day. The audience was involved from the beginning,” Connors said.
“I wanted to get off to a good start so I kept my foot on the gas and played some great golf. Mac hit some unbelievable shots. It was a really fun day and I'm so glad I got to share it with such good friends. It was good.”
Their close friendship certainly helped, but the Canadians relied heavily on their compatriots off the ropes.
“Corey and I were excited to play together, but we also wanted a crowd,” Hughes said.
“The crowd was huge today. Corey and I won the game, but the crowd was the third member of our team. They were huge today. , I felt their energy as I walked down every green, every hole. It was huge for us and we need more of it this week.”
Mr. Connors agreed with that opinion.
“They were really integral to our success,” Connors said.
“They cheered us on all along the way. It was really fun to play in front of our home fans and get the win.”
Connors and Hughes are scheduled to play again on Saturday morning's Four-Ball to build on the momentum from Friday. They will face Finau and Xander Schauffele in the second group, which will definitely be an interesting combination. But the Canadian duo will be tough to beat, not only because of their exquisite play, but also because of their camaraderie and home crowd.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
