PGA Tour pro Mackenzie Hughes opens up on his recent run of bad results - “It becomes harder to continue to grind”

Mackenzie Hughes qualified for the FedEx Cup playoffs comfortably after finishing 47th on the FedEx Cup season rankings. However, a forgettable outing at the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship saw the golfer crash out of the playoffs. The Canadian golfer finished T58 at the event in TPC Southwind, Memphis, slipping to the 51st position in the updated rankings.

Following his crash out of the post-season competition, Hughes has now opened up on his recent struggle with bad form. The 32-year-old, who earned his second career victory last fall, said that the 2023 season “has been pretty tough” for him.

Having missed 10 cuts in 20 starts with a T30 finish being his best of the season, Hughes said that it has become “harder and harder to continue to grind” without positive results.

Speaking after the 2023 FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship, Mackenzie Hughes was quoted as saying by GOLF:

“This year has been pretty tough for me. I feel like when you’re going through a tough stretch like that, it becomes harder and harder to continue to grind and continue to grind when you’re not seeing a ton of results.”

Hughes could only salvage a T58 finish at the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship with rounds of 68, 67, 75 and 69. The golfer failed to make the cut to the BMW Championship.

He further explained:

“I feel like I’m doing all the right things. I feel like I’m trying really hard, and I just haven’t got the results for that. I told my caddie today, that’s probably one reason I hate golf is that you can try really, really hard, and it guarantees absolutely nothing.”

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Mackenzie Hughes positive about the upcoming PGA Tour season

Despite having a forgettable year, Mackenzie Hughes seems positive about the future. Closing the door on a frustrating season, the Canadian golfer said that he’ll try to improve in the next.

He commented:

“I’ll reassess. And I’ll try and get better for next year.”

For the unversed, MacKenzie Hughes has been a professional since 2013 and has had a laudable 10-year career. The Canadian golfer earned his PGA Tour membership card in 2017 after playing on several circuits, including the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour Canada, and the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

Since becoming a regular on the PGA Tour, Hughes has won two events — the RSM Classic 2016 and the Sanderson Farms Championship 2022.

It is also pertinent to note that despite his recent struggle with form, Hughes beat the likes of two-time major champ Justin Thomas to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. He also beat the likes of Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark on the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship leaderboard last week.