JACKSON, Miss. Mackenzie Hughes believed he was a good candidate for the Presidents Cup due to his putting. His game was strong enough to get him to a 9 under 63 on Friday, and share of the lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Hughes birdied the last two holes of the Country Club of Jackson in order to catch Thomas Detry of Belgium who also played in the morning. He had a second consecutive 67. They finished at 10-under-134, one stroke ahead of Sepp Straka (66). Hughes finished last year at No. Hughes finished last year at No. 39 in the world. However, he slipped enough this season that he had to rely upon a captain’s choice for the Presidents Cup matches in Charlotte. Hughes was disappointed that he was not mentioned in his round on Friday. Trevor Immelman took Taylor Pendrith as his last pick, as Pendrith missed four months due to injury. Immelman mentioned Pendrith’s strength as a great fit for Quail Hollow. Hughes is ranked in the top 15 for putting on PGA TOUR every year since 2013. Hughes stated, “I believed a good putter could have done well in this format.” Hughes said, “But it’s not up to me to decide if that’s a good fit.” It’s just fuel. It’s my goal to have a great season. He said, “It hurt but that’s how it goes sometimes in this game.” “I’ll work hard for that team in Montreal in two years.” Detry’s goal is to be in Rome next season for the Ryder Cup. Although Detry, a 29-year-old Belgian native, is a rookie on the PGA TOUR, he has played on the European Tour extensively and was awarded the World Cup in Australia with his close friend Thomas Pieters four years ago. Detry was also carried by his putter at the Country Club Jackson’s pure greens, where he made three birdie puts of 20 feet or more in the second round. Detry stated that he had only made 240 feet of putts in the past two days. “I’ve made a few misses, but it doesn’t matter. The putter is a pleasure. It’s been great.” He is also slightly more rested. Detry was eligible to play in the Korn Ferry Finals last year but decided to stay in Europe. This decision was later regretted. Detry was again eligible and received his PGA TOUR card for the three-tournament series. He did however log some serious miles. He was able to get his card and flew to London for Wentworth’s BMW PGA Championship. After Wentworth, he flew across eight time zones to begin the PGA TOUR season. At least he had some time off last week. Detry will not be able to play in every tournament because he won’t get his card through Korn Ferry Tour. His priority will change each month depending on how he does. He said, “Obviously you don’t get in every event so you kinda have to take your chances at the first event that you get into.” “You need to get points on the board as quickly as possible, and that’s exactly what I did.” He finished fifth at Wentworth, tied for 12th at Fortinet Championship, then heads into the weekend in Mississippi tied for Hughes. Straka, an Austrian native, won the Honda Classic this season for his first PGA TOUR title. He birdied five of the seven remaining holes. He was able to play alongside the co-leaders. He missed a 6-footer down the hill, and missed a birdie putt at 20 feet on 18th. Mark Hubbard (69), GarrickHiggo (66), and Scott Stallings (67) were two shots back, while Mississippi native Davis Riley managed to shoot a 71 and was three shots behind Nick Hardy, a close friend from Detry’s college days at Illinois. Sam Burns, the defending champion, had a score of 68 and was well in the mix just five shots behind.
Title: Thomas Detry, Mackenzie Hughes share lead at Sanderson Farms Championship
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/daily-wrapup/2022/09/30/thomas-detry–mackenzie-hughes-share-lead-at-sanderson-farms-championship.html
Published Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:18:00 -0400
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