‘All About The Money’: Mackenzie Hughes Rips Apart Golf World’s Biggest Hurdle With His Blunt Stance

It started with a fierce rivalry between the two leagues; while LIV Golf boasted money, the PGA Tour sailed on the legacy front. Moreover, soon they were supposed to be together. However, the merger that was planned to bring the PGA Tour and PIF-backed league together is nowhere near its end and more players are leaving the Tour for the lucrative offer and joining LIV Golf, like Tyrrell Hatton, who joined the world number three’s team at Mayakoba. 

The golf world seems to be split as people choose which league to follow or what’s better for golf. The tussle between money and golf had overwhelmed the pros and the fans. At the Genesis Invitational, Mackenzie Hughes came forward and shared his thoughts on the current lookout of many in the golf world and how it is affecting the fans, the players, and the sport as a whole. 

Mackenzie Hughes talks about fans’ frustration 

Mackenzie Hughes has been playing on the PGA Tour for a decade now and although he does not have a shiny resume to back his golfing career, he compensates for it with the wisdom and experience he has gained over the years. While the people decide if millions of dollars are good for the game or not, Hughes chimed in with his opinions on money and why he is playing on the Tour.

Talking to CBS for an on-ground interview at Riviera CC, the Canadian golfer thinks it “just kinda unfortunate” to see the situation in the golf world, where it’s “just all about the money” and how much pros can make, and in the process “kinda lost the spirit of the game.” Hughes said that money was never why he started playing golf.

The 33-year-old stated, “It wasn’t because I wanted to make millions of dollars. I wanted to compete against the best players in the world,” and “impact the communities,” which has been his childhood dream. Per Hughes, “Some guys have lost a little bit of sight of that.” Moreover, he highlighted fans’ perspectives and said, “Fans are generally fed up with it.” The PGA Tour pro further emphasized the important role of the fans and stated, “those are the people who drive our sport” and would further “love to appeal to those..masses a lot more.” Hughes was certain that the way the golf world is currently moving” isn’t quite it” for the game or its spectators.

However, some of the best players had left the PGA Tour, leaving the fans in shambles as to whom to support. Although Hughes is against the money move, one such move has ironically benefited him as well.

Jon Rahm is out, and Hughes is in! 

Although it was devastating for some to see the rumors of Jon Rahm joining LIV Golf become a reality, somehow, for Mackenzie Hughes, it turned out to be the best news he could have heard. Because if not for the Spaniard’s money move, Hughes would not have played at Riviera Country Club. Before Rahm’s defection, Hughes was only eligible for The Sentry and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Read More: The Sentry 2024: What’s in MacKenzie Hughes’s bag?

However, when Rahm was subsequently suspended from the PGA Tour, the FedExCup ranking of the Canadian golfer took a step ahead and placed him 50th from the 51st that he was at the end of the 2023 season. This allowed Hughes to become eligible for all the Signature and additional events for the 2024 season. If not for Rahm, would Hughes have been interviewed at Riviera? Can’t say for sure!

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