Mackenzie Hughes, the leader of the clubhouse for the best 2024 press conference. It helped that it was the first press conference of the year, which he delivered on Tuesday in Kapalua. But he also gave a rant about the state of professional football that will be hard to beat throughout the year.
Hughes, a 33 year old Canadian who has two PGA Tour titles under his belt, posted a message on social media at the end of last year, reminding fans that not all pro golfers were obsessed with money. He almost seems nostalgic for pre-COVID and pre-LIV Golf, before $20 million no-cut Signature Events were the norm.
The men’s professional game of golf is in a bad place. It’s not healthy for the sport to be going in this direction.
I understand that many of you have been upset by the recent events – and I am too.
Share your thoughts with me
— Mackenzie Hughes December 8, 2020
You know, 2019 was all about golf? Our economic model was sustainable. He said that when the LIV threat arrived, we suddenly doubled the purses and asked sponsors to double their investments, while giving them the exact same product. “I think fans are also left wondering if guys are still interested in golf or if they are just worried about money. All the guys who are going to LIV seem to be primarily concerned with money. Money is important, as well as growing the game. To me, this is disappointing because I do not play. I did not choose my schedule for 2019 based on the purse. Now that I am qualified to participate in these (signature events), it would be foolish for me to not do so. These are fantastic opportunities. It’s just not right. I don’t believe that – we have the exact same product as we did in 2019 yet we want to increase investment. Not just increased but increased in a major way.
“I think the product is the same, even though I love it. I think that fans are left wondering what’s going on. The fan wants to watch golf. I believe you watch sports to escape other nonsense. But I think that golf has brought in a lot more nonsense and now there isn’t just golf. It’s like a little circus.”
Hughes did not sugarcoat his feelings towards some of his Tour pros who used leverage to try to convince the Tour to make changes that would benefit the top players, in order to keep them from leaving for the LIV Tour. The Delaware player meeting at the 2022 BMW Championship was the culmination of. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other top players gathered to discuss a united approach for the Tour.
“There were 70 PGA Tour Players there, and they thought that only 25 or 30 players were good enough to attend this meeting?” “It’s a bit of a slap on the face,” said he. You got 70 of the top players from the PGA Tour in that year, and now you want to tell me that I can’t even sit and listen during that meeting? You could put me at the back of the room and tell Mac to not speak. But you could still listen. It was a closed-doors gathering for the Tour’s top players.
“I don’t say that you should base your decision on what I think. But it would be nice if you could even put in two cents or hear what is going on. To be involved, it’d be nice to feel as if you were part of it. It’s because I am not a PGA Tour star, but neither am I a chump.
Hughes, a member on the Player Advisory Council (PAC), expressed his concern about the way some Tour changes were implemented with urgency and without full support from the PAC. Hughes cited as an example the idea of creating a limited field for the signature events, and how it was discussed during a meeting held at the Farmers Insurance Open late in January.
“I mean, of all the guys in the PAC, it was probably a 50/50 split. Guys were divided on the issue. Hughes stated that the Tour’s data and research supported their belief that these events would be better for the Tour going forward. However, there was not a unanimous buy-in from the guys at that meeting. Then, when we arrived at Bay Hill in March, it was either a Tuesday or a Wednesday. It was then that we learned we had eight new signature events planned for 2024. They were going to be restricted field events without shaves. The PAC members were all like: Wait, what? This was discussed a month ago and no final decision or discussion took place. We suddenly, and out of nowhere, have the final result.
“I know I expressed frustration at the TOUR and spoke about that. I was like, Why am I even on the PAC if i’m not going be a part any of these decisions?”
Hughes, who is currently involved in negotiations between the Tour of Saudi Arabia and PIF (the Saudi Arabian Players’ Federation), has highlighted player entitlements as one his pet peeves.
“Like you see all these huge amounts of money flying about and this and that offer, and people think Oh, well, I stayed loyal. Like, where’s your money? It’s almost like you don’t have the right to play on the PGA Tour. You have a right and a privilege to be here, and this is an opportunity. But no one owes anything. You know, no one is forcing you to do anything. “You don’t need to stay. You can play there if you wish,” he said. “So, this whole, the-Tour-owes-me-something attitude, I don’t like either.”
When asked what he hopes for as a result, he replied, “I don’t see LIV disappearing any time soon.” The outcome I’m hoping for is for there to be a way that the tours can co-exist and for there to be some unity and not a big rift. There is a way, not a path, but a more free-flowing flow back and forth. Not everyone. Not everyone is eligible to play the PGA Tour. It’s not as if everyone on LIV is entitled to play any Tour event they choose. The Tour would be stronger with Brooks Koepka playing, Phil, DJ and Cam Smith. So I would like to see those guys play again. But how can you explain to someone like the Spieths or the JTs, the Rorys, the Scotties, the Will Zalatorises who, despite being offered a lot of money, chose to stay and not go? Or the guys that left and played for two years in LIV and then returned to the Tour and everything was back to normal. You have to be careful not to upset those guys.
How do you explain to them that they have made 150 million dollars and are now going to play in your Tour as if nothing happened? I don’t really know how to navigate this. They may have to take it in stride and just accept it. It’s my hope that these guys will eventually return to the PGA Tour, play consistently, and find a way for us to coexist. I’m tired of hearing about it. That’s what I hope to achieve someday but when is it?
“I know there are other guys who are on the opposite side of me. Some guys would say ‘Those players are gone. Never let ’em return ever.’ That doesn’t sound realistic or in line with the interests of the sport. As much as I enjoy my current position on the PGA Tour I would not feel threatened if those guys returned. I’d feel that this Tour would become stronger if the best players from around the world played here… How do you make everyone happy, though? You can’t. “I hope the future is smoother but I also know that it will be messy until it becomes smooth again.”
Hughes wins the race. It’s great to hear a Tour Pro open up about his feelings.
