Near-miss for Mackenzie Hughes in Myrtle Beach ... Harry Higgs and effin' hot mics

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The following is an excerpt from Postmedia’s Monday Morning Golf newsletter.

Every round of golf starts with a fine plan of how things are going to go, and then most of the time they go right out the window.

For those of you who didn’t follow Mackenzie Hughes’ ordeal in Myrtle Beach on Sunday, the Dundas, Ont., native looked to be in a two-horse race with playing partner Harry Higgs before the Canadian’s poor tee shot led to a 72nd-hole bogey and he ended up in a three-way playoff with Higgs and New Zealander Ryan Fox. Fox chipped in for birdie, Hughes missed a 15-footer and that was that.

1. Higgs caught on hot mic

But back to Higgs for a moment.

I tweeted on Sunday that Hughes — who I know fairly well — would be a classy champion for the fledgling PGA Tour stop in Myrtle Beach, but expressed some doubts about Higgs based on his actions on the course.

After hitting a rather shockingly bad shot into the water on the par-5 13th hole, Higgs proceeded to drop multiple F-bombs into a hot mic, before following that up by calling a tournament volunteer “f***ing useless” to his caddie when the volunteer didn’t seem to be able to help him figure out where his ball crossed the hazard line.

First of all, the volunteer (who likely had been standing there for over five hours) almost certainly had not seen a single ball end up in his vicinity based on how bad Higgs’ miss was.

Second, there was zero chance Higgs’ ball covered any ground on the safe side of the hazard before getting wet based on, well, how lakes and ponds work.

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Third, if Higgs was expecting the volunteer to see where the ball crossed the hazard before it went over the water, he was dreaming because it would take Superman’s telescopic vision to spot that.

Almost certainly, Higgs was just super upset that he might have thrown away a chance to win on the PGA Tour and was lashing out. Does that make him a bad dude? No. In fact, his everyman look and demeanour endears him to fans — perhaps now more than ever — as golf gets comfortable leaning into jock and frat culture.

Higgs likely was just under a ton of stress and it should be remembered that he gave a wonderful speech about the importance of mental health and being kind to one another following a win on the Korn Ferry Tour last year.

But do you know who wouldn’t drop F-bombs all over the course and belittle a tournament volunteer? And who would be a great ambassador to sponsors, tournament organizers, and fans? Mackenzie Hughes.

2. Rooting for Hughes

Let’s focus a bit more on Hughes.

It’s not often I root for one player to win a tournament over another because of the type of person they are. I’ll root for a good storyline because I’m in the business of telling stories. Often, that will mean rooting for a Canadian because that makes for a great story for my readers.

With Hughes, it’s a little different. I’ve seen firsthand how deeply he cares about his craft and how personally he takes coming up short. One of the main things he has been working on for the past five (or more) years is trying to cut himself a little more slack and it’s a constant internal battle.

“It’s still a huge priority for me,” Hughes told me last summer. “It’s something I think I will be working on for the rest of my career and my life. You just never have that part mastered or figured out. For me it’s always a work in progress and something I’m focused on everyday: personal and self development and growth. I’ve come a long, long way in the last three to five years, but I still have a long way to go.

“I’m trying to have less of those moments where I beat myself up and give myself no slack. I’ve had lots of growth but I need to keep working hard at it because it’s a game that beats you up a lot.”

Some golfers externalize their emotions by yelling at caddies or blaming everyone but themselves for their mistakes. That’s certainly the easier way to go. The player who internalizes everything like Hughes does might have a tougher road to travel, but I find it much easier to root for this type of player.

3. To speak or not to speak

Shane Lowry had another close call on Sunday at the Truist Championship, losing to Sepp Straka. The burly Irishman declined media interviews afterwards.

A player’s media obligations have been a topic of conversation in recent months, sparked by Collin Morikawa’s doubling and tripling down on the fact that he owes nothing to media after a round.

Much has been written on the subject since then with some of the older generation of players taking Morikawa to task. It appears to be a generational thing and it’s not just sports.

With the advent of social media, athletes, politicians, actors, companies and any other public figure have enjoyed the freedom of speaking directly (or through their PR team) to the public.

Of course, it makes sense for them. Why would anyone want to risk criticism when you can portray a perfect “reality” from the relative safety of your own account.

It won’t be long before the public sees through the sanitized messaging from these figures and yearns for a more objective view. Whether that comes from mass media, independent media or talented fanalysts, all of them can provide an important context that is often otherwise missing.

Lowry is one of the most likeable charismatic figures on the PGA Tour and a similar circumstance occurred at the Masters. That time, he mentioned tennis players and how they are officially obligated to speak (golfers are not), but that they are given a cooling down period that he thinks would help golfers.

And he’s right about that, but it might be easier than he thinks.

Years ago, I was a part of a group of Canadian golf writers waiting for Graham DeLaet after a rough ending to an important round. DeLaet walked up and simply said, “I need 10 minutes guys.”

That was it. We understood. He got his time. He came back when he was ready.

It was a simple exchange and a simple lesson that both players and media could learn from.