Mackenzie Hughes

Mackenzie Hughes

34-Year-Old Golfer
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2025 Fantasy Outlook
After six solid seasons on the PGA Tour (with the exception of 2018), Hughes finally had a breakout year in 2023 when he picked up his second victory and earned over $4.3 million. He came back down to Earth a bit in 2024, however, as he failed to crack the $4 million mark. His numbers overall were similar this past year, maybe even a little better on the whole, but he was just missing a win. It's amazing what a win can do to a golfer's annual numbers. The question for Hughes is, can he find that upside again this season? Considering he's posted at least one top-3 finish 7/8 seasons on the PGA Tour, it seems likely that he'll give himself enough chances to find another win this season. If so, his numbers should resemble 2023, if not, it will be more like 2024. Either way. he's a fairly safe player to back this season, with a decent upside. Read Past Outlooks
Loses over six strokes putting
May 19, 2025
Hughes recorded a 36-hole score of nine-over-par to miss the cut at the PGA Championship by eight shots.
ANALYSIS
Hughes uncharacteristically lost a season-worst 6.4 strokes putting throughout his two rounds at Quail Hollow, where he ultimately converted just six of 15 scrambling opportunities and carded only three total par-breakers across 36 holes. However, he's still placed top-10 in three of his last five starts dating back to the Texas Children's Open as he looks ahead to the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Mackenzie Hughes See More
FanDuel PGA DFS Picks: Charles Schwab Challenge Cash and GPP Strategy
5 days ago
Ricky Castillo comes into the Charles Schwab Challenge in good form, and he hits a lot of the key stats Ryan Andrade is targeting for PGA DFS contests on FanDuel this week.
Weekly PGA Recap: Straka's Stock is Soaring
13 days ago
Sepp Straka stayed true to form as things came down to the wire, and he wound up walking away with his second win of the season at the Truist Championship.
Major Power Rankings: 2025 PGA Championship Field
16 days ago
All eyes will be on Rory McIlory and Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow, but which one leads off Len Hochberg's power rankings for the 2025 PGA Championship?
Golf One and Done Pool Expert Picks: THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
25 days ago
RotoWire's golf experts give you the top picks for one and done leagues at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, including why Ryan Gerard deserves consideration at TPC Craig Ranch.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Hughes' past two seasons have been nearly identical in that he played very well during the fall and did little else during the rest of the season. He also made just 55% of his cuts in each season, which is ideal. Hit cuts made percentage is low to begin with, now factor in that a lot of the cuts made came during the fall and you have a bleak picture of Jan-Aug. There is no wrap-around schedule this year, so in leagues that end in August, Hughes doesn't hold much value.
Hughes hasn't won since his rookie season of 2016-2017, but he's managed to put together some solid seasons since then, including this past season. Hughes made the cut in 16 of 27 starts and finished inside the top-25 in half of the starts where he made the cut. He lacked the high end finishes, but that's been an issue his entire career. He'll need to find more top-10s in order to significantly improve upon his numbers from this past season, but there are no indications that he'll do that this year. As such, he's not a good salary cap candidate this season.
Hughes once again rode his trusty putter to a very solid season. He had a very tough stretch in May that saw him miss five straight cuts, but starting with a T15 at the U.S. Open he made every weekend the rest of the season. Ball-striking will always remain the question with the Canadian who finished outside the top 170 in both SG:Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach.
Hughes had an up and down season last year, recording three finishes inside the top-six, but also missing double digit cuts. The Canadian really struggled ball-striking wise, but his short game was on point finishing top-20 in both SG: Around and SG: Putting. Hughes just hasn't been a good ball striker in his whole career on Tour, which makes him harder to trust. Some high finishes were enough to get him into the Tour Championship, which in turn will get him into virtually all the big events next season.
Hughes had a strong start to his PGA Tour career with a win and over $2.3 million in earnings during his rookie season, but something happened during his Sophomore season as he managed just over $500k in earnings. Perhaps the specter of his exemption running out last season lit a fire underneath him because his play definitely improved. It didn't improve enough to make him a "must-have" for salary cap purposes, but he should definitely be considered in that format.
It's not uncommon for a golfer, especially a young one, to take a step back after a breakthrough season. But what happened to Hughes was more than a step back - it was akin to falling down a flight of stairs. The Canadian had a win and eight other top-25s in 2016-17. In 2017-18, he had only three top-25s and missed way more than half his cuts (17-of-28). Hughes is entering his age-28 season, so he arrived to the Tour rather late, which makes a reversal less likely. Another wait-and-see recommendation.
Hughes got off to a fast start last season by winning the RSM Classic in November, but the rest of the season was a struggle. Hughes managed only one additional top-10 for the remainder of the season, which could be indicative of his talent or his state of mind. The latter is probably more likely as it's not uncommon for young golfers who win, to let up for a bit. Hughes is a tricky call though because his number is low enough to show great improvement this season, yet high enough that it requires a decent commitment. There is plenty of upside with Hughes, but his 2017 performance wasn't strong enough to justify his selection in a salary cap format.
Hughes got into the winner's circle this year at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in August, shooting a Saturday 64 to help propel him up the leaderboard. He added two other top-10s, leading the Canadian to the PGA Tour for 2016-17. He missed nine cuts in 23 starts, which is concerning, not helped by his 111st-place ranking in driving accuracy and 67th place in greens in regulation. But he has a strong putter, ranking 17th, and that will help take his game to new heights if he can hit more fairways and greens.
More Fantasy News
Scores T3 at Harbour Town
April 20, 2025
Hughes finished in a share of third place at the RBC Heritage following a four-under 67 in the final round.
ANALYSIS
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Posts four rounds in the 60s
March 30, 2025
Hughes posted a four-under 66 on Sunday at the Texas Children's Houston Open to finish in 10th place.
ANALYSIS
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Struggles off the tee at PGA National
March 4, 2025
Hughes recorded a two-day total of one-over-par to miss the cut at this past week's Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches by six shots.
ANALYSIS
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Playing in AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
January 27, 2025
Hughes (undisclosed) is listed in the field for this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
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Withdraws from Torrey Pines
Undisclosed
January 19, 2025
Hughes has withdrawn his name from the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open, according to Rob Bolton of PGATour.com.
ANALYSIS
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