Canadian Open: Yes, Mackenzie, that was ‘way cooler’

OAKVILLE — It was a pretty Canuck moment, the kind of sports marriage that the RBC Canadian Open people cherish in their fan-magnet "The Rink" area.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, playing the par-3 seventh at Glen Abbey, donned a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for the walk up to his second shot from just off the green.

He assumed he'd remove the jersey to make his shot, but then began pondering options.

"I was trying to figure out if I could do it, if I could hit a chip without the sleeves getting in the way and the Leafs emblem all over my chest getting a little bunched up," said Hughes, who recorded his second straight 69 to sit at 6-under heading into weekend play.

"But I was, like, 'This is very chip-in-able and if I do it with the jersey on, it's way cooler.'"

So he left the sweater on, and indeed the ball went in, igniting the crowd around the seventh hole, part of which is framed-in by hockey rink boards.

Hughes, who had to finish his weather-delayed first round Friday morning by playing No. 18 (par) before starting his second round, has now gone 69 or better in four of his last five Canadian Open rounds at the Abbey.

But he hasn't been overly-enthused about his scores this week.

"I've played the par-5s at 1-under in two days, which is just not good enough," he said. "If I'm not average on par-5s, I'm right in the tournament right now."

He felt that if the leaders stayed at minus-13 or so, he "may have a chance with a couple of low ones on the weekend but first and foremost I've got play the par-5s better if I want to contend."

He was low Canadian last year at Glen Abbey at 10-under 278.