Heat of Tigermania leaves Woods’ playing partner shivering
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Canadian Mackenzie Hughes had not felt the jangled nerves and pressure to perform since he won his first PGA Tour event as a rookie 18 months ago. But this was Saturday morning. Breakfast was still being served in the clubhouse. He was 14 shots out of the lead at The Players Championship.
And he was playing with Tiger Woods.
“To be in an environment like that really gets your juices going,” Hughes, a product of Dundas, Ont., said. “It’s 90 degrees, but I can assure you I had some goose bumps and shivers at times when you hear some of the roars and you realize, ‘I’m playing with Tiger Woods.’ It was fun.”
Woods made it even more memorable with his best round at the TPC Sawgrass, and his lowest score since the end of the 2015 season. Woods opened with eight birdies in 12 holes until his momentum slowed and he settled for a 65.