Myrtle Beach Classic Round 1: Mackenzie Hughes Birdies the Last Four for a 63 and the Lead

Mackenzie Hughes spent most of Thursday at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club looking like a guy grinding out a respectable number. Then the last six holes happened, and suddenly everybody else in the field was chasing him.

Hughes birdied five of his final six holes, including the last four in a row, to post an 8-under 63 and take a one-shot lead after the opening round of the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. Seamus Power, Thorbjørn Olesen and Will Chandler are tied for second at 7-under 64. Ryan Fox, Cristobal Del Solar, Andrew Putnam and Alejandro Tosti sit another shot back at 65, and a crowd of six is at 66.

A Closing Kick Nobody Saw Coming

For most of the afternoon, Hughes was hanging around. The Canadian had one bogey on the card and, by his own account, was not hitting it his best from tee to green. What changed everything was the finish. At the par-4 16th he stuck his approach to 6 feet. At the par-3 17th he put his tee shot inside 8 feet. At the 18th he flagged a 159-yard approach to 2½ feet. Three looks, three birdies, and a round that had been fine turned into the low number of the day.

"Putted nicely today," Hughes said, per the AP. "Then at the end there I kind of caught fire. I can't remember the last time I birdied the last four holes."

The putter is the real story. Hughes said the flatstick had let him down in recent weeks, so he went quicker and more instinctive over the ball, trusting his first read instead of overthinking it. On Thursday that looked like a very good idea.

The stakes are real for him, too. Hughes is a two-time PGA TOUR winner, but his last title is more than two years in the rearview, and an opposite-field week is exactly the kind of opening a proven winner wants to grab.

Power's Hole-Out Steals the Highlight Reel

If Hughes owned the finish, Seamus Power owned the single best swing of the day. At the par-4 8th, the Irishman holed out from 162 yards with a 9-iron for an eagle 2, the ball landing on the green and tracking into the cup. It anchored a bogey-free 64, his lowest round of the season.

Power also explained why going at flags at The Dunes requires some care. "With the greens being firm and that pin once you got past it, it's just not going to stop," he said, per Field Level Media.

Olesen and Chandler matched that 64 without a bogey between them. For Chandler, a rookie, it was the lowest round of the season. That number carries extra weight this week: the winner here gets a spot in next week's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow if not already eligible, and Chandler has not yet punched that ticket.

The 65 Group Has Some Teeth

One shot further back sits a group that should make Hughes keep his foot down. Ryan Fox, the New Zealander with a pile of international pedigree, opened with 65. So did Del Solar of Chile, Putnam and Argentina's Tosti.

Fox brings the deepest résumé of that group. He came to Myrtle Beach without a top 10 on the PGA TOUR this season despite a record that includes multiple DP World Tour wins, and a clean start on a course where birdies are available is exactly what that kind of player needs to get rolling.

Old Hand, New Kid

The most fun pairing of numbers on the board sits at 66. Nick Watney, 44, who has not won in 13 years, is there. So is Blades Brown, 17, in his first year as a professional. One is trying to remember how it feels to contend; the other is trying to find out. Danny Walker, Dylan Wu, Rikuya Hoshino and Jesper Svensson round out that 5-under group.

Defending champion Chris Gotterup opened with a 67 and is four back. South Carolina Gamecocks standout Nathan Franks, who earned his spot by winning The Q at Myrtle Beach, also shot 67 with five birdies in his first PGA TOUR start.

The Stakes This Week

With the Truist Championship running as the week's Signature Event, this is an opposite-field stage, and that changes the math for everybody here. A win means a two-year exemption, a PGA Championship invite for anyone not already in, and a jolt of FedExCup points for a field mostly fighting for status rather than trophies.

Hughes has the lead and the hot putter. Power, Olesen and Chandler have clean cards. Fox and the 65 group are lurking. And with a forecast that carried a threat of rain, nobody should assume the scoring conditions last all week.

One round in, the fastest finisher owns the top spot. Friday will show whether the putter travels.

Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR has the Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (leaderboard and Round 1 recap), AP, Field Level Media, Golf Today, SportsTalkSC. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.