Procore Championship Round 1: Mackenzie Hughes Fires 63 to Lead in Napa

Mackenzie Hughes showed up in wine country without a Ryder Cup bag tag, without a Signature Event exemption waiting for him next year and without much attention. By Thursday evening the Canadian had the lowest number on the board and the whole American team looking up at him.

Hughes shot a 9-under 63 on the North Course at Silverado Resort to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Procore Championship, the opener of the FedExCup Fall. Ben Griffin and Matt McCarty are tied for second at 8 under after 64s. Russell Henley and Lanto Griffin sit at 7 under after 65s, Anders Albertson is alone in sixth at 6 under, and a trio at 5 under includes U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, Taylor Montgomery and amateur Jackson Koivun.

Twenty-Nine and Counting

Hughes went out in 29. He birdied nine of his first 13 holes and, for a few minutes, the 59 conversation started to hum in Napa.

Then the round got human. Bogeys at 14 and 15 cooled the chatter in a hurry. What separated Hughes from a guy who simply had a hot front nine was the response. He poured in a birdie from 36 and a half feet on the 16th, the putt the PGA TOUR picked as its Shot of the Day, and closed with a 12-footer for birdie on 18. Eleven birdies, two bogeys, one clean lead.

Hughes credited his touch on the greens, telling Field Level Media he had a nice feel with the putter and that the plan was just to keep pressing forward.

The stakes are real for him. Hughes arrived at No. 65 in the FedExCup standings, on the wrong side of the top 60 line that carries entry into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational next year. "The goal is to get into that top 60 and set up my beginning to the year," Hughes said, per the AP. He also made clear he is not planning a long fall schedule to chase it, which makes a week like this one even more valuable.

Ryder Cup Dress Rehearsal

Ten members of Keegan Bradley's U.S. Ryder Cup team teed it up at Silverado, two weeks out from Bethpage Black, and the tournament organizers grouped them close together on the tee sheet. The results were a mixed bag.

Ben Griffin, a Ryder Cup rookie, was the headliner. For a chunk of the day Griffin was not even the best-scoring Griffin on the course, as Lanto Griffin set the early pace. Ben answered with five birdies on the back nine and a 17-foot par save on the last to post a bogey-free 64.

Henley's 65 might have been the gutsiest card of the day. Henley opened with back-to-back bogeys and then simply kept rolling in birdies to finish two back. Spaun, playing alongside Henley and Scottie Scheffler, shot 67 and was blunt about the putting surfaces. "The greens, especially in the afternoon, are not great," Spaun said, pointing to the poa annua and how sloped and quick they were.

Behind them, the U.S. team bunched up. Sam Burns shot 71. Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Harris English and Collin Morikawa all signed for even-par 72s, which leaves them with work to do Friday.

Bradley walked the grounds as a spectator, not a player, and seemed to enjoy the view. "This is awesome to see," Bradley said as three of his players walked a fairway together.

The Streak Ends

The biggest number on the board Thursday was not 63. It was 70.

Scheffler's 2-under round ended a run of 21 consecutive rounds in the 60s, a streak that had matched Patrick Cantlay's modern-era benchmark. It was the world No. 1's first score starting with a 7 since a 72 at the Travelers in June.

The frustration showed. On the par-5 12th, Scheffler found thick rough above a bunker, slammed the club into the turf after the awkward recovery and had to hop down into the sand. He was wild off the tee at the par-5 18th and settled for par, and he failed to birdie any of the par 5s.

Seven shots back with 54 holes left is not a crisis for a player who has not finished worse than eighth since March. But it is unfamiliar territory.

The Kid and the Comeback

Two of the better stories came from outside the lead group.

Koivun, a 20-year-old Auburn junior and the top player in amateur golf, shot 67 with eight birdies and 16 of 18 greens hit. He already holds a PGA TOUR card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated and chose to defer it for another year of college golf. He arrived fresh off a team-best three points for the U.S. at the Walker Cup.

Sahith Theegala, who won at Silverado in 2023 when the event carried a different name, shot 68 in his return from a season wrecked by an oblique injury that turned into a pinched nerve. It was his first round in the 60s since May. Theegala ranked first in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and said it felt like being a rookie again, having to earn every point.

What Friday Brings

The afternoon wind and bumpy greens already showed they can bite. Hughes has the lead and the motivation. Griffin and Henley have the Ryder Cup form. Scheffler has seven shots to make up and a putter he did not trust on Thursday. A lot can change in 18 holes in Napa, and Friday will tell us who meant it.

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

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap, leaderboard and player features), AP, Field Level Media, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.