Mackenzie Hughes

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.