Hughes wins Sanderson Farms with birdie on 2nd playoff hole

JACKSON, Mississippi: Whether it was sheer confidence or remarkable resilience, Mackenzie Hughes never doubted he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship. He just never imagined how it would unfold Sunday evening.

Hughes had to make six key putts on the final seven holes — four of them for par — to outlast Sepp Straka on the second playoff hole for his second PGA Tour victory.

“The second one felt a lot harder than the first one, that’s for sure,” Hughes said.

The 31-year-old Canadian renowned for his putter finally made birdie his third time playing the 18th hole at the Country Club of Jackson, pouring in an 8-footer for the win.

But this was as much about pars — the 15-footer on the par-5 14th, the 7-foot putt on the 16th after he couldn’t reach the green from a fairway bunker, and two tough par saves on the 18th hole from 100 feet behind the green in regulation and from a bunker on the first playoff hole.

“I kept telling myself the whole week that I was going to do it. That was the only thing I saw in my mind,” Hughes said. “Those par saves down the stretch, I was just trying to will the ball into the hole.”

The first par save on the 18th gave him a 3-under 69 to force a playoff against Straka, who played two groups ahead of Hughes and shot 67 to post at 17-under 271.

On the second playoff hole, Straka missed from 18 feet on the fringe before Hughes made the winning putt. It was the second time in his last four tournaments that Straka lost in a playoff. The other was against Will Zalatoris at the start of the PGA Tour postseason.

“I played good golf on a tough Sunday,” said Straka, who picked up his first PGA Tour title earlier this year at the Honda Classic. “Giving yourself chances to win out here it