Mackenzie Hughes put the International team 1-up by chugging a beer on the first tee before a single match was played at the Presidents Cup on Thursday.
Or would that be considered 1-down?
However you want to look at it, the 2024 Presidents Cup is off to raucous start at Royal Montreal as Hughes, one of Mike Weir’s captain’s picks, did his part to work up the Canadian crowd by pounding a cold one and then pumping his arms in the air.
Hughes is one of two International team members sitting out Thursday’s opening Four-Ball session at the biennial event versus Team USA.
The 33-year-old from Dundas, Ont., has been an outspoken player on golf’s key issues recently and was determined to make Weir’s team.
As always, the Internationals are heavy underdogs against the powerhouse Americans, who have a dominating 12-1-1 record since the Presidents Cup began in 1994.
The average world ranking of Team USA players is 12.4 compared to the International average of 34.4. But captain Weir — and Hughes — seem to have the underdogs ready to go.
The matches are underway and can be seen on TSN.