Some of the most thrilling and emotional wins on the PGA Tour come in weeks like these, when there is an alternate event being played while the biggest stars compete in what are now dubbed signature events. In a practice that began with the existence of the World Golf Championships, the tour gives its rank-and-file members—no slouches, we might add—something to play for. More often than not, somebody seizes the chance for a life-changing victory. (Even if a Masters invite doesn’t come with it.)
It’s an impressive list of those who have scored their first tour victory in the “other” tournaments held in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and Myrtle Beach and Lake Tahoe and Kentucky. Among them are Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa and the late Grayson Murray. Joel Dahmen notched his lone tour victory in the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship, and Akshay Bhatia prevailed in a playoff over the still-winless Patrick Rodgers in the now-defunct Barracuda Championship.
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Given the stature of the signature events, some big victories have been buried or lost in the rabble. It doesn’t happen every time, and this week, there are two rookies—Alex Fitzpatrick and Kristoffer Reitan—being chased closely by Cam Young in the $20 million Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. Certainly, that’s a compelling scenario.
And yet with three 20-somethings fighting for that $3.6 million first-place check, it makes the contrast all the more striking with what’s going down in the Oneflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
Mark Hubbard is the leader after shooting seven-under-par 64 on Saturday and, at 16 under, he leads by one over Englishman Aaron Rai. Hubbard is 38 years old and is making his 274th tour appearance. And he’s never lifted a trophy, owning the second-longest active dry streak beyond Rodgers’ 326 starts without a win.
He’s earned a tidy $12 million in his career but might be the poster guy for imposter syndrome at the pro golf level. Hubbard once said on his tour bio that “playing golf for a living is the dumbest thing I do, and that’s saying something.”
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“I’m kind of a goof ball off the course,” Hubbard admitted on Saturday, “and don’t always make the best decisions, so I thought it was fitting.”
Hubbard is affable and self-deprecating, but he’s also been quick to beat himself up, and he truly believes his best chance to win would be if he could get out of his own darned way.
While praising his own ball striking on Saturday as some of the best he’s executed in his career, Hubbard said, “I think Mark a couple of weeks ago would have gotten pretty frustrated and turned a 64 into a 68. I just stayed really patient and just tried and kept hitting good shot after good shot and eventually the putts started going in.”
The change in attitude has been a concerted effort on his part. “I’ve been working really hard at it this year. It’s been a lot of highs and lows in that regard. … I just feel like it’s paying off,” he said.
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“I can’t promise that it’s going to be great tomorrow, and I can’t promise that it’s going to be great the rest of the year, but I know I’m going to keep trying to work on it, because I do feel like that was one of the things that was holding me back this year in particular.
“I really do feel like my game has been a lot better than it’s shown. If I can just control that tomorrow, I’ll be in really good shape.”
It’s been a decidedly rough year for Hubbard so far. He’s only made five of 11 cuts and has a best finish of T-23 at the Cognizant. He entered this week at 150th in the FedEx Cup standings and 159th in the World Ranking.
So what’s been the key to his mental turnaround? It sounds like what so many golfers find to be effective: stop worry about the results.
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“Honestly, it sounds weird, but I feel like this is the first time in my life I’ve felt like it was OK to fail and mess up,” Hubbard said on Saturday. “It’s kind of given me some relief.
“I am someone who puts a ton of pressure on myself, and it’s been too much this year to start. I’m just kind of giving myself some slack for the first time maybe ever. … More than anything, like I did today, I’m really excited for the opportunity and to be back where I feel like I belong, so I’m just going to try and enjoy that the best I can.”
The advice here: Don’t sleep on the Mrytle Beach Classic on Sunday. It could end with the best day of one man’s lifetime.
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