Using the putter in his left hand for support, Reed Hughes tested his 71-year-old aching knees one final time Friday during the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
He studied every slope of the 3 feet, 6 inches of green that stood between his ball and the hole on No. 9 at the Country Club of Jackson.
He overshot his target by a foot and a half and shook his head. Then he tapped in what will be, barring a miracle, his final shot on the PGA Tour, the last of his 61 putts in the tournament, the last of the 154 shots he took Thursday and Friday to finish 10-over par.
To finish in 128th place, dead last among those who did not withdraw from the tournament.
“It’s tough being 71 playing against these kids who could be my grandkids, you know?” Hughes told the Clarion Ledger after shooting 78 Friday. “I couldn’t prepare good enough. Walking and playing. I’m used to riding in a cart, looking for a shade tree.”
Hughes was 71 years, one month and 25 days old when the tournament began Thursday, which made him the oldest player in a PGA Tour event since Gary Player, who was 73 at the 2009 Masters.
How did 71-year-old Reed Hughes get into the Sanderson Farms Championship?
Hughes, who resides 170-some miles north of Jackson in Senatobia, Mississippi, won the Gulf States Section championship at Deerfield Golf Club more than a year ago in Canton, Mississippi, to earn an exemption into the Sanderson Farms Classic.
Which was held 17 years after Hughes’ last PGA Tour event, the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Which was held 40 years after he played his first PGA Tour event, the 1984 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.
Sanderson Farms was Hughes’ ninth — and most memorable — PGA Tour event.
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“What happened last night with (going viral on) YouTube and all that stuff,” said Hughes, who last played in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event at the 2012 Senior PGA Championship. “I’ve never had that kind of press or anything. I’ve had my experiences, but never like this. It’s like being a fish out of water when you’re playing against these guys.
“It’s just a blast to be out there watching what the young people are doing, and hitting it like John Daly did 15 years ago.”
‘You’re my No. 1’
Reed Hughes has to report to work at Grenada Golf and Racquet Club on Saturday morning.
“Back to mowing greens,” he said
A passerby interrupted his thought.
“You’re my No. 1,” she said. “Halfway through I knew you were my favorite player.”
“Thank you,” Hughes replied.
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So, what was the best part of Hughes’ experience at Sanderson Farms?
His five birdies, four of which occurred Thursday?
Nope.
The 15 minutes of unexpected fame?
Negative.
The out-of-nowhere opportunity to lug his clubs to Jackson for one last PGA Tour hurrah?
Close, but not quite.
“That it’s over,” he said with a chuckle.
Hughes battled a bout of shingles all of August. He has an aching right index finger, hampering his ability to grip his clubs. He’s 71 years, 1 month and 26 days old.
He couldn’t believe he was standing on a cart path overlooking the green where he played his final hole Friday with a PGA Tour scorecard in his hand.
“Ain’t no way,” he said.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at pskrbina@gannett.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Best moments of 71-year-old Reed Hughes’ Sanderson Farms experience
