Morning report: The Open, Round 2

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Whenever Mackenzie Hughes looked down at the initials on his golf ball, he remembered how lucky he is to play golf for living. The “DM� on his ball was for his friend, Daniel Meggs, who passed away last week after a battle with colon cancer. Meggs was just 29 years old and died weeks before his wife was due to give birth to their first child, a son. Meggs played golf at Wake Forest. His battle with cancer made headlines last year after Tiger Woods sent him an inspirational video message from the Masters. Hughes’ eyes began to water as he closed Sunday’s press conference by talking about his friend. Related: Final leaderboard | Slow and steady, Im withstands pressure “I just want to tell Daniel, who’s up in a better place now, and his family, that I’m really thinking about them,� Hughes said. “Daniel was an incredible human being. I always play for myself, but I looked down at my ball every now and then and just reminded myself that it’s a blessing to be able to have another round of golf, to continue playing this great game and I know what he wouldn’t give for another chance to play a round of golf or to be with his family.� Hughes almost became the first player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to win after making the cut on the number. He shot consecutive 66s on the weekend after shooting 3-over-par on the first 36 holes. He finished one shot behind winner Sungjae Im. Hughes’ 66 matched the low score in Sunday’s final round of The Honda Classic. Hughes briefly tied the lead after holing a 54-foot birdie putt on 17, but Im regained a one-shot lead by making an 8-foot putt of his own. Hughes had a chance to go for the 18th green in two, but badly hooked his fairway wood into the grandstands and could only make par. Hughes’ weekend total of 132 was three shots lower than anyone else in the field. Hughes, winner of the 2016 RSM Classic, had struggled this season, missing 9 of 11 cuts. He’d earned just 10 FedExCup points before this week. His college coach at Kent State, Herb Page, texted Hughes on Friday night saying, “The hard part is over.� “It kind of loosened me up a little bit and I said, ‘Let’s just go out there and play golf and see what happens,’� Hughes said. He turned around his season while playing for his late friend.

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Play opens today at The American Express. The strong field includes Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ and Patrick Cantlay. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Sunday, 2 p.m.- 7 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) FEATURED GROUPS Patrick Reed, Andrew Landry, Gary Woodland Kevin Na, Matthew Wolff, Tony Finau Cameron Champ, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler Click here for the Featured Groups roundtable MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks Insider: Finau is doing just fine Tiger undergoes back procedure Perez discusses relationship with Michael Jordan The 15th Club: Who will win his first TOUR event in 2021?

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR today announced Max Homa, Brandt Snedeker, Keith Mitchell and Kevin Streelman as additions to the Player Advisory Council (PAC) for the remainder of 2022. Homa and Snedeker fill vacated positions previously held by Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell. In a separate election to replace Paul Casey, Mitchell and Streelman tied for the most votes, and both players have been added to the PAC, which has increased in size from 16 members to 17. The PAC advises and consults with the PGA TOUR Policy Board (Board of Directors) and Commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the TOUR. Homa, Snedeker and Mitchell will be members of the PAC for the first time. Streelman served as PAC co-chairman in 2016 and subsequently served a three-year term as a Player Director on the Policy Board (2017-19). Homa, 31, a California native who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, has four career PGA TOUR wins, including two during the 2021-22 season. He is currently No. 16 in the FedExCup standings, No. 10 in the United States Team standings for the Presidents Cup and No. 22 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Homa joined the PGA TOUR for the first time in 2014, and in addition to his four career TOUR wins, he has two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour. Snedeker, 41, of Nashville, Tennessee, is a nine-time PGA TOUR winner and qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in each of his first 15 seasons on the PGA TOUR, missing the Playoffs for the first time in 2022. Snedeker is one of four players that has been named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year (2007) and won the FedExCup (2012), along with Vijay Singh, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. Mitchell, 30, a Chattanooga, Tennessee native and resident of St. Simons Island, Georgia, is in his fifth season on the PGA TOUR. Winner of the 2019 Honda Classic, Mitchell has a career-high six top-10s in 2021-22 and seeks his first appearance in the season-ending TOUR Championship, entering the BMW Championship at No. 38 in the FedExCup standings. Mitchell turned professional in 2014 and played on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (2015) and the Korn Ferry Tour (2016 and 2017) before joining the PGA TOUR at the start of the 2017-18 season. Streelman, 43, a native of Winfield, Illinois who lives in Scottsdale, is a two-time PGA TOUR winner, most recently winning the 2014 Travelers Championship. Streelman, who enters the BMW Championship at No. 93 in the FedExCup standings, has qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in each of the last 15 seasons; the only players with longer active streaks are Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott, who have qualified every year during the FedExCup era (since 2007). 2022 Player Advisory Council Patrick Cantlay (Player Director appointee 2023) Austin Cook Joel Dahmen Harry Higgs Max Homa Billy Horschel Russell Knox Justin Lower Peter Malnati (Co-Chairman) Maverick McNealy Keith Mitchell Trey Mullinax Jon Rahm Webb Simpson (Co-Chairman) Brandt Snedeker Kevin Streelman Will Zalatoris Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson will replace James Hahn and Kevin Kisner as Player Directors on the PGA TOUR Policy Board next year, serving three-year terms (2023-25). Patrick Cantlay will also join the Policy Board in the 2023 with the addition of a fifth Player Director.

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