Why are we rooting for Mackenzie Hughes to win the U.S. Open? Because he’s Canadian and Canadians are nice people. Plus, they rarely ever win on the PGA tour. In addition, Hughes has overcome adversity - once losing his tour card before regaining it five years ago. Outside of his own friends and family, nobody is cheering for Mac. While the last two months have not been kind to Hughes (missed cuts in five straight events) he’s played well this week and is on the verge of winning The Open.
That makes him a solid underdog and a golfer we are pulling for today.
Russell Henley is another rootable player. While he had some early success in his first year on tour - winning the Sony Open by a record margin - he has not won as often as many had predicted when he graduated from the University of Georgia ten years ago. Now a 100-1 shot to win any tournament he enters, Henley is also a guy we can get behind.
While technically not an underdog, Matthew Wolff is easy to root for because of his entertaining and unconventional golf swing. He’s also talked about his struggles with depression and anxiety.
We are definitely not rooting for Bryson DeChambeau because he is a weasel. A VERY LARGE weasel, but a weasel nonetheless.
Remember: we are all underdogs when we step on the golf course. Our golf hats instill golfers with the calm resilience they need to play well.
Epilogue: Unfortunately, Hughes, Henley, and Wolff struggled during the final round and fell out of contention. It is hard to ignore the fact that they did so while wearing PING, Titleist, and Taylor Made hats. One cannot help but wonder how they would have faired wearing our Go-Lo, On in Regulation, or Birddha hats.