Need something to cheer for at the Sanderson Farms Championship? How about the 71-year-old in the field

10/03/2024 01:00 PM

Nick Dunlap is a two-time PGA Tour winner, and at 20 years old, he’s one of the youngest players in the field this week at the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship.

The oldest competitor in the field is more than 50 years older than Dunlap.

Reed Hughes is 71, and he’s teeing it up Thursday afternoon alongside Kevin Dougherty and Parker Coody at The Country Club of Jackson in his first PGA Tour start since 2007, when he shot 85-82 and missed the cut at the Zurich Classic. He got into the field this week thanks to his win in the 2023 Gulf States E-Z-GO Section Championship at Deerfield Golf Club last September in Canton, Mississippi.

Hughes made his PGA Tour debut in 1984 at the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, where he missed the cut. He has played on the PGA Tour eight times, missing the cut each time.

Reed Hughes will tee it up at the Sanderson Farms this afternoon.
He earned his spot in the field by winning the Gulf States PGA Section event. His final round 68 was the best of the event by 3 and beat the field avg by 10.
Reed Hughes is 71 years old.

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) October 3, 2024

Of the 20 top-ranked players in the Official World Golf Ranking, only one (Adam Scott) was born before Hughes made his debut.

Hughes’ last PGA Tour-sanctioned start came in 2012 at the Senior PGA Championship. He has made 19 starts in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in his career.

If you need something to cheer for, seeing whether Hughes can break his age playing with some of the best players in the world is a good start.