Mackenzie Hughes hasn’t hit a shot yet, but he’s already well behind in the Tour Championship. Under the staggered scoring system in use this week, he’ll start 10 shots in arrears of FedEx Cup leader Dustin Johnson.

No matter. Hughes is already ahead of the game just by making it to East Lake Golf Club for the PGA Tour’s finale.

“I don’t think it will be too hard [to get motivated],” said the 29-year-old before heading to Atlanta. “I’ve been gearing up for this event for a while and I’m excited to play.”

Hughes earned his spot in the Tour Championship with a gutsy final round at last week’s BMW Championship. Playing with a severely stiff neck that restricted his movement, he battled right down to the end, rolling in what he described as a greasy, slimy five-foot putt to finish off the round.

The victory gave him a spot in this week’s field as well as entries into next year’s Masters and U.S. Open. He’ll also play in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, a bonus this year due to the cancellation of 11 events on the PGA Tour’s schedule due to COVID-19.

That capped a sensational campaign for Hughes, who also became the top-ranked Canadian on the Official World Golf Ranking in the process.

The spot among the PGA Tour’s top 30 golfers hasn’t come easily. Hughes has made changes throughout the year all aimed at elevating his game.

The first came when he began working with a new caddie, Jace Walker, who is a talented player in his own right. Walker, from St. Thomas, Ont., played on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada and the Web.com Tour before finally switching over to carrying the bag instead of hitting shots. After some time looping for other players including another Canadian, Adam Svensson, he landed the job with Hughes.

Walker has worked hard to ensure his boss is prepared for each event, mapping out a course strategy and ensuring there are no surprises as they make their way around. The two have great communication that Hughes has lauded all year.

It was Walker who kept Hughes calm and focused on his final hole at the BMW Championship, keeping him dialed in to the task at hand.

Another change came during the pandemic pause, where Hughes added some muscle to his six-foot frame, although he’s quick to point out that it was nothing DeChambeau-like. Still, it gave him a few extra yards off the tee.

Not long after the return to play, Hughes also started working with a new coach, Canadian Ralph Bauer, who already has Adam Hadwin in his stable. Together, they’ve gradually made some tweaks to his game, that have begun to take hold. It will be a steady process with the two as they continue to build Hughes’s game.

“He’s a hard worker, dedicated and he really wants to keep getting better,” said Bauer, who also praised the golfer’s short game as one of the best on the PGA Tour.

Right now, pretty much every part of Hughes’s game is in fine form. The two-time Canadian amateur champion is playing perhaps the best golf of his career as he prepares for this week. He’s had four finishes inside the top 15 since the restart, including a tie for third at the Travelers Championship that gave him a spot in the U.S. Open in two weeks.

The Tour Championship this week is a huge bonus for Hughes that includes a big payday. The last-place cheque is worth $395,000. But he’s looking higher up the leaderboard, at the top spot, as well he should.

“There’s no real secret to it,” said Hughes of what he must do. “I start 10 shots back and I need to play some phenomenal golf to win. There’s a big carrot dangling at the end, so I’ll try my best and play hard.

“Golf is a strange game. I’ll play all 72 holes and we’ll see what happens.”