m post 1 and at Santa Anita in 1993 from post 12. Both races were on se

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Mackenzie Hughes figured he was down to his last chance to stay alive in a four-man playoff Monday morning in the RSM Classic.The Canadian rookie with pluck and a pure putting stroke poured in an 18-foot par putt from off the 17th green at Sea Island, and that last chance turned into his first PGA Tour victory when the other three players all missed from 10 feet or closer.I made the putt of my life right there, Hughes said.He calmed his nerves and came up clutch in the 42-degree chill, becoming the first PGA Tour rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first victory. The final day of a long year on the PGA Tour brought a most unlikely finish.Hughes had a chance to end it Sunday night until his 10-foot birdie putt in the dark on the 18th hole turned away. The next morning, he was the only player who was never on the green at the par-3 17th until his ball was in the cup.Blayne Barber, Henrik Norlander and Camilo Villegas narrowly missed their par putts to extend the playoff.Hughes was watching from off the green, and the prospect of winning became more real with each putt that missed -- first Barber, then Norlander. When Villegas missed his 7-footer, Hughes dropped his putter, turned his back on the green and knocked off his cap as he rubbed his head in disbelief.If I didnt make, I thought I was probably out, Hughes said. Before I hit it, the thought was, Just make them think about it. Put this putt in first, and if you can be the first guy in, put the pressure back on them. And thats what happened.The victory sends the 25-year-old Canadian to the Masters. One of his most vivid golf memories as a kid in Ontario was watching Mike Weir win the green jacket in 2003.He was texting me last night a little bit, Hughes said. Its pretty cool to have a guy like that to lean on for advice.Billy Horschel was eliminated from the five-man playoff on the first extra hole Sunday night when he narrowly missed a birdie putt then shockingly missed a 2-foot putt. Hughes putts so well it was mildly surprising when he missed his 10-foot putt on the second playoff hole.It ate at me a little bit knowing that I had 10 feet to win it, he said. But I came out here to try to clear my mind, tell myself that I have a one-in-four chance.The odds looked worse when his 4-iron bounded over the green and down a steep slope. Making the pitch shot even more difficult was that the pin was 15 feet from the back edge and the green ran quickly away from him. His pitch was a few feet from being perfect, but instead it stopped short of the green.Norlander was in the front bunker, while Barber was left of the green and Villegas was just over the back. Barber and Villegas used putter for their second shots.The last rookie to go wire-to-wire for his first win was Tim Herron at the 1996 Honda Classic. Hughes started this week with a 61, and he led after every round until he was posing with tournament host Davis Love III with the trophy.Hughes, who closed with a 69 and finished at 17-under 265, capped a memorable fall season.He began his rookie season by playing the final two rounds with Phil Mickelson and tying for 13th at the Safeway Open. Mickelsons caddie Jim Mackay said in a text message Saturday night, I really like his moxie, hes got guts.In his only week off this fall, Hughes and his longtime girlfriend from Kent State, Jenna, were married. They planned a honeymoon in the offseason, and now he gets to plan a schedule that includes Kapalua, Augusta National and the PGA Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he lives.Hughes earned $1.08 million.Villegas and Norlander do not have full PGA Tour cards, and a victory would have changed that. Villegas got into the field as a past champion, while Norlander has no PGA Tour status and received a sponsors exemption.Villegas had made every big putt, from his birdies on the 16th and 17th in regulation to his 6-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to join the playoff to another tough 4-foot putt in the dark Sunday night to stay alive. He missed from 7 feet Monday.I just pushed it a tiny bit, Villegas said. But once again, Im proud of myself. We want to win a golf tournament, so you go with a little bittersweet, but youve got to look at the positive and keep moving forward. Kyle Lowry Jersey .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Delon Wright Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Jodie-Meeks-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Dewan Hernandez Jersey . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Jeremy Lin Raptors Jersey . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Somebody, bring a camera.The parade of riders filing out of the Del Mar jockeys room at a quarter past three on Sunday afternoon will be a sight to see. No one will need a program to match names and faces.This is no Breeders Cup confluence, where all hands are required on deck, or a Kentucky Derby, where everyone shows up just in case. Its a cool day in early December at a track hardly known for hot toddies and holiday décor, offering a purse that will change no ones life. And just look who is showing up for the $300,000 Matriarch, at one mile on grass.Lets start with the Hall of Famers. Kent Desormeaux (class of 2004) won the Matriarch last year aboard the 65-1 Stormy Lucy. This year, he rides Tiz a Kiss, another longshot. John Velazquez (inducted in 2012) will be aboard Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Time and Motion. Mike Smith (2003) will roll with Prize Exhibit, while Edgar Prado (2008) landed the outside post with the favored Miss Temple City.The slam-dunk future Hall of Famers include Javier Castellano on Zindaya for Chad Brown and Victor Espinoza taking over for Desormeaux on the stretch-running Decked Out. At the rate theyre going, the Hall also will need to make room someday for Florent Geroux and Irad Ortiz Jr., who will be riding the two other Brown fillies, Roca Rojo and Mexican Gold.Both Tyler Baze (Nancy From Nairobi) and Drayden Van Dyke (Stays in Vegas) own Eclipse Awards as champion apprentices. Martin Garcia (Sobradora Inc) has won four Breeders Cup events, a Preakness, and the Kentucky Oaks. That leaves Tiago Pereira, who rides the Chilean stakes winner Kitcat. Only 16 jockeys have won the Dubai World Cup, and Pereira is one of them.With so much talent in the irons, it could be assumed that none of the dozen running has an advantage at the helm. Still, the one-mile grass race run inside a one-mile dirt track can be a nasty, unpredictable beast, especially with a large field.The rapid scramble to the first turn is always entertaining, if by entertaining you mean train wrecks and tornadoes. After that comes the first of two 180-degree switchbacks, a straightaway backstretch that is over way too soon, followed by the other switchback turn and the final straight to the wire.Mike Smith has never won the Matriarch. The news comes as a surprise because it seems as if Smith has won just about every major race this side of the Little Brown Jug. He would like to take care of that detail on Sunday aboard the British filly Prize Exhibit for D P Racing and trainer Jiim Cassidy.ddddddddddddPrize Exhibit has been a stalwart player on the Southern California circuit ever since her stateside debut in the 2014 Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita. That day, she closed from far back in the field of 13 to be beaten about five lengths by Lady Eli.Ever since, Prize Exhibit keeps telling Cassidy, Put me in, coach. And he does, for 10 starts in 2015 and 10 this year going into the Matriarch. Along the way, she has won three graded stakes, including the San Clemente over the Matriarchs course and distance, and hit the board in enough rich spots to have earned well over half a million dollars.Smith rode Prize Exhibit to an allowance win in her first race for Cassidy and more recently was reunited with the filly to be fifth behind Zindaya in the Goldikova.She cant just go out there and run a real good race, Smith said. Shell have to come up with one of those extra-good races to have a chance to win it. And shes done it a time or two before.Smith will tell you that the greatest miler he ever rode was Lure, and no one will argue. Together, they won Breeders Cup Miles at Gulfstream Park in 1992 from post 1 and at Santa Anita in 1993 from post 12. Both races were on seven-furlong grass courses.Sometimes you think youve got a good post and think it should be easy, but then your trip ends up being worse because of the tight track, Smith said. Then sometimes youll have such a good trip youll go, Wow, how did that happen?You try to set yourself up to be in a position to catch a few breaks, Smith added. And you have to know every tiny detail about the riders and the horses youre in against. Some guys like to get in the clear earlier and tip out, and you can afford to stay behind them a little longer. Others who stay tucked in, you figure youll have to find somehow to work your way out. And then something might happen in front of the horses you follow and it works out for you just because youre in the second flight instead of the first flight.Helter-skelter miles like the Matriarch always seem to be over before they start, with a cluster of runners at the finish who shoulda-coulda-woulda won had the breaks gone another way.I guarantee there will be three or four jocks come back to the room claiming they should have won, and theyve all got a decent excuse, Smith said. It happens to everybody.And it will happen again on Sunday. ' ' '