Mackenzie Hughes finishes off first PGA Tour win in Sea Island Monday finish

The 2016 portion of this PGA Tour season was supposed to be over on Monday morning, the start of an official six-week break for players to re-charge the batteries before resuming ceremonies in Hawaii in January.

Well, that didn’t quite work out at the RSM Classic on Sunday. Five players tied after 72 holes at the Sea Island Golf Club, sending the tournament into a sudden-death playoff that fought a losing battle with daylight. After Billy Horschel missed a two-foot putt to remain in the playoff, the four remaining players — Mackenzie Hughes, Camilo Villegas, Blayne Barber and Henrik Norlander — all made par 4 on the second playoff crack at the 18th hole. Darkness then set in, and the quartet had to return to the Seaside Course on Monday morning to decide a winner.

In the end, it was Hughes that survived and picked up his first PGA Tour win in just his ninth-career start.

The playoff resumed at the par-3 17th, with all four players missing the green. However, it was Hughes who made the putt of his life, an 18-footer to save par from the fringe.

“If I don’t make that putt, I’m probably done,” Hughes said. “As soon as I hit it, I knew it was on a good line, and about a foot from the hole I knew it was right in the heart. It was such a good feeling to see it go in.”

Hughes went first with his par putt, leaving him to watch as the three others missed their par putts, giving the Canadian the title.

The 25-year-old is now exempt through the 2018-19 season, and he’s in the Masters, PGA Championship, The Players and the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

“I haven’t been able to think about all the things that it comes with besides the Masters, I have thought about that already, but there’s just so many good things that go along with the win,” Hughes said. “Just to come out on top against a world-class field like this. There’s so many great players here, it’s just incredible.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.