RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Team Canada’s Naomi Ko had a day to remember on Tuesday, hoisting her first collegiate trophy after a playoff victory at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
Ko, a sophomore at N.C. State, closed the 54-hole event at the Rio Mar Country Club with a score of 1-under par (74-71-70) to enter a five-way tie for first. The Victoria, B.C., product went on to capture medallist honours by way of a scorecard playoff.
“Naomi is very dedicated to her game and the results continue to prove that,” said Tristan Mullally, Team Canada Women’s Head Coach. “She’s already accomplished so much in her amateur career and this win is another great sign of her development and commitment.”
The reigning Canadian Junior Girls’ champion and Order of Merit winner also paced the N.C. State Wolfpack to their first team victory of the season with an aggregate score of 877 (+13).
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CALGARY– Three-time LPGA Tour winner and eighth-ranked player in the world, Brooke Henderson is joining Canadian Pacific (CP) as its newest ambassador for the CP Women’s Open.
Henderson will join longtime ambassador Lorie Kane in representing CP and the CP Women’s Open over the course of the railway’s partnership with Golf Canada as title sponsor of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship.
“It is an honour to welcome Brooke to the CP team,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “Brooke is the perfect ambassador for CP as we continue to grow the game of golf, advocate for healthy living through CP Has Heart, and build on the iconic Canadian brand that is CP.”
The 19-year old Canadian prodigy, born in Smiths Falls, Ontario, won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic as a Monday qualifier, becoming the first Canadian to win on tour since CP ambassador Lorie Kane in 2001. After that win, and just prior to the start of the 2015 CP Women’s Open, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan granted Henderson membership on the tour, a unique allowance as nearly all members must be over the age of 18. Since then, Henderson has taken the LPGA by storm, consistently finishing at, or near, the top of the leaderboard.
“Smiths Falls is a CP town and a few of my family members proudly work at the railway,” Henderson said. “Being able to wear the CP logo is truly special, and I look forward to celebrating many more victories with CP and my rail family, which now includes thousands of CP’s hard working employees.”
Henderson is also a graduate of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Squad and Young Pro Squad supported by CP, which marked the beginning of her relationship with the railway.
With her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, Henderson became the first Canadian to capture an LPGA major championship. She also represented Canada at the Rio Olympic Summer Games.
Henderson joins Kane – who blazed the trail for her younger competitors on her way to four LPGA Tour wins, the most by a Canadian – as a CP golf ambassador.
“I am excited to welcome Brooke to the CP family,” said Kane. “I look forward to teaming up with her to continue to grow the game and make significant contributions in the communities that CP has helped to build across our nation; especially as we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday this year.”
To coincide with Canada 150 celebrations, the 2017 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will return to the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club from August 21 to 27. Through its CP Has Heart campaign, CP will once again make a significant donation to cardiac care in the host community, with funds benefiting improvements in diagnoses and treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. For tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer information visit www.cpwomensopen.com or call 1-866-571-5742.
February is Heart Month and Canadian Pacific (CP) announced two major charity partnerships that will benefit the beautiful hearts of children and adults in Ottawa through the 2017 CP Women’s Open and CFL regular season, playoffs and Grey Cup.
The overall campaign, titled “Beautiful Hearts”, will support the refurbishment of facilities that patients use every day at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and University of Ottawa Heart Institute and celebrate the resiliency and spirit of the human heart.
CHEO is the official beneficiary of the 2017 CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, August 21-27. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute will benefit from all funds raised through our partnership with the CFL throughout 2017.
“CP is excited to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in the nation’s capital while supporting two world-renowned hospitals by bringing the best LPGA golfers and CFL players together,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “Through CP’s community investment program, CP Has Heart, the ‘Beautiful Hearts’ campaign will bring crucial support to both CHEO and the Ottawa Heart Institute this year.”
Each year, CHEO touches the lives of more than 500,000 infants, children and youth from Eastern and Northern Ontario, Western Quebec and Nunavut. To better care for all of these patients, CHEO will be embarking on a $1.8 million project to upgrade the hospital’s Catheterization Lab and Interventional Suite. A redesigned space, specialized equipment and pediatric specific training will be critically important elements in the health and wellness of CHEO’s patients.
“Technological advancements offering the clearest and most concise images for our doctors are a vital element of the Catheterization Lab and Interventional Suite upgrade that will be funded with the help of CP’s ‘Beautiful Hearts’ campaign,” said Kevin Keohane, CHEO Foundation President and CEO. “The result will be a technologically advanced suite that will allow doctors and technologists to more accurately diagnose, and more gently treat, vulnerable young patients.”
Born with a rare type of congenital heart malformation, Zander Zatylny underwent two open heart surgeries by age one. Now seven, Zander has had eight stents placed into both his right and left pulmonary arteries to improve blood flow. He requires regular monitoring and will need future interventions. He will benefit first-hand from real-time, 3D imaging that will guide his physicians during future procedures.
As children grow into adults, their care transfers to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Four days after her birth in Vancouver, Olivia Hiddema had her first open-heart surgery. At age two, Olivia and her family moved to Ottawa where the doctors and nurses at CHEO monitored her regularly as she progressed through childhood. When Olivia turned 18, she graduated from CHEO to the Adult Congenital Heart Clinic at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute where she underwent a second open heart surgery at age 20.
Olivia will directly benefit from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s largest expansion in its 40 year history, adding 145,000 square feet of state-of-the-art clinical space to the existing facility. This expansion will allow the Institute to continue to serve the cardiac care needs of Canadians, as the referral centre for hospitals throughout Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, Nunavut, and for many more patients from coast-to-coast who come to Ottawa for life-saving procedures.
“The next five years will be the most exciting of the Institute’s history,” said Jim Orban, President and CEO of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. “Partnerships like the one with CP Has Heart are vital to the Institute’s evolution and support like this ensures that world-class cardiovascular treatment, programs and patient care are available today, shaping the lives of so many Canadians tomorrow.”
This week, as part of the Ottawa Heart Institute’s “February is Heart Month” campaign, CP is matching donations to a maximum of $7,500, turning your support into up to $15,000 for the Heart Institute. Donate at FebruaryisHeartMonth.ca.
For every retweet, Facebook share or ‘love’ reaction of the “Beautiful Hearts” video from the @CFL, the League will donate 50 cents to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Stay tuned to @CPhasHeart on Facebook and Twitter and at CPHasHeart.ca to see how you can further contribute and help both charities in the coming months.
Neil Davidson (Canadian Press)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Amateur Squad member Maddie Szeryk posted a final-round 70 (-2) on Sunday to share a three-way tie of second place at the Florida State Match-Up.
Szeryk’s performance was underlined by an opening-round, seven-birdie effort en route to carding a tournament-low 66 (-6). The Texas A&M junior went on to finish the event at 8-under par to lead the Aggies to a third place team result. Individually, the reigning Canadian Order of Merit winner came up three strokes short in her bid to defend the Seminole Invitational title; she took home the honours in 2016. Morgane Metraux of host Florida State went on to earn the title this year.
Thanks in part to Szeryk’s play, the Aggies were also able to break a 54-hole record by carding a new team-low 14-under par at the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course. Szeryk, a London, Ont., resident, also collected her 12th top-5 NCAA finish in the process.
Szeryk and the Aggies will tee-it-up next at The Dixon from Feb. 27-28 in the Woodlands, Tex.
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jordan Spieth kept it simple Sunday and won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the ninth PGA Tour title of his young career.
Spieth started with a six-shot lead and no one got closer than three all day. He putted for birdie on all but one hole and closed with a 2-under 70 for a four-shot victory over former U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft, who shot 67.
U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson shot 68 to finish third.
The scenery was as spectacular as it gets on the Monterey Peninsula. The final round was on the dull side, and that was just fine with Spieth.
“That’s a dream round when you’re leading by a bunch,” Spieth said.
It was his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the Masters, where he lost a five-shot lead on the back nine at Augusta National. The 23-year-old Texan ran off 14 straight pars until a 30-foot birdie on the par-3 17th. That allowed for an easy walk up the 18th, a closing hole even more gorgeous with a four-shot lead.
Spieth’s only other birdie was on the par-5 second when he two-putted from 12 feet.
One day after he took only 23 putts on the bumpy greens of Pebble Beach, he didn’t make hard anything, and didn’t look to be trying to make them from above the hole to avoid putting himself in a position to drop shots.
No one could put any pressure on him over the opening seven holes, which is where rallies begin at Pebble Beach.
Two-time Pebble Beach winner Brandt Snedeker, playing in the final group with Spieth, managed three birdies through six holes to get within four shots. But he narrowly missed birdie chances on the fifth and seventh holes, and he fell back with a bogey on the ninth. Snedeker closed with nine straight pars for a 70 to finish fourth.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., both shot a final round 71 to finish the tournament at 8-under 279 and tied for 10th. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch (71) was 33rd while Adam Hadwin (73) of Abbotsford was 39th.
Kraft, a close friend of Spieth’s from Dallas, ran off four straight birdies on the front nine, and his birdie at No. 11 got him to within three shots. His last hope was missing an 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
Spieth said caddie Michael Greller told him on every tee, “Keep playing boring golf.”
“I don’t like boring golf,” he said. “But that’s what was needed today.”
He played the final 28 holes without a bogey.
Spieth became the seventh straight PGA Tour winner in his 20s, and he got back into the hunt for No. 1. He had fallen far enough behind that even by beating a strong field at Pebble Beach, it will not move him from No. 6.
But he goes to Riviera next week with a chance to reach as high as No. 2. Johnson, with this third-place finish, could go to No. 1 by winning at Riviera.
The spot now belongs to Jason Day, who shared the 36-hole lead at Pebble Beach and fell 10 shots behind with a 75 on Saturday. Day bounced back with a 67 to tie for fifth with Gary Woodland (65) and Torrey Pines winner Jon Rahm (68).
Spieth now has four top 10s in his four starts this year and already appears to be peaking as the Masters gets closer. He has shot under par in all 16 rounds he has played this year, 17 in a row dating to the Tour Championship last fall.
The only disappointment for Spieth was not winning the pro-am with country singer Jake Owen. They tied for third, four shots behind Ken Duke and Carson Daly.
Royce Thompson / PGATour.com
BOGOTA, Colombia – Ethan Tracy moved into the top spot on the money list with a thrilling overtime victory at the Club Colombia Championship by Servientrega. Tracy and Mexico’s Roberto Diaz were gridlocked at 13-under-par 271 at the end of regulation and headed back to the par-5 18th hole at Country Club de Bogota to determine the winner.
Brandon Harkins held the lead most of the day and was 15-under-par walking off the 12th green. The 54-hole co-leader struggled coming in and bogeyed three of the last six holes. Harkins missed a birdie try from just off the back of the green on 18 to join Diaz and Tracy in the playoff.
After the pair tied the first extra hole with par, Tracy rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the second hole to secure his first Tour win and a first-place prize of $126,000. Tracy had missed the cut in the first two events of the season but moved into the top spot on the Tour money list with his triumph in Bogota.
“I was just grateful to be in the playoff,” said Tracy, who holed out from the fairway on the 72nd hole to finish at 13-under-par. “Somehow I made a great shot, and I was fortunate that it went in. I capitalized on a good shot in the playoff with a great putt. Overall, the 18th was pretty good to me.”
In regulation, Tracy laid up with a 7-ion on the home hole and was left with 101 yards for his third. The 27-year-old from Columbus, Ohio dunked a wedge for an eagle three to tie Diaz for the lead.
“I was trying to make it,” said Tracy, who played the par-5 5-under for the week. “I knew 13 was the number. I was going to get it all the way back to that pin and if it went over so be it. I had to give it a chance.”
Tracy’s resume is impressive, especially as an amateur. The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada alum took down PGA TOUR winner Derek Ernst, two-time major champion Jordan Spieth, TOUR rookie C.T. Pan and Patrick Cantlay on his way to victory at the Western Amateur in 2011.
“I won the Western Amateur and beat quite a few players on the PGA TOUR,” said Tracy. “I can’t wait to get out there and compete with them again.”
Tracy and former University of Arkansas teammate Andrew Landry are poised to earn their PGA TOUR cards this season. The duo are No. 1 and No. 2 on the money list after the first three events.
“Him (Andrew) and I were teammates my freshman year and we’re actually rooming together this week,” said Tracy, who has a $7,850 lead over his college buddy. “We’ll see if we can keep this Arkansas streak going next week.”
After two missed cuts in the Bahamas, Tracy spent countless hours at The Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville working on his craft. The relentless pursuit of excellence has given the four-year professional confidence.
“I know I’m playing well and putted well this week,” said Tracy. “I just went home in the off-week and worked hard and it shows that my hard work is paying off.”
Canadian Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. shot 4-under 67 to finish T17 at 7-under for the tournament while Thornhill, Ont. native Ben Silverman was even par 71, good for a share of 62nd at 4-over.
Sunday Notes:
* Sunday weather: Low: 57, High: 70, Winds: 5-10 E/S.
* This week’s purse is $700,000, with $126,000 going to winner Ethan Tracy.
* This week marks the 100th anniversary of Country Club de Bogota.
* Ethan Tracy’s victory comes at age 27 years, 3 months and 2 days.
* Tracy moves to No. 1 on the money list; he was previously unranked.
* Tracy’s win comes in his fourth start on Tour.
* Down the stretch, Tracy went par-birdie-eagle to close out the tournament.
* Tracy is the second player in his 20s to win this season on Tour – Andrew Landry.
* Tracy is the second Arkansas Razorback to win on Tour this season – Andrew Landry.
* Andrew Landry and Ethan Tracy (Arkansas) have won in consecutive starts on the Web.com Tour. The only other two golfers from the same college to win on Tour in consecutive weeks were Michael Clark II (1996 Olympia Open) and Tripp Isenhour (1996 Web.com Tour Championship).
* Tracy played the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada from 2015-16 and recorded six top 10s in 18 starts.
* Roberto Diaz finished runner-up for the second time in his career. Diaz picked up a check worth $75,600 and moved to No. 4 on the Tour money list.
* In three appearances at the Club Colombia Championship, Diaz has finished T6 (2015), T7 (2016) and runner-up this year.
* Alex Kang closed with a final-round 66 and was one shot shy of the playoff. The T3 in Bogota is Kang’s best showing on Tour in four starts.
* Brandon Harkins carded a final-round, 1-under 70 to miss out on the playoff by a shot. Harkins’ T3 places him No. 10 on the money list and gets him into next week’s Panama Claro Championship.
Vartan Kupelian / PGATour.com
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Allianz Championship is where eagles dare, and it was entirely fitting that Scott McCarron’s victory Sunday came as the result of an eagle on the 18th hole.
For three days under brilliant skies, the conditions were perfect for bird watching and The Old Course at Broken Sound didn’t disappoint. There were 26 eagles and 1,096 birdies, the third most all-time in a 54-hole event on the PGA TOUR Champions.
McCarron made two eagles in the final round, adding a 2 on the par 4 seventh hole, and had three total. He shot 67 for 17-under-par 199.
“All wins are exciting but this one, to be able to finish it off the way I did, really something special,” he said. “It was a very good day.”
With Kenny Perry and Carlos Franco in the clubhouse (actually, Perry was on the practice range staying prepared for the possibility of a playoff) at 16-under 198, center stage belonged to McCarron in the last group. He produced an inviting final act.
A bogey at the 17th hole had dropped McCarron back to 15 under but with the 18th lurking – it’s a short par five of 507 yards by modern standards – McCarron was still easily in the mix. He needed a birdie to join a three-man playoff, an eagle to win.
After an ideal drive, from 179 yards he hit 7-iron to six feet. The winning putt was almost a formality.
“Yeah, no hesitation,” McCarron said. “As soon as I walked up and saw where it was, my caddie and I actually read greens through AimPoint, so he putts a level on every 5-yard grid on the green. I knew exactly where we had a level, right there 2.0 percent slope. I knew as soon as I stepped up what that putt was going to do. I walked around it just because I had plenty of time to do it. I really wasn’t looking at anything else. I knew it was in.”
McCarron’s executive from tee to green was flawless on the deciding hole.
“Getting in the fairway after I hit a good (drive), I’m not thinking about I’ve got to make eagle, I’m thinking about I’ve got to hit a good 7-iron, I’ve got to make a good swing here,” he said. “I’m going to start it right there and it’s just going to peel off just a little bit … When you start saying I’ve got to make eagle or I’ve got to do that, I think you start putting undue pressure on yourself. I was just trying, ‘This is a driving range 7-iron, get up there and hit it just like you know how to and we’ll see what happens.”
It was clear Saturday night when the smoke had cleared from the second-round shoot-out that there would be more of the same Sunday.
The top 11 on the final leaderboard all shot in the 60s Sunday, ranging from 64s by Kevin Sutherland and Paul Broadhurst, to the 69s by Fred Couples and Doug Garwood.
Canadian Stephen Ames cracked the top-10, following up a 63 on Saturday with a 5-under 67 on Sunday to finish T6 at 14-under. Fellow Canuck Jim Rutledge closed with his best round best of the event, shooting a 7-under 65 to finish T62 at 2-under.
Perry, extending his solid play for the week, shot 66. His attempt for an eagle putt at the 18th, three groups before McCarron, narrowly missed.
“I hit a great putt,” Perry said. “Just a great putt. It was in the middle of the hole, a foot from the hole, and it just broke a hair to the right, hit the right side of the cup and spit it out.”
Franco’s number starting the final round was 63. His inspiration came from the Maybank Championship Malaysia where a protégé, 33-year-old Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti, shot a final-round 63 Sunday to win the title in the European Tour event.
Zanotti has modeled his golf after Franco but this time it was Franco who was playing follow-the-leader.
“I played very solid the last 27 holes,” Franco said. “(Saturday) on the back nine I shot 5 under and today I played really, really confident. Only three behind the leader and I know exactly what I need to make. My number today is 8-under and I shoot 65.
“I tried to make a 63 because my partner, Fabio Zanotti, who won the European Tour, he shot 63, 9-under. Another 63, maybe another win.”
It didn’t quite happen but neither did it discourage Franco.
“I’m happy,” he said. “This golf, you don’t know who’s going to win, especially for the PGA TOUR Champions. The last hole is very important for a chance to win.”
If Franco’s paradigm needed validation, McCarron gave it to him.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jordan Spieth had a performance that matched the magnificent views – finally – at Pebble Beach on Saturday.
Spieth took only 10 putts on the back nine, closed with a pitch that checked up inches from the cup for another birdie and shot a 7-under 65 to open up a six-shot lead going in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Starting out the round in the weather-delayed event tied with Jason Day and Derek Fathauer, Spieth never gave anyone a chance.
Following his only bogey of the round – a 7-iron over the cliffs on No. 8 that narrowly stayed up in the rough above the putting surface – he ran off three straight birdies, made a tough, curling 6-foot par putt on the 12th and then closed with three birdies and another tough par save on his last four holes.
He was at 17-under 197 and had his largest 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.
Brandt Snedeker did his part with a 30 on the front nine – he started on No. 10 – for a 67 to pull within two shots when he finished.
Snedeker, trying to win at Pebble Beach for the third time in five years, was at 11-under 204 and will be in the final group with Spieth, along with their amateur partners. Spieth is playing with country singer Jake Owen, while Snedeker’s partner is Nashville businessman Toby Wilt.
Dustin Johnson spent three days with Spieth and couldn’t keep up, at least not on the greens. The U.S. Open champion made three birdies over his last six holes and saved par from a shot into the Pacific Ocean on No. 18 for a 66. He was seven shots behind.
Among the Canadians making the cut, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., both head into Sunday T11 at 7-under. Taylor’s third round 68 featured a mix bag that included two eagles, three birdies, two bogies and a double bogey while Hughes caught fire with seven birdies through 17 holes before a triple bogey on 18 dropped him back to 4-under on the day.
Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, was 4-under on the day and 5-under overall (T16) while Brad Fritsch of Manotick, Ont. rounds out the Canadian scoring at 4-under (T28) after shooting 69 on Saturday.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Fred Couples birdied the final two holes Saturday to pull within a stroke of the leaders in the PGA Champions Tour’s Allianz Championship.
The 57-year-old Couples shot a 7-under 65 to reach 11-under 133 on The Old Course at Broken Sound.
Doug Garwood, Joe Durant, Scott McCarron and first-round leader Olin Browne shared the top spot, all birdieing the par-5 18th. Garwood shot 64, Durant 65, McCarron 66, and Browne 69. Tom Pernice Jr. had a 64 to match Couples at 11 under.
Couples birdied the first three holes, dropped a stroke on the par-4 fourth, birdied the par-5 sixth and eagled the par-4 10th. He two-putted from about 100 feet for birdie on 18.
“It was a good round overall,” Couples said. “I made some putts, obviously. That’s really about it. I didn’t do anything overwhelming, but I didn’t do much poor. A couple times I got it up-and-down to keep going. I birdied the first three holes and I absolutely butchered the fourth hole from about 80 yards. I came up way short and three-putted.”
He holed out with a wedge on the 10th.
“I forgot about that,” Couples said. “I hit a 3-wood and got it way down there and I was surprised, 90 yards, which is a perfect sand wedge. I hit it right by the hole, took a bounce and spun back in. I totally forgot about those fun things. But that was a surprise. Picked up two quick ones there. It kind of pushed me, obviously, close to everybody.”
Couples is playing in Florida for the first time since the 2006 Honda Classic.
“Glad I came,” said Couples, the Hall of Famer who won the last of his 11 senior titles in 2014. “The course is beautiful. I’ve never played here, so yesterday was a little bit of a guessing game because I had never played the course and we got rained out in the pro-am after eight holes. But I got it around and today was much better. I love the course and plan on coming back.”
McCarron won twice last year on the 50-and-over tour.
“A lot less wind today, but some tough hole locations, so it made it play tough,” McCarron said. “Yesterday was a lot tougher with the wind, but today was nice. It was windy when we started and then just kind of laid down toward the afternoon. This is such a great golf course and it’s in phenomenal shape, so it’s going to be a shootout tomorrow.”
Canadian Stephen Ames fired a sizzling 9-under 63 Saturday including an ace on the 204-yard par-3 14th hole to climb 39 spots into a share of 12th heading into Sunday’s final round. Fellow Canuck Jim Rutledge bounced back from an opening-round 80 with at 2-under 69 Saturday in 74th position.
Bernhard Langer was tied for 54th after his second straight 71. The 59-year-old German star is coming off a victory in the season opener in Hawaii, his 30th career victory on the PGA Tour Champions. He won the Allianz Championship in 2010.
Defending champion Esteban Toledo was 8 under after a 67.
Winning Ryder Cup captains Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley are making their senior debuts. Olazabal was tied for 23rd at 6 under after a 67, and McGinley was tied for 44th at 3 under after a 73.
John Daly eagled the 18th in a 75 that left him tied for 69th at 2 over.
Royce Thompson / PGATour.com
BOGOTA, Colombia – Brandon Harkins and Andrew Landry share the 54-hole lead at the Club Colombia Championship by Servientrega. Harkins carded a bogey-free 5-under 66, while Landry posted a 3-under 68. The duo is tied at 11-under-par 202, one stroke in front of Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada alum Aaron Wise, who carded a third-round 63 in his Web.com Tour debut.
Harkins and Landry have something in common, as the pair competed in last year’s U.S. Open at historic Oakmont Country Club. Landry held the first-round lead after an impressive 66, while Harkins’ highlight of the week came in the third round at the par-4 17th hole, where he tapped in for eagle after a near-ace with a driver from the tee.
That’s where the comparisons stop, as Landry has established himself on Tour more so than Harkins. The 29-year-old Texan won The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club a few weeks ago and is hoping to take a firm lead in the money race with a victory on Sunday.
“After that first win (of the year), I want to win more,” said Landry, who has won twice on Tour. “Hopefully I can get another win or two more and get out (to the PGA TOUR).”
Landry’s goals have changed since that magical week in the Bahamas. They say winning breeds confidence and Landry is certainly playing well now. Drawing on experiences like last year’s run to a tie for 15th at Oakmont, to this year’s victory in Abaco, Landry is poised for a breakout year on Tour.
“Starting the week you just want to be able to put yourself in a situation to be in the final group on the last day,” said Landry, who has won two out of three times he has held a share of the 54-hole lead. “Taking away from Abaco and the U.S. Open, I have a lot of learning experience there.”
Landry had an up and down afternoon in Bogota, recording one eagle, four birdies and three bogeys in his third round. Two of his mistakes saw his lead vanish. Standing on the tee at the 14th hole, Landry was 12-under, and alone at the top, but quickly gave two shots back. He needed a birdie on the 16th hole to regain a share of the lead.
“It was tough out there today,” said Landry. “The wind was up, pins were hard and the greens were fast. It was one of those days where I grinded it out. I didn’t putt my best and just missed a lot of short ones”
Landry has been successful when in contention on Sunday. The former University of Arkansas Razorback has conquered some of the toughest tests in golf and will have a chance to add Country Club de Bogota to that list Sunday afternoon.
“Whenever I’ve been in contention or in the lead I’ve been very patient,” said Landry. “This golf course is a big patience golf course. You have to be so precise on your iron shots because the greens are so firm.”
Harkins, who is playing in just his fifth Tour event, has been a professional golfer for seven years now and has taken plenty of lumps along the way. Competing alongside some of the best in the game in his first major championship experience has helped him get into the final group on Sunday in Bogota.
“I learned a ton at the U.S. Open this past year,” said Harkins, who has never led/co-led after 54 holes of a Tour event. “That was the most I’ve ever felt my nerves and I handled it pretty well.”
Harkins is holding his own through 54 holes. The Scottsdale resident has posted two straight flawless rounds around the treacherous John Van Kleek design and is the only player in the field to accomplish that feat this week.
“If you get a bad hop here, a bad hop there, you can be short-sided,” said Harkins. “So, I play to the middle of the green and just take my medicine when I’m in trouble.”
The 30-year-old from Walnut Creek, Calif. played last season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica before battling through the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn conditional status. Harkins finished tied for 53rd place last December and is currently fifth alternate into next week’s Panama Claro Championship.
“It’s in the back of my mind but it doesn’t have anything to do with how I play,” said Harkins, who would become fully-exempt the rest of the season with a victory on Sunday. “I’ll just go out and do my best and see what happens.”
Canadian Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. shot 1-over 72 Saturday and fell back into a share of 25th at 3-under while Thornhill, Ont. native Ben Silverman shot 4-over 75 for a share of 66th at 4-over.
Saturday Notes:
* Saturday weather: Low: 57, High: 70, Winds: 5-10 E/S.
* This week’s purse is $700,000, with $126,000 going to the winner.
* This week marks the 100th anniversary of Country Club de Bogota.
* The cut came at 1-over 143, with 67 players making it to the weekend
* Brandon Harkins has now posted five straight rounds under par going back to The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic where he finished T31.
* Harkins is making his fifth Tour start this week and is trying to play his way up the reshuffle after finishing T53 at the Qualifying Tournament last December. He is currently the fifth alternate for next week’s Panama Claro Championship.
* Andrew Landry’s two wins on Tour have come outside the United States. He has recorded one victory in Colombia already. In 2015, he won the Servientrega Championship Presented by Efecty, contested at TPC Cartagena in Cartagena, Colombia.
* Landry missed the cut in his only other Club Colombia Championship appearance.
* Landry’s scoring average on Tour when tied for the 54-hole lead in an event is 69.33. Landry is two of three in converting the 54-hole co-lead into a victory (1 – 2015 Servientrega Championship, T15 – 2015 Nova Scotia Open, 1 – 2017 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic).
* The last time a player won back-to-back starts on Tour was Michael Putnam in 2013 (El Bosque Mexico Championship, Mid-Atlantic Championship).
* Aaron Wise looks to become the first player to win on the Web.com Tour in their first start since Bryson DeChambeau, at the 2016 DAP Championship (9/11/16).
* Wise earned Web.com Tour status by finishing No. 4 on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit last season. In seven starts, he recorded five top-10s including one victory, at the Syncrude Oil Country Championship presented by AECON.
* In 2016, as an amateur, Wise captured victory at the Australian Master of the Amateurs in January, then the NCAA Men’s Individual title, also helping the Oregon Ducks to their first ever team championship by going 3-0 in match play. He became the first player since Kevin Chappell (UCLA) in 2008 to win both the Individual and Team NCAA Championships.
* Brice Garnett made the fourth hole-in-one in tournament history with an 8-iron on the par-3 fifth hole from 205 yards. Garnett made two eagles in his third round en route to a 6-under 65.
* Andrew Putnam’s sizzling 7-under 64 places him three back heading into the final round. Putnam won the wind-shortened WNB Classic in 2014. In two starts this season, he has recorded a T8 (The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic) and a T11 (The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic).
* Hardest/Easiest Hole
Hardest – Par-4 first (4.397) Easiest – Par-5 eighth (4.456)
* Bogey-free rounds:
R1 – Brice Garnett (65), Denny McCarthy (67), Andrew Landry (68).
R2 – Roberto Diaz (65), Jimmy Gunn (66), Mark Hensby (66), Brandon Harkins (67), Sepp Straka (67).
R3 –Andrew Putnam (64), Brandon Harkins (66).
