(Vancouver, BC) – North Vancouver’s Eugene Wong got his PGA TOUR Canada season started off on the right foot on Thursday, firing a bogey-free 6-under 66 at Point Grey Golf and Country Club to share the first round lead at the PC Financial Open with Clarkston, Washington’s Joel Dahmen and Mexico’s Mario Clemens.
Wong, playing in front of friends and family on a familiar golf course, carded six birdies and converted a tricky sand save on the 18th hole for par to preserve a flawless opening round, one that he said he had been anxiously awaiting after resting in the weeks leading up to the start of PGA TOUR Canada’s second season.
“It’s definitely a confidence booster,” said Wong, a two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada, who grew up playing junior tournaments at Point Grey. “I knew I was ready even though I didn’t play many tournaments coming in. I planned on not playing too much since there’s a long season ahead of me.”
Dahmen, entering his fifth season on PGA TOUR Canada with momentum after claiming two Gateway Tour wins in the offseason, said he couldn’t wait to get his season started and search for his first win on TOUR.
“It feels great to get the season off to a good start,” said Dahmen, who made five birdies, an eagle and one bogey on Thursday. “You’re always apprehensive or a little anxious to get it going, and I had a great winter. I was anxious to get this started. I had a month off after my last tournament, so I wasn’t really sure how I was going to play.”
The 26-year old University of Washington alum had a handful of chances to win on PGA TOUR Canada in 2014, and said he hopes his experiences in the winter will help him if he has a chance to claim his first victory later this season.
“I struggled on Sunday last year. I had three chances to win and didn’t get it done, and so to play through the winter and to win a few times and learn how to win was huge,” said Dahmen.
While Wong and Dahmen come into the season looking to improve on past success, Mexico’s Mario Clemens looked like a veteran in his first PGA TOUR Canada start. The British Columbia Q-School grad, who won the 2013 Mexican Amateur Championship and finished T-4 at the NEC Series – PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Abierto de Chile, said he was thrilled to be in Canada as he looks to play his way onto the Web.com Tour in 2015.
“This is the fastest way to the PGA TOUR, I think. So far, Canada’s just been amazing. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The views here are just spectacular and the people are so nice, very welcoming.”
Clapp claims rainy weather as advantage on day one
Making his debut as a PGA TOUR Canada member, Chilliwack, British Columbia’s Brad Clapp made himself look like a veteran, firing a 5-under 67 to share fourth place with Sacramento, California’s John Catlin and Seattle, Washington’s Blake Snyder. The bulk of his round came in Monday’s morning rain, an element Clapp said actually may have helped Vancouver-based players like himself.
“I’ve said it to a few of the Vancouver guys, if it rains a little bit and it’s wet out here, it’s a huge advantage for us,” said Clapp. “The way the ball flies and how it reacts on the greens, and just staying dry. There are a lot of guys that play fair-weather golf all year round and we don’t have that advantage, so it was nice to get some rain and even nicer to play well in it.”
Clapp, who is making his debut on TOUR after a successful run on the PGA of BC club circuit, including a win at the 2012 PGA of BC Championship, said he was able to calm his nerves enough in front of friends and family at Point Grey.
“I just tried to treat it like any other tournament and it felt like any other tournament, so it was good. I stayed really patient and I’m happy with today for sure.”
Williams looking to join Huskie alums on PGA TOUR Canada and beyond
If Moscow, Idaho’s Chris Williams’ resume looks familiar, it’s because it’s nearly identical to that of Nick Taylor, who played his way from PGA TOUR Canada onto the Web.com Tour last season. Both claimed former spot atop the World Amateur Golf Rankings and a Ben Hogan Award while playing at the University of Washington, where several players have come from on their way to PGA TOUR Canada.
“There’s a bunch of us out here, and obviously Nick went through here last year on the way to the Web.com Tour. It’s a nice play to play,” said Williams, who fired a 4-under 68 in round one to sit tied for seventh. Other former Huskies in the field include Dahmen, Brock Mackenzie, Joe Panzeri and Darren Wallace.
“Nowadays it’s tough to find a place to play, so it’s perfect to have a 12-tournament schedule and plan out your travel for the summer,” said Williams. “And obviously, at the end of the year there are those five spots on the Web.com Tour, so it’s really competitive. Click here for scores
129 players earned status to play PGA Tour Canada this summer at three qualifying sites. See who got their card and will be teeing it up this year. (Bold denotes Canadian)
British Columbia Qualifying Tournament – May 5-9, 2014 – Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community (Courtenay, BC)
Earned Exempt Status:
1 David Bradshaw 65 62 71 73 271
T2 Adam Long 74 69 68 68 279
T2 Timothy Madigan 72 71 69 67 279
T4 Greg Machtaler 68 69 74 70 281
T4 Benjamin Silverman 69 72 71 69 281
T6 Brendan Gielow 70 68 73 71 282
T6 Matthew Smith 69 70 73 70 282
T6 Chris Williams 70 70 75 67 282
T9 Ryan McCormick 71 71 67 74 283
T9 Michael Schachner 72 69 70 72 283
T11 Ted Brown 70 74 74 66 284
T11 Adam Cornelson 68 71 76 69 284
T11 Chris McCartin 69 69 75 71 284
T14 Matthew Galloway 72 71 72 70 285
T14 Kazuo Hoffman 74 72 70 69 285
T14 Jay Myers 74 69 71 71 285
T14 Jordan Walor 74 69 72 70 285
T18 Brad Clapp 74 69 73 70 286*
* = won six-for-one playoff
Earned Conditional Status:
T18 Justin Bardgett 72 68 73 73 286
T18 Sean Dale 69 75 75 67 286
T18 Philip Francis 73 70 77 66 286
T18 Nate McCoy 69 69 75 73 286
T18 Russell Surber 67 71 75 73 286
T24 Brien Davis 72 72 73 70 287
T24 Blake Snyder 71 69 70 77 287
T26 Mario Clemens 71 70 73 74 288
T26 Garrett Driver 67 72 78 71 288
T26 Justin Peters 72 68 78 70 288
T26 Jake Sarnoff 71 72 75 70 288
T30 Timothy Bordeaux 70 73 73 73 289
T30 Riley Fleming 73 76 72 68 289
T30 James Love 68 73 74 74 289
T30 Cameron White 71 69 73 76 289
T30 Paul Woodbury 71 71 73 74 289
T35 Weston Eklund 70 75 73 72 290
T35 Mitch Evanecz 74 70 72 74 290
T35 James Seymour 73 74 68 75 290
T38 Brett Cairns 74 70 72 75 291
T38 Braeden Cryderman 68 78 73 72 291
T38 Jay Gehl II 74 70 72 75 291
T38 Kevin Stinson 71 73 82 65 291
California Qualifying Tournament – May 7-11, 2014 – Oak Valley Golf and Country Club (Beaumont, CA)
Earned Exempt Status:
1 Daniel Miernicki 66 72 71 64 273
T2 Alexis Anghert 65 71 66 73 275
T2 Greg Eason 69 66 68 72 275
T2 Sam Ryder 69 71 67 68 275
5 Clayton Rask 71 66 70 69 276
6 Seth Fair 67 70 69 74 280
7 Joseph Doramus 72 73 66 70 281
T8 Jon McDonald 75 68 69 70 282
T8 Jay Vandeventer 68 71 71 72 282
T8 Alan Wagner 67 73 72 70 282
T11 Peter Campbell 67 69 75 72 283
T11 Samuel Cyr 72 72 67 72 283
T11 Robert Karlsson 72 67 70 74 283
T11 Charlie Winegardner 69 68 76 70 283
15 Tyler Ostrovsky 72 68 71 73 284
T16 Hunter Hamrick 71 69 71 74 285*
T16 JP Brown 72 71 72 70 285*
T16 Devin Daniels 73 73 67 72 285*
* = denotes won six-for-three playoff
Earned Conditional Status:
T16 Drew Evans 69 72 74 70 285
T16 Bryan Bergna 72 69 70 74 285
T16 Jack Newman 73 73 72 67 285
T22 John Catlin 74 70 71 71 286
T22 Jeff Corr 72 69 73 72 286
T22 Geoff Gonzalez 68 74 73 71 286
T22 Mike Lavery 72 69 71 74 286
T22 Trent Redfern 67 71 76 72 286
T22 Drew Stoltz 72 71 68 75 286
T28 Julian Etulain 73 73 68 73 287
T28 Ben Fletcher 76 68 68 75 287
T28 Robert Hudson 71 75 69 72 287
T28 Eddie Olson 74 71 71 71 287
T28 Beau Schoolcraft 69 77 74 67 287
T28 Joshua Stone 70 76 69 72 287
T34 Zenon Brown 74 70 70 74 288
T34 Steve Carney 70 80 71 67 288
T34 Dakota Duerr 74 73 69 72 288
T34 Justin Kim 69 72 74 73 288
T34 Spencer Lawson 72 71 71 74 288
T34 Kyle Morris 74 71 72 71 288
T40 Ben Briscoe 71 71 76 71 289
T40 Kristian Caparros 70 69 71 79 289
T40 Khristopher Niess 75 70 73 71 289
T40 David Sanchez 71 70 75 73 289
T40 Joshua Wooding 75 70 73 71 289
Florida Qualifying Tournament – April 14-18, 2014 – Reunion Golf Resort and Community (Reunion, FL)
Earned Exempt Status:
1 Jordan Krantz 74 75 71 66 286
2 Ryan Brehm 72 73 71 72 288
3 Paul Cormack 73 79 70 67 289
4 Dan McCarthy 74 71 72 73 290
5 Kelvin Day 75 76 70 70 291
T6 Jeff Dennis 72 76 71 73 292
T6 Richard McDonald 74 74 70 74 292
T6 Brad Miller 73 71 77 71 292
T6 Christopher Wolfe 74 77 72 69 292
T6 Bruce Woodall 77 71 71 73 292
T11 David Holmes 72 73 76 72 293
T11 Immu Korvenmaa 75 73 73 72 293
T13 Donald Preston 75 76 69 74 294
T13 Travis Ross 75 75 72 72 294
T15 Paul Ferrier 76 77 73 69 295*
T15 Creighton Honeck 76 72 76 71 295*
T15 Clark Klaasen 70 74 78 73 295*
T15 Andrew Noto 74 74 72 75 295*
* = denotes won five-for-four playoff
Earned conditional status:
T15 Christian Westhorpe 70 78 72 75 295
T20 Daniel Charen 76 78 70 72 296
T20 Matt Harmon 74 75 71 76 296
T20 Hunter Howell 74 77 73 72 296
T20 Cody Paladino 78 74 71 73 296
T20 Chris Ross 75 77 75 69 296
T20 Wills Smith 76 76 74 70 296
T20 Jared Steger 73 75 75 73 296
T27 David Byrne 78 74 72 73 297
T27 Linus Gillgren 74 83 69 71 297
T27 Shun Yat Hak 77 72 71 77 297
T30 Evan Beirne 75 71 74 78 298
T30 Krister Eriksson 75 76 73 74 298
T30 Evan Harmeling 76 79 71 72 298
T30 Mark Hoffman 75 75 75 73 298
T30 Brant Peaper 75 76 72 75 298
T35 Peter Campbell 71 75 76 77 299
T35 J.T. Griffin 75 78 75 71 299
T35 Jonathan Hodge 73 74 79 73 299
T35 Alexander Rosen 71 75 76 77 299
T39 Tyler Brown 80 72 75 73 300
T39 Matthew Ceravolo 79 72 74 75 300
T39 Chad Gates 81 77 71 71 300
T39 Jesse Speirs 77 79 72 72 300
T39 Patrick Wilson 73 79 76 72 300
Ten years ago, golfer Erik Compton was a young professional beginning his second season on PGA Tour Canada, looking to make his way up the game’s ranks to the PGA Tour. Though the Miami native has gained most of his fame for his success story as a two-time heart transplant recipient, his pedigree as a player from the amateur levels onward has always been stellar, and he was about to show it playing in Canada.
Compton’s 2004 season on PGA Tour Canada would jumpstart his professional career, posting five consecutive top-three finishes at one point, capped by a win at The Players Cup in Winnipeg, and go on to win the Order of Merit. At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April, where Compton finished tied for fifth, the former University of Georgia All-America looked back on the 10-year anniversary of his Order of Merit win knowing it helped fuel him to the new heights he would go on to reach.
“I think I have the confidence now that I had when I was playing PGA Tour Canada. I was very confident when I played in Canada, and I was very comfortable in my skin and knew what I was capable of, and I’m sort of getting to that feeling now,” said Compton.
His win at The Players Cup in Winnipeg is an experience that he still draws on to this day while playing the PGA Tour.
“The fans were just amazing,” said Compton. “I remember I stayed with some people and they were just so fired up about the event. It was like a PGA Tour atmosphere. They were so into the event, and that goes hand-in-hand with being more comfortable in a PGA Tour-type environment.”
Compton would go on to out-duel David Hearn, now a peer on the PGA Tour, on the back nine at Pine Ridge for the win. And as he looks to win for the first time on the PGA Tour, he knows he’ll have confidence from his days in Canada.
“It’s not easy, because this is the biggest stage in golf, but to be able to build that for young pros, it’s huge,” said Compton. “In Canada, I learned what it’s like to be in the lead and to try and win a golf tournament. It’s learning how to travel, learning how to eat out.
“It’s a beautiful tour Canada, too, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Most avid golf fans are familiar with Compton’s story. His first heart transplant came at age 12, and in 2008, he was successfully transplanted for the second time. He would not be slowed down, however, and continued to make a name for himself with his play on the course as well. He captured his first Web.com Tour win in 2011, earning a PGA Tour card for 2012. Last year, he retained exempt status for the first time, and with his top five in New Orleans, currently sits 61st in FedExCup points.
“It’s huge for me. It frees me up with some FedExCup points and now I can pace myself for the rest of the year,” said Compton of his week in New Orleans, matching the second best finish of his PGA Tour career.
The 34-year old uses his platform to raise awareness for Donate Life America, which helps educate the public and raise awareness for organ and tissue donation. At PGA Tour events, he’ll often conduct clinics and meet with young transplant recipients to deliver a message of hope.
“Some of these kids are young and they’ve just had their transplant,” said Compton. “So they want to know and their parents want to know that they can go on to do some cool stuff. Working with the kids is great, but sometimes when you get to talk to recipients and family members that are waiting, that makes even more of an impact.”
Compton’s effort to match his considerable profile as an off-course success story with on-course performance will always be a challenge. With his tale of triumph over adversity, it would likely take an enormous breakthrough on the golf course to make Erik Compton the story secondary to Erik Compton the player.
But if and when it happens, just don’t expect Erik – or anyone in Winnipeg – to be surprised.
COURTENAY, B.C. – California’s David Bradshaw cruised to an eight stroke victory at PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament Friday, carding a final round 73 to finish 17-under par for the week. Bradshaw was among 18 players to earn exempt status and 42 total players to earn PGA Tour Canada cards for 2014.
The 31-year old Bradshaw coasted easily to the win on the heels of a brilliant start, including a course record 62 in Wednesday’s second round at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community.
“Winning is always fun. I don’t care if it’s checkers or golf,” said Bradshaw. “I’m really looking forward to the first event, and I’m really looking forward to seeing Canada. This is my first time in Canada, and it’s been a heck of an experience.”
Bradshaw led by 11 strokes heading into the final day and extended his lead with an eagle on the first hole. The Shepherd University graduate admitted he lost focus for a stretch of holes coming in but was happy overall with his performance on the week.
“I think I had the bad mojo today, though I had my fair share and then some the first two days,” said Bradshaw. “I kind of felt like today was a little bit of a victory lap. I didn’t feel like anyone was going to be able to catch me. I knew I was playing well, but it’s so easy to get ahead of yourself.”
Bradshaw joins Qualifying Tournament medalists Jordan Krantz of Vermillion Bay, Ont. and Daniel Miernicki of Santee, California, who won the Florida and California Qualifying Tournaments respectively. Eight shots behind Bradshaw were Timothy Madigan, who fired a 5-under 67 on Friday, and Adam Long, who both finished at 9-under for the week.
Thirteen Canadians earned status on PGA Tour Canada for 2014, bringing the total number of Canadians with playing status for the year to 42. Below are the names and hometowns of each Canadian to earn status this week.
Player Result Hometown
Greg Machtaler T-4 Summerland, BC
Ben Silverman T-4 Thornhill, ON
Ted Brown T-11 Peterborough, ON
Adam Cornelson T-11 Langley, BC
Brad Clapp T-18 Chilliwack, BC
Riley Fleming T-30 Airdrie, AB
James Love T-30 Calgary, AB
Mitch Evanecz T-35 Red Deer, AB
James Seymour T-35 Aurora, ON
Kevin Stinson T-38 Mission, BC
Braeden Cryderman T-38 Huntsville, ON
Mitch Sutton T-38 London, ON
Brett Cairns T-38 Courtand, ON
COURTENAY, BC – On a day when heavy rain and gusting winds made Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community a challenging test and just six players broke 70, David Bradshaw held steady with a 1-under 71 to extend his lead to 11 shots heading into the final round of PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Q-School.
The 31-year old from Encinitas, California managed three birdies and two bogeys to add one shot to his overnight lead and post 18-under through 54 holes. Amateur Ryan McCormick sat in solo second at 7-under after firing a 5-under 67, the best round of the day.
“I know where I stand and I feel pretty confident,” said Bradshaw. “I just have to try and stay focused and not think about it too much and it should be okay.”
Bradshaw said he felt good about his round despite shooting nine shots higher than the day before, when he carded a course record 62 at Crown Isle. Temperatures hovered around 12 degrees Celsius, with winds gusting to 20 km/h and approximately 20 mm of rain falling through the day. The course averaged 75.35 strokes on Thursday after averaging just 73.74 over the first two rounds.
“I played pretty well. I saved a lot of pars on that back nine,” added Bradshaw. “Hitting the ball forward was the goal. If you made par it was great, and if you made any birdies it was a miracle. On the 14th hole, I hit driver-3 wood today after I hit driver-9 iron yesterday.”
Bradshaw comes into the week off an appearance on the PGA Tour, where he Monday Qualified for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The Shepherd University graduate also received a timely assist from a Crown Isle resident – four-time club champion Peter Benedictson, whose son Brian is a former PGA Tour Canada member – who stepped into caddie in round three.
“With a day like today, you definitely need a caddie, and he did an awesome job,” said Bradshaw. “When it got really windy around the middle of the front nine, it was a big relief to have him around and help me with the weather.”
With the top 18 players this week earning exempt status and rest of the top 40 plus ties earning conditional status for 2014, seven players were tied for 18th position at 1-under, a leaderboard that would result in a seven-for-one playoff for exempt status if it were to remain. Forty-one players were at even or better and in position for conditional status.
(COURTENAY, BC) – California’s David Bradshaw opened up a massive lead at PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament Wednesday, firing a 10-under 62 at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to lead by 10 shots through 36 holes.
Bradshaw’s 62 is a competitive course record at Crown Isle and gave him a 17-under par total, following his opening 65 in Tuesday’s first round. Summerland, B.C.’s Greg Machtaler was in solo second at 7-under after a second round 69.
“I was hitting it great and putting really well. I had one little blip when I three-putted nine, but I made everything I looked at,” said Bradshaw, who carded 11 birdies on Wednesday. The 31-year old said any thoughts of shooting 59 were dashed after three-putting the ninth hole – a turn of events that Bradshaw said actually helped him on the back nine.
“When I got to 5-under on eight, it occurred to me that I could do it,” said Bradshaw of the potential for a sub-60 round. “But when I three-putted nine, it kind of relaxed me because I knew it was done with and I could just focus on the next shot.”
With a double-digit lead heading into Thursday’s third round, Bradshaw said he’s going to focus on the tasks at hand as much as possible.
“Golf’s a weird game. It seems like the more you focus on the individual shot, the better they total at the end,” said Bradshaw, who is coming off an appearance two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he Monday Qualified to play on the PGA Tour for the fourth time in his career.
Machtaler carded five birdies to offset a double bogey and give him a 3-under 69, his second straight sub-60 round for the week.
“I’m really happy with where I am and how I’ve played,” said Machtaler, who said he’s looking forward to the challenge of two more Q-School rounds. “They’re definitely not comfortable rounds, so I couldn’t ask for more to be where I am right now.”
With the top 18 players this week earning exempt status and rest of the top 40 plus ties earning conditional status for 2014, 20 players were at 3-under or better and in position for full cards, while 47 players were at even or better and in position for conditional status.
(COURTENAY, British Columbia) – California’s David Bradshaw carded a 7-under 65 Tuesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the first round lead at PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament. Bradshaw led by two over Garrett Driver and Russell Surber after one round.
With the top 18 players this week earning exempt status and rest of the top 40 plus ties earning conditional status for 2014, 22 players were at 2-under or better and in position for full cards, while 52 players were at even or better and in position for conditional status.
The 31-year old Bradshaw is coming off an appearance two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he Monday Qualified to play on the PGA Tour for the fourth time in his career. He is playing PGA Tour Canada Q-School for the first time, with an eye on earning status on the Web.com Tour next season.
“In years previous, I’ve done a lot of Monday Qualifying and played some of the mini tours, but even playing well in those events doesn’t advance you to the next level,” said Bradshaw. “I had never been to Canada until four days ago, so I thought ‘why not? Let’s go to Canada’ and try to play my way up.”
The Shepherd University grad started with an eagle on the par-5 10th, his first hole of the day, and would go on to post six more birdies on the round. His only miscue on the day came on the par-5 15th, where a ball out-of-bounds led to a bogey.
“I putted really well and I went on a good run on the front. I rolled it pretty well and hit some close iron shots. It’s wet out there so you can play so aggressive, but the greens are perfect too so you can really get on a roll,” said Bradshaw, who added that he was able to play aggressively due to the near-perfect weather conditions.
“I didn’t even look at how far right and left the pins were – I just aimed right at them.”
Two shots behind Bradshaw were Humble, Texas’s Garrett Driver and longtime PGA Tour Canada member Russell Surber, who fired a pair of 5-under 67s. Four Canadians – Summerland, B.C.’s Greg Machtaler, Huntsville, Ont.’s Braeden Cryderman, Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson and Calgary’s James Love – were a shot further back at 68.
REUNION, Fla. – Vermillion Bay, Ont.’s Jordan Krantz carded a final round 66 at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Reunion Resort on Saturday to claim medalist honours and lead all 43 players who earned status at PGA Tour Canada’s Florida Qualifying Tournament.
Six Canadians were among those who earned cards for PGA Tour Canada’s 2014 season, which will kick off May 26-June 1 at the PC Financial Open in Vancouver.
Krantz, a two-time Manitoba Amateur champion who last played on PGA Tour Canada in 2010 at The Players Cup, was the only player finish under par for the week, earning the top spot by two over Ryan Brehm of Grand Rapids, MI.
“It was great to put it away today. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance,” said Krantz, who was thrilled to have played his best golf of the week at the end of a demanding week like a qualifying tournament. “It’s such a test. You really have to bear down and just believe in yourself, but if you’re resilient and believe in what you’re doing you can really build on that. Hopefully I can use this as a jumping stone.”
Krantz, who started the day in a tie for sixth, began the final round inauspiciously, carding a double bogey on his second hole. But seven birdies and an eagle at the par-5 18th, which capped a back nine score of 30, gave Krantz a final round 66, the best round of the week at the Nicklaus Course. The 33-year old credited a conversation on Friday evening with coach Derek Ingram for his strong finish on Saturday, and said he was excited about his prospects for the upcoming season.
“We simplified my goals for the day, so that was more important to me than the number,” said Krantz. “I’m just excited about the steps I took and how it will hopefully help me over the months to come.”
Krantz’s 66 was one better than Scotland’s Paul Cormack, who went bogey-free over his final 29 holes of the week and fired a 5-under 67 for the second-best round of the week.
“A lot of hard work went in to this just to get to this point, so this feel really good,” said Cormack, who like Krantz credited his coach, Claude Harmon, for his success this week. “I’ve seen the progress almost instantly and hope it keeps going. I’m looking forward to playing this summer.”
With 18 exempt cards available, it took a playoff to determine who would earn exempt status on PGA Tour Canada for 2014. Five players – Creighton Honeck, Andrew Noto, Paul Ferrier, Clark Klaasen and Christian Westhorpe – finished the 72 holes tied for 15th headed back out to the 372-yard 1st hole with exempt status available for four players.
Honeck, a PGA Tour Canada member in 2013, and Klaasen knocked their approaches within five feet to make birdie, while Noto and Ferrier safey found the green and two-putted. Westhorpe, a Toronto native who moved to the Orlando area before high school, hit his approach into a greenside bunker and was unable to convert an 8-foot par putt, leaving Honeck, Klaasen, Ferrier and Noto home free for exempt cards.
Joining Krantz and Westhorpe in earning status this week were Dundas, Ont.’s Chris Ross (T-20), Essex, Ont.’s David Byrne (T-27), Thornhill, Ont.’s Mark Hoffman (T-30) and Baddeck, Nova Scotia’s Peter Campbell (T-35).
Those six join Hamilton, Ontario’s Justin Kim, who earned conditional status last week at PGA Tour Canada’s California Qualifying Tournament, as Canadians to earn status in qualifying for 2014.
REUNION, Fla. – Ryan Brehm of Grand Rapids, MI shot a 1-under 71 at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Reunion Resort on Friday to take the lead through three rounds at PGA Tour Canada’s Florida Qualifying Tournament. The 28-year old was the only player at even par or better through 54 holes and held a one shot lead over Dan McCarthy of Syracuse.
The third round was completed Friday following delays originally caused by thunderstorms on Tuesday. More storms caused a two-hour delay Friday. The fourth round began late Friday evening and will resume at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Eighteen players will earn conditional status on PGA Tour Canada for 2014, with the rest of the top 40 plus ties earning conditional status. Brehm, a Michigan State University grad, was the only player at even par or better through three rounds on the demanding Nicklaus course.
“I got off to a bit of a bad start with a bogey on the first hole, but I kept it together and was able to make enough birdies to keep myself in it,” said Brehm, who made birdie at the par-5 18th to shoot a 1-under 71 and take the lead through 54 holes. “Anything under par on this course is pretty darn good. You’ve got to use your brain and really play some smart golf.”
The cut-off for exempt status through 54 holes sat at 6-over par, with five players tied for 17th – a scenario that would produce a five players-for-two spots playoff. The number for conditional status sat at 10-over, with 42 players tied for 35th or better heading into Saturday.
Toronto’s Christian Westhorpe and Vermillion Bay, Ont.’s Jordan Krantz were the top Canadians, tied for sixth at 4-over, while Baddeck, N.S.’s Peter Campbell was also in position to earn an exempt card. Other Canadians in the top 40 included Essex, Ont.’s David Byrne (T-26, +8) and Thornhill, Ont.’s Mark Hoffman (T-31, +9).
REUNION, Fla. – Baltimore’s Brad Miller and Clark Klaasen of Grand Rapids, MI were the only two players at even par or better when the third round play was suspended due to darkness at PGA Tour Canada’s Florida Qualifying Tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Reunion Resort on Thursday.
Thursday’s play saw the completion of round 2, which was pushed back due to thunderstorms that halted play on Tuesday, and the start of round three in the Qualifying Tournament, which will see 18 players earn exempt status on PGA Tour Canada for 2014, with the rest of the top 40 plus ties earning conditional status.
Once again, windy conditions made the Nicklaus Course a tough test, with just four players – Miller, Dan McCarthy, Evan Beirne and Bruce Woodall, who all shot 1-under 71 – breaking par for the round.
“Anything under par on that course is pretty good regardless of the conditions, so when it’s windy like it has been, it’s really tough out there,” said Miller, a University of Richmond grad. “Even when you had a downwind hole, it was hard to hold the green, let alone get it close to the hole.”
The demanding conditions were reflected in the scores of the field, which averaged 78.07 over the first two days. Zero players have broken 70 for the week, with the cut-off number for exempt status sitting at 4-over and conditional status at 8-over through 36 holes.
Third round play is set to resume Friday at 8 a.m., with Klaasen, Miller and Ryan Brehm set to go off in the final group at 11:49 a.m.
