Players Cup - Winnipeg, MB - Getting Closer and Closer to Minnesota!

I was up early today watching some of the Open coverage, but this afternoon I get to play golf in yet another PGA Tour Canada event.  I've continued my travels east and find myself in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The tournament is being played at Pine Ridge Golf Club which is a wonderful Donald Ross designed course.  Donald Ross designed Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina and he also designed White Bear Yacht Club in Minnesota.  He loved to make greens look like upside down saucers - a big challenge to any players short game.

Storylines

Expert Picks  *spoiler alert, no expert picked me

Leaderboard

Looks like they've started hole-by-hole scoring.

Neil

Syncrude Boreal Open Recap

Final Results - T-19th - 70, 70, 74, 69 - 5-under par.  $1768.75

It was a good week in Fort McMurray, AB.  The end of my third round was a bad 7 hole stretch, but I'm really happy with how I played the other 65 holes.  I stuck to my game plan and had enough confidence in my putting that if my tee shot found the rough, my only goal was to get the ball into the green.

Before the tournament started, I didn't think this golf course would be a great fit for my game.  Fort McMurray golf club is very narrow and they let the rough grow up to nearly 5 or 6 inches in some spots.  You're forced to hit a lot of irons/hybrids/3-woods off of tees and everybody ends up hitting into the green from the same yardage.  I prefer a course that gives you the option to be aggressive with driver, a club that has usually been one of my strengths.

During the practice rounds, my swing didn't feel good, and I honestly hit it very bad on the range and on the course.  The only bright spot was my putting.  Late in the practice round I found that a more aggressive putting stroke produced a more consistent roll for the putts.  The greens were heavy on the poa annua which always makes the greens bumpier as the day moves on, but the aggressive stroke seemed to help keep the ball rolling, instead of hopping.

The shapes and contours of the greens were fairly benign so that gave me more confidence when I reached the greens.  I lived in the rough all week, but from there I just tried to get the ball to the middle of the green and I knew I could 2-putt.  That worked all week and took pressure off of my short game or even my iron play.

Trust me when I say that I lived in the rough.  The most fairways I hit in any round was seven (1st round), but then I only hit three in round 2 and six in the final 2 rounds.  Sticking with my gameplan - to aim at middle of green from rough - I hit 14, 15, 12, and 16 greens in each of the 4 rounds.  That gave me a lot of chances at birdies and resulted in a bunch of tap-ins for pars.

The most positive thing about the week was how my ball striking improved and my confidence grew each day.  That's no doubt a result of the confidence in my putting carrying over to the rest of the game.  It was a lot easy to make confident swings when I knew all I had to do was get the ball onto the green surface.

Glad to have my first top-20 on the PGA Tour Canada especially after the week started off with apprehensive thoughts.

Next tournament is in Winnipeg, MB and then I'm back in the USA for 2 weeks.

** 2013 Schedule & Results have been UPDATED **

Neil

Syncrude Boreal Open - a.k.a. "Oil Sands Open"

It's Thursday, which means the start of another golf tournament.  I tee off later this afternoon, but I'm posting a few links before I get started.  There will be live scoring every 3 holes this week.

Fort McMurray, AB is the furthest north I have been, but the weather has been beautiful and the golf course is cut straight out of a pine tree forest.

I'm hoping to get a tour of the oil sands at some point this week.  If so, I'll have a bunch of pictures.

Neil

Recap Dakota Dunes Open

All done in Saskatoon and I battled all weekend to finish T46, which earned me $651.  That wasn't a great pay day, but keep in mind that I only paid $450 to enter this event (as opposed to normally $1000).  I briefly talked about the first two rounds after Friday's round, but now I'll get into a deeper recap.

FIRST ROUND - 

1st tee time out, 7:30, with perfect conditions and a group that all played well.  I made three birdies and shot 33 on the front, but was beaten by both of my playing partners (30 & 32).  The back nine finished as a disappointing 36 because I had putts inside of 12 feet for birdie on 10, 12, 13, and 18 - and I failed to make any of them.  My lone bogey came on #16 with a bad 3-putt from 25 feet.  Basically my 3-under 69 was 2 or 3 shots higher than what it looked like and felt like.

SECOND ROUND - 

More perfect conditions in the morning helped that wave of golfers reach double digit under par and I teed off at 12:30 wondering if the cut would move to 7 or 8 under par.  I don't really concern myself with what the cut might fall at because I know if I play well, I'll be on the good side, but most of the afternoon golfers were mentioning that the cut could be a record low number.  Once I started playing golf I got off to a slow start and was +1 through 8 holes.  The ninth hole was a down-wind par-5 and I took advantage with a simple 2-putt from 15 feet (eagle try just burned the edge).  Two holes later I had another 2-putt birdie, this time from 40 feet.  The very next hole (3) I hit a 5-iron to about 3 feet and made my second straight birdie - 3rd in 4 holes.  I kept the momentum going with a 3rd straight birdie on #4 after making a nice 10 foot putt.  That stretch of 4 birdies in 5 holes, right around the turn, helped me make the cut on the number.

THIRD ROUND - 

Awful conditions after a 4 hole weather delay made the round very difficult.  It rained for 15 holes and it was just windy enough to annoy you.  I made 2 bogies and a double bogey on the front nine, which included a 3-putt for par on #2.  I birdied #10 and told my caddie that it's about getting those shots back one at a time.  I battled for the rest of the back nine and when the rain stopped with a few holes to go, I managed to make one more birdie on #17.

FOURTH ROUND -

Sunny conditions, but for the first time all week the wind started to blow.  I missed a short putt for birdie on 1, then lipped out for birdie on 2 and 3.  I bogied 2 of the next three holes, but quickly rebounded with a birdie on 16.  My third shot on #16 was 82 yards from the thick left rough.  I hoisted a lob-wedge high in the air and it landed 10 feet short and released right up to the pin - tap-in.  That shot turned my final round back into the good side.  I played pretty solid after that hole and made 3 more birdies without a bogey.

Overall, it's a positive that I made the cut and kept battling throughout the entire weekend.  My putting held me back all week, but that didn't stop me from stepping up on the next tee and hitting the drive right down the middle.

Now that the week is done, I'm off the the next tournament - Fort McMurray, AB.  It's way up north and I'm flying up there tonight.  Tuesday will be a light day for me, just a little bit of practice, before a practice round on Wednesday.  So far, these travels in Canada have been a great experience.  Every week is a new town, new course, new housing, and a new schedule so the biggest challenge has been getting accustomed to everything new as quickly as possible.  I play my best golf when all I'm focusing on is the shot at hand, instead of worrying about my flight to Calgary or trying to find housing in Winnipeg.

Goodbye from Saskatoon,

Neil

Dakota Dunes Open is a Shootout!

Two rounds are complete and the leaderboard is a sea of red.  The cut fell at 6-under par, which is probably the lowest cut I've seen as a pro.  I battled for 2 days and got to 6-under.  My ballstriking has been solid, with a bunch of birdie chances and a few eagle tries each day.  My putting has able been good, but I hope to start rolling in some putts from 15+ feet.  I'd like to believe that I have played better than what my score has been, but that's why it's fun to still have 1/2 of the tournament to play.

My third round starts at 8:30am and we get to play in twosomes, which should keep play moving.

Neil