Select RBC Canadian Open tickets now available
TORONTO – (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor RBC, are pleased to announce that select tickets for the 2020 RBC Canadian Open are now available.
The RBC Canadian Open will be held June 8-14 at St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto with nearby Islington Golf Club hosting the tournament’s official practice facility. Defending champion Rory McIlroy will lead the stars of the PGA TOUR back to Toronto as St. George’s prepares to host for the first time since 2010.With a new premier spot on the PGA TOUR schedule in early June, the RBC Canadian Open is a summer festival marking the unofficial start of Canada’s golf season. The week-long celebration, which sold out certain days in 2019, offers more than just world class golf… it has something for everybody. The RBC Canadian Open delivers affordable and fun entertainment, with excitement both on the fairway and beyond.
Early ticket offerings available include:
GENERAL ADMISSION – WEEKLY BADGES & ANYDAY TICKETS
Take advantage of miles of front row seating! General admission tickets provide access to the golf course—get an up-close look at your favourite PGA TOUR stars, enjoy fan activations throughout the golf course and experience the thrill of major professional golf.
A fully transferable general admission Weekly Badge costs $180 and an Anyday Ticket (valid any day of tournament week) costs $80.
1904 CLUB PRESENTED BY RBC ISHARES
The 1904 Club presented by RBC iShares delivers an elevated fan experience in the heart of the golf course. Located between the 1st and 10th greens, this premium destination is the perfect home base to sit, relax and map out your experience following the stars of the PGA TOUR! Enjoy relief and shelter from the elements, take in the broadcast on TV and treat yourself to upgraded food, beverages and hospitality.
A 1904 Club presented by RBC iShares Weekly Badge (valid Thursday to Sunday) costs $300.
VISIT WWW.RBCANADIANOPEN.COM/TICKETS to purchase select
2020 RBC Canadian Open tickets
Additional ticket options will be available for purchase beginning December 12, 2019 at 10:00 am ET.
Join us to witness world-class PGA TOUR golf, activities for all ages including ‘The Rink’, local food and patio experiences and more. Get your tickets today and be a part of one of Canada’s premier sporting events – www.rbccanadianopen.com/tickets.
* Youth 13-17 years of age receive a 15% discount, while juniors aged 12-and-under gain FREE grounds admission all week long.
Canada’s most haunted golf clubs
With its long history and vast geography, Canada boasts many strange and spooky tales. There are haunted coal mines in Cape Breton, poltergeists in Calgary and even a pair of haunted boots in St. Vincent’s Newfoundland. It is no wonder, therefore, that golf courses across the country are rumoured to be home to some extraordinary spirits.
Haunted Lakes Golf Club
Winning the award for the Canadian golf course with the spookiest name is Haunted Lakes Golf Club in Alix, a town east of Red Deer, Alta. It is here an ancient drama plays out every winter along the third fairway, where Haunted Lake hugs the front right of the green.
Before Europeans arrived, native groups camped on the lake’s eastern shore. One winter, seven hunters camped there for the night. In the morning, they looked out across the lake and spied the magnificent head and antlers of a deer caught in the ice.
The seven headed off and upon reaching the creature, they started to chip away at the ice. The mighty animal, which was very much alive, gave a great heave and smashed through the ice. It swam for shore, breaking a path before it. The deer made it to shore and the safety of the woods, but the men were not so lucky. They plunged through the ice and all seven drowned.
It is said the seven hunters have haunted the lake ever since, giving the spot its name. Locals also claim that every winter a mysterious phenomenon can be observed as each year a huge fissure appears in the ice along the path the deer travelled to the shore.
Glen Abbey Golf Club
Several provinces east of Alberta you will find Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ont.
The story says there is a house on the property which was built in 1937 by a mining engineer as his weekend retreat. The engineer, Andre Dorfman, was a leading figure in the Canadian mining industry at the time.
In 1953 Dorfman sold the house to the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada as a retreat. The property was sold again in 1963 to businessmen who opened a golf club. In memory of the Jesuits, the course was given the name Glen Abbey. Soon after the club opened, reports of a specter began to surface.
Within 10 years, they started talking about a ghost in the building. The story is that the ghost lives in the old mansion and walks up the back stairs and down the main hallway towards the library.
The mansion is a good example of the stately homes built in Oakville in the early twentieth century. It is constructed of stone with a red clay tile roof and features a wood-lined library on the second floor. Originally known as RayDor Estate House, the building has been designated as a heritage property. Prior to 1975 it served as the golf course’s clubhouse and currently is home to an investment company.
One of the rooms in the basement is actually made to replicate the ship in which the original builder came over from Switzerland.
The ghost in the old mansion is said to be male, and eyewitnesses agree that it resembles a Jesuit father.
Victoria Golf Club
Victoria Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., boasts both an impressive course history and a ghost or two of its own. The club is beautifully situated on a rocky point at the southern end of Vancouver Island.
The club dates back to November 1893 when local golf enthusiasts negotiated for permanent rights to play the rough fields of Pemberton Farm. Originally, golfers were prohibited from using the grounds over the summer, when cattle grazed what would become today’s fairways.
Like Haunted Lakes, the Victoria Golf Club may be haunted by early aboriginal inhabitants. One researcher suggests that some of its phantoms may be the souls of native warriors killed in battle centuries ago. However, these spirits pale beside the club’s other resident, the late Doris Gravlin, possibly Victoria’s most famous ghost.
John Adams is an expert on Doris, as she’s affectionately called by locals. A historian and author, Adams is best known as the proprietor of the “Ghostly Walks” tour, which explores historic courtyards and spooky places where spirits like Doris make their presence known.
“Doris Thomson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1906 and immigrated to Canada with her parents,” recounts Adams. The Thomson family settled in Victoria where Doris’s mother worked at a private hospital. Doris became a nurse as well, until 1930 when she married Victor Gravlin.
Victor was a sports reporter for the Colonist newspaper, spending many happy hours golfing with his brother Walter, head pro at the Uplands Golf Club. The hours Victor spent with Doris would prove to be much less happy.
“When her husband began to drink heavily, Doris left him,” explains Adams, adding that Doris found work as a private live-in nurse.
“In mid-September of 1936 Victor delivered a letter to Doris,” Adams says. “Its contents were unknown, but are believed to have been a request for her to meet him to discuss reconciliation.”
Doris stepped out for a walk at about 7:45 pm on September 22, 1936; Victor left his parents’ house shortly thereafter. One observer saw them together on Runnymede Avenue, but after that, neither was seen alive.
Doris and Victor were reported missing. A search ensued and days later, Doris’s corpse was discovered. Her body was later discovered amid the driftwood on the beach near the 7th green by a caddy looking for lost balls. She had been strangled and her shoes, belt and felt hat were missing.
Gossips maintained that Victor had escaped. But they were wrong.
“One month later a fisherman found Victor’s body floating in the kelp beds off the ninth fairway,” describes Adams. “A length of rope was found in his coat pocket, along with Doris’s missing attire. The police concluded he had murdered his wife then committed suicide by walking into the water.”
The discovery of two bodies on the grounds gave rise to the notion the club was haunted, and many sightings have been reported since.
“Typical manifestations are a fast-moving figure in white, a feeling of doom, a cold wind and a globe of spectral light,” says Adams. “Doris also plays havoc with motorists along Beach Drive, sometimes flying through open windows and even penetrating windshields as a cold mist.”
Tiger Woods ties Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR victory record at 82
INZAI CITY, Japan – Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship to tie Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record of 82 victories.
The 43-year-old American played the final seven holes Monday in the rain-hit tournament, completing a 3-under 67 to beat local favourite Hideki Matsuyama by three strokes at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
“It’s just crazy. It’s a lot,” Woods said. “I’ve been able to be consistent most of my career. … Today was one of those days where I was able to pull it out.”
Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago – his fifth on the same problem joint. He was making his first start in his 23rd season on the PGA Tour.
“I can still manage my way around the golf course,” Woods said. “I know how to play. I was able to do that this week.”
The fourth round was suspended because of darkness Sunday, and Woods took a three-stroke lead over Matsuyama into Monday in the first official PGA Tour event in Japan.
He bogeyed his first hole Monday, the par-4 12th, but was solid the rest of the way with birdies on Nos. 14 and 18 to finish at 19-under 261. Matsuyama also closed with a 67
Rory McIlroy, the highest ranked player in the field, completed his round with two birdies for a 67 to tie for third at 13 under with Sungjae Im. Im had a 65.
Woods opened with consecutive 64s, with a day off in between because of rain. He had a 66 on Sunday in the third round.
“It’s been a long week,” Woods said. “Five days at the top of the leaderboard is a long time.”
Does it get any better than this guys?! ??#PGATOUR #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/gsD8KEhby0
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) October 28, 2019
As the U.S. Presidents Cup captain, Woods was asked about picking himself for the team,
“I think the player got the captain’s attention,” Woods said.
Golf Honours Champions & Volunteers at Annual Awards Banquet
by Dwayne Tingley
David Morison admits he was pleasantly surprised when he moved to Bathurst from Winnipeg more than 15 years ago.
Morison, who started playing golf when he was just eight years-old and still hits the fairways four days a week at age 73, checked out Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club shortly after arriving in Bathurst.
“What was this place doing here is what I asked myself,” Morison recalled. “What is a gem of a golf course doing here?”
“To have an amazing golf course like this on the Bay of Chaleur and in the northeastern part of New Brunswick is just amazing to me. What a beautiful place and it’s full of the world’s friendliest people.”
Morison, a Toronto native who made the move from Winnipeg so his wife could be near her family, hasn’t looked back since arrived in Bathurst.
The chartered accountant was recognized at the 2019 Argus Audiology Golf NB Annual Awards Banquet & Silent Auction on Saturday, October 26 in Fredericton as the organization’s Provincial Volunteer of the Year.
Morison deflected praise, saying it takes many volunteers to make tournaments and golf clubs successful.
“It’s like a ball team – it’s usually not a problem to find 10 kids who want to play baseball, but hard to find a coach for them,” he said. “Our volunteers are like that coach. We need those volunteers and I am just one of them.”
Morison, a former executive-director of Golf Manitoba, has volunteered on Gowan Brae’s finance committee while working tirelessly on setting up and maintaining the course’s markings for tournament and every-day play.
Since 2015, Morison has been chairman of Golf New Brunswick’s rules committee and has volunteered in that capacity at most of the province’s most prestigious tournaments.
“I just feel strongly about giving back,” said Morison, who also serves as volunteer treasurer at First United Church. “I have enjoyed my time in golf, and I enjoy giving back so others can enjoy the game as much as I have for so long.”
This year’s version of the Argus Audiology Golf NB Awards Banquet attracted a large crowd at the Crowne Plaza – Lord Beaverbrook Hotel in downtown Fredericton. Players of the year were honoured as well as the top tournament winners and provincial teams.
Leanne Richardson, of the Country Meadows Golf Club in Moncton, won the Royale NB Ladies Player of the Year award for the 19th time. She was also the Argus Audiology NB Ladies Amateur, Mid-Amateur and Senior Champion.
“I try to play as many of the tournaments as I can, considering my other commitments,” said Richardson, who is also general manager at Country Meadows.
“I try to be consistent with a lot of top five finishes and a pretty good all-around game. Staying competitive at this point in my playing career is important to me. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s always fun to play with so many great friends.”
Country Meadows club-mate Stuart Musgrave claimed his 1st TaylorMade NB Men’s Player of the Year award. The 47-year-old former PGA of Canada Professional said the men’s field in New Brunswick is stacked with exceptional players.
“It’s getting better all of the time and at my age, I don’t know how many of these opportunities I’m going to get, so this is very special,” said Musgrave, who was also a member of New Brunswick’s mid-amateur team.
Tom Cameron of the Gage Golf and Curling Club picked up the MCT Insurance Senior Men’s Player of the Year award.
The career military man finished in the top five at several New Brunswick tournaments this summer then finished tied for 12th at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. He said competing for Canada at an international military tournament in Germany against top opponents from 16 countries provided a confidence boost that he rode through the summer of 2019.
“I think it carried over,” said Cameron, who works in range control in the operation services branch at CFB Gagetown. “I seem to play better in a tournament setting. It’s different and I enjoy the focus that you need to maintain in a tournament. I love the competition.”
Dieppe’s Julie Gauvin, who plays out of the Fox Creek Golf Club, was named the MJT-Golf NB Junior Girls Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
She said extra work with Golf NB Junior Boys Coach, and owner of the Louis Melanson Golf Academy, Louis Melanson paid off with more consistent play throughout the summer.
“I had more distance this year and my short game has improved a lot,” said the Grade 12 student from Mathieu-Martin High School. “I also worked more with a sports psychologist who improved my mental approach. I just like the way my whole game as improved.”
Daniel Kirby of JH Sports, who plays out of the Covered Bridge Golf and Country Club, also captured his second straight MJT-Golf NB Junior Boys Player of the Year award. Three years ago, the Grade 12 student from Woodstock High School was runner -up.
“Practicing has never been an issue for me,” Kirby said. “Going to the course and working for 10 hours has never been a problem.
“My game has changed though, and I have been more consistent, so I use my practice time more productively,” he said. “I’m a much better player than I was a couple of years ago because I have improved my approach to the game.”
The evening also served to announce Golf NB’s annual scholarship recipients. Benjamin MacDonald of Gowan Brae was awarded the New Brunswick Golf Association’s 50th anniversary scholarship, while four John Patrick Sears Scholarships were presented to Calvin Ross of JH Sports & Kingswood Golf, Stuart Earle of the Westfield Golf & Country Club, MacKenzie Scott of JH Sports & Kingswood Golf and Sara Holt of the Gage.
Old Mill Pond’s Judy Astle Elected as 45th President of Golf NB
by Dwayne Tingley
Judy Astle changes the subject quickly, rather than talking about her own athletic accomplishments. However, her smile widens, and her voice perks up when discussing the success of others.
“There’s something special when you see a junior make a shot that they have been practicing or making a long putt,” said the 69-year-old resident of Astle, near Boiestown, on the Miramichi River in the heart of New Brunswick.
Astle made her selfless comments on Saturday, Oct. 26, shortly after being named the new president of Golf New Brunswick. She previously served a two-year term as vice-president of the nearly 6,800-member organization.
Astle will focus much of her presidency on attracting new players to the game and making sure junior golfers are given opportunities to attend clinics. She also hopes Golf New Brunswick will encourage its member-clubs to offer more flexible programs so new players can take up the sport.
“Times have changed and we have to change to the busy schedules people have these days,” said Astle, a retired teacher and guidance counselor who still works full-time as a paramedic with Ambulance New Brunswick.
“If we can look at different types of memberships and green fees, golf will be available to more and more people,” she added. “Not everyone has the time needed to go play 18 holes of golf, but maybe they can play three or six or nine. That’s just one idea and I think that’s a good way to start bringing new people to our clubs.”
Astle was an accomplished softball pitcher and first baseman in Fredericton before she picked up golf clubs at the Old Mill Pond Golf Club in Doaktown in 1974.
While teaching school, she quickly turned her athletic attention to coaching. She took over at the helm of school basketball, volleyball, softball and badminton teams.
“I always enjoyed working with young people and helping them reach their potential,” Astle noted.
With that in mind, she entered the golf mentorship world. She headed the girls’ division of the former New Brunswick Ladies Golf Association and was the director of player development and programs for the Canadian Ladies Golf Association.
Astle also organized countless clinics for young golfers around New Brunswick.
“I have always believed that sports have physical benefits for the children and it also helps them build good character,” she said. “I also believe they have to play a variety of sports and not just focus on one at a young age. We have to create well-rounded people and athletes.”
Astle, who also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of New Brunswick for three years, received the Order of New Brunswick for her work with young athletes.
“It was a big honour and very humbling,” said the mother of four, grandmother of nine and great grandmother of one. “I don’t know what to say except it was very humbling.”
While junior development holds a special place in Astle’s heart, she will also be making a concerted effort to assist in the growth of golf in her home province. Golf New Brunswick serves 47 member-clubs, but Astle is eager to see that number grow.
“Communication is a big thing with me,” she said. “Once people are aware of the benefits of belonging to Golf New Brunswick, they will want to join the organization and together we can accomplish some bigger things in the future.
“When we work together, we can make Golf New Brunswick better for all of our players – the young players and those who have been playing golf for their whole lives.”
Others on the Golf New Brunswick executive are: Mike Hughes (past president), Jason Porter (vice-president and junior/player development committee chair), Allison Chisholm (course rating and handicap chair), Gary Melanson (tournament committee chair), Brenda Parrott (membership relations chair), Margo Dickinson (finance committee chair), Matt Garnett (partnerships chair), Charlie Martin (board of directors representative) and Joe Sullivan (board of directors representative).
Golf NB’s Annual General Meeting to be Held on Saturday October 26th
Payne Stewart’s son named tournament director for LPGA Tour event
Aaron Stewart was always around golf even when he wasn’t heavily invested. Now he’s involved in ways he never imagined.
Stewart, the son of late three-time major champion Payne Stewart, has been appointed tournament director of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida. The season opener on the LPGA Tour is Jan. 16-19 and features two events in one – 72 holes of stroke play for LPGA winners the last two seasons and celebrities competing in a Stableford format.
“I’m really excited to be with the tournament side of things, back in the golf industry,” Stewart said. “And I’m still with the company I grew up with.”
He is approaching the 20-year anniversary – Oct. 25, 1999 – of his father travelling to Texas when the jet lost cabin pressure and flew uncontrolled across the country until crashing in South Dakota. Stewart was the reigning U.S. Open champion. His son was 10.
“I didn’t play as much then. I was more into other sports,” Stewart said. “I’d always go out to the golf course, and I was around my dad when he was practicing. I was more into the golf cart, driving that around.”
He started playing seriously a few years later and decided if he was going to be good, he would have to put in the time. He went to SMU, his father’s alma mater, with every intention of trying to make it to the next level.
“I ended up going a different route,” Stewart said. “I didn’t have the desire to play professionally. I was a little burned out, to be honest.”
He returned home to Orlando and worked for the Tavistock Group and then was hired by Diamond Resorts through an intensive training program. This job was more about marketing, taking him to Las Vegas and California. He married and took a year off to travel, returned to Diamond Resorts in March as part of the sports marketing team involved in the Tournament of Champions and was elevated last month to executive director.
It was a different path, much like the LPGA Tour event he now runs.
The tournament began as a one-day charity event for Brian Gay, geared toward raising money toward health causes. It became an unofficial event for the PGA Tour Champions, and now it offers a unique blend of LPGA winners and celebrities, along with giving the LPGA Tour a winners-only event it had been lacking.
Eun-Hee Ji won the inaugural event, with former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz winning the celebrity side.
Stewart always remained connected to tour golf in some capacity. The Payne Stewart Award has become one of the most significant honours on the PGA Tour, and Stewart goes to Atlanta every year for the televised ceremony during the Tour Championship.
He was in Las Vegas last week and got together with Jim Furyk, who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup with his father and won the Payne Stewart Award.
Now it’s about running a season opener for the LPGA Tour.
“It makes each week really exciting for us to see if we’ll have a new person on the roster,” Stewart said Monday, one day after Cheyenne Knight won her first LPGA Tour event to qualify for the season opener. “It’s a great transition into the season. We’re thrilled to be in that position.”
PRESIDENTS CUP
Four tournaments into the PGA Tour season are enough to raise questions about captain’s picks for the Presidents Cup – Joaquin Niemann of Chile winning big at the Greenbrier, and Kevin Na winning at Las Vegas for his second victory in five months.
Na said he was hopeful of a text from U.S. captain Tiger Woods about his Vegas win in a playoff.
“If not, I’m going to be texting him.” Na said.
He still is somewhat of a long shot. Na was No. 22 in the standings. Woods has four picks, and among those well ahead of Na were Match Play winner Kevin Kisner, U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Northern Trust winner Patrick Reed, along with Rickie Fowler and yes, Masters champion Woods.
Na says injuries limited him to only 19 starts – he has played at least 26 times each of the last five years – and he missed the second FedEx Cup playoff event to be home for the birth of his son.
“I was a little behind on the points, but I got two wins in this calendar year,” Na said. “So hopefully, he’s keeping an eye on me. I could make some putts. I’m a good match play player. I keep trying to sell myself. Hopefully, he considers me.”
Woods and International captain Ernie Els make their selections after the HSBC Champions ends on Nov. 3.
LPGA CARDS
The LPGA Tour takes a week off before heading to Asia for a month of limited field, no-cut events in which only players who earn spots in the fields – no sponsor exemptions – can earn points toward trying to be among the top 60 reaching the season-ending CME Globe Tour Championship.
The final full-field event in Texas proved plenty big. Cheyenne Knight won for the first time and moved to No. 65 on the money list, which will get her into Asia events. For others, it was a matter of keeping their cards. Stephanie Meadow made an 18-foot birdie on the last hole that was just enough to finish No. 99 on the money list.
The top 80 effectively have full cards and top 100 have status secured without having to go the Q-Series, consecutive 72-hole events at the end of October for players from Nos. 101-150, and for Nos. 11-35 on the Symetra Tour money list.
Among those who avoided a return to the Q-Series was Maria Fassi of Mexico, largely based on her pro debut.
She tied for 12th at the U.S. Women’s Open, which has the largest purse among the majors. Fassi made 80% of her money from one event with $103,065. She made $26,099 from three other tournaments and had a stretch of seven straight missed cuts.
Fassi, along with Jennifer Kupcho, went through the Q-Series last year, earned cards, deferred their memberships so they could finish college and didn’t start until June. Kupcho had two big weeks. While she missed five of her last six cuts, she tied for second in a major at the Evian Championship and tied for fifth at the Marathon Classic. She is eligible for the Asia swing but goes into them at No. 64 in the Race to CME Globe.
FITNESS FREAK
It would be simple enough for Bryson DeChambeau to say he’s going to spend time in the gym over the next month.
Only it’s never that simple with DeChambeau.
The objective is to get stronger, and he says that means he will probably look bigger. And he says he’s going to have fun doing it through muscle activation techniques.
“We make sure the neurological threshold is just as high as the mechanical threshold,” DeChambeau said. “In layman’s terms, pretty much whatever muscle potentially you have, how big and the muscle spindles you have, making you recruit every single one of them to their full potential throughout the whole range, and training the whole range of motion.”
DeChambeau calls it “revolutionary in the physical therapy world.”
“I’m looking forward to an incredible off-season of getting really strong and really stable,” he said.
DISTANCE CHASER
Pat Perez is the latest on the list of players who went chasing power only to find their games got weaker. He also is the latest to figure out that what he had was good enough to win on the PGA Tour and reach as high as No. 16 in the world.
Perez returned from shoulder surgery to win twice in 26 starts, finally reaping the rewards of being among the top players in the world ranking – the Masters, no U.S. Open qualifying for the first time and more than $7 million over two seasons.
And then he wanted to get better, which meant trying to get longer.
“I played for three years one way and I made a lot of money, won twice, do all these things,” Perez said. “And then I went away from it to try to get longer. It just hurt my game, so I went back to the drawing board.”
He finished third in Las Vegas, his best finish since he won in Malaysia two years ago. It moved his world ranking from No. 183 to No. 120.
DIVOTS
Dustin Johnson plans to defend his title in the Saudi International next January. The tournament also confirmed that world No. 1 Brooks Koepka will return. … Phil Mickelson now has gone 18 consecutive starts without a top-10 finish since winning at Pebble Beach in February. … The 2022 Ryder Cup in Italy will end on Oct. 2, the third time since 2010 the matches end in October. The others were Wales in 2010 and Hazeltine in 2016. … Ian Baker-Finch will captain the Australians in the Olympics for the second time. Three Aussies currently are in the top 25 in the world – Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Jason Day, none of whom was in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Jon Rahm has finished in the top five in 10 of his 14 regular European Tour events, including five victories.
FINAL WORD
“Putter got hot this week – tends to do that sometimes. And when it does, if I’m hitting it halfway decent, I feel like I can win.” – Kevin Na, after making 559 feet of putts over four rounds in his victory at Las Vegas.
Canada’s DeLaet back to work after two year hiatus
Graham DeLaet is back to work. Now it’s time to get into a routine on the PGA Tour once again.
DeLaet, who returned to action after more than two years at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last week, is playing again this week at the Houston Open as he tries to earn enough FedEx Cup points to regain his PGA Tour card.
The native of Weyburn, Sask. needs to earn 267 FedEx Cup points to get off his Major Medical Exemption, but after that he’ll need to earn enough points to be within the top 125 to keep his card for next season.
It’s a lot to think about for someone who is just getting his feet wet in competitive golf again after so long away.
The 37-year-old received a series of stem-cell treatments in 2017, which were deemed unsuccessful, and he opted to have a second microdiscectomy surgery (the first he had in 2011).
He was on the shelf for the full 2018-19 PGA Tour season, but as of last Thursday, DeLaet is back – albeit a little older and a little more prepared for what’s to come.
The actual swinging of a golf club doesn’t cause him soreness, DeLaet said, but the pain comes from being on his feet for so long and getting stiff. Although he missed the cut last week (75-72) he said there were some good signs.
“I hit some really, really good shots last week. I was pretty happy with how I played for the most part. I was pretty tight with the putter but I think it was extra pressure, feeling those nerves again. I had two bad holes but other than that I feel like I played pretty decent,” DeLaet said by phone in Houston.
“I know the course wasn’t playing all that difficult but it’s still good to get some birdies under your belt. All in all I was pretty happy with how things went despite shooting 5-over on a pretty easy golf course.”
Another thing that’s changed is the time DeLaet will have to spend away from his twins, Roscoe and Lyla.
While DeLaet was busy rehabbing and preparing for a return to professional golf, he said the best part of the last two years was how much quality time he got to spend with his kids, who turn four in November.
Last week was the first time DeLaet was away from them for a lengthy amount of time but the whole family, including wife Ruby, will be joining him this week in Houston.
DeLaet says it’s been an adjustment for his kids to know their dad is back at work.
“If I say I’m going to the golf course, Roscoe is always like, ‘I want to go, I want to go’ but if I’m going out there to practice or play he times out pretty quickly. So I’ve started to say ‘I’m going to work’ and I don’t know if they quite understand how I make a living, but they are kind of starting to get the grasp I play a golf a lot,” said DeLaet with a laugh.
Besides watching his kids start to grow up, there have been plenty of reasons to smile at home.
DeLaet’s friends from Arizona Chez Reavie and Max Homa both won on the PGA Tour this summer, and Kevin Chappell – another longtime pal who just returned from the same back surgery as DeLaet – shot a 59 at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in his first tournament back on Tour in September.
“That was pretty cool,” said DeLaet. “I have a soft spot for stories like that because I’ve been through it twice and it’s hard when you come back, but he made it look pretty easy.”
DeLaet is quick to point out the success of his countrymen as well, including Adam Hadwin (who has notched two top-5 finishes in a row to start his 2019-20 PGA Tour campaign and moved well inside the top-50 in the world ranking), who DeLaet feels should be on Ernie Els’ Presidents Cup radar.
“I would be surprised if Ernie (Els) didn’t give him a shot to play down there in Melbourne. I think he deserves it,” said DeLaet. “He’s got some experience underneath him. There are some new faces on that team so I think some of that experience is going to be helpful. He’s playing great, which has been good to see.”
And while DeLaet has been preparing himself for a big return on the golf course, he’s kept fairly busy off the golf course with his ongoing charitable efforts.
DeLaet has just been named a National Ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, his ‘Graham Slam’ event had its sixth edition in September (it’s raised more than $1.5 million for various charities), and he’s been nominated for the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame People’s Choice Award – recognizing those who are a champion of their sport and a champion for their community.
“The game of golf has given me so much and I have the platform where we can try to make a difference,” said DeLaet. “It’s kind of a no-brainer for myself and Ruby.”
But DeLaet, who at one time was inside the top-35 in the Official World Golf Ranking, knows that despite all the support from friends and family and the impact he’s had away from golf over the last few years, it’s time to get back down to business.
He admits it would have been nice to dip his toes into playing a Korn Ferry Tour event – he was scheduled to in the summertime but tweaked his back just enough early in the week that he did not tee it up Thursday – but he’s feeling happy and as healthy as possible right now.
DeLaet saw Canadian physiotherapist Dr. Craig Davies in Las Vegas last week – Davies works with a handful of PGA Tour players – and DeLaet said Davies was “pleasantly surprised” with where he was physically.
A good sign, DeLaet said, as he will likely tee it up twice more this fall.
“Just hearing that from a guy who knows my body really well, it gives you a little bit of extra confidence with what you’re doing,” said DeLaet. “I feel like I’m on a pretty good path.”
The NSGA Mourns the loss of Doug McEwan
Survey: Economic impact of golf in Canada
Whether you’re a club member, an avid public player or a new enthusiast to the game, spending on the sport of golf drives massive benefit to communities across Canada.
The impact of golf on the Canadian economy is enormous—an economic impact in excess of $14B is only part of the story. Golf courses and the industry at large account for hundreds of thousands of jobs. Canadians and international visitors plan golf vacations to communities that market themselves as golf destinations and resorts offer golf packages that result in millions of tourism dollars. Tens of thousands of charitable causes use golf as the platform to general $500M annually for worthwhile causes. The golf industry—including more than 5M golfers, nearly 2,300 facilities and local retailers plus countless superintendents, PGA of Canada professionals and industry stakeholders—play a vital role in the continued growth and health of the sport.
Understanding the full scope of Canadian golf including the economic, employment, environmental, tourism and charitable impact of the game in communities from coast to coast is critical. Evaluating that impact is why We Are Golf, a coalition of Canadian golf associations, are inviting Canadians to participate in the latest iteration of the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY
The survey, which takes approximately 12-15 minutes to complete, will generate incredible insights, spending trends and meaningful data towards understanding the current impact of golf in Canada.
As part of the survey, We Are Golf wants to know how much you have or expect to spend on golf and golf related activities or purchases. From green fees and equipment to trips or other golf related spending, the confidential information and insights you share will help estimate the economic impact of golf in your community.
The Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study will be carried out by Group ATN Consulting and your privacy as well as any personal or proprietary information shared will be protected in strict confidence. Results of the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study will be reported in early 2020 and the information gathered will only be used to report aggregate results both at the national and provincial level.
We Are Golf includes Golf Canada, the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada, the PGA of Canada, the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association and the Canadian Society of Club Managers. The results of the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study will be shared across the Canadian golf community and used to advocate the benefits of our sport.
Thank you for your participation in the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study.