What鈥檚 up, Doc?
The lead in the 37th Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by the sa国际传媒, that鈥檚 what.
Doc Redman, the 2017 U.S. Amateur champion and U.S. team Walker Cup player, shot an opening-round 6-under 64 to pace the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 event on Thursday.
Redman is out of Clemson, a university better known for its football team. They apparently produce a few good golfers, too.
In another compelling opening-round storyline, Jimmy Jones shot a 4-under 66 to tie for fourth. He is the 23-year-old out of the University of South Florida experiencing a poignant Island homecoming. The dual citizen who golfs as a Canadian, and who turned pro last year, is the son of the late Dawn Coe-Jones. She came out of Lake Cowichan to become one of the greatest Canadian female golfers of all-time with more than $3.3 million in earnings on the LPGA Tour from 1983 to 2008 with three LPGA wins and 44 top-10 placings. Coe-Jones died of bone cancer in 2016 at 56.
鈥淪he was a hero to me,鈥� her son has said.
Jimmy Jones was third alternate and only got the call to join the Bayview Place DCBank Open field on Tuesday afternoon.
鈥淚t was the best call I ever received on the Malahat,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be home. My grandpa used to play Uplands. I had eight or nine family and friends following me today and it was nice to drop a few putts for them.鈥�
The pro golf aspirants teed off at Uplands knowing the stakes. The immediate reward coming Sunday for the winner will be $36,000 and a berth in the PGA Tour鈥檚 Canadian Open in Hamilton, Ont.
The longer-term overall prize for the Order of Merit season champion on the Mackenzie Tour is the 2020 season exemption on the higher level Web.com Tour, which is one step from the PGA Tour. The next four in the overall standings will earn conditional status on the Web.com Tour while sixth through 10th will gain exemptions to the final round of the Web.com qualifying school.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to get status on the Web.com, or at worse, exemptions into the later rounds of qualifying school,鈥� said Redman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a showcase for good young players.鈥�
Since 2013, when the Canadian Tour became the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒, numerous players from the Victoria tournament have gone on to the PGA Tour, including seven PGA Tour tournament winners in Tony Finau, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Aaron Wise, Adam Long, Corey Conners and C.T. Pan.
Cole Miller out of Penn State, who has played in the U.S. Open, and Chris O鈥橬eill out of the University of Michigan Wolverines shot 5-under 65s on Thursday to tie for second.
Meanwhile, James Allenby鈥檚 hot hand froze with suddenness. The Langley golfer, a sponsor鈥檚 exemption who led the season-opening sa国际传媒 Life Open last week at Point Grey through three rounds before settling for a second-place tie, shot a 5-over 75 at Uplands.
鈥淚t was an awful round but you try not to think about it,鈥� said Allenby. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get too high and you can鈥檛 get too low in this game. That鈥檚 a clich茅 but true. I have to remain positive and believe that I can record a low second-round score [today].鈥�
It was also a tough day for 14-year-old prodigy Abhay Gupta of Concord, North Carolina. The youngest player to qualify for a Canadian Tour event shot 6-over 76.
鈥淚 had a back injury but I made a swing for it,鈥� said a disappointed Gupta.
Gupta was paired with 59-year-old Asian, PGA and Champions tour veteran Jim Rutledge of Victoria, who was 2-under at 68 in what was the largest-followed group in terms of gallery.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the nicest kid and is well beyond his age. I was in the Cowichan Open at 15. This is a much bigger stage. I wish him the best. He鈥檒l do fine in his career.鈥�
The second round is today, third round Saturday and final round Sunday.
