Cockerill kicks off Canadian Open with even-par 70

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This article was published 09/06/2022 (1540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — It wasn’t the start Aaron Cockerill had hoped for, with a nervous drive into a fairway bunker that led to a bogey right off the hop.

But the pride of Stony Mountain, making his PGA Tour debut Thursday at the Canadian Open, quickly shook off the early butterflies. He fired an even-par 70, punctuating his impressive opening round with a near hole-in-one. His tee shot on his final hole at St. George’s Golf & Country Club came within inches of dropping in.

“I couldn’t see it from the tee box,” Cockerill, 30, told the Free Press. “I thought it was good. If you carry the rough there it all kicks down towards the hole. But I didn’t realize it was that close. A very nice way to end the day.”

Cockerill, who is having a breakthrough season in Europe on the DP World Tour and was granted a sponsor’s exemption into this prestigious event, is tied for 44th through 18 holes. The field of 156 players will be cut down to the top 65 and ties after Friday. He starts his second round at 7:50 a.m. (CT).

“Once I got to the course I was fine. But yeah, there was a lot of time to kill, not teeing off until like 2 o’clock (Thursday). So, I was definitely nervous,” Cockerill said. “This is a huge event as a Canadian.”

Wyndham Clark of Colorado is the clubhouse leader following a sizzling 7-under 63. England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is one shot back at 64, while Americans Doug Ghim and Harold Varner III both shot 65. MacKenzie Hughes of nearby Hamilton and defending champion Rory Mcllroy are among a group of players that shot 66. Other notable names include world No. 1 and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and PGA champion Justin Thomas, who are both 1-under.

Adam Hadwin is the only other Canadian in the red, as the British Columbia product shot 69. There are 21 homegrown talents in the field this week, including top-ranked Canadian Corey Conners (71) and Mike Weir (72).

It’s the first time in three years the national championship has been held, owing to the global pandemic.

Cockerill hung tough on a golf course that punishes players for missing the fairway with their drive thanks to long, unrelenting rough. It didn’t help that conditions toughened for the afternoon players, as the wind picked up considerably. Cockerill sprayed a few to the left and right — essentially wasting his next shots on safe chip-outs rather than going for the greens — but his short game was sensational.

“I felt like I had pretty good speed control on the greens,” said Cockerill. “Confident with the putter, confident with the irons… just have to get in the fairway a little bit more.”

After his opening bogey, Cockerill had birdies on his sixth and ninth holes to make the turn under par. Wayward tee shots on 10, 11 and 14 all led to bogeys, pushing him to 2-over. The two-time Manitoba golfer of the year wasn’t rattled, making 10-footers for birdie on 15 and 16 to get it back to even. Another tough drive led to a bogey on 17, but then came the fantastic finish.

“It was not the ideal start, but the putt for par on the second hold kind of settled me a little bit. And then I played pretty solid from there,” he said. “If you’re not in the fairway, it’s going to be hard to make pars. I just have to try and drive it a bit better (Friday).”

He’ll get in a quick early-morning session on the range with his coach, Winnipegger Derek Ingram.

Cockerill had plenty of fan support on the course, including his wife, Chelsea, parents Kathy and Doug, and several Manitoba friends who made the trip east to witness this big step in his life. Cockerill has climbed to No. 312 in the world golf rankings and has earned approximately CDN$350,000 so far this year in Europe, thanks largely to a tie for second in Kenya and a tie for third in Spain.

He’s paired in these first two rounds with PGA Tour veterans Dawie van der Welt of South Africa and Brian Davis of England. Cockerill carded the low score of the threesome, as van der Welt (73) and Davis (78) both struggled.

“You’re always learning. Whatever I can take from playing (with guys like that) I will,” Cockerill said. “Hopefully, the wind stays down for us (Friday morning) and I can put up a good number and get in a better position for the weekend. No goals or numbers in mind, just stick to my boring recipe every shot. When I do that I can play well.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg