Winnipeg familiar ground for Copp Younger brother of former Jet confident heading into Manitoba Open By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:15 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 Last Modified: 8:26 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 Updates

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Tyler Copp’s first visit to Winnipeg didn’t exactly go according to plan.

It was the spring of 2018 and the Michigan product arrived just in time for Game 5 of the NHL’s Western Conference Final. Hope quickly turned to heartache as the Jets team he was rooting for suffered a season-ending loss that night — while his big brother, Andrew, was relegated to the press box as a healthy scratch.

“I came up and was like, ‘Well, this kind of backfired,’” Copp recalled Wednesday with a laugh. “That was pretty tough.”

Now he’s back, more than six years later, hoping to write a happier family story in a different sport. The 26-year-old Copp is among the 156 golfers who will tee it up beginning Thursday morning in the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open at Southwood Golf & Country Club.

His passport may say American, but this one feels like a bit of a home game. Andrew was drafted by the Jets in 2013, made his NHL debut in 2015 and played 501 career regular-season and playoff games with Winnipeg before he was traded to the New York Rangers in 2022, then signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings a few months later where he remains.

“My brother lived here for seven years. Winnipeg will always be something we are familiar with and remember well,” said Copp. “He’s still got a lot of buddies on the team, and honestly, the fans here are great. It’s good to come back. Hopefully, it treats me well.”

After graduating from Mercer University in Georgia, Copp turned pro and gained his PGA Tour Americas card for the 2024 season. His rookie campaign is off to a rough start — six tournaments played, six cuts missed, zero cheques cashed.

“I would give myself a D-plus. Obviously the competition is tough, but I don’t feel like I can’t be right there with them. There’s a constant learning curve. You’ve got to keep staying aggressive,” Copp told the Free Press.

“But that’s just golf. You go through highs and lows. Unfortunately, I went through a low at a bad time. All you can do is keep working towards that next high.”

No time like the present, right?

“My brother lived here for seven years. Winnipeg will always be something we are familiar with and remember well.”–Tyler Copp

“This week I’ve felt better than any week going into it,” said Copp. “I’m a big fan of the course. And the windier it gets, the more that I like it. Hopefully it’s a little bit more challenging than just a birdie-fest.”

Copp skipped last week’s tournament in Saskatchewan in order to serve as best man for Andrew, who got married Saturday. Jets centre Mark Scheifele was in the wedding party, while Adam Lowry and Josh Morrissey attended as guests.

“I had to give a speech, and I was more nervous for that than any golf shot I’ve hit,” said Copp.

The bachelor party included a round of golf, and Copp said he got the chance to ask Scheifele — who has played twice in the Manitoba Open as a sponsor’s exemption — about the event.

“(Scheifele) loves golf. I could talk golf with him all day,” said Copp. “He was interested to see what I think about the course. I’m just really excited about it. He said he thinks it will suit me, too.”

Both Copp brothers were talented hockey players as kids, but life ultimately took Tyler in a different direction than Andrew, who is four years older.

“It kind of got to a point where I was leaning towards golf, and I started getting better at golf. And I sort of plateaued in hockey,” said Copp, who was a goaltender.

“I would stop on the way home from hockey at this outdoor driving range in Michigan that had heaters. It would be like 9 o’clock in January, 20 degrees (F) outside. That’s when I kind of realized I liked golf more and more.”

Copp really excelled as a high school senior, being named to the All-State team that year, and then had a breakthrough in 2020 when he won the prestigious Michigan Amateur.

“That was big for kind of pushing me towards a pro career, as I wasn’t really sure,” he said. “That gave me a lot of confidence, and then I went on and won in college that first year, too. I was new to the scene in a lot of ways, and that gave me the confidence.”

Andrew caddied for Tyler last month when the tour made a stop just outside Montreal for the Bromont Open.

“He did a really good job. I had no critiques, no complaints. He was really excited,” said Copp.

His dad, Andy, will be on the bag for him this week, just as he was for earlier events this summer in Victoria, Edmonton, Windsor and New Brunswick — and when he won the Michigan Amateur four years ago.

“He does a good job. He’s not the most impressive golfer, so he’s definitely a better caddy than golfer,” said Copp.

Despite not making it to a weekend yet this summer, Copp has always been right around the cut line. His combined score in his dozen rounds so far is two-over par, and the last one he played was a four-under 66 in Ontario.

“The first half of the year, I was hitting it so poorly. I just went through a bad phase. I had to really work myself out of it,” he said. “The last couple weeks had gotten a little bit better, but I just couldn’t put it together.”

Copp’s strength is in the approach and short game rather than off the tee.

“But that became the worst part of my game (earlier this year),” he said. “It would be like if you took Mark Scheifele’s hands away from him, he wouldn’t be quite as effective.”

Copp will tee off Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in a group that includes Canadian Drew Nesbitt and South Africa’s Ben van Wyk. Their second round gets underway Friday at 9:20 a.m.

“I heard there’s a good amount of fans that come out here. As players, we welcome that,” said Copp.

With only two tournaments left before the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship in Toronto, Copp needs to get going. The top 120 players on the points list after next week’s event in Brainerd, Minn., advance to the finale. The top 10 in the final standings receive their Korn Ferry Tour cards for next year.

Copp is currently tied for 238th.

“Any way you cut it I’ve got to play well,” he said. “But it’s a little bit freeing. If you play bad again, you’re already on the outside. So you might as well let loose.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg