Samberg earns Jets bragging rights

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This article was published 23/08/2024 (404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a proud new owner of the unofficial Winnipeg Jets “green jacket.”

Defenceman Dylan Samberg opened plenty of eyes this week — and earned major dressing room bragging rights — as he fired rounds of 74 and 80 while competing as a special attraction in the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open.

“It was an awesome tournament to be a part of and I had a lot of fun getting to know some of the professionals,” Samberg said Friday after signing his scorecard at Southwood Golf & Country Club.

“Just being able to watch them play and see how they never miss and are always making putts, it definitely makes you elevate your game. But I was happy with how I scored and how I played.”

Sure, being a combined 10-over par puts him at the very bottom of the PGA Tour Americas leaderboard. That’s to be expected and simply reinforces how good the professionals on the PGA Tour Americas truly are.

“It makes me feel like I chose the right sport,” Samberg said with a chuckle.

His performance — three birdies, 22 pars, 10 bogeys and one triple bogey over his two days — is nothing to laugh at, especially when you put it in perspective.

Prior to this week, Mark Scheifele had the best showing by a Jets player in terms of a single-round (78 in 2022) and 36-hole score (18-over). Samberg beat the first record by four shots, and the second by eight.

“We were chatting a little bit (on Friday). I think deep down now he’d probably want to try to beat it again,” said Samberg.

Morgan Barron in 2023 (22-over) and Kyle Connor in 2019 (40-over) have also played the event under sponsor’s exemptions.

“There’s been some support, and there’s been a couple chirps,” Samberg said of his teammates.

“Neal Pionk being the main one. He sent me a text (Thursday), I think I had three-putted one of the holes, and said ‘You can’t be three-putting on the tour.’ He was giving it back-and-forth, including some things I can’t say. But it’s all in good fun.”

Samberg said he has a newfound appreciation of the work these golfers put in — driving from city-to-city each week with no guarantee of a paycheque while chasing their big-league dreams.

“It’s definitely a grind. I talked to a few of them and they gave me what they go through in a year. It’s very impressive,” said Samberg. “After two days, my legs are tired. I’m like how do these guys do this for four (rounds) and do it back-to-back weeks?”

So who might be the next Jets player to take a swing at this event?

“(Josh) Morrissey is a pretty good golfer as well. I think he could do well at this. Same with Dom Toninato, he’s another good golfer,” said Samberg.

“We have a lot of good guys in our room that are pretty good golfers in that six-to-10 handicap range. I think they’d have a lot of fun at this, and I’d love to try and do this again in the future.”

Samberg, who got married earlier this summer, is headed back to Minnesota for a week, then returns to Winnipeg after Labour Day to begin on-ice skating sessions with plenty of teammates ahead of Jets training camp officially beginning Sept. 18.

Close call for Kuntz

Third time was not the charm for Braxton Kuntz.

The 20-year-old Breezy Bend member once again fell short of making the cut despite firing a personal-best five-under 67 at Southwood on Friday. Unfortunately, an opening-round 73 — which included a triple-bogey on the 16th-hole thanks to a lost ball and another that found water — sealed his fate.

“It was another big learning experience for me,” said Kuntz, who has won four straight Manitoba Amateur championships and was playing in this event on a sponsor’s exemption for a third time.

“I tend to focus a lot on the bad stuff, but at the same time I had a lot of great shots this week.”

That was evident by the eight birdies he made in his second round, offset by three bogeys which all came on par-threes.

“If I can clean up those errors I’m going to be shooting low scores and competing,” said Kuntz. “That comes with practice. I’ve got a lot to work on moving forward.”

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Kuntz heads back to Indiana for his senior season at Ball University. He plans to turn pro next summer.

Copp out

Tyler Copp, the younger brother of former Jets forward Andrew Copp, won’t be playing this weekend either. He finished two-under after rounds of 71-71.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.