Struggling golfer rediscovers his game

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This article was published 15/08/2019 (2537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Derek Chang’s first season on the Mackenzie Tour hasn’t exactly gone as planned, a mix of frustration and failure that recently left him questioning just what the heck he’s doing out here.

The 29-year-old native of Dallas, Texas, has only cashed a cheque in three of nine tournaments, failing to make the cut in the other six. Add it all up and his total earnings of $3,013 — that’s in Canadian funds, to boot — don’t even cover his expenses spent travelling across the country these past few months hoping to get his golf career pointed in the right direction.

It’s a tough way to try and earn a living, for sure. And it only seemed to be going from bad to worse as he arrived in Winnipeg — having failed to make it to the weekend and earn a single penny in his prior three events — with his confidence as low as ever and his dream of one day getting to the PGA Tour fading with every lacklustre performance.

Naturally, Chang shot his round of the year on Thursday, a sizzling 8-under-par 64 that has him on top of the Players Cup leaderboard and leading the 156-player field — with $200,000 in prize money up for grabs, including $36,000 for the champion. Seemingly, out of nowhere, he started strong with birdies on the first two holes and ended stronger with birdies on his final three holes.

“I’ve been kinda down on myself. Every day, just trying to work on something and trying to find something and stay positive,” Chang told the Free Press a few moments after he stepped off the course at Southwood Golf & Country Club, where the 100th anniversary of the annual summer event got underway. “I felt pretty good the last couple days, once I got to Southwood. Got a good feel for the greens. I probably made more feet worth of putts (Thursday) than I have all year, to be honest.”

The only thing different he did in his preparation this week was play a pair of practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday in which he wagered a few dollars with some fellow golfers, which got the competitive juices flowing.

“That helped me, I feel, get into the practice round a bit more rather than just going through the motions. The consequences of the shots matter a bit more. I think that helped me focus in a bit more,” he said. “It’s nice to turn it around a little bit.”

Chang isn’t taking anything for granted, of course, knowing just how talented his peers on tour are. He has a two-stroke lead over four golfers who shot 6-under 66, including Riley Wheeldon of Ontario, Peter Campbell of Nova Scotia, Grady Brame of Louisiana and Brad Miller of Maryland.

A total of 79 golfers were under par in the opening round, representing just over half the field. The top 60 and ties after today’s second round will survive to play the weekend.

“I haven’t done anything like that all year, to be honest. For most of the year, I’ve kinda felt like I started slow and had to battle back to even try to make the cut, which is never fun. So it’s massive. Definitely a big help going forward,” Chang said.

He currently sits 111th on the Mackenzie Tour money list, with this week and one more event in Montreal left to try and get into the Top 60 and retain his card for next season. A big finish here will obviously do wonders for both his confidence and his career.

“Really, just try to copy what I did (Thursday). Try to have the same thoughts, the same feelings and get that going,” Chang said of his mindset while competing on a tour that has proven to be much more difficult than he imagined. “The fields are really deep, and it doesn’t take much to get sent home early after two days. From top to bottom it’s really solid, so you’ve got to keep the foot on the gas out here.”

Brame, 26, was the first group off the tee Thursday morning and took advantage of rain-softened greens and light winds. He birdied four of his final six holes to finish at 6 under and says he’s playing aggressively this week.

“I’m, like, 40th on the money list — probably have made enough to get to the Tour Championship (for the Top 60 players) and get my card back. I literally have nothing to lose. The only way I’m going to make a big jump is finish somewhere in The top 5 or get a win. That’s kind of been my mindset and will continue to be that way until I finish,” Brame said.

This is Brame’s third year on the Canadian tour, and he already has a pretty good feel for Southwood after finishing tied for 20th in last year’s Players Cup. He’d like to try and crack the Top 5, as those golfers earn cards for the Korn Ferry Tour (previously known as the Web.com Tour, which is the primary feeder to the PGA).

“I just feel like if you shoot anywhere around even par or even a couple under on this tour the first day, you are constantly fighting and scratching trying to get back into it. Getting off to a good start is a premium. The guys just go too low out here to shoot something around one or two under. So its big for me,” Brame said.

Campbell and Wheeldon are currently the top Canadians, but Wheeldon’s good friend Michael Belle of British Columbia is among a group of four golfers who shot 5-under 67. Belle, 26, is a tour rookie who has also missed six of nine cuts this season. It appears coming to Southwood, where he competed in the 2014 Canadian Amateur, was just what he needed.

“It’s a great course. I think this probably suits me best out of any of the courses we’ve played this year. Just take driver, hit it as far as you can, hopefully in the fairway, and then just have to make some putts out there,” Belle said.

Mackenzie Tour money leader Paul Barjon of France, a two-time winner this year, struggled to a 1-over 73. The rest of the Top 5 includes No. 2 Jake Knapp (69), No. 3 Lorens Chan (70), No. 4 Taylor Pendrith (77) and No. 5 Hayden Buckley (69).

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg