Players Cup may have to wait for next Canuck champ

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This article was published 18/08/2019 (2537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT has been a decade since a Canadian captured the Players Cup, with Graham DeLaet turning the trick back in 2009. And it doesn’t appear likely there will be a homegrown champion raising the trophy late this afternoon at Southwood Golf & Country Club.

Riley Wheeldon and Michael Belle, both residents of British Columbia, are in the best position but find themselves six shots back at 10-under heading into the final round. That has them in a tie for 13th overall.

Wheeldon, 28, was in prime position at the start of competition Saturday, playing in the final twosome of the day with leader Brad Miller and just one shot back. But while Miller shot a three-under 69, Wheeldon fired a two-over 74.

“It was a struggle. The conditions were part of it. But you have to handle whatever conditions you have. I just didn’t have my stuff out there. Kind of got behind the eight-ball early and it was tough to rally back and make birdies when it got windy and rainy there for a little bit,” said Wheeldon, who had plenty of praise for his playing partner.

“(Miller) was rock-solid. To go bogey-free in these conditions, with the lead, is extremely impressive. It was kind of the polar opposite of my round. I was frustrated, and here and there in the rough, missing greens. And he was just steady. Any time he kind of got out of position, he made a nice putt to save himself. He just played extremely clean golf, which is impressive with the weather the way it was,” he said.

Wheeldon and Belle are good friends and will be competing for the bonus cheque of $2,500, handed out to the top Canadian at the end of each tournament.

“At the end of the week, you look at it, it’s a nice bonus. This week I was feeling pretty good and wanted to be at the top of the leaderboard regardless of where I was from. But I’ll try to do my best (Sunday) and see where I end up,” Wheeldon said.

“It’s going to have to take something special (Sunday). It would have been nice to salvage at least par or better today, keep myself within arm’s reach. A little disappointed.”

There were 23 Canadians in the 156-player field this week, but only seven made the cut and continued to play this weekend. Jimmy Jones (-8), Peter Campbell (-7), Stuart Macdonald (-5), Myles Creighton (-5) and Jamie Sadlowski (-4) are the others.

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The 16 who didn’t make the cut included all six Manitobans. Taylor Pendrith of Ontario is the top Canadian on the tour this year, beginning the week at fourth on the money list. But he shot rounds of 77-69 to miss the cut by five strokes.

“Canadian golf is extraordinary right now, all of our talent is at the highest level. You’ve got a bunch of guys on the PGA doing well, guys on the (Korn Ferry Tour) moving up to the PGA. It’s a little bit watered down at this level now, compared to a few years ago. But there’s still tons of guys out here who are capable of winning every week. There might not be as many of us, but there’s still a strong contingent,” Wheeldon said.

“The line is very fine, between this level and the next level and the PGA Tour. It’s just a matter of playing well at the right time, kind of getting your break and sticking with it. A lot of guys can play some pretty good golf at this level and the Korn Ferry level and never really catch the right break. If you stick with it long enough and play well at the right time, then yeah, it’s a sliver between here and the next level. It’s a shot here, a shot there.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @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.

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