Swede leads Manitoba Open, Winnipegger sits 33rd

From Lars-Erik Sjoberg to Thomas Steen to Viggo Bjorck, there’s no shortage of Swedish athletes who have quickly become fan favourites here in Winnipeg.

Daniel Svard is hoping to add his name to the growing list.

Although he wields a golf club and not a hockey stick, the 23-year-old from Stockholm is opening plenty of eyes this week at Elmhurst. He carries a two-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the Manitoba Open, looking to close out his first professional victory in his just his fourth career tournament.

Svard fired a six-under 66 on Saturday to move to 14-under through 54 holes of the PGA Tour Americas event.

“Great start to the round with a birdie on the first hole and that got everything rolling. Nerves went away pretty quickly after that,” said Svard.

“I was just in a great mood. It was a beautiful day.”

Svard just graduated from Northwestern University this past spring and got status on this tour by virtue of finishing 19th in the NCAA golf standings. The No. 1 player went straight to the PGA Tour, Nos. 2-10 went to the Korn Ferry and 11-20 came to PGA Tour Americas.

The learning has only started for Svard, who was in contention through the first two rounds of his debut tournament last month in New Brunswick — only to struggle on the weekend and plummet down the leaderboard, ultimately finishing tied for 36th.

“It was completely overwhelming,” he admitted. “I was in a much better mindset and perspective today that I can definitely attribute to what I learned that week.”

Svard birdied six of his first 10 holes and was on the cusp of challenging the course record (seven-under), but settled for even par over his final eight. He’ll play in Sunday’s final group with California’s Adam Duncan, who fired a third consecutive 66 on Saturday to get to 12-under.

“This is a brand new thing for me on this level. Definitely had some experience in college, played in a couple final pairings and was fortunate to come out on top of most of those. I think I have a pretty good track record,” said Svard, who finished tied for 31st and missed the cut in his other two events so far this summer.

“I’m just going to enjoy it to the fullest and see where it takes me and be proud of myself regardless.”

Duncan is in his second year on the tour and had only made five of 17 cuts heading into this week — including just two of eight this season to sit 89th in the rankings.

What has changed so quickly?

“I kind of think the course suits my game. I feel like I’ve played just as good some weeks and missed the cut, which is crazy,” said Duncan, who did have a 10th place finish back in June at a tournament in Kansas.

“I think a lot of guys are struggling on the greens, and I’m reading them very well. And I feel like I’m driving it pretty good.”

The Colorado Christian University grad is looking for one more solid round — a fourth straight 66 would sure be sweet — to take a big step forward in his career.

“Hopefully this is the first of many,” said Duncan.

Svard and Duncan will tee off in the final pairing at 1:15 on Sunday.

Austin Greaser is alone in third at 10-under par, while fellow American Garrett Endicott and Taiwan’s Chuan-Tai Lin are tied for fourth at nine-under. England’s Harry Lord and Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Rodríguez are tied for sixth at eight-under.

There were 16 Canadians in the field of 156 this week, and eight of them made the 36-hole cut. Etienne Papineau of Quebec leads the way at seven-under, which has him tied for eighth.

Winnipegger Braxton Kuntz, who was one shot off the first round lead after starting with a 65, followed up his second-round 72 with an even-par 70 on Saturday. He birdied the final two holes of the day to build some momentum heading into the final round and sits in a tie for 33rd.

“Overall I’m really happy with how I hit the ball tee to green compared to (Friday). And it was nice to end off on a solid note,” said Kuntz, who got into the tournament by Monday qualifying.

Svard entered play this week 120th on the tour standings. A win would vault him close to the top ten, who all receive Korn Ferry cards at the end of this season, while getting inside the top 60 guarantees full status on PGA Tour Americas for next season. There are four tournaments remaining after this week.

“I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he said.

Svard has quickly fallen in love with Elmhurst, which has more than held its own this week.

“I love the strategic challenge. I don’t know if that’s the Northwestern brain in me or just the golfer. I love the course architecture and tucked pins and kind of the square greens that this course provides,” he said.

“I think it’s a different kind of challenge than what we’re used to. And I think I just thrive on that kind of golf course. I enjoy being very creative and seeing it as more of an opportunity.”

The top player on tour this year, American Thomas Ponder, just made the cut at two-under and then struggled to a three-over 73 on Saturday, leaving him tied for 57th.

Svard isn’t taking anything for granted — nor is he getting overly comfortable — by being in the driver’s seat heading into Sunday.

“Everyone around here is an excellent golfer and they’re here for a reason. Everybody has the ability to play a great round. it’s not just the guys that are two or four shots behind me that have a chance to win,” he said.

www.winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre