Blick leads Players Cup tournament with record score

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This article was published 16/08/2018 (2602 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cody Blick shook off what he called a “bone-headed mistake” and fired a course-record 9-under-par 63 Thursday, soaring to the top of the Players Cup leaderboard as he seeks his elusive first victory as a pro.

The 24-year-old California native has come just short on several previous occasions, including a tie for second and a tie for third earlier this season on the Mackenzie Tour — PGA Tour Canada. He entered this week 11th on the money list and hopes his opening round at the Southwood Golf & Country Club is a sign of things to come.

“It’s been close, even last year I had a lot of close finishes. Just trying to stay patient, really. I’m not trying to think about it, just trying to get better every week. The more I put myself in that situation, the more comfortable I’m going to feel. I’ll get one at some point,” Blick said.

Blick had 10 birdies and just one bogey — a three-putt from six feet on the sixth hole.

“It was above the hole. I read it going left at first, and (his playing partner) was below the hole and it went the opposite way I was expecting. And so I went centre and tried to hit it hard. And of course, it went left. That was fine, but missing the three-footer coming back, that was just a bone-headed mistake,” Blick said.

He didn’t let it bother him, finishing his round with four straight birdies and six in his final seven holes.

“I hit 17 greens and the one green I missed, I was still putting. So just a lot of looks today and was able to convert a few of them,” said Blick, who was sad to see his round end, given the hot run he was on.

“I just ran out of holes, that’s all,” he said.

Blick turned pro in 2016 and already has seven top-10 finishes, including a pair of seconds and a pair of thirds. He’s trying to get into the top five on the money list to secure his Web.com Tour card for next season. With just one more event left after this week, he’s put himself in a solid position.

A total of 114 golfers were under par through the opening round thanks to prime scoring conditions. Blick enters today’s second round with a two-stroke lead over four Americans: Californian Ben Geyer, Hawaiian Alex Chiarella, Texan Franklin Corpening and Connecticut’s David Pastore. They all shot 65.

“I’ve been playing really well, but not scoring at all. To finally get something like 7-under, that’s probably my lowest score of the year,” said Geyer, 26, who played a practice round Wednesday during windy conditions and was expecting the worst.

“To be honest, I wasn’t too excited going into the week, given how windy it was. Seeing the course, everything is a carry of 290 (yards) and that’s not really my game. But I did drive it really well and I was hitting it straight. I missed two fairways and it was later in the round. It was nice to have it a little calmer. (Wednesday), I was thinking it was an impossible course and it was playing really easy (Thursday),” he said.

Geyer is currently 79th on the money list and needs a strong finish to his season to get into the top 60, which guarantees a tour card for next season.

Eight more golfers are three shots back after shooting six-under 66, including Calgary’s James Love. The 35-year-old veteran is currently the top Canadian among the 26 in the field this week. Love’s round included two eagles.

“I played (Wednesday) and it was my first look at the course. It didn’t really yield of birdies in our practice round, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But there was no wind out there and the greens were a lot softer, so you could fire at the pins all day,” said Love, who began the week 83rd on the money list. A neck injury caused him to miss three events, so he’s now trying to make up for lost time.

Eight Manitobans are competing this week. Amateur Devon Schade and Kevin Giesbrecht, the assistant pro at St. Charles, led the way Thursday by both shooting one-under 71. Aaron Cockerill, the only Manitoban member of the Mackenzie Tour, shot 72 after struggling with the putter.

“It’s just frustrating. It’s tough to shoot a score when you feel like you’ve got to hit it to two feet. I hit it good, I just literally didn’t make anything,” said Cockerill, 26, who sits 87th on the money list.

“There was a stretch on my front nine where I had five holes in a row where I was inside 12 feet and I think I made one (putt),” he said.

A couple other notables include tour money leader Tyler McCumber (69) and 2014 Players Cup champion Timothy Madigan (71). The top 60 and ties will advance to the weekend.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg