Miller doubles lead going into Sunday’s final round of Players Cup

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This article was published 17/08/2019 (2557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brad Miller knew he was going to have his hands full trying to fend off a number of talented golfers who were gunning for him Saturday. He hadn’t counted on Mother Nature trying to make his life miserable as well.

Fortunately for Miller, the 29-year-old Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada pro from Maryland managed to keep everyone at bay and double his Players Cup lead from one shot to two heading into the final round at Southwood Golf & Country Club.

Miller shot a neat and tidy three-under 69 despite a howling wind and intermittent rain showers which made the course extremely difficult for those playing later in the day. He is now 16-under after starting the tournament with rounds of 66 and 65.

“That might have been one of the better ball-striking rounds I’ve ever had,” Miller said in the clubhouse moments after signing his scorecard. “I hit my bad shots, but I kept it in front of me the whole day. The closest I was to a bogey was on 11. Left it just short and hit a chip to six or seven feet, and made a really good putt there to close it out.”

Miller, who has played professional golf since 2012, will look to close out his first-ever victory on Sunday. He has missed four of nine cuts this season, including the last two in Alberta, but is now on the verge of a breakthrough.

“These are the little steps you have to take to a), get to the next level, but b), just win any tournament. I don’t think anyone will tell you they don’t want to be leading heading into Sunday. Baby steps. We’re all trying to work our way up, and this is part of it,” said Miller.

Derek Barron, a 34-year-old tour veteran from Washington, and Hayden Buckley, a 23-year-old tour rookie from Mississippi, are his closest challengers. Both sit at 14-under for the tournament after shooting identical rounds of eight-under 64 on Saturday.

They had the benefit of going out much earlier in the day, when the winds were light and scoring conditions were much better.

Buckley has plenty of momentum on his side. He won last week’s event in Calgary in a playoff, and also has two other top-five finishes on his resume from this season. That puts him in fifth spot on the Mackenzie Tour money list, with the top five golfers all graduating to the Korn Ferry Tour (previously known as the Web.com Tour) for next year with two tournaments left on the schedule, in Montreal and London, Ont.

“In the last three days here, I feel like I haven’t missed a shot. The first two days I shot 69, 69 and it’s like ‘Man, I hit the ball so well, how am I not in the lead?’ Just haven’t made many putts, it’s just one of those things where I’m not hitting it in the right spots, just not hitting the putts when I’m hitting it close,” said Buckley.

But that all changed Saturday, especially on the back nine where he birdied six of his final eight holes.

“Last week helps, a lot of confidence. Really never felt pressure this whole week. Even (Sunday) I probably won’t feel much pressure because last week was such a grind. There’s really nothing to lose at this point, the hard part’s over, getting my first win. So really nothing to lose,” said Buckley.

“I just try to stay patient. It’s hard, it’s hard to stay patient. But last week really kinda changed things for me. It’s one of those where without a win last week there’s probably a bit more pressure this week.”

Buckley graduated from the University of Missouri last winter and said his first season playing in Canada has been a major success.

“I feel like it’s a comfortable spot right now, and I feel like if I play good enough I’m going to stay there or move up. So it’s one of those things now where why not chase down the guy in front of you instead of worrying about the guys behind me,” he said,

“You really can’t beat a Sunday out here, especially when you’re competing in those last few groups. It’s well run and everything I could ask for developing yourself. I think it’s a perfect way to develop your game and try to get to the next level.”

As for Barron, this is 26th career tournament on the Mackenzie Tour, and he has yet to have a top-three finish. He’s in a prime position to change that.

“I feel like it’s been really close. I’ve been getting off to good starts some weeks and then stalling. (Saturday), I just let go of all swing and putting mechanics and just played,” said Barron, who began the week 54th on the money list.

The top 60 after the next event in Montreal retain their tour cards for next season and get to play in the final Tour Championship event in London.

Ryan Elmore, 24 is alone in fourth spot at 13-under after shooting 66 on Saturday, also in the morning before the weather took a nasty turn. Right behind him are Greg Eason of England, Lorens Chan of Hawaii and Ryan Snouffer of New Jersey, who are all four strokes back of Miller at 12-under.

First-round leader Derek Chang of Texas began the day just one stroke back of Miller, but shot a 76 Saturday and is now eight strokes back. He was one of a number of golfers who struggled in the tough conditions as the day went on.

Same goes for Will Gordon of North Carolina, who shot a course-record 11-under 61 on Friday to get near the top of the leaderboard, but ballooned to a 75 on Saturday. He was visibly upset with himself as he walked off the course.

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“It was windy out there, but it wasn’t unplayable. I’ve done this a couple of times this year, so it’s getting old. It’s just frustrating, because it’s the same stuff over and over. You make the same mistakes. But it is what it is,” said Gordon.

Indeed, he shot an incredible 60 during his opening round earlier this year in Lethbridge (11-under on the par-71 course), only to follow up with scores of 72-73-67 to finish tied for 22nd. He’s currently tied for 37th in the Player’s Cup despite Friday’s score.

Sunday’s final round begins at 7:30 a.m.. with the final pairing of Miller and Barron teeing off at 12:50 p.m. Admission at Southwood is free to all spectators.

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.

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.