Californian sizzles at Southwood

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This article was published 24/08/2023 (1098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride? That’s been the story of the summer for Devon Bling, who quite frankly is getting a bit tired of playing second fiddle.

Now the 23-year-old Californian — fresh off two consecutive runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour Canada — is hoping third time might be the charm when it comes to winning a professional golf tournament.

Bling fired a sizzling 10-under 62 at Southwood Golf & Country Club to grab the first round lead at the Manitoba Open, which was suspended due to darkness Thursday evening with 18 of the 156 competitors still on the course. His round included 10 birdies, with six coming on the final seven holes, and eight pars.

“I just caught a heater and I fed off that energy and tried to keep attacking,” Bling said, attributing much of his success to a hot putter. “I think when you’re making putts your stroke gets relaxed. And when it’s relaxed you make a lot more putts.”

It’s been a stellar rookie campaign for Bling, who finished tied for third at qualifying school in the spring and has made the cut in all six events prior to arriving in Winnipeg. His worst finish came in the opening event in Victoria when he was tied for 37th. Since then, he’s been tied for eighth, tied for 23rd, tied for 12th and then back-to-back T-2s in Ottawa and Windsor.

“I was pretty bummed out there a few weeks in a row (not to win), but also proud of how my game was trending,” Bling said of coming so close. With the tour taking a two-week break between Windsor and Winnipeg, Bling went back home and barely touched his clubs. Clearly, all the momentum he had gained hasn’t been lost.

“I think the two weeks off was pretty necessary to rest up,” said Bling, who is ranked sixth on the PGA Tour Canada standings entering play this week. The top five at the end of the season will graduate to the Korn Ferry Tour, the direct feeder to the PGA Tour. There’s only two events left after this — next week in Minnesota, and then the final event in Calgary after that.

Bling may be young, but he’s not lacking in experience. As a 19-year-old amateur, he played in both the 2019 Masters and U.S. Open, making the cut at Augusta and finishing 55th (the same event won by Tiger Woods) while missing out on the weekend at Pebble Beach.

“I’m very hungry for a win. Keep knocking on the door and hopefully it will open,” he said.

A pair of Canadians are right in the hunt, looking to become the first homegrown product to win the Manitoba Open since Graham DeLaet did it way back in 2009.

Johnny Travale of Stony Creek, Ont. — who only has conditional status on the tour and is only playing this week thanks to a sponsor’s exemption — made the most of that opportunity by shooting 9-under 63 to sit one back of Bling. Funny enough, the best round of his year came after what he felt was a miserable outing at the driving range.

“I wasn’t hitting it well warming up,” said Travale, who was the top-ranked amateur golfer in Canada when he turned pro earlier this year.

Travale has played in four previous events this summer, making the cut twice and finishing 69th and T-44th. He is a product of the work of national men’s team coach Derek Ingram, who is from Winnipeg. Travale is staying at Ingram’s house this week.

“I’m just trying to come out here and have a good week. I’ve been a lot more lax this week I’d say,” said Travale, who hopes a strong finish to the year could vault him into the Top 60 and entry into the season-ending Tour Championship tournament in Calgary (he began the week 130th).

Canadian men’s golf at the highest level is in great shape, with the likes of Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith leading the way. Travale is part of the “next wave” looking to make a mark.

Another one of those is Thomas Giroux of Georgetown, Ont., who is tied for third after shooting 8-under 64. That score was also matched by American Ben Carr.

“Golf Canada is doing a great job with their program,” said Giroux. “The more Canadian golfers that you have doing well, it kind of drives the rest of us. We’ve had two Canadian winners (on tour) already. You see what they are doing and it pushes you to kind of do the same.”

Giroux, 24, is a second-year pro who had missed the cut in four of the first seven tournaments this year, his best finish being a tie for 35th.

“I’ve kind of fought a cold putter all year. Today it really heated up and I made a lot of putts,” he said. ”It’s kinda been a rough year, so I just came out here and said just have fun. I know I’m a good enough player. If I play well, it will be how it is and I can get the job done.”

A half-dozen golfers sit three strokes back after shooting 7-under 65, including two more Canadians in Joey Savoie and Etienne Papineau, who won the season-opening tournament in B.C.

Hot, humid conditions and light winds made for prime scoring conditions. The start of the event was pushed back by 90 minutes due to thick morning fog brought on by some overnight rain that also softened the course.

“I don’t think it could be any better than this,” said Bling. “It’s warm, the ball is flying, the wind is down. It makes pretty much every tee shot relatively simple.”

Five players with Manitoba connections are competing.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who was born in India but immigrated with his family to Winnipeg at a young age before eventually moving to Ontario, leads the way after a 4-under 68. Yellamaraju, 22, is a full-time member on tour who began this week 23rd on the overall rankings.

Manitoba Amateur champion Braxton Kuntz was even par through 15 holes when play was halted. He’ll finish his first round Friday morning.

Travis Fredborg of Selkirk shot 2-under 70, while Ryan McMillan of Winnipeg is at 5-over following a 77. Both players gained entry into the Open after successfully Monday qualifying.

The third member of that group, Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron, shot a respectable 8-over 80. He’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption, just as teammates Mark Scheifele (twice) and Kyle Connor have in the past. His score came within two shots of matching Scheifele’s first round last year, which is the lowest NHL player total to date.

“I’d obviously like to break that threshold and get into the 70s, but if you would have given me an 80 on day one a few weeks ago, or even yesterday, I would have taken it and run with it,” said Barron, whose round included nine bogeys, eight pars and one birdie.

The field will be cut down to the top 60 and ties after 36 holes.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

MANITOBA OPEN LEADERBOARD

1. Devon Bling -10

2. Johnny Travale -9

T3. Thomas Giroux -8

T3. Ben Carr -8

T5. Austin Hitt -7

T5. Luke Schniederjans -7

T5. Tommy Kuhl -7

T5. Joey Savoie -7

T5. Etienne Papineau -7

T5. Hayden Shieh -7

PLAYERS WITH MANITOBA CONNECTIONS

T26. Sudarshan Yellamaraju -4

T65. Travis Fredborg -2

T111. Braxton Kuntz E (Had 3 holes remaining when play suspended due to darkness)

T149. Ryan McMillan +5

154. Morgan Barron +8