Wang takes very long road to Winnipeg and spot in Manitoba Open

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/08/2023 (1130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Charles Wang was already a winner before he hit his first tee shot on Thursday at Southwood Golf and Country Club. Simply getting into the field at the Manitoba Open was a significant accomplishment given how his last few days have played out.

It’s quite a story, one the personable 26-year-old from China was happy to share after finishing up a rock-solid 4-under 68 in his opening round of the Manitoba Open.

“I’m just fortunate to be here, to be honest,” said Wang. “And to have a solid start. It’s more than I can ask for.”

First, some brief background. Wang does not have full status on the PGA Tour Canada, instead, having to rely on enough spots opening up in the field to get in on any given week. It’s a tough way to make a living, for sure. That’s not even the half of it.

Wang has been fortunate enough to play all seven tournaments prior to this latest stop in Winnipeg, making three cuts and pocketing a $3,144 to place him 101st on the tour rankings.

Which takes us to last week, when the Canadian circuit was on a break and Wang headed to New Jersey to try to Monday qualify for the latest stop on the Korn Ferry Tour. Not only did he get in, he defied the rather long odds and made the cut. Ultimately, Wang finished 68th after rough weekend rounds of 77 and 75.

As of this past Sunday evening, Wang didn’t have a direct path into the Manitoba Open. So he signed up for Monday qualifying at Glendale Golf and Country Club, hoping to follow the same path as a week earlier.

He raced from the golf course to the Newark airport to board a flight, made a stop in Minneapolis and touched down in Winnipeg just after 1 a.m. By the time he tucked himself into bed at his hotel, it was nearly 3:30 a.m.

“It was such a scramble from Jersey to here,” he said. “And them I’m at the hotel, without a caddie, don’t even know where the course is.”

An early wake-up alarm followed, and despite admittedly feeling “exhausted” seemed to be in fine shape to be among the lucky qualifiers as he approached the 18th hole.

“It was a roller-coaster,” Wang said of his emotions. “I eagled 17 to get to five-under. At that point, five-under was solo fourth, and with only two or three groups behind me. So for sure, if I could just par the last hole, I would be in.”

But then disaster struck, with a double-bogey leaving him on the outside looking in by a single stroke.

Wang said he hit a two-iron off the tee, pushing it to the rough but only 151 yards away from the pin.

“I tried to play it safe to the centre of the green with a pitching wedge and caught a huge flyer and air sailed the green,” he said. Wang chipped on from behind a tree, leaving himself with about 15-feet for par. Somehow, he managed to three-putt.

Dejected, Wang began looking at flights on Expedia from Winnipeg to Tampa Bay, where he makes his off-season home, and was stunned to see a price of nearly $800.

“You fight so hard, you grind so hard… it can be a little disappointing,” said Wang. “I went to a nice Korean barbecue out by me and that lifted my spirit up a little bit.

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Before he could click “purchase” a text came in from a PGA Tour Canada official that turned his frown upside-down. A late withdrawal meant there was now an open spot in Winnipeg. He was listed as the first alternate, meaning it was his if he wanted it.

Wang said he felt like he was getting a new lease on life, one he was determined to make the most of. So far, so good in that department.

“You always want to have a mindset that this is your week, this is your tournament,” said Wang, “It’s like when you hang around a barber shop long enough, eventually you get a haircut.”

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.