Unflappable rookie conquers the elements
Cunningham shoots 64 in wind, rain to take two-stroke lead into weekend
On a day when virtually everyone in the field was trying to protect themselves from the elements, George Cunningham attacked them.
Beat them up.
The 22-year-old former University of Arizona standout rattled off nine birdies in the rain, cold and howling wind Friday to take a twoshot lead at the midway mark of the Syncrude Oil Country Championship.
The only time he blinked was during a double bogey on his seventh hole, but shooting 64 despite a double gives you some idea how the rest of his round went.
Even he didn’t envision this when he was standing on the Petroleum Club driving range watching the wind and rain gather momentum.
“I really didn’t,” he said. “I was coming out (Friday) prepared for the weather we had and I would have been happy with one or two under par because I felt like that’s what the course was going to give me.
“But I saw somebody (33-yearold Matt Marshall) posted sixunder and thought, ‘That’s a really good score out here today.’
“I told myself it was out there today.”
So he went out and took it, closing with six birdies and three pars for a back nine 30.
He has a two-shot lead on Americans Marshall (68-65) and Brinson Paolini (68-65) and a three-shot lead on Germany’s Yannik Paul.
With 14 players within five shots of the lead, it’s still anyone’s game, but Cunningham has already won once this year, has two other top10 finishes in seven events and sits third on the Mackenzie Tour’s Order of Merit, so he’s comfortable on the stage that awaits him this weekend.
“I did really well in Kelowna handling the nerves, seeing the leaderboards when I felt people were catching me,” he said. “I’m going to use that experience going into the weekend and staying focused on what I can control.”
He admits, though, that he didn’t really expect to be doing this much this soon in his rookie season. Who does? He’ll move into top spot on the Order of Merit (which means automatic status on the Web Tour next season) if he can close the deal here.
Again, he’s 22.
“I have definitely played better than I kind of expected,” he said. “The scores have been really low. I wasn’t a person to go really low in college. I had multiple rounds 64, 65, one 62. In that aspect, I’ve played a little better than I expected. But I know the people around me and lots of people I talked to, they were expecting me here. Obviously they were seeing something that I wasn’t seeing in myself.”
He’ll play in the final group with Marshall, who is 11 years his senior.
“It definitely makes me feel like the old guy out here,” Marshall said with a chuckle. “It seems like every week I’m playing with somebody who’s 21 or 22. It’s good, though. It shows you the game is doing well and there is a lot of good young talent out there.”
CUT FOR KEVORKIAN
After missing 15 cuts in a row, first-round co-leader Jake Kevorkian admitted being a little nervous heading into Friday’s round.
He hadn’t made it to the weekend since the second round of last season, so confidence wasn’t exactly at an all-time high.
He brought it in nicely, though, with an even par 71 that has him 6-under for the tournament and in a tie for sixth heading into the weekend.
“It feels good,” said the 23-yearold Floridian. “I shouldn’t get greedy, but I’m thinking winning now that I’ve made the cut. It’s nice, finally, to get a paycheque.”
Not blowing it was front and centre in his mind when he teed it up Friday, at least until he could see he had this under control.
“Once I got to about the ninth hole and I was five or six clear of (the cut line) it took the weight off the shoulders and I stopped thinking about it,” He said. “But it was definitely on my mind to start the day. It was nice to get it done.
“It was a tough day from the start. It was raining on the first hole, and by the fifth all your grips are soaking wet and you’re just trying to hold on. Then the wind picked up. Even par in those conditions, I can’t complain.”
I was coming out prepared for the weather ... and I would have been happy with one or two under par because I felt like that’s what the course was going to give me.