Glen Abbey very ‘gettable’
golf course, because I know the course can play fiery,” said Smylie Kaufman, who also had a 6-under 66. “It played very soft today and I definitely took advantage of having some wedges into holes and getting it close to holes and making some birdies.”
The unfortunate thing about Tour golf today is that, unless an event is played at one of the monster U.S. Open venues that measure 7,700 yards or longer, or at somewhere unusually tight, modern equipment and balls in the hands of the legions of pros who can rip it off the tee will bring very low scores in favourable conditions. It’s a fact that, among other reasons, makes it difficult for Golf Canada to move this tournament around the country. There are all kinds of great courses in Canada, but not many that can rein in the power of PGA Tour hitters. Glen Abbey was specifically built for that purpose, but on a day like Thursday it can end up being thoroughly pantsed.
Hagy, the leader in driving distance on Tour this season with an average bomb of 318 yards, said that in the practice rounds he felt like he would not be able to hit drivers without running through a lot of those corners.
“But, with that rain it definitely creates some softness where you could land it and control the ball,” he said after his 65. “It definitely gave me a little bit more freedom to bomb it out there and if I was in the rough, I knew I was still going to be able to stop it.”
On the 16th hole, Hagy made birdie by rather unconventional means. He pushed his drive deep and right, but the ball hit a spectator squarely in the back and kicked back into the fairway.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, geez’,” Hagy said. “I’ve never really had that happen before, but signed a ball for him and was able to make birdie.”
There are, as the saying goes, no pictures on the scorecard.