DU TOIT READY FOR BIG LEAGUES
Kimberley golfer set to turn pro
Jared du Toit just can’t leave Canada behind, despite being in his fourth and final year at Arizona State University.
“Oh man, Ovie just scored,” he says as Alexander Ovechkin puts the Washington Capitals ahead of his beloved Calgary Flames in a late-season tilt.
Despite the loss for his Flames, du Toit has a great many reasons to be happy these days.
The 21-year-old Kimberley product recently captured his first NCAA golf tournament, is the captain of the ASU Sun Devils’ golf team, and was named a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, collegiate golf ’s highest honour.
Given his play this year and prominence in the collegiate ranks, it’s expected he will turn professional in May at the conclusion of the NCAA national championship in Chicago.
But du Toit has a pretty special professional golf memory already and moments he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.
“It was a fairy tale looking back. I still kind of get goose bumps,” says du Toit, reflecting on his week at the RBC Canadian Open last July. He finished tied for ninth and played in the final group on Sunday with Brandt Snedeker.
“That week was very cool.” Until Mackenzie Hughes captured The RSM Classic on the PGA Tour in November, du Toit’s run up the leaderboard at Glen Abbey Golf Club was the story of Canadian golf in 2016. Of course, since Hughes’s victory, Adam Hadwin has also gone on to win and du Toit’s spectacular week has been somewhat forgotten.
But du Toit can’t help but smile when he recalls the biggest week of his young life so far.
“I remember watching the highlights after the event and you could hear Brandt in the booth and Jim Nantz talking and it was just crazy,” he says after watching a video of himself nailing a 40-foot eagle putt Saturday afternoon to get into the final pairing Sunday. “Not only to hear Brandt was cool, but Jim Nantz! That’s a guy you hear and see growing up as a kid so it was great to be recognized and known by those guys.”
Snedeker says du Toit impressed him, smiling when he recalls how things went that Saturday evening.
“I was with the CBS guys and I remember watching Jared make eagle on 18 and the crowd was going crazy. I was high-fiving Jim Nantz in the booth. Seeing this young Canadian amateur do what he was doing was so much fun,” says Snedeker. “He played really good (on Sunday). He had some chances but just couldn’t get it going. Under those circumstances it was phenomenal.”
Du Toit’s magical week at Glen Abbey is high on his most memorable list, but it also made him realize he’s ready for a bigger stage.
“Playing amateur events is fun, but the thought of being able to make some money doing it is very cool. I’m excited for it (to turn pro), but I’ve learned a lot these last few years,” adds du Toit. “School gets harder every year and golf has kind of been the same way. It’s been good for me and I’ve come a long way on and off the golf course. I’m happy with where I’m at heading into the next step.”
And this year’s Canadian Open? It’s back at Glen Abbey. Du Toit has his fingers crossed that he’ll be there, too.