A hot putter for Leonard
Cambridge golfer credits diligent work on the green to his strong season
The three-month Florida getaway had nothing to do with rest and relaxation and everything to do with self improvement.
More to the point, Brendan Leonard spent long hours at the formidable Old Corkscrew Golf Club to work on the weakest part of his golf game, to transform his putter from an enemy into a friend.
The results, to this point in the season, have been outstanding. “I worked hard at turning one of my weaknesses into one of my strengths and with good ball-striking; it’s been a good year so far,” said the 26-year-old Leonard, a second-year pro from Cambridge.
“It (the putter) has been the best club in my bag and the most reliable club in my bag.”
Leonard, currently the No. 1 player on the Great Lakes Tour, hopes that trend will continue over the next five days during a stretch that starts Thursday in Mirabel, Que., and concludes Monday in Ancaster.
First up, Leonard makes his debut on the Mackenzie Tour — PGA Tour Canada at the Mackenzie Investments Open. The University of Detroit Mercy graduate has a 2:15 p.m. tee time at Club de Golf Quatre Domaines and hopes to be very much in the hunt after Friday’s 36-hole cut.
On Monday, he will compete against 53 other players — Victor Ciesielski of Cambridge and James Skrypec of Kitchener are also in the field — at Heron Point Golf Links in Ancaster in hopes of securing one of four available spots into next week’s RBC Canadian Open in Oakville.
Leonard has lofty expectations for both competitions.
“I’d like to crack a top five (in Quebec) and then qualify for the event next week — that would be a dream come true,” he said.
“I had a rough go of it last week (a missed cut on the Great Lakes Tour) but I’ve worked hard and I’m feeling really good about both of them.”
Leonard opened the season with his first professional win, shooting a 7-under 64 at Waterloo’s Grey Silo Golf Club to win an 18-hole Great Lakes Tour tournament. Since then, the Whistle Bear member has finished third and fourth at 54-hole tourneys, second at another 18-hole event, and sixth at a 36hole tournament. His only blemish was the missed cut at last week’s 72-hole tournament in Burlington.
Leonard has also made three appearances on the Quebecbased Circuit Canada Pro Tour, finishing second, eighth, and “not so good.”
Most of the success, Leonard said, can be attributed to his time in Florida and he makes a point of thanking Old Corkscrew majority owner Phil Anderson for allowing him to work on his game at the formidable Jack Nicklaus layout in Estero.
“Getting that win at the beginning of the year and following it up with a bunch of top-fives, it kind of changes your perspective,” said Leonard.
“You go from watching other people to being one of the guys to watch. It’s a good feeling to have.”
Leonard plans on finishing the season close to home, in Ontario and Quebec, and will attempt to qualify for a larger circuit next season. He hasn’t decided which path he’ll follow but mentions the Web.com Tour and European Tour as possible destinations.
Spotlight on boys, seniors
The Golf Ontario tournament schedule continues next week with a pair of tournaments to watch — the junior boys’ match play championship at Tangle Creek in Thornton, and the senior men’s event at Cedar Brae in Scarborough.
Five local golfers are in the 64-player field for the match play tournament that starts Tuesday outside Barrie — Jordy Denomme of Waterloo (Whistle Bear), Dylan Henderson of Waterloo (Whistle Bear), Bennett Ruby of Waterloo (Westmount) and Alex Turchan of Conestogo (Westmount).
Public player Charlie Burke of New Hamburg, Jeff Maslanka of Kitchener (Deer Ridge), and Rick Valin of Kitchener (Deer Ridge) are competing in the 55-and-over division, while George Stokes of New Hamburg (Deer Ridge) is in the 70-and-over competition. CHIP SHOTS: Sarah Dunning of Waterloo (Westmount) and Kate
Johnston of Ayr (Brantford) are competing at the 72-hole Canadian women’s amateur championship that starts Tuesday at Cutten Fields in Guelph. … Tatiana Tait of Mannheim, Graem Costigan of Cambridge and Isiah Katsube were age-group winners at this past weekend’s Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event at Lionhead in Brampton. … Waterloo’s Trevor
Ranton (Whistle Bear) finished in a tie for 12th at the Ontario men’s amateur championship, the best of the local entries. … Kate Johnston of Ayr finished in a tie for 18th at the Ontario women’s amateur to top the local competitors. …
Carla Munch of the Cambridge Golf Club and Mike Martz of the Golf Performance Center at Whistle Bear will coach the Ontario team at the upcoming Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg.