Winslow ready to roll dice in Macao
Joseph Winslow is backing himself to conquer Caesars Golf Macao’s 6,913-yard, par71 layout this week as the bighitting American aims to live up to his prominent placement on posters for the 1.5 million yuan ($218,000) Macao Championship.
The tournament is the first in a three-week swing concluding this season’s PGA Tour Series-China.
The top five on the order of merit will secure spots on next year’s Web.com Tour, but the 6-foot-5 Winslow, who sits in fourth place with 532,717 yuan, is looking for a couple of big paydays as he chases the top three — compatriot Charlie Saxon (965,667 yuan), England’s Callum Tarren (791,600 yuan) and South Korea’s Todd Baek (548,650 yuan).
Winslow, 25, said the Caesars layout lives up to Macao’s reputation as a gambler’s paradise, and he’ll be selective about using his driver on a course that features plenty of water, along with five par-3s and four par-5s.
“You can either bang the driver into the narrower spots or play to the wider spots, which are around 250 to 280 yards, so it’s a matter of riskreward, which is what Macao’s all about — what are you willing to risk for what reward?” said Winslow, who won the Yantai Championship in July.
“I’ll use a mix of driver and 4-iron most of the time. My plan is to put myself in a position to make as many birdies as I can. My goal since Q-school has been to be on the Web.com Tour next year.
“I’m close to Todd and still within striking distance of Callum. Charlie’s got a good lead, but we’ve got a pumped-up purse (2 million yuan) for the last event at the Clearwater Bay Open in Hong Kong. My goal is to go out and keep playing my game, lift a couple more trophies and be ready for the Web.com Tour.”
Winslow will have his father Tony as his caddy in Macao as he seeks to join Saxon as a twotime winner in the season.
The Winslows arrived over the weekend via Hong Kong and on Tuesday enjoyed some sightseeing at Senado Square and the Ruins of St. Paul’s with tour players Yang Yinong of China and Benjamin Lein of the US.
“I’ve been wanting to have some of my family come over, so it’s exciting to finally have my dad here and it’ll be a lot of fun having him on the bag,” said Winslow.
“He’s caddied for me in England, Jamaica and now in Macao, so he was joking that every time he caddies for me overseas, it’s always somewhere they drive on the lefthand side of the road.
“I like where my game’s at and the practice I’ve put in at home over the past 10 days.
“I’m really excited about this week and it’s nice being front and center of the poster, so you might as well live up to expectations.”
Beijing-based Yang, 21, is 55th on the money list and recorded his first top-10 finish of the year with a tie for seventh at the Qingdao Championship in July.
“This is my second time in Macao, but my first time playing Caesars, so my strategy for the first two days will be to remain steady and stable and try to make the cut,” Yang said.
“Then I can plan to be more aggressive on the weekend and in the final round.”
Lein, whose family hails from Chinese Taipei, has visited Macao many times, but will be playing the Caesars layout for the first time competitively.
The 26-year-old American is currently 60th on the order of merit after missing several events and will need to finish in the top 50 to ensure he retains his card for 2019, having finished 27th, 38th and 36th from 2014-16.
“I’m excited about this tournament. It feels like a home away from home because I know a lot of people here and I have a lot of friends who could come support me during the weekend,” said Lein, who was born and raised in Los Angeles.
“I remember the course is pretty flat, easy to walk, no trees and it’s pretty wide open. I think my game’s in a good spot right now, so hopefully I can win.”
The top 10 players on the final order of merit standings are exempt from the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament from December 6-9 and any player ranked 11-25 is exempt from the second qualifying stage.
Yang Yinong, Joseph Winslow and Benjamin Lein pose in front of the Ruins of St. Paul’s in Santo Antonio, Macao, ahead of this week’s Macao Championship.