Du Toit in striking range at ATB Financial Classic
Rising star just three strokes off pace heading into weekend at Country Hills
It’s been two summers now since his fairy tale debut on the PGA Tour, since Calgary-based Jared du Toit sizzled into contention as an amateur at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, earning a spot in Sunday’s final group at Glen Abbey.
Fans roared. Expectations, both internal and external, soared.
“For me, after that good finish, it was like, ‘Oh yeah, I should fly through all this stuff,’ ” du Toit said after Friday’s second round of the ATB Financial Classic, the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada’s annual stop in Calgary.
“Nope. There are a lot of good golfers out here and I’m sure a lot of them are thinking the same thing.”
Professional golf doesn’t often work that way.
Du Toit wasn’t just puffing up his pals when he described the depth of the Mackenzie Tour. There is oodles of talent on the minor-league loop.
In only his second campaign as a pro and still a youngster at 23, du Toit has finished two sweltering, smoky spins of the Talons at Country Hills in 11-under 131.
Heading into the weekend, he was tied for sixth, three strokes off the pace. Co-leaders Lee Hodges and Chris Killmer were at 14 under.
The 23-year-old Hodges erased the course record on Friday with a scorching 9-under 62. He didn’t miss a green in regulation, sinking nine birdie putts along the way.
“Two weeks ago, I shot 62 at Osprey Valley and then lost (the record) the next day,” Hodges said. “So hopefully I’ll be the one to break it tomorrow.
“One thing I’ve learned on this tour is you can’t get complacent with where you are. You have to keep making birdies because everyone else is going to make birdies. You have to keep rolling.”
Du Toit will be one of the guys aiming to chase him down.
Raised in Kimberley, B.C., but now hanging around Glencoe Golf and Country Club during his offweeks, he’s certainly still worthy of being labelled a rising star.
Thanks to that heart-pounding, headline-grabbing performance two years ago at Glen Abbey, where he would eventually settle for a share of ninth place, he is arguably the biggest name at any Mackenzie Tour event.
He backed it up last summer by winning Canadian player of the year honours during his rookie season.
He is, like the rest of these guys, determined to climb to the next level.
Du Toit has now survived the cut in six of nine starts this season, highlighted by a fifth-place showing in Kelowna, B.C. He sits at No. 31 on the order of merit.
“I’ve heard about that a lot,” du Toit said of his breakthrough moment at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.
“Last year and again this year, it’s just been dealing with it, and I guess, expectation-wise, just figuring out where I’m at and where I need to be and taking it one day at a time.
“I think I’ve done a good job of that this year. Unfortunately, I haven’t had great results, but it’s coming. I still feel like I’m getting better. That’s where I need to be, I think.
“That week (at Glen Abbey), honestly, if you look statistically at it, I didn’t hit it great, but I just made everything I looked at and chipped really well and just rode the momentum really well. But I think my skills are getting better than they were. I think they are better than they were a couple years ago.”
Certainly, he’s trending in the right direction.
“All in all, just playing solid,” du Toit said after signing for a 6-under 65, a blemish-free scorecard that featured six birdies and a dozen pars.
“I’ve been driving it well. My misses have been on the right side. I haven’t really been out of position.
“I’m just doing everything pretty well, giving myself some good looks, and making a few putts. Sounds simple, but that’s it.”
I’m just doing everything pretty well, giving myself some good looks, and making a few putts. Sounds simple, but that’s it.
CHIP SHOTS
Tyler McCumber, shooting for a three-peat after becoming the first to player win consecutive tournaments during the Mackenzie Tour era, was tied for third at 13-under 133 ... Calgary’s Wes Heffernan (Silver Springs/Golf Canada Centre) and Scott Secord (Country Hills) both booked weekend tee times. Heffernan was 7 under through two rounds, one shot better than Secord.