Dozens in hunt after hot round at Hylands
Florida’s Hack leads, with 25 others within three at National Capital Open
As Day 1 of the National Capital Open to Support our Troops wrapped up, the biggest crowd at Hylands Golf Club was at the top of the leaderboard.
Florida’s Jhared Hack seized the lead after posting a 7-under 64, while Kimberley, B.C.’s Jared du Toit along with Americans Mark Blakefield and Kramer Hickock were tied for second after they each shot 6-under 65 in the opening round. But they were hardly alone with 25 golfers in the 156-player field within three shots of the lead after the final putt dropped Thursday night.
That means it’s anybody’s guess where this will settle with Round 2 of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event set to get underway Friday at the 6,800-yard Uplands layout. The scoring conditions were perfect Thursday with bright sunshine, little wind and receptive greens, which meant the players had to take the opportunity to try to go low.
Hack didn’t tee off until after the afternoon draw, but made the most of his chances.
“I just kept hitting solid shots,” said Hack. “The greens are really good, the course is really healthy, there’s no wind and if you hit it in the fairway, you could go at pins.”
Hack changed his putting style and it paid off.
“I switched to cross-hand for today,” Hack said. “The putter has been a little bulky this whole season, so I just tried to find something to believe in and is consistent, so I went cross-hand inside 15 feet today.
“It was just something to feel more locked in. It was something to do. I made some nice putts that I haven’t been making and they went in with some conviction.”
The key at Hylands is to keep it in play to give yourself a shot at birdie.
“I really just hit a lot of fairways,” said Blakefield, a native of Maysville, Ky. “You hit in the fairways out here, you’re going to have a lot of chances because the pins are a little tight to the edges (of the greens) and if you’re in the rough, it’s just hard to get close. I just put it in the short grass and ended up with a lot of birdie putts.
“It’s a great round and I won’t complain one bit, but I don’t think I could have shot a shot higher. I really hit it great. I just felt like I had a birdie putt on every hole.”
If the wind isn’t blowing and the conditions are perfect, then there are opportunities to score at Hylands. Blakefield made four birdies in his home stretch, while du Toit, who played the back nine first, had four birdies from No. 15 to No. 18 to get momentum in his round and some much-needed confidence.
“(The key was) staying patient,” said du Toit, who putted in from off the green on the 562-yard, par5 No. 15 to start his run. “I started out really slow. I actually grinded really hard to make pars on my first four holes and I stayed patient and started to hit good shots. The putter really heated up, so it was a nice combo there.
“It was looking a little ugly for a bit and then I poured in three or four bombs in a five-hole stretch to really turn it around.”
Du Toit said now he has to try to put four rounds together.
“The biggest thing for me on the golf course in a tournament is staying patient,” he said. “My time will come. If it’s this week, great. If it’s a year from now, great. If it never comes, who knows? My goal and one of the things I focus on is trying to stay patient. I’ll do my best to string four good rounds together.
“The biggest thing about this golf course and golf courses like this is they’re very scoreable when you’re in the fairway. When you’re not in the fairway, you’ve got to do your best to make par. Today that’s exactly what I did. At the start of my round, I was hitting some weird shots and I was able to keep it around par. Once I started heating up, the putter started heating up and I was making a lot of birdies.”
The players couldn’t wait to get on the course when they saw the conditions after arriving early Thursday morning.
“My goal out here is try to get around (20 under) by Sunday afternoon and that’s right where I’m at right now,” said American William Starke, who is in a big group two shots back at 5 under after posting a 66 in the first group off the tee. “The course is great. The greens were rolling really well this morning.”
It was in the best interests of the players to post a low number because the forecast isn’t good Friday with rain expected most of the day.
“We’ve seen just about everything the weather could throw at us this year, so it’s not going to be any different (Friday),” said Starke.
The greens are really good, the course is really healthy, there’s no wind and if you hit it in the fairway, you could go at pins.