DeLaet takes week off to regroup
Weyburn native spent most of the weekend in the hunt for his first PGA Tour title
If you are Graham DeLaet, you are busy watching the Stanley Cup playoffs — including your beloved Calgary Flames — and doing your best to move forward and forget about that heartbreaking collapse at the RBC Heritage.
DeLaet is indeed taking the week off from the PGA Tour, opting out of this week’s Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio.
He is scheduled to play next at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans April 27-30. It’s been a regular fixture on his schedule over the years and hopefully a good candidate for a bounceback tournament.
DeLaet is coming off an RBC Heritage tournament that had him set up as a possible — and seemingly likely — winner had things gone just a little better (even a wee bit better) in the final round.
Really, it was as good a chance DeLaet has had for a potential first PGA Tour win. He held the lead or co-lead in each of the four rounds in Hilton Head Island, S.C. His tee-to-green play was exceptional. He hit 60 of 72 greens in regulation for a tournament-leading 83.33 per cent.
Only one tee shot — on the par-4, 473-yard No. 8 — truly got away on him as it landed in the water and led to a triple bogey.
Even that didn’t necessarily knock DeLaet out of contention, believe it or not, as nobody seemed to be pulling away for the win and most were dealing with a dose of duffers’ self-destruction.
DeLaet’s roller-coaster front nine included four birdies, two bogeys and that aforementioned triple. Even after the seven on No. 8, he birdied No. 9 with a 12-foot putt to go 1 over through nine. He was still in it as others were faltering as well.
DeLaet’s putter once again let him down.
On the back, he recorded two more bogeys and a birdie. In doing so, he left some makable putts out there, missing birdie putts on Nos. 11, 13, 15 and 16 as well as an eight-foot putt for par on No. 14. That proved to be his undoing in the end.
DeLaet finished tied for sixth, settling for $217,750. But by now, it’s not about the money. It’s about winning.
At age 35, DeLaet has earned $881,918 so far this season. That’ll be good enough to once again retain his card.
Over his PGA career, he has now won a little over $10.26 million.
DeLaet has been knocking on the door numerous times now with a total of 30 top-10 finishes, including three as runner-up and three thirds. He has four top-10 finishes this season, which has him tied for fourth on the PGA Tour.
You have to believe that if or when he does win, it’ll be the first of many and he could still end up winning even more times than his fellow Canadians.
He still has time to get it done. You don’t have to believe. Only DeLaet does.
Canadians Nick Taylor, David Hearn, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes and Brad Fritsch will all play in this week’s Valero Texas Open.
Hadwin continues to lead all Canucks. He’s No. 8 on the PGA Tour money list this season at $2,702,159. Hughes is next at No. 21 with $1,680,103 in earnings. After his first tour win last season, Taylor has earned $497,991 this season. The veteran Hearn has been a laggard with $229,606 in winnings.
Fritsch, who has made his way back on the big tour, has $98,950 to rank 183rd overall.
DAKOTA DUNES ALUMNI
DeLaet, Hadwin, Hughes and Fritsch all played at Dakota Dunes Golf Links on either the Canadian Tour or what is now the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit.
Other Dakota Dunes alumni now playing PGA Tour events this season include Tony Finau, J.J. Spaun, C.T. Pan, James Hahn, Andres Gonzales, Tom Hoge, Mark Hubbard, Tyler Aldridge, Willy Wilcox, Joel Dahmen and Bobby Wyatt.
Multiple former Dakota Dunes players are currently inside the top 25 on the Web.com Tour’s money list and poised to earn their PGA Tour card if they can stay there. Among them are Sam Ryder, Brandon Harkins, Corey Conners, Talor Gooch, Alex Kang and Conrad Shindler.
It’s a real shame the Dakota Dunes Open won’t be played this season now that SIGA has pulled out as its major sponsor. The level of golf at that event was getting better and better each year and some of the Dakota Dunes alumni are becoming young stars on the PGA Tour.
DeLaet has been knocking on the door numerous times now with a total of 30 top10 finishes.