Rottluff back in the win column
T.J. Vogel left the door open and Max Rottluff broke through it on the back nine on his way to victory at the 2017 Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by the Times Colonist on a glorious Sunday afternoon.
Rottluff — of Germany, who played golf at Arizona State University — birdied the first three holes on the back nine and added another at No. 16 to record a final round 3-under 67 to defeat Vogel — the second- and third-round leader — by a single stroke at the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada stop at Uplands Golf Club.
With his dad, Sepp — a 15-year pro hockey player in Germany — as his caddy, Rottluff rolled in a 25-foot putt for birdie on the 16th hole while his playing partner Vogel, of Jacksonville, Florida, recorded a bogey on the same hole for a critical two-shot swing.
Rottluff was left to tap-in for bogey on No. 18 while Vogel just missed his birdie putt on the finishing hole, which would have created a playoff.
“T.J. wasn’t running away with it and that kept me in it. I was like, ‘All right, I’m playing well, I have to get some results now.’ I had a solid number on No. 11 and a great number on No. 12,” Rottluff, 24, said of his key approach shots.
“I was able to hit some really good shots and put myself in the driver’s seat and in good position coming down the stretch.”
Rottluff, who won the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open in Saskatoon last season on the Mackenzie Tour, was a chipping demon all week, which helped him through the four-day tournament in which he recorded rounds of 70-74-63-67.
“It feels unbelievable. It means a lot for me to be able to pull the win off, for sure,” said Rottluff, who struggled with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6, before gaining a stroke back on No. 7. “I made a bogey putt on No. 6 that was pretty good. Then I made a birdie putt, a long one, on No. 7 that was pretty good, too.
“I was like, ‘All right, I have a few holes left, let’s go bring it back.’ I felt good. I just putted terribly at the beginning.”
Vogel began the day with a two-stroke advantage on Rottluff, but couldn’t get untracked on the front nine, making the turn in 1-over 36. He managed a birdie on 13, but gave it back on No. 16. On the par-3, 17th hole, he almost made a hole-in-one as he tee shot took a peek at the cup.
His birdie there cut Rottluff’s lead to two and that advantage was more than enough on the finishing hole.
Americans Cody Blick and Jhared Hack finished tied for third, another shot back, with 266 totals after final rounds of 66 and 69, respectively.
The best rounds of the day belonged to Tacoma’s Derek Barron, Eric Onesi of Delaware and Aaron Cockerill of Winnipeg, all recording 6-under 64s.
Despite three-putting the final green for a bogey, Barron finished tied for 12th at 271. He quickly headed to the Coho ferry as he has a date at the U.S. Open this week, one of four Mackenzie Tour players to tee it up in the PGA Tour major. Joining Barron at Erin Hills in Wisconsin are Jordan Niebrugge, Max Greyserman and Daniel Miernicki.
Cockerill and James Love of Calgary were the top Canadians, tied for eighth at 270. The Manitoban took home the honour, however, with a lower final round as Love shot 2-over 72 on Sunday. That award carries with it a $2,500 bonus from Freedom 55 Financial, a feat he also managed last year at the Tour Championship.
“I felt like I played well all week and the score showed it today,” said Cockerill. “There are a lot of good Canadian players and it would be a huge honour to win that this week. I set that as a goal to try and win that a couple of times this year.”
Meanwhile, Rottluff took home the top prize of $31,500 and now has $32,012, second on the Order of Merit behind Lee McCoy’s $32,200. Vogel is third with $21,963.
The tour next stops at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna for the GolfBC Championship, which begins Thursday.