NIEBRUGGE A WINNER
Freedom 55 champion
Jordan Niebrugge entered the final round of the Freedom 55 Financial Open at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver with a five-stroke lead.
Save for a couple late bogeys, the 24-year-old Oklahoma State University product remained steady and continued making shots on Sunday, firing an even-par 72 to claim his first victory as a professional and kick off the 2018 Mackenzie Tour- PGA Tour Canada season with a dominant effort.
“I felt like I played some really good golf this week,” said Niebrugge, basking in the late Sunday sun on the 18th green. “I got off to the start I wanted to — birdied one and three — and that was huge for me to get off to a good start and rode it from there.”
After finishing tied for second at this tournament last year during his rookie campaign on the 13-event, cross-Canada tour, the Mequon, Wis., resident shot impressive rounds of 66, 68, 66 and 72 on the challenging Point Grey course.
While others in the field struggled with inconsistency throughout the week, Niebrugge dialed things in over the final three days, carding 14 birdies against just four bogeys to finish with a twoshot victory over Cody Blick and Zack Wright.
“I’ve played the par fives great when I’ve been here,” Niebrugge said about his two-year run of success at Point Grey. “I like the golf course; it’s right in front of you. I hit a lot of three irons off the tee, I have a lot of pitching wedge and nine irons in and I knew I was hitting it great coming into the green, so all I needed to do was give myself opportunities from the fairway.”
Sunday’s victory was the next step in a young career that has already been flecked with strong performances and has Niebrugge positioned as not only one to watch on the Mackenzie Tour this season, but also someone who should experience success on the PGA Tour within the next few years.
In 2015, Niebrugge finished as the low amateur and tied for sixth at The Open Championship at St. Andrews.
In his first full professional campaign last year, Niebrugge finished ninth on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit, playing 10 events and earning a trio of Top 10 finishes.
He also played in his first U.S. Open, making the cut at Erin Hills and finishing tied for 35th.
Paired with Niebrugge in the final round, Wright closed to within three of the lead through 11, but followed it up with back-to-back bogeys before making a birdie on 18 for a final round three-under 69. After slipping down the leaderboard with an uncharacteristic 75 on Saturday, Blick was right back in the thick of things on Sunday, going five-under to finish level with Wright in a tie for second place.
With his first victory as a professional in the books, Niebrugge is headed to Ivanhoe, Ill. for a Web.com Tour event at Ivanhoe Golf Club, while the rest of the Mackenzie Tour roster ferries over to Victoria for the Bayview Place DC Bank Open, the second leg of the season-opening B.C. Golf Swing, at Uplands Golf Course.
I got off to the start I wanted to — birdied one and three — and that was huge for me to get off to a good start.