Claude Giroux, who will be going into his 19th NHL season, found last year’s event to be a terrific learning experience.
A year ago, Ottawa Senators winger Claude Giroux got a taste of what it feels like to play in a professional golf environment.
Giroux is a very good hockey player (with 350 goals and more than 1,000 points during his National Hockey League career) and a good golfer. But it’s a different feeling on a golf course when you’re playing from the back tee blocks, then trying to navigate lightning-fast greens with tricky pin positions.
In a couple of weeks, Giroux is going to give it another try. Once again, Giroux will get a sponsor exemption and compete in the Commissionaires Ottawa Open, a PGA Tour Americas event with plenty on the line for the competitors, July 25-28 at the fabulous Eagle Creek Golf Club in Dunrobin.
Giroux, who will be going into his 19th NHL season, found last year’s event to be a terrific learning experience. After shooting in the low 70s in a pre-event practice round, he had rounds of 79 and 80, finishing at 17-over-par. It would have taken a score of 1-under to make the cut.
Giroux, the Commissionaires Ottawa Open honourary chair, came away impressed with the strong calibre of players entered in the tournament.
“They’re so dialled in,” he said. “When they miss, it’s not really a miss.”
Asked about playing at the extremely well-conditioned Eagle Creek course, which has some tantalizing risk-reward holes, Giroux, who admits he felt the pressure a year ago, said: “It’s a fun track. It’s pretty tight for me. There’s risk and reward, it depends on how you feel with that day. If you’re confident, you’re going to go for it a bit more.”
The 72-hole tournament (ottawaopen.golf), which has a pro-am leading into it, is run by ClubEG, which offers year-round social and competitive events, along with trips to golf destinations. It’s the second year of a three-year arrangement to hold the tournament in Ottawa.
The PGA Tour Americas’ 10 leading point earners at the end of each season earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The Commissionaires Ottawa Open was won last year by Stuart Macdonald, who birdied the fourth playoff hole to take the championship after a three-way tie for first, at 19-under, with Devon Bling and Luke Schneiderjans.
There’s a long list of successful PGA Tour players who have come through PGA Tour Americas, a list that includes C.T. Pan, Paul Barjon, Aaron Wise, Tony Finau, Kramer Hickok, Joel Dahmen, Adam Svensson, Sepp Straka, Cam Davis, Jake Knapp, J.J. Spaun, Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners. In all, 64 players have gone on from PGA Tour Americas to earn PGA Tour cards since 2013.
Alums of the tour have won 22 PGA Tour events.
So, how good are the golfers coming to Ottawa?
“To be a PGA Tour entity obviously means you’re going to get extremely high-quality golf,” Commissionaires Ottawa Open tournament director Andy Rajhathy, the vice-president of ClubEG, explained earlier this year. “A lot of people compare the Korn Ferry tour and PGA Tour Americas to the (American Hockey League), but here’s why it’s different: You have 32 teams in the (National Hockey League). And then, at your next level, you have another 32 teams — that’s a lot of players.
“In golf, you only have about 200 members on each tour. We have some players ranked in the top 1,000 coming to Ottawa to play. The difference between the players you see on TV and the players coming to this event is very, very minimal.”
One of the success stories is Hayden Springer, who shot a 59 at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic last week. He’s last year’s winner of the Fortinet Cup championship, PGA Tour Americas’ season-ending event and the conclusion of the race for the Fortinet Cup.
“You hear the cliche one shot away,” said Scott Pritchard, vice-president PGA Tour Americas. “Literally, some of these players are one shot away. These are some of the best players in the world nobody knows about.”
Neal Shipley, the low amateur at this year’s Masters and U.S. Open, played his first PGA Tour Americas event three weeks ago in Victoria, B.C.
As for the pros teeing it up again at Eagle Creek, general manager Ryan Little said: “You have to play aggressive, you have to go low with this calibre of players. You want to be inside 100 yards (to the green); these guys are deadly with the wedges.”
Asked about course conditions as we head into the homestretch before the tournament, Little said: “We’re seeing better rough conditions. The rough is going to play a lot harder. Last year was relatively dry. Knock on wood, we’ve had lots of rain. The players will see if you miss the green, you’re going to have a hard time.”
On Monday, Ty Celone won the annual ClubEG 36 Hole Event, in support of Soldier On. This event was at Stittsville, with 21 players competing over 36 holes to determine one exemption into the Commissionaires Ottawa Open. Celone also won the qualifier last year – at Carleton Golf & Yacht Club.
The Commissionaires Open is held in support of Soldier On, a Canadian Armed Forces program committed to supporting veterans and serving members to adapt and overcome permanent physical or mental health challenges. Commissionaires is Canada’s largest, private-sector employer of veterans and Canada’s only national, not-for-profit security organization.