Third Round Leaderboard (Bold denotes Canadian):
T.J. Vogel – 65-63-67 (-15)
Max Rottluff – 70-64-63 (-13)
Jhared Hack – 61-69-67 (-13)
James Love – 68-69-61 (-12)
Brett Lederer – 64-68-67 (-11)
Cody Blick – 71-69-60 (-10)
VICTORIA – SPORTS – Jacksonville Beach, Florida’s T.J. Vogel carded a 3-under 67 on Friday at Uplands Golf Club to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist, the second event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.
The 26-year old made three birdies, an eagle and two bogeys to maintain his overnight lead of two strokes over Lake Mary, Florida’s Jhared Hack and Dusseldorf, Germany’s Max Rottluff heading into Sunday’s final round.
Vogel, a former college standout at the University of Florida and University of Southern California, bounced back after he held the 36-hole lead last week in Vancouver and ultimately fell to a 3-over 75, instead taking an aggressive approach into this weekend at Uplands.
“That was huge for me to know that that mindset is what’s going to work at this level,” said Vogel. “You don’t want to come out complacent.”
A low round was certainly a requirement to keep the lead on Saturday, as multiple players carded rounds in the low 60s to set the pace. Danville, California’s Cody Blick set the new Uplands course record with a 10-under 60 – narrowly missing out on a 59 after bogeying the 18th hole – while Calgary, Alberta’s James Love shot 61.
“There are too many good players on this Tour that will catch you, so you need to go out there, take care of business and make more birdies,” said Vogel.
Vogel’s round was keyed by an eagle at the 335-yard par-4 13th, where he took driver off the tee and reaped the benefits of a solid swing, hitting it to 14 feet and making the eagle putt.
“That was an aggressive play. I did it last year, driving the green, and I figured I was driving it well. I just had to trust myself, and I made a great swing and had a good look,” said Vogel.
Rottluff pitched in for birdie at 18 to shoot 63 and reach 13-under, while Hack carded a 67 alongside Vogel to keep pace and share second going into Sunday.
BACKGROUND ON THE LEADER: As an amateur, Vogel was one of the country’s top players, having claimed the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links to earn a spot in the field at The Masters the following year. He was an NCAA All-America selection at both USC and Florida before turning pro, and has since made 58 combined starts on the PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour, Mackenzie Tour and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica.
After taking the 36-hole lead last week in Vancouver, Vogel said he learned what not to do with the lead, having tried a more conservative approach that led to closing rounds of 75-71 and a T14 finish.
“3-under’s a lot better than 3-over,” said Vogel, comparing his differing third rounds over the last two weeks. “I just had a totally different mindset today. I just focused on trying to stay aggressive pretty much the whole day, and that was the key.”
In 2016, Vogel recorded two top-10s and finished the year 26th on the Order of Merit.
THEY SAID IT:
“It was on my mind. This is going to sound weird, but I was thinking 58. I had two holes left and two birdie opportunities. If you’re going to go down, you want to go down swinging, and I felt like I did that. Today’s Saturday though, and nobody wins on Saturday, so that kind of kept me calm and the pressure was eased.” – Cody Blick on a 10-under 60 that set the new Uplands Golf Club course record.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it after getting 8-under through 14. I mean, three more in the last four holes. I’m playing well. I’ve worked hard it, and it’s somewhere I expect to be for sure.” – James Love on a 9-under 61 on Saturday and whether he was thinking about 59.
“The whole week I had a few flop shots that landed very softly, and I knew I wasn’t completely scared of the ball rolling out. I knew as long as I got it high enough, I could be aggressive. I looked at the line and it was a slider, and I was going to be happy with an up-and-down.” – Max Rottluff on a deft pitch-in at 18 that gave him a 7-under 63.
MORE PLAYER NOTES:
Jhared Hack
In 2007, Hack won the prestigious Western Amateur, defeating Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson in Match Play on the way to the title. He turned pro after one semester at the University of Central Florida and owns 54 wins on various mini tours.
Hack spent the last two years on the Web.com Tour, recording three top-25 finishes in 35 starts. He finished 132nd and 109th on the Web.com Tour Money List in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and also owns extensive experience on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, with six top-10s in 25 career starts.
Max Rottluff
Max Rottluff is in his second season on the Mackenzie Tour. A year ago, he finished eighth on the Order of Merit thanks to a win at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open and went on to earn conditional status on the Web.com Tour.
Rottluff was named a 1st team NCAA All-American in 2015 and played at Arizona State with PGA TOUR winner Jon Rahm and Kimberley, B.C.’s Jared du Toit.
Rottluff made his professional debut at in Victoria last year, missing the cut.
James Love
James Love is making his 70th start on the Mackenzie Tour this week. In 2016, he had no status on Tour but finished third while playing on a sponsor exemption at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open, earning conditional status for the rest of the year and eventually a spot in the top 60 on the Order of Merit along with exempt status for 2017.
Love owns one career win on the Mackenzie Tour at the 2009 Freedom 55 Financial Championship.
Last fall, Love shot 59 during the First Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament at SunRiver Golf Club in St. George, Utah.
Miscellaneous notes:
- Weather: 16 degrees Celsius, partly sunny , winds 8 km/h.
- Former Golf Canada National Amateur Team member Jared du Toit shot 66 and moved into a tie for eighth.
- Cody Blick’s 10-under 60 represents the new course record at Uplands, besting a 61 by Jhared Hack (2017), Andrew Roque (2012) and Roger Sloan (2011).
- Blick’s 60 is the lowest round on the Mackenzie Tour since Vaita Guillaume shot 60 in the final round of the 2016 Freedom 55 Financial Championship.
- One player has broken 60 during the PGA TOUR era on the Mackenzie Tour (Brady Schnell, 59, 2nd round, 2014 ATB Financal Classic). Prior to that during the Canadian Tour era, Jason Bohn shot 58 during the final round of the 2001 Bayer Championship.
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