Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada USA West Q-School

Second-Round Leaders…

Weather: Cloudy with occasional light showers in the morning before becoming partly cloudy and breezy with highs in the mid-60s. W wind 10-15 mph

SANTEE, CA – Sam Fidone (Lufkin, TX), matched his opening round 4-under-par 68 on Wednesday to open a four-stroke advantage at the midway point of the 2018 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying tournament at Carlton Oaks Country Club. Fidone has a two-round total of 8-under-par 136 and leads Brett Smith (Upland, CA) by four strokes.

“I’m hitting my mid-irons really well now. You have to hit a lot of them out here and the driver is working really nice and I’m making a lot of putts,” Fidone summarized after his round. “I really feel confident on these greens and they’re rolling really well.”

Fidone has made just two bogeys through his first two rounds and much of his success has come as a result of his play on the back nine. He is a combined 7-under-par on the final nine holes at Carlton Oaks Country Club.

“This course is very, very hard and it’s not playing as easy as I’m making it. You can see its teeth out there, Fidone added. “I think it’s a lot harder in the afternoons out here, but it’s still out there and you can get something if you really hit it well.”

This is his second attempt at the Mackenzie Tour qualifying tournament. His other bid was in 2016 when he finished T62 at one of the sites in Florida.

Some Notes About the Leader…

Sam Fidone made two starts on the Mackenzie Tour in 2016, finishing T15 at the Players Cup in Winnipeg and missing the cut at the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary.

Has been a member of the PGA TOUR LatinoAmerica Tour the last two years with 15 starts in 2017 and 16 in 2016. He also made three starts in 2015 before being shelved with an injury.

Won the 2016 Honduras Open presented by Indura Beach and Golf Resort on the PGA TOUR LatinoAmerica Tour. Made an eagle on the final hole for his one-stroke victory.

Played college golf at Southern Methodist University where he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

What They Said…

Fidone on playing PGA TOUR LatinoAmerica – “Absolutely incredible experience. The countries we visited and the people we got to meet was a wonderful experience. The courses we played were very diverse and we also experienced diverse languages. I liked learning Spanish and I learned a little bit. The travel was a little tough, but it put a little hair on your chest.”

Patrick Fishburn on his 4-under-par 68 – “I made a triple bogey yesterday on my fourth hole but ever since that point, I’ve played pretty solid. I’ve been putting well. This is a tough golf course and you just have to keep the ball in front of you and keep it in play.”

Fishburn on today’s winds – “I think it was a huge factor. The first nine holes were pretty tough with the wind and the rain. It was difficult at times, especially on holes 11 and 12. I was able to get up and down there but you can make a big number there if you’re not paying attention.”

Notes from Round Two of the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Q-School

Patrick Fishburn (Farr West, UT), who posted the morning’s low round, a 4-under-par 68, is a senior at Brigham Young University. He won the Utah Open last year by nine strokes. He posted rounds of 63-64-63 and was 26-under-par in the 54-hole event held at Riverside Country Club. Fishburn also claimed the Utah Amateur in 2017.

Former MLB All-Star Shigetoshi Hasegawa (Irvine, CA) shot a 7-over-par 79 on Wednesday and is 12-over-par after 36 holes.

Brett Smith (Upland, CA) couldn’t duplicate his opening-round 68, but his even-par 72 left him in sole possession of second place at 4-under-par 140. His card on Wednesday included five birdies and five bogeys.

The day’s best turnaround was by Max Greyserman (Short Hills, NJ). A day after shooting a 7-over-par 79, Greyserman rebounded with a 3-under-par 69, a 10-stroke swing which moved him up 71 places to T14 in the standings.

Not to be outdone, Bryce Emory (Aurora, IL) also had a nice rebound from his opening round. A day after shooting a 3-over-par 75, Emery shot a 3-under-par 69, a six-stroke swing which moved him up 51 places in the standings to T14. He overcame a rough stretch of holes in his final nine on Tuesday and early in Wednesday’s round when he was 6-over-par during that span. However, the Northern Illinois University product played his final 10 holes on Wednesday at 5-under-par to overcome his misfortune and move back into the top 20.

The low Canadian in the field remained Eric Hawerchuk. He followed his even-par 72 with a 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday and is T23. He is the son of former NHL star Dale Hawerchuk.

A day after shooting a 5-over-par on his first nine holes which led to a 7-over-par 79, Travis Russell (Newport Beach, CA) enjoyed a much better start in the second round, shooting a 3-under-par 33 on his opening nine holes.

HOW IT WORKS…

A total of 132 players are competing this week with hopes of earning their cards for the 2018 season. Below is a breakdown of the status available at each of the five sites: