Second Round Leaderboard (Bold denotes Canadian):
Jared du Toit – 66-70 (-8)
Lorens Chan – 69-67 (-8)
Jonathan Garrick – (-8 through 7)
DU TOIT, CHAN, GARRICK SHARE LEAD AT STAAL FOUNDATION OPEN
by Brian Decker
Thunder Bay, Ont – SPORTS – Kimberley, British Columbia’s Jared du Toit, Honolulu, Hawaii’s Lorens Chan and Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick all reached 8-under par and shared the second-round lead before play was suspended due to darkness at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, the fifth event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.
Du Toit, a Golf Canada National Team member, carded a 2-under 70 to post the clubhouse lead through 36 holes and was matched shortly after by Chan thanks to a second-round 67, while Garrick reached 8-under through seven holes of his second round when play was called for the day.
“I did a pretty good job of committing to every shot. I was never too far out of position, and the few times I was, I was able to recover pretty well. It was a grind, but I’m definitely happy with the way it went,” said du Toit, who played 35 holes on Friday.
Like du Toit, Chan had only just teed off on his first hole when play was suspended Thursday and made it through a marathon day with rounds of 69 and 67 on Friday to share the lead.
“It was just about making sure I could last all day, because I knew it was going to be hot and humid. I just wanted to stay level and not use too much energy,” said Chan, who finished his day with a birdie at the difficult par-4 ninth. “I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty tired towards the end. Nine’s a tough hole, but I hit a good tee shot. It was nice to finish with a birdie.”
Garrick’s day started early and finished late, having completed two holes – and making birdie at both – this morning to conclude an opening 7-under 65, then coming back in the evening to get his second round started.
“I feel good about my game. I’ve had stretches where I played well, but I’m starting to feel calmer mentally on the golf course, so to put together a bunch of good holes and put myself in position is good just because I haven’t done that yet this year,” said Garrick.
78 players were left to complete round two when play was suspended and will resume in position at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
BACKGROUND ON THE LEADERS:
Jared du Toit
du Toit is coming off a standout amateur career that concluded in June with his senior season at Arizona State University, where he was named a 2017 NCAA 2nd team All-American.
The Kimberley, B.C. native is a member of Golf Canada’s National Team and captured the attention of a nation last year when he played his way into the final group on Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open before finishing T9.
Du Toit turned professional at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist and earned status on the Mackenzie Tour by placing inside the top-60 on the Order of Merit through the first re-shuffle after last week’s Players Cup.
Lorens Chan
Chan is in his first season on the Mackenzie Tour. He earned conditional status at the 2017 British Columbia Q-School, but made the cut and finished T34 at the GolfBC Championship while playing on a sponsor exemption, earning him enough money to move up the re-shuffle and improve his status for the rest of the year.
Chan is a two-time Hawaii State Amateur Champion and graduated from UCLA in 2016.
Jonathan Garrick
Garrick is in his second season on the Mackenzie Tour, and like Chan, is a UCLA grad. He was named an NCAA All-American three times as a Bruin.
Garrick is making his 14th career start on the Mackenzie Tour and ranks 69th on the Order of Merit this year. In 2016, he recorded two top-five finishes and ended the year 37th on the Order of Merit to retain exempt status for this season.
THEY SAID IT:
“Overall, it was a long day but still a good day. The greens were pretty soft, and with ball in hand I was able to get some good looks at some of the pins, so I played pretty aggressively.” – Brett Lederer, who held the first-round lead with a 9-under 63 before shooting a second-round 2-over 74.
“Had a big breakfast, went back, watched Wimbledon, had lunch, FaceTimed my girlfriend, worked out, came back, had an early dinner and warmed up.” – Jonathan Garrick on how he spent roughly 10 hours between the conclusion of round one and the start of round two.
“It was amazing, probably the best week of my life so far. I’m definitely happy with the way I played. I’m pretty proud of myself for my first go at it, and I I’m just looking forward to my future.” – Thunder Bay’s Dustin Barr, who played in the tournament while undergoing cancer treatment, on his experience in the event. Barr shot rounds of 81-72.
Miscellaneous notes:
- Weather: 25 degrees Celsius (feels like 28), sunny, winds 9 km/h gusting to 14 km/h.
- Round 1 play resumed Friday morning at 8 a.m. after being suspended due to inclement weather on Thursday. Round 2 play was suspended due to darkness at 9 p.m. and will resume Saturday morning at 8 a.m.
- Preferred lies were in effect for Rounds 1 & 2.
- Click here for scores.
