Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Wheeldon, Allenby prepare for new Forme Tour; Nick Taylor finishes strong at Wells Fargo; A.J. Ewart T10 at NCAA Div II regional; Amanda Minni, Henry Lee off to NCAA Regionals
BC's Riley Wheeldon (L) And James Allenby (R) Are Getting Set To Compete On The Newly Formed Forme Tour - Image Credits: Wheeldon/BCGolf/Allenby/ChuckRussell(GolfCan)
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
When the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit completed its 2019 season, only three Canadians managed to finish in the top 60 on the money list and retain their exempt status.
Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith, who finished second, won’t be needing his. He graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour, has continued to play well and will compete as a PGA TOUR regular starting this fall. The other two guys, British Columbians James Allenby (17th) and Riley Wheeldon (40th), have been forced to play a waiting game.
The 2020 Mackenzie Tour season was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 season is going to look quite different when it starts late next month.
But it’s better than nothing, so Wheeldon and Allenby are looking forward to teeing it up this summer on the new Forme Tour. It’s a COVID-induced creation that will allow the Mackenzie Tour’s exempt players to compete in eight events this summer in the eastern United States as the closure of the U.S.-Canada border made it impossible for foreign players to travel to Canada.
The Forme Tour will offer the traditional Mackenzie Tour access to the Korn Ferry Tour and qualifying school for the top players. The Mackenzie Tour also plans to hold several events in Canada for Canadian-based players. “At this point I just want to play anywhere and compete and have a chance to move up the ladder and play for Korn Ferry cards,” Wheeldon says.
“So any kind of news about us playing was good news to me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a few more events, but I understand the circumstances, so I think what they came up with is a good idea.”
The Forme Tour’s schedule has not been released but the players have been told it will run from late June to early September. Eight 72-hole events are planned. Purse sizes have also not been announced but are expected to be in the $150,000 to $200,000 US neighbourhood.
Wheeldon, a 30-year-old Comox native who now lives in the Phoenix area, will be able to travel back and forth to tournaments. Allenby, a Langley resident, won’t have that luxury as he’d have to quarantine every time he returned home. “It is going to be expensive for me,” Allenby says.
“I don’t have a connection with many people who live in the east coast of the United States. That’s why it’s sort of iffy for me. But at my stage and age (36) I have to take every opportunity to advance. I’ll find a way.”
image credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
Comox, BC's Riley Wheeldon Will Be Able To Travel To And From His Home In Phoenix For The Forme Events Without Having To Quarantine
Wheeldon has kept his game sharp by playing on the Outlaw Tour in Arizona. He won an Outlaw Tour event by two shots last week in Scottsdale when he fired two rounds of five-under 65. “If you’d asked me how I felt about my game two weeks ago it would have been a lot different answer than I am giving you today,” says Wheeldon, who married his wife Erica last fall.
“That's just the way golf is. I have learned that much this far. I’d like it to be a little more consistent but I think I am moving more in the right direction in the areas that I need to and hopefully the strengths of the past continue and I can put it all together this summer when it matters.”
Allenby acknowledges he will have to shake off some considerable rust in his game. He has spent the winter and spring working at his family’s business, the Langley Golf Center, and with the Vancouver Golf Tour on hiatus due to COVID restrictions, he hasn’t played much competitive golf.
He hopes the Forme Tour will provide him some much-needed incentive to work harder on his game. “It’s kind of sad right now,” he says. “I need that incentive, I need that goal in front of me to push me. Through the winter months when nothing is happening it's harder for me to be the hardest worker out there.
That is kind of always in the back of your mind, you’re not trying your hardest and you’re falling behind. It’s the way I have always been. I work hard when I know there is something on the horizon.”
SOLID SUNDAY: Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor closed with a two-under 69 and tied for 26th at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C. Taylor finished the event at even-par, 10 shots behind winner Rory McIlroy, and earned $53,276. He moved up six spots to 135th on the FedEx Cup points list.
Merritt’s Roger Sloan had a roller-coaster of an event. After opening with a five-over 76, Sloan rebounded with a seven-under 64 in the second round. That tied Phil Mickelson’s 64 in the first round for the low round of the tournament on the tough Quail Ridge Golf Club. Unfortunately, Sloan shot 72 and 77 on the weekend and tied for 58th at five-over par. He made $18,063 and climbed one spot to 143rd on the FedEx Cup list.
Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin missed the cut at the Wells Fargo by two shots and fell four spots to 115th on the points list. He and Taylor are not playing at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson tourney in Dallas, but Sloan is in the field.
ONE-UNDER: Surrey’s Adam Svensson tied for 47th at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in College Grove, Tenn. After closing with a one-over 73, Svensson finished the event at one-under par. That was 15 shots behind winner Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif. Svensson dropped one spot to 16th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald missed the cut by one shot. Svensson and Macdonald are both in the field for this week’s Visit Knoxville Open.
TOP 10: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart tied for 10th at the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional Championships in Bowling Green, Fla. The Barry University sophomore finished the 54-hole event at one-over par. That was eight shots behind winner Alberto Avila of Erskine College. Barry finished in eighth place at regionals, which ends their season as only the top four teams advanced to the NCAA Div II Championships later this month.
OPEN AND SHUT: With the border closed there aren’t nearly as many Canadians as normal attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open. Last week’s local qualifier at Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Wash., would normally attract several British Columbians chasing a dream and trying to play their way into the U.S. Open. The only Canadian in the field was Coquitlam’s Henry Lee, a senior on the University of Washington golf team. Lee came close to advancing to sectionals, but lost in a two-man playoff for the fifth and final spot after shooting a three-under 69.
He did earn first alternate status should a spot open up at sectional qualifying. Other local qualifiers were scheduled for Monday (May 10) at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Wash., and Williamette Valley Country Club in Canby, Ore. No Canadians are entered at Gamble Sands, but former B.C. Amateur champion and Victoria native Nolan Thoroughgood, who plays collegiate golf for Oregon State University, is scheduled to play at the Oregon site.
TAKING A TUMBLE: Henry Lee and his University of Washington teammates are the No. 7 seed at next week’s NCAA Regionals at Tumble Creek Golf Club at the Suncadia resort in Cle Elum, Wash. The competition runs May 17-19. Lee was one of three Huskies named to the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention Team. Lee will be joined by another British Columbian at regionals. B.C. Amateur champion Tristan Mandur of Duncan, a junior at the University of Utah, will be at Tumble Creek as the Utes qualified for regionals for the first time since 1992.
REGIONAL RUN: Delta’s Amanda Minni and the rest of the Oregon State women’s team are competing in the NCAA Regionals this week in Baton Rouge, La. The Beavers are seeded seventh in the 18-team event. The top six teams will advance to the NCAA Championships, which go May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.