Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Barker earns nice payday for his virtual round; Taylor T7 in Hawaii; Hadwin set for 2023 debut at American Express tourney; Sloan makes some changes
Vernon, BC's Bryce Barker Cashed In Virtually For Real - Image Courtesy Bryce Barker
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Vernon’s Bryce Barker just earned his biggest payday as a tour pro and he didn’t even set foot on a golf course.
Barker was one of 250 players who signed up to compete in the first round of the inaugural NEXT Golf Tour, a virtual professional tour open to players with access to TrackMan’s indoor golf simulators. And when that round was completed, Barker’s six-under 66 left him in a nine-way tie for third place. He earned about $4,700 US.
“I just paid for (PGA Tour Canada) Q-school the other day and that was $2,200 US, so this covers that,” Barker said. “This is huge, to pay an entry fee of $130 US and you put up a decent score and you are making a lot of money.”
Barker has used a golf simulator for many years to try and keep his game sharp during the off-season and all of that practice on his TrackMan paid off. “I had dabbled in some free tournaments that TrackMan has set up on their site where you can play against a bunch of random people,” Barker said.
“But as soon as I saw this, I thought, wow, what a great opportunity.’ You see the money they are giving away, a $127,000 purse and more than $17,000 for first. That’s unreal for any pro for a one-day event that takes about an hour total to play. It’s such a cool experience.”
Players who signed up for the first event had from Jan. 4 through Jan. 15 to play their rounds. Their virtual course was the Nicklaus Course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. Barker played his round on Jan. 4 and had to sweat it out for the 10 or 11 days to see where he finished. “I was checking the leaderboard pretty regularly, but I got tired of looking at it,” he said. “I figured whatever happens, happens.”
The NEXT Golf Tour was created to give elite players an opportunity to earn money and develop their brands as professional golfers. In addition to the tournament purse, bonuses are paid for longest drive, social media exposure, greens in regulation and closest to the pin. Each player must take a video of their round to verify its legitimacy.
Thirty per cent of the field earns a paycheque and the field is open to men and women, who play from a different tee box. Danish pro Mattias Gladbjerg won the first event with an eight-under 64. Winnipeg’s Aaron Cockerill, a regular on the DP World Tour, played in the first event. He shot a one-under 71 and tied for 58th.
After Barker, the other top Canadian finishers were Calgary’s Wes Heffernan and Chad Denyes of Hamilton, who both tied for 21st at four-under par.
Six one-round events are scheduled. The first five are open with the sixth being a tour championship of sorts. Barker’s finish in the first round likely went a long way toward getting him into that tour finale.
The field for the second round, which will be played Jan. 18-29, has been increased to 500 players.
That means the purse will likely increase to about $150,000. It will be played (virtually, of course), at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, which happens to be the site of this fall’s Ryder Cup.
Barker has already signed up for that event. But first he has some real golf to play. The 29-year-old, who plays out of Vernon Golf & Country Club, is competing in this week’s Asher Tour event in Gilbert, Ariz.
TAYLOR GOES LOW: A career-low 62 in Saturday’s third round helped propel Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor to a nice payday at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Taylor closed with a three-under 67 and finished tied for seventh at 13-under par, four shots behind winner Si Woo Kim. Taylor had to birdie his final two holes in Friday’s second round just to make the cut. He earned $231,865 and moved up 15 spots to 41st on the FedEx Cup points list.
Surrey’s Adam Svensson also had to perform some second-round heroics to make the cut in Hawaii. Svensson did it in even more dramatic fashion as he aced his 16th hole to make the cut on the number. He finished the event tied for 41st at eight-under and made $28,045. He now stands ninth on the points lost.
PERFECT RECORD: Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin will make his 2023 debut at this week’s American Express tourney in La Quinta, Calif. It’s a place where Hadwin has enjoyed considerable success. He has not missed a cut in seven starts and has four finishes inside the top six, including a solo second in 2017 when he shot 59 in the third round and a tie for second in 2019.
This will be Hadwin’s first start since his tie for seventh at the Houston Open in mid-November. Fellow British Columbian Nick Taylor of Abbotsford is also in this week’s American Express field.
WHO’S YOUR CADDIE: As he begins his season on the Korn Ferry Tour, Merritt’s Roger Sloan is making some changes. For starters, Sloan does not plan to hire a full-time caddie. He will rely on local caddies at tournament sites or have a friend or family member carry his bag. It’s part of a plan to make Sloan more accountable for his own play.
“I want to try and get myself a little more rooted and in touch with my golf and having a little more accountability on my shoulders,” said Sloan, who lost his exempt status on the PGA TOUR at the end of the 2021-22 season.
“It will will help me be a little more invested in each and every shot. That’s just a decision I have made this year.” At this week’s season-opener in the Bahamas, Sloan will have a brother-in-law on his bag.
FLYING SOLO: One other big change for Sloan is that he won’t have his family travelling regularly with him on tour this year. Sloan’s wife Casey and their two children have travelled with him to most events on the PGA TOUR in recent years. The family grew by one when Casey delivered their third child in mid-December.
“The Korn Ferry Tour doesn’t have any childcare services for the players and families,” Sloan said. “So we just decided this will be the first year where I start travelling by myself. The family will probably come out for maybe half a dozen events that are a bit easier to drive to or what not. My oldest one will be starting school in September so this might be a good way to segue into a whole new different routine.”
LEADERSHIP CHANGE: The PGA of BC has parted ways with longtime executive director Donald Miyazaki. Miyazaki became executive director in December of 2011 after serving in the role in an interim capacity for nearly a year. Jared Siminoff, head professional at Crown Isle Resort in Courtenay, has been appointed interim executive director of the PGA of BC.