OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Dustin Barr promises he’ll be back – and next time he plans to play the weekend.
While he’d rather forget the 9-over 81 he shot in his opening round at the Staal Foundation Open on Friday, the Thunder Bay golfer found a measure of redemption in his second eighteen of the day, firing an even-par 72 for a two-round 153 total.
It might be 10 off the projected cut, but it was still a good day, said Barr, forced to play 36 holes after wet conditions at Whitewater Golf Club forced the suspension of play on Thursday, with 99 golfers having yet to complete their opening round.
“It was my first go at this Staal Foundation Open,” said the 21-year-old Barr, who has twice battled cancer since first being diagnosed when he was 17.
“I was definitely feeling some nerves in the first round. Nerves and fast greens don’t really go well together. But I turned it around really quick for the back nine.”
At one point Barr was two under par for his second round, which started on the 10th hole, birdying the 18th and second holes in a three-hole stretch.
He picked up bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes coming home.
“Having surgery on my hip, my hip’s pretty sore right now. The last few holes coming in were definitely a grind,” said Barr, whose father was on his bag.
“I’m definitely happy with the way I played. I’m pretty proud of myself for my first go at it.”
Former Canadian Tour professional Walter Keating Jr. claimed the title of low local golfer, following a first-round even-par 72 with a 4-over 76.
Keating Jr. was in contention for a weekend spot, but fell apart on the back nine as he recorded four bogeys and a double in a five-hole stretch before birdying his final two holes of the day.
“Thirty-six holes is a lot of golf for me. I was even through 27 and made a bad three-putt on 10. I bogeyed 11. I thought I flagged it on 13 and I hit it just over the green into the hazard and made double. That was my tournament in a nutshell,” Keating Jr. said.
Newly turned professional Evan De Grazia was one shot back, shooting rounds of 76 and 73 playing alongside Barr and NHL hall-of-famer Grant Fuhr.
“I wouldn’t say it was a tough day, it was just a long day,” De Grazia said after his fourth Staal Foundation Open attempt. “I don’t know how to describe the first round. It was hit-and-miss. I played the front nine in 1-over and made a nice putt on nine. I was kind of just grinding out the round.
“I had it 3-over heading into 18 and made a six there and a 76 on the card. But I played really, really strong on the second 18."
For Brett Shewchuck and Chris Gardner, it was a chance to test themselves at this level for the first time.
Shewchuk, the two-time defending Strathcona Invitational champion, had identical 76s on Friday, about what he expected.
“It’s my first time playing in the event, so I’m pretty happy with the score I put up,” he said. “It was a couple of bad swings here and there.”
Gardner followed a 4-over 76 with a 7-over 79 and said he basically ran out of gas.
“That was hard. That an enjoyable experience, even though I didn’t play the way I wanted to play. I still had a lot of laughs out there,” the Dryden native said.
