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Brad Clapp wins at Loyalist
Brad Clapp answers questions after the tournament.
After finishing his third round, Brad Clapp was escorted to a small media scrum behind the scorer’s tent. He had maintained his lead in the tournament. “It’s a huge confidence boost,” he told the group. “I expected to start the day without the lead. I really appreciate the work my caddy has done for me this week. He has kept me on a very even keel.” When asked how he would prepare for the final round, he smiled and answered, “I’m going to eat a bigger breakfast!”
The final result showed that he did the right thing before teeing off on Sunday. His Aunt Cathy and his Uncle Al Weese were there to support him. His cousin deserves some credit for his victory, as she supplied the room and board for him in Belleville. The Weeses look after the Trenton Golf Club, the one near the hospital. Always great supporters of sport in Trenton, they spent many days on the sidelines of the Belleville Minor Football League.
Brad spent some formative years in Trenton, as his dad flew Hercs out of the base. They moved on to British Columbia when Brad was 10. His days at Prince Charles School had ended, and he began the new life on the west coast.
One of the goals of the players on this Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada is to finish in the top five. That is known as the Order of Merit, qualifying the player for next year’s Web.com Tour. Excellence on that tour will vault a player onto the PGA tour. Essentially, it compares to the ranks in minor hockey and minor baseball. A very tough grind, with some fine rewards.
Clapp began the week in 67th place on the Order of Merit, a long way to the top of the heap. His win moved him to seventh place, with three tournaments remaining. All players from the tour are now tuning their games near Peterborough at the Wildfire Invitational, presented by PC Financial. It is a wonderful venue, and I encourage you to spend a day or two at the course. I suspect it is closer to Trenton than is the Loyalist Course. At the best of times, there will be no more than a hundred fans following each group. It gives a fan a great opportunity to witness the future stars of the great game.
Following his win, Clapp summarized his feelings. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s a little surreal, knowing how good this tour is, and knowing how good you have to play four days in a row.”
I walked the final round with a few of Clapp’s supporters from the area. After the tournament, Clapp said that he appreciated the support. He began the final round slowly, playing with Tom Moore from Texas, who was two strokes back. He played patiently, with eight straight pars. On the third hole, his tee shot landed in a small grove of trees. Most spectators agreed his best shot would have been to chip back onto the fairway to avoid any further trouble. He chose to hit to the green, and dropped a six-foot putt to save par.
He hit a monster drive on the fifth hole, some 322 yards in the middle of the fairway. His approach shot landed in a trap on the left of the green. He again found the sand on the eighth hole, but managed par. It was on the ninth hole that the magic began, with a simple drive, chip, putt for a bird. Easy to say. Moore had taken the lead at that point in time, and Clapp knew that he had to play better for a chance to win.
He took the lead for good with a birdie on the 15th to go 21 under par. He sealed the deal on the final hole, sending his seven iron to within five feet of the hole. He drained the putt for the eagle, and the win.
Clapp is the third Canadian to win on this tour this year, joining Albin Choi and Kevin Spooner. Earlier this month, he won the Vancouver Open on the Vancouver Golf Tour. He pocketed almost $35,000 for the win, and put himself in contention to win the $25,000 bonus prize as the top Canadian, becoming the Freedom 55 Financial Player of the Year.
Meet me at the first tee at the Wildfire. Wear a hat—it is expected to be a cooker.
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