Cory Renfrew was on the unlucky side of the draw in Round 1 of the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by the Times Colonist on Thursday.
Starting in the afternoon wave, the 31-year-old Cordova Bay teaching pro began his round with birdies on his second, third, fourth and fifth holes in the rain on the back nine, but his 4-under opening was sideswiped by brutal windy conditions that blew in rather quickly with 12 holes to go.
He finished with an impressive 1-under 69 considering the mayhem the weather created for the afternoon players.
“I thought it was going to be the lucky side after the rain came early and hearing it was going to clear. I played well in the rain. There was no wind so a little drizzle was fine,” he said of his start. “I hung in there pretty good and I’m looking forward to [Friday].
“Looking back, it would have been nicer if it just drizzled all day with no wind, but it is what it is,” added Renfrew, who has resigned himself to playing just two events on Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, here and next week in Kelowna, despite having full playing privileges.
“I’m a teaching pro now,” he said of life’s circumstances.
But what if the five-year tour veteran comes up with a win in either week?
“I’m happy doing what I’m doing so it would be a bonus if I win,” he added.
• THE TEEN BEAT: Sixteen-year-old Royal Colwood junior Nolan Thoroughgood continues to write an impressive story.
Playing in his first pro event, as an amateur, Thoroughgood made the turn in 1-over, but finished the round at 4-over 74 as he ran into a stretch of three bogeys over four holes. Still, it was a solid outing considering the nerves and the competition.
“Obviously, I have high expectations of myself. I have, what I think, is a good game that can compete out here,” he said after his round. “I didn’t play the greatest, but I learned a lot. I made some mental errors, some physical errors, but [today] I think I can be a little less tentative and shoot a good score.”
Thoroughgood — a Grade 11 student at Royal Bay Secondary, who is looking for a scholarship and has visited Oregon State and Utah — won the B.C. Men’s Amateur last year as a 15-year-old, the youngest ever to claim the provincial crown.
• LOCAL SCORES: Most other locals struggled on Day 1.
Uplands club champion Brian Sluggett was 72, while course assistant pro Ben Griffin shot 74. Steven Lecuyer of Bear Mountain also signed for a 72. Comox’s Riley Wheeldon came in at 74, along with Gorge Vale assistant Isaac Weintraub, and Royal Colwood’s Keaton Gudz shot 80.
Kimberley’s Jared du Toit was 3-under 67 in his first round as a professional — after opening with a bogey on No. 1 — and two-time world long drive champ Jamie Sadlowski shot 8-over 78, also bogeying his first hole (No. 10) and did not have a birdie all day.
