RCGA fumbles golf ball
Quality Canucks get short straw
By CHRIS STEVENSON -- Ottawa Sun
Brad Fritsch is at the Bell Canadian Open.
But he's caddying and not playing, and that's a shame.
The 26-year-old from Manotick is the fourth-ranked Canadian on the Canadian Tour this year, but that wasn't good enough for the Royal Canadian Golf Association to grant him an exemption.
He tried to make it through Monday qualifying, but came up a stroke short, so he's looping for a friend.
Brian McCann, a Montreal native who now lives in Mississauga, has made nine cuts on the Nationwide Tour this year -- one level below the PGA Tour -- but he's on the outside looking in this week, too.
Craig Taylor of Hunter River, P.E.I., is the third-ranked Canadian on the Canadian Tour. I don't know what he's doing this week.
The RCGA handed out exemptions to 10 Canadians for the Bell Canadian Open which is good (though you can debate the usefulness of an exemption for veteran Richard Zokol).
But is it good enough?
In the RCGA's mission statement, part of its purpose is to "develop the game of golf in Canada" and "provide a leadership role for golf in Canada." Noble goals and for the most part, the RCGA strives admirably to achieve them.
But the RCGA has to do a better job of giving developing pros like Fritsch and McCann a chance to play against the world's best. What's the RCGA doing giving an exemption to a player like Casey Wittenberg? He's an American kid who has just turned pro. For those who follow the sport closely, he's a recognizable name, but how many fans, really, will he bring through the gates?
What is the long-term benefit for Canadian golf of giving an exemption to a player like Wittenberg?
Or from giving an exemption to Columbia's Camilo Villegas? Again, another fine young player who may be a star some day, but how is giving him a spot in the Canadian Open field good for Canadian golf?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Would those exemptions not have been better used letting a player such as Fritsch or McCann get a chance to compete on the PGA Tour, watching, listening, measuring themselves against the world's best?
How important can that experience be? Mike Weir tells a story of playing in the Canadian Open when he was on the Canadian Tour. It wound up being a career-altering experience. He went to the range and teed it up next to Nick Price. Weir couldn't believe how the ball was flying off the face of Price's club. Right then and there, Weir knew he had to make some changes if he was going to compete at that level.
He did and things worked out okay for him. He has become the face of Canadian golf now.
Maybe one of those Canadian kids ushered into the inner circle by the RCGA could catch lightning in a bottle this week and make the cut, making enough money to keep them chasing their dream for another year. Maybe the experience gained this week would help them through another stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School.
The RCGA has made significant advances in developing talent in Canada with its player development program, but finding places to play is not a problem for amateurs.
It is for aspiring Canadian pros. So much about sports is opportunity. Golf is no different.
The RCGA, which is supposed to be in the business of developing golf here, should be giving Canadian pros every chance to grow.
If the RCGA, the self-appointed guardian of the game in our country, doesn't do it, who will?
