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RBC CANADIAN OPENJuly 22, 2014Joel DahmenMichael GligicEugene WongILE BIZARD, QUEBEC THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us in the media center today. We have three players from PGA TOUR Canada joining us today and it's our second season of PGA TOUR Canada. As you guys know, PGA TOUR Canada is a stepping‑stone to the Web.com TOUR and PGA TOUR where these guys are playing for status on the Web.com TOUR for next year. First on my right is Michael Gligic, he's a winner on PGA TOUR Canada two years ago from Burlington, Ontario. In the middle we have the current Order of Merit leader Joel Dahmen from Clarkston, Washington, and on the far side we have Eugene Wong from North Vancouver, British Columbia, a two‑time winner on PGA TOUR Canada. I'm going to ask the guys to talk about their season and what's going on with PGA TOUR Canada so far. Joel won two of the first three events on PGA TOUR Canada this year at the PC financial Open and the Syncrude Boreal Open, so Joel, if you don't mind just telling us a little bit about what the level of competition is like on PGA TOUR Canada and how you got off to such a hot start this year. JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, so this is my fifth year on PGA TOUR Canada, and the level of play overall has rose a ton just the last two years with the PGA TOUR's brand. I think our Q‑school is filled up in like two or three weeks, which is just incredible, and I think we have 80 or 100 new members. Just the level of play has just been incredible this year, and I think it doesn't show in the top score, the top score has always been there, but just in making cuts. It's tough to make a cut out there now. You really have to play good golf. But as far as getting off to a hot start, it's been great. I played really well down in Arizona during the winter on the Gateway Tour and just kind of carried it over to the summer. Yeah, it's nice to get off to a hot start, but there's still six events left, and I think Tim Madigan who's in second is only eight, nine, ten grand behind me so it's going to be a close race with us. THE MODERATOR: For yourself, you were one of three players at the top of the Order of Merit who played your way into the event this week, the top three players on our Money List with exempted into the Canadian Open each year. To be at the top of that list is a big accomplishment. Maybe talk about what kind of consistency it takes from your game and what it takes to have played your way into a PGA TOUR event. JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, the real goal is being No.1 or in the five at the end of the year, but through six events, a good halfway goal is this RBC and to be in the top three, and I think we've always got a few guys in, even when the PGA TOUR Canada‑‑ we've always had a few guys, and I think it was just‑‑ after I won the first one, it was a real goal of mine to be in the top three coming into this and then to win again to lock it up with three to go was nice. But I think it's a great halfway point, kind of breaks up the season for us. I think it adds a lot of excitement. People were talking all last week if Josh Persons is the guy at No.3, he actually made birdie on his last hole to get into the RBC and guys were keeping track of that all week. I think it's just a great halfway point on the year. THE MODERATOR: Michael Gligic, you played your way into the Canadian Open this week by winning one of Golf Canada's regional qualifiers in Ontario. For you it's obviously very special. It's your second Canadian Open. Tell us what it means to be playing back on the PGA TOUR this week. You played in the Canadian Open two years ago, but talk about what it means to be competing out here and what kind of learning experience that is. MICHAEL GLIGIC: Yeah, this year was pretty special because I actually played my way in, whereas 2012 I was third on the Order of Merit. Top two got a spot in the RBC and I missed out on earning my way in, so luckily I got a sponsor's invite, and that was a good learning experience. Playing my way in this year obviously feels a lot better, and having that 2012 event under my belt, I feel like really helps me. I was telling someone earlier today how I felt even nervous I guess on the driving range last year or two years ago in my first RBC, where this year I almost feel like I should be out here. I think we all kind of feel that way. The level of play is so high now on PGA TOUR Canada. With the PGA TOUR behind it, they actually start to feel like TOUR events, as well. Yeah, last week was a good example. You've got Thunder Bay, which you wouldn't think would have that big of a crowd, and they have thousands of people out, and 18 you cannot even find a spot to watch kind of thing. It was a good preparation, and all the events this year have been. I kind of feel at home this week. THE MODERATOR: For yourself, even though you're only 24, you've been a professional for seven years. You've seen a lot of cool experiences. You've shot 60. You've won an event. You've played your way on to a PGA TOUR event. You've kind of seen the difference between PGA TOUR Canada when it was the Canadian Tour versus now, so maybe you could tell us a little bit about the level of competition and what it's like playing out there each week. MICHAEL GLIGIC: Yeah, I think Joel kind of said it earlier. The Q‑schools, I mean, are‑‑ I think I talked to somebody and there's like an 80‑person waiting list for the first Q‑school as soon as the PGA TOUR bought it. That was never heard of when it was the Canadian Tour. The Canadian Tour was struggling to even get half a field for a Q‑school kind of thing, and the Monday qualifiers, I remember they were almost giving spots out whereas now you've got‑‑ I think Victoria had two sites because there was 150 guys coming up to Victoria to try to Monday qualify kind of thing. The Tour is in high demand. Everybody wants to play out here, and you've got guys coming from all over the world, South Africa, Europe, South America kind of thing. Yeah, the Tour is doing real well, and yeah, like Joel said, six events left, so I've got to pick up my socks to try and catch this guy. THE MODERATOR: Eugene Wong, it's your fifth straight Canadian Open, so you've kind of seen it as an up‑and‑coming promising amateur to an established professional as you are now as a two‑time winner on PGA TOUR Canada. Talk about what it's like to be playing on the PGA TOUR this week in front of so many fans and supporters. EUGENE WONG: This is my fifth one. I started in St.George's. This is great for me because I get to play my national open in front of my hometown crowd. Today I went out to play a practice round, seeing a lot of Canadians was out there was great. It feels like home and a little advantage because I don't have anyone heckling me or anything like that. That's all I can say is I feel very comfortable right now. It's my fifth time out here. THE MODERATOR: It's kind of an interesting story how you got in. You didn't know you'd be playing until Sunday night when you were offered a sponsor's exemption to get in the field. Just maybe you could tell us a little bit about how you felt once you knew you were going to be playing in Montreal this week and you got that spot. EUGENE WONG: Yeah, so my mindset was go home back to Vancouver, have a week break and go to Calgary, play the next two events. But after the 18th hole, Decker pulled me aside and said, hey, you might want to call Bill Paul. I said, all right, called him. He said, do you want a spot? I'm like, yeah, I want a spot. So at that time I was very excited. Also was very surprised because my mindset was going back home. But now, I mean, I'm just honored that I'm playing this national open again. THE MODERATOR: It's obviously a huge week for these guys. I'm sure you have some questions about what it's like for them to be playing on the PGA TOUR this week. Q. Each of you have referenced the difference between the Canadian Tour and what this is now as PGA TOUR Canada in terms of playing, in terms of the qualifying schools. Joel, you talked about the 80 or 100 guys or more that are members now and stuff like that. I'd be curious from each of you, do you see the difference now in terms of attention on a week‑to‑week basis, whether it's media, whether it's fans, whether it's corporate support, anything from a business related standpoint? Do you see differences from the pre‑PGA TOUR Canada days to what they are now? JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I've played well a few times in the past, but I think for me to win twice and realize how many interviews and how much media is actually around, from radio interviews to‑‑ just how much attention we're actually all getting. I think it's kind of surprised me this year. Every week I'm doing an interview with a local paper or local radio or something like that, and we've never really had that in the past. And then I think just‑‑ just the over all branding and marketing. I know some of the tournaments do a phenomenal job, and really I got to play in a web event the week after fort Mac, it was a week off on the Tour, and I didn't feel any different. There was really no‑‑ the only thing honestly better was probably the food in the clubhouse, and they cleaned my shoes in the locker room. But we even had that last week. It's really been incredible. One more grandstand in Indiana, but other than that, it really felt the same as far as there's ropes, there's‑‑ even the crowds, like on Thursday and Friday there's not a lot on the Web Tour, and I went out Saturday for a little bit, and there was almost no difference, especially in Thunder Bay. I don't know if you had a number on that, but I've never seen a crowd like that. THE MODERATOR: Approximately a lot. JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, it was mindboggling how many people were out there in Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg was great this year. So yeah, for me, there's really no difference, and even playing a practice round there's a few more people around the chipping, the practice area, but out on the course it's almost the same, even the practice rounds. There's a few more volunteers, but that's about it. THE MODERATOR: Eugene, do you mind following up on that a little bit? EUGENE WONG: Yeah, I mean, Joel said it great. I played a Web event in Halifax, and compare it to Winnipeg after, they're both the same. The only difference is maybe there's electronic scoreboards and maybe there's stats, but other than that it's pretty much the same throughout the board. Just feels like a Tour event, even today's practice round is just like any other week. Q. Does this speak to you guys getting to the next level, meaning the Web.com, on a permanent basis that much easier? Is this really what this is all about? I mean, it is, it's trying to develop, to get to the next level, right? Does this make it easier with this type of branding, with this type of sort of synergy between, say, the PGA TOUR Canada and what the Web.com is? MICHAEL GLIGIC: Yeah, I mean, these guys have said it all. I guess you just want to know in the difference in how it's almost a preparation. Is that what you mean? Like I don't know, a good example I guess was when I played a Web event a few years ago. Coming off of the Canadian Tour, moving up there, the Canadian Tour had like no fans, it was very limited in almost all aspects, and I go to the Web event and I felt really uncomfortable. It was a lot of people playing for a lot of money, kind of the names, all that, whereas now that I've done it a couple times and now that PGA TOUR Canada has kind of grown, I just feel more comfortable, even out here this week kind of thing. Thunder Bay last week was a great preparation for something like this, just the fans and all the little things, too, just kind of behind the scenes. The Web event that I played earlier this year was the exact‑‑ I guess these guys said it the same. It felt like a PGA TOUR Canada event. Yeah, hopefully I answered your question a little bit. Q. You guys as players need corporate backing, corporate sponsors to get to the next level. Do you think being on this Tour now that it seems to have a higher profile and you can use the word PGA TOUR with Canada, helps you guys at all with getting corporate support, corporate backing? Michael, I think you just got a deal today, did you not? MICHAEL GLIGIC: Yeah. Yeah, honestly since the PGA TOUR took it over and obviously my win a couple years ago helped, too, but since then it's been a lot easier. I don't know how else to really say it. JOEL DAHMEN: I don't know if it's probably not quite official now, but next year or even the coming years, club companies like TaylorMade will start paying guys for playing on PGA TOUR Canada. Not a lot, but normally it starts on the Web level, but I think you're going to start seeing it on PGA TOUR Canada. I've briefly talked with a few people in discussions, and it may even start next year with some of the top guys, and it may be performance based or something like that, but now there's enough attention on PGA TOUR Canada, and there's going to be more and more guys graduating each year from PGA TOUR Canada to the Web events, or to Web.com, that I think they're going to start paying some guys just as staffers, which has never happened in the past. And I think just‑‑ now we have TaylorMade and Adams out there on the range. We never used to have Ping there on Tuesday or Wednesday, now they're there for a few club fittings or whatever you need, and we have‑‑ what's the Tour van out there? THE MODERATOR: The Golf Lab. JOEL DAHMEN: We never used to have that until PGA TOUR took it over. So little things like that are starting out there, and I think it's huge. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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