CALGARY – Scott Parel hasn’t notched a top-10 finish on PGA Tour Champions since the first event of the season. And he hasn’t shot as low as he did Friday at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in four years.
But when you’ve got a tip that works, the confidence is buoyed, and the good scores usually follow.
Parel, a native of Augusta, Ga., fired a 7-under 63 to open the Rogers Charity Classic and has a one-shot lead over a trio of golfers. Although he sits near the bottom on PGA Tour Champions in total putting for 2024, he said his caddie provided him with some key advice prior to Friday’s first round. He told Parel, a four-time winner on PGA Tour Champions, to try to match his putting stroke to his golf swing – make it slow and steady.
And that little nugget absolutely worked.
“My putts felt like they were starting right of where I was intending, especially under the gun. (My caddie) just said, ‘You know what, your golf swing has very good, slow tempo and your putting stroke used to have very good, slow tempo,’ and I wasn't letting the putter get back,” Parel said. “So he said, ‘Just be patient. Just be patient. Let that club get back just like in your golf swing.’ So that helped today.”
Parel was bogey free and just kept coming back to how key good putting was to his score. Last week at the Boeing Classic, he said, he was sixth in total driving, sixth in driving accuracy, and top-10 in greens in regulation – and yet, he finished tied for 27th.
“I was 69th in putting,” he said. “That’s been my year. My putting has been erratic. Obviously you have a lot more confidence. What's happened to me this year is (I'll get on) the first hole, hit it 12 feet and miss. Get on the next hole, hit it ten feet and I'll miss, right? Then you start pressing, you think you got to hit it to where it's tap-in distance. Today I hit it 15 feet and I made it. Then I hit it three, four feet and I made it.
“I think when you see the ball go in the hole obviously you're a lot more confident. You just want to keep it rolling and not think too much about it and just kind of go with it.”
The two who are chasing Parel, after 6-under 64s, are two players who know their way around Canyon Meadows – past champions Wes Short Jr. and Scott McCarron.
McCarron, who won the tournament in back-to-back years, hadn’t shot a round in the 60s since early June and his 64 was his low round of the season.
He was quick to heap praise on Calgary, and the Rogers Charity Classic, as a place, tournament, and golf course that he just loves coming back to. With a laugh, he said the reason why he scored so well Friday was simply because he made more birdies.
“Obviously, I started working on a few things in my swing and it felt pretty good today. That was kind of the difference. And I have not been playing well. This year has been not good at all for me. It's been frustrating,” McCarron said. “This year just has not been very good. Sometimes that happens. But I know I can play well, and when I start playing a little bit better the confidence starts coming back.
“And today, the more the round went on the more confident I felt. So that's a good sign.”
As far as the Canadian contingent is concerned, Alan McLean leads the way after a 4-under 66. McLean, who won the PGA Seniors Championship of Canada on August 1 – after shooting a second-round 60 – received a last-minute sponsor exemption into the field. He was originally in the field for the Monday qualifier but received a call at midday that day and was at the course “in 20 minutes,” he said.
He closed with a bogey on the par-3 9th but, overall, was pleased with his day.
“You know, we naturally harp on the bad, right? That’s just the nature of golf. It’s honestly very disappointing to finish with a bogey, but on the whole really solid day of golf,” McLean said. “I suppose I feel like I could be one or two better, but I think last year I started at (2 under) and this year I’m at 4, so an improvement for sure.”
Stephen Ames, who won last week on PGA Tour Champions at the Boeing Classic, is at 3 under, while Mike Weir is at 2 under.
4:34
4:52
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.