Canadian Tour - Gillespie Leads By One

Submitted by CanTour Communications John Berkovich

SOUTH SURREY, B.C., - Derek Gillespie fired a bogey-free seven under par 65 to take a one stroke lead over Kris Wasylowich, Mike Grob and Barrett Jarosch after the first round of the City of Surrey Invitational.

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Two shots behind after a 67 is Ryan Thornberry while Andres Gonzales, Lee Curry and J.J. Rodriguez are at 68.

A group of nine players shot 69.

After missing the cut last week, Gillespie was in fine form on a gusty afternoon.

"I had a good feeling coming here after last year,” said Gillespie, who shot 62 in the third round and eventually finished ninth. “I worked out some kinks in my swing recently and putted really well today.”

After a couple of routine pars to start the day, the two-time Tour winner hit a lob wedge at No. 3 to eight feet to birdie the par five hole and followed it with a 20-footer at the fourth.

Another birdie at No. 6 from seven feet set up a key par at the next hole.

“The seventh is a par-five hole and I pull-hooked it into the hazard,” said Gillespie. “I ended up hitting my fourth to about 25 feet and made it for par.

“That saved my round and kept things going.”

Three more pars were followed by birdies at eleven, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen.

“I landed a nice 10-footer at eleven and then hit it to about five feet at thirteen,” continued Gillespie, who drained a 12-footer at the short fourteenth after missing the green with his second.

A final 20-footer at No. 15 gave him the lead.

Like Gillespie, Kris Wasylowich was sent packing early in Victoria but came out firing on all cylinders this week.

“I worked on my ballstriking after last week and today I hit 17 of 18 greens and landed on the fringe with the other,” said Wasylowich, who began the day with seven straight pars, birdied his eighth, and then four of five.

“It was a boring round in a way. I didn’t make a bogey all day but my putter was cold early on. It seems, though, that once you make one, they all start falling in.”

Birdies at his fifteenth and seventeenth completed his 66 but what also helped was changing clubs.

“I started using a new set of irons last week but wasn’t quite used to them until now,” Wasylowich added.

“I didn’t have a putt outside 12 feet and had a lot of close looks at the hole. I also switched putters and it all seems to be working.”

Things were also working today for Edmonton native Barrett Jarosch.

“I think this is my best start,” said Jarosch, who birdied four of his last five holes after shooting 34 on the front side.

“It seemed like every birdie putt was a tap-in.”

“The only long one I made was a 20-footer at 16 but other than that, it was nothing really special today.”

Starting the day with birdies at three and five, Jarosch handed one back at six but regained his momentum with a two putt birdie at the par-five seventh.

He cooled off for a while but caught fire at 13.

“It’s drivable par four,” explained Jarosch. “I landed on the green with my tee shot and a close one – about three feet.

“Fourteen is a reachable par-five. I hit a couple of three-woods to about 20 feet and had another easy birdie putt.

“I guess the only bad one was at the last hole where I lipped out for another birdie. It would have been a nice way to finish.

“It’s early,” emphasized Jarosch, whose only blemish came at the sixth. “It’s only the first round."

Tenth last week in Victoria, Grob is seeking his sixth Canadian Tour title this week.

“I got off to a tough start with a bogey at the first. I hit my approach into the right rough and couldn’t get up and down,” said Grob. “It was just a solid round with every part of my game.”

Grob, who started on No. 1, bogeyed three and four before reaching the par-five seventh in two. Staring down a 15-footer, he nailed it into the heart of the cup for eagle to move to three under on his round.

Making the turn on that number, Grob picked up three more birdies at his next four holes before parring in.

“It’s a good feeling to start like this,” he added. “I haven’t got off to a start like this in a long while and I hope I can keep it going the rest of the way.

“The course is in good shape but it was breezy, which made club selection difficult at times. You had to factor in about half a club on some holes.”