UN BON DÉPART DU SWING = CHANCE DE SUCCÈS PLUS GRAND....

LE CLUB DE GOLF DE DRUMMONDVILLE A ÉTÉ VENDU AU GROUPE SOPREMA

TRANSACTION. C’est ce soir, du côté du Club de golf de Drummondville, qu’avait lieu le vote des membres-actionnaires afin d’approuver la vente du terrain aux mains de Soprema. C’est finalement avec une majorité de 74 % que la transaction a été acceptée.

Après un peu plus de trois heures de délibérations, 300 des 405 voies ont favorisé le groupe Soprema. «Le tout s’est déroulé dans le respect et dans le calme», affirme Laurent Proulx, membre du comité des jeunes pour l’avenir du golf.

D’ailleurs, celui-ci débordait d’enthousiasme à la suite de la décision. «Je pense que c’est la meilleure chose qui pouvait arriver! Avec cette transaction, l’avenir du golf est prometteur pour la ville de Drummondville. Nous sommes très contents», souligne-t-il.

Un soupir de soulagement

Évidemment, la nouvelle a été très bien accueillie par Richard Voyer. «C’est l’fun, nous sommes bien contents pour tout le monde, lance-t-il. Ç’a été beaucoup de travail et beaucoup de discussions, mais ça en valait la peine. Maintenant, la vraie jobpeut commencer», ajoute-t-il.

Le moins que l’on puisse dire, c’est que les prochaines semaines s’annoncent chargées pour M. Voyer et son équipe. En plus d’amorcer toutes les tâches administratives pour officialiser le transfert du terrain, ceux-ci ont prévu continuer les discussions entamées avec certains membres-actionnaires. «Plusieurs autres propositions ont été faites dans la dernière semaine et nous voulons les intégrer à notre offre de service. De plus, nous souhaitons poursuivre les pourparlers avec des membres qui étaient plus réticents à l’idée de nous céder le club. Nos derniers entretiens étaient positifs et je suis sûr que nous en viendrons à un terrain d’entente. On veut que tout le monde soit heureux», assure Richard Voyer.

Rappelons que les travaux de réaménagements devraient s’amorcer cet hiver et se poursuivre jusqu’à l’été 2020, le tout, sans que la saison 2019 ne soit compromise. Au total, près de 40 millions de dollars seront investis pour revitaliser le terrain (10 000 000$) et construire un hôtel «de luxe» (30 000 000$).

Pour leur part, les membres-actionnaires seront libérés des dettes accumulées par le Club de golf Drummondville au cours des dernières années, en plus de bénéficier d’une immunité d’une durée de 20 ans, ce qui leur permettra de rester membres à part entière pour une somme équivalente au prix actuel, assorti d’un surplus équivalent à l’indice du prix à la consommation (IPC).

LE MACKENZIE TOUR PGA-CANADA EST GAGNÉ PAR DANNY WALKER....QUI CONFIRME SON ENTRÉE POUR SE QUALIFIER SUR LE WEB.COM TOUR, LE STAGE FINAL AURA LIEU LE LE 6-9 DÉCEMBRE. NOUS LUI SOUHAITONS BEAUCOUP DE CHANCES ...OÙ SONT LES CANADIENS?

POUR LE TABLEAU DES SCORES CLIQUEZ ICI...

JON RAHM GAGNE LE HERO CHALLENGE AUX BAHAMAS À -20 ET TIGER FINIT AVANT DERNIER À -1....

POUR LE TABLEAU DES SCORES CLIQUEZ ICI.....

ANALYSE DE DEUX SWINGS DE JOUEURS TRÈS LONGS: Rory Mcilory Vs. Cameron Champ .....

FINALEMENT APRÈS LA 4E RONDE RUTLEDGE NOTRE CANADIEN NE SERA PAS DE LA PARTIE CAR GILBERT GAGNE LA QUALIFICATION TOTALLE POUR LE CHAMPIONS TOUR...LIRE LE TEXTE CI-DESSOUS...

• This was Gilbert’s fourth time at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School, but first time earning fully-exempt status. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR LE TABLEAU DES SCORES....OÙ SONT NOS CANADIENS?......

LUTZ, Florida – Gibby Gilbert III (Hixson, Tennessee) secured his fully-exempt status for the 2019 season after finishing at 4-under 280 to earn medalist honors Friday at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School. Skip Kendall (Windermere, Florida) and Cliff Kresge (Kingsport, Tennessee) finished runner-up, one stroke behind Gilbert. Greg Kraft (Belleair, Florida) and Stephen Leaney (Perth, Australia) survived a four-man, sudden-death playoff to earn the final two fully-exempt statuses available through the 72-hole Q-School at TPC Tampa Bay.

Gilbert made a 70-foot putt on the final hole of the final round to secure his PGA TOUR Champions card for the 2019 season. His 6-under 65 on Friday was the result of eight birdies and a 5-under 31 on the back nine.

“I bogeyed the first hole and was 1-over through six but was able to start making some good putts and good shots,” said Gilbert. “I was just trying to get the putt close to the hole as I could. I have never made a putt before in my career that carried that much weight. It was the best putt of my life.”

This was Gilbert’s fourth time at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School, but first time earning fully-exempt status. In the past he earned associate membership, which gives player access to event qualifying while bypassing pre-qualifying. Gilbert competed in six PGA TOUR Champions events this year and his highest finish was T24 at The Ally Challenge.

Both Kendall and Kresge were able to par on the final hole on Friday to avoid the four-man playoff. In his first appearance at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School, Kresge carded rounds of 71-68-72-70 for a 3-under 281 final to earn his fully-exempt status for the 2019 season. Kresge sat atop the leaderboard headed into the final day but knew that the final 18 holes would determine the next year of his life on Tour.

“Today was a grind. I had some amazing up-and-downs to make pars. The course played tough and the pressure was a lot, so I am proud of myself for being able to pull off the shots that mattered under pressure,” said Kresge. “I am having a little disbelief that this is true, but I am really looking forward to next season and looking forward to my opportunities.”

In contrast to Kresge’s four consistent rounds at TPC Tampa Bay, Kendall carded rounds of 70-78-64-69, but he still finished T2 at 3-under 281 and earned his exemption into next year’s events.

“This week was honestly a little bit like how my career has been, very up and down,” said Kendall. “I am speechless right now. This emotion is hard for me to describe. I have been going at this for a long time and to be back out there full-time when I didn’t know if I was going to at my age is pretty special for me.”

This is the second time Kendall earned his card through Q-School, as his T4 finish in 2016 led to 17 starts during the 2017 season. This past year, he played six PGA TOUR Champions events, competing alongside his brother-in-law and fellow PGA TOUR Champions player Steve Flesch, who claimed his first victory on Tour this year at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

The final two spots were decided by a four-man playoff between Craig Bowden, Stephen Leaney, Greg Kraft and Jim Rutledge. Bowden found the water and a bogey on the first playoff hole, and the remining three carded pars to advance. Kraft parred the third playoff hole to secure his status for the 2019 season, while Leaney and Rutledge went onto a fourth playoff hole. Rutledge hit his second shot into the water, while Leaney found the green and two-putt for par to claim status for the 2019 season.

Players finishing sixth through 30th (and ties) are eligible to compete in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on PGA TOUR Champions in 2019. This group includes Omar Uresti (T10), Ken Duke (T10), Tommy Tolles (T13) and Robert Gamez (T27). For more information and complete results, visit www.pgatour.com/champions.

RUTLEDGE MÈNE TOUJOURS APRÈS LA 3E RONDE DES QUALIFICATIONS POUR OBTENIR UNE EXEMPTION TOTALLE POUR ADHÉRER AU CHAMPIONS TOUR....UN PETIT RÉSUMÉ DE SA CARRIÈRE....

LUTZ, Fla. – Jim Rutledge birdied the final hole of his third round on Thursday to take a one-shot lead at 4-under entering Friday’s final round at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School. Tied for second at 3-under are Mark Walker (Hurst, Texas) and Cliff Kresge (Kingsport, Tennessee), while Stephen Leaney (Perth, Australia) sits in fourth place. Five players are tied for the fifth and final fully exempt spot on PGA TOUR Champions for 2019.  

Rutledge reigns from Victoria, British Columbia and turned professional in 1978. He spent the first 20 years of his career playing in Asia in the winter and Canada the remainder of the year. Rutledge owns nine professional wins including six Canadian Tour wins, which he attributes to his three consistent rounds (70-71-68) this week at TPC Tampa Bay.  

“Being Canadian is helping me out a lot. We (referring to his wife who caddies for him) came from this kind of weather the last few weeks. We practiced really hard at home and down in Nevada it was no different. It was cold down there and we managed to get through it,” said Rutledge. “Tomorrow I am just going to keep plugging away because you never know what is going to happen with five spots in this thing. You can never really get too far ahead.”  

Rutledge is no stranger to PGA TOUR Champions Q-School as he is competing in his 10th final stage in his career. Rutledge has 115 starts on PGA TOUR Champions and holds six finishes in the top-10. His last start on Tour came in his hometown at the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.  

Walker carded a 5-under 66 to move 14 places up the leaderboard and into a tie for second place with Kresge. This past season, Walker Monday qualified in six events and finished T31 at the 3M Championship for his best finish. Last year at Q-School, Walker finished ninth and used that as motivation to return for a card this year.  

“Monday qualifying is tough. It would mean a great deal to me to win a card tomorrow, not only would it give me playing privileges for the year, but it would make my life that much easier,” said Walker. “The golf course is playing tough, but I need to keep hitting fairways and greens tomorrow and putt well. I thought the leaders would go a bit lower today, but I am happy with the position I set myself in headed into Friday.”  

Kresge shares second place with Walker after carding a 3-under 68, a result of five birdies. Kresge turned professional in 1991 and recorded 11 top-10s in 212 starts on the PGA TOUR, and his last start on the PGA TOUR was at the 2017 John Deere Classic where he missed the cut. 

“My goal today was to shoot 5-under. I hit a ball in the water on 12 to make bogey but responded with a birdie on the next hole so was happy with myself for that and from there continued to grind it out at the end,” Kresge said. “Tomorrow I will have the same mindset and make a new goal for myself. If I make goals for myself and achieve those goals, the rest will take care of itself.” 

At the end of four rounds, the top-five finishers earn fully-exempt status for the 2019 season. In addition, players finishing sixth through 30th (and ties) are eligible to compete in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on PGA TOUR Champions in 2019.