Ryan Gronlund didn’t feel he had his A-game for the first two rounds of the 31st annual Western Corporate Image Pro-Am tournament at Moccasin Creek Country Club.
He certainly found it for Sunday’s final round.
Gronlund recorded six straight birdies on the front nine, then added an eagle for good measure on No. 9 to vault himself into the lead at the turn. He then parred the back nine for a tournament record round of 64 to win the title by six strokes over Broc Everett, who was the clubhouse leader heading into the final round.
“I’m really happy with it,” Gronlund said. “I’m really proud of myself because the first two days I didn’t feel like I had my A-game. But one of the things my college coach at Oregon taught us was if you don’t have it, just keep trying to pick and choose and see where you can get your opportunities. Maybe you can luck into a few birdies. I just tried to stay patient and see if I could do that.”
Gronlund’s B-game wasn’t all that shabby. The Pleasanton, Calif. native, was 4-under for the first round and 6-under after the second, shooting a 68 on Friday and a 66 on Saturday.
“Obviously we had the A-game going on on the front nine,” Gronlund said. “I feel it was just a lot of just waiting to see when you could get running downhill.”
Naturally, Gronlund said, he got more comfortable with the course as the tournament went on. This was his first appearance in the annual event.
“The course was awesome,” he said. “I was telling people it was a 10 out of 10 condition. It couldn’t be any better.”
Still, some lessons just have to be learned with experience, and Friday’s opening round taught him that.
“I played way too aggressive,” he said. “I hit driver everywhere. I was like, ‘Well, that didn’t really work too well.’”
Gronlund said he forced himself to tone down the aggressiveness and wait for opportunities to shave strokes. He also said he got a bit lucky sometimes.
“There were times I didn’t hit it exactly where I was aiming, but we got it close,” he said.
With a $20,000 purse in hand now, Gronlund said his next step has very little to do with golf.
“I’m actually headed home now, then headed for a little vacation in Ireland,” he said.
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
