While all eyes of the golfing world were on the final round of the Masters on Sunday, Digby’s Myles Creighton was on an eight-and-a-half hour drive to another pro golf tournament.
As Dustin Johnson went record-hunting at Augusta National, Creighton was already on his long journey north from Jupiter, Fla., to Duluth, Ga., where he’ll play in this week’s season-ending 72-hole LOCALiQ Series Championship at TPC Sugarloaf.
“I’ll miss the Masters, which kind of sucks, but those are the things you have to deal with playing at my level. Hopefully I can be there some day,” said Creighton, who belongs to The Dye Preserve, a private golf club in Jupiter which boasts a membership that includes Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and fellow Canadian Corey Conners – who each made the cut at the Masters – and world No. 13 Daniel Berger, who didn’t get an invite to Augusta.
“I play with some really good players at my course in Jupiter. Some of those guys played this week at the Masters. When you’re around good players, you learn so much.”
Perhaps that knowledge he will use at the limited-field, 72-hole series championship, which begins on Tuesday. Only the top 78 players from the LOCALiQ series’ first seven events have qualified for the tournament. The top two in the overall standings will be awarded sponsor exemptions into tournaments on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry circuit in 2021.
I play with some really good players at my course in Jupiter. Some of those guys played this week at the Masters. When you’re around good players, you learn so much.
Creighton, who turned 25 on Friday, sits in 41st place so nothing short of a victory this week would give him a chance at a top-two finish.
The LOCALiQ Series is a one-off professional golf circuit organized by the PGA Tour. The series, which consists of players on the feeder circuits (China, Latin America and the Mackenzie Tour in Canada) for the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, was conceived following the cancellation of those global development tours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the tournaments were held throughout the American Southeast.
Creighton, who spent his first pro season on the PGA Tour Series-China in 2019 and made the cut in the 2020 PGA Tour Latinoamerica season-opening event in Mexico, is the lone Nova Scotian playing in the series.
“This tour has been really good for me,” said Creighton, who has played in all seven events and made the cut in four of them. “It’s nice they were able to do this for us. It all came together on short notice.
“The fields have been unbelievable; much stronger than the PGA Tour China, Mackenzie Tour or Latin America because essentially it’s all the best players from each of those tours. It’s so strong.
“But it’s nice to see where you stack up and to compete against good players. Ideally you’d like to play against players of a lower calibre because it gives you a better chance of making money. But in the long run, it’s better for your game to play against those guys.”
Creighton’s best finish was a tie for seventh at the penultimate event – The Classic at the Club at Weston Hills – in early October. It included a bogey-free 7-under 65 in the second round.
“I played OK but was a little rusty through the first seven events,” Creighton recalled. “But I’ve made it to the final event which is a success on its own. I was 70th going into the second-last event so I had to make the cut to get to the tour championship. That ended up being my best week so it was timely.
“Overall my game was really solid and that’s what it takes to win one of those events. It’s a good sign. At least I know my game is there. It was nice to be among the leaders. Hopefully I can build off it.”
It’s been six weeks between tournaments but Creighton has kept his game sharp by playing in a mini-tour event in Florida, practising at his home course and working with his coach Jeff Leishman.
It’s nice to see where you stack up and to compete against good players. Ideally you’d like to play against players of a lower calibre because it gives you a better chance of making money. But in the long run, it’s better for your game to play against those guys.
If a victory isn’t in the cards, Creighton would, at least, like to have some momentum as the PGA Tour Latinoamerica re-starts in December.
Last March, Creighton was slated to travel overseas to play in his second season in China. Instead, he headed south of the border to Mazatlan, where he finished in a tie for 35th, 14 strokes off the lead, at the Estrella del Mar Open.
Then COVID-19 shut the sports world down.
The Latin American tour will hold two events before the end of 2020 – the Shell Open, Dec. 10-13 at Trump National Doral near Miami and the Puerto Plata Open, Dec. 17-20 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The tour will then take a scheduled two-month break before restarting in late February.
As of now, Creighton is registered for the two December tournaments.
“With the first one being in Miami and no Korn Ferry events, a lot of those Korn Ferry guys could drive down and play in it,” he said. “Hopefully I can remain in those events.”
