Sadlowski Suggests More to His Golf Game Than Big Shots
(Gord
Montgomery/iG) — Two-time Re/Max World Long Drive champ Jamie Sadlowski
has proved he can go deep into the grid when needed. Now he’s showing
he can go deep on scorecards as well.
Sadlowski, from St. Paul (AB), opened some eyes and got tongues
wagging when he played in a U.S. Open local qualifier at The Country
Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ recently. And he didn’t just play —
he won the event, going 7-under par over the 18 hole test.
The thing is, the 27-year-old noted, he hadn’t even planned on playing in the first stage of making a run at landing a spot in the historic U.S. Open tournament.
“This was my first crack at it. The pre-qualifier was right next to me in Scottsdale. My agent planned this for me; I didn’t really want to do it. I had a few days off after being on the road for a couple of weeks doing some (corporate) outings, so I took four or five days to practice, sharpen things up. I went with no expectations.”
Despite being best known for sending golf balls into orbit with anything from a driver to a putter (which he can hit well over 200 yards by the way) Sadlowski is actually a very good all-round player. He’s appeared in web.com Tour events, making three of four cuts in the recent past, so for him, teeing it up in something like the pre-qualfier wasn’t too far from the norm nor too stressful.
“Obviously my world is corporate outings and whatnot but I do enjoy playing,” he said. “Whether I’m at home, or Scottsdale, I love playing good golf so I do work at it but it’s not something I can do every day. I’ve always been able to turn it on and play well. It would be nice to get some rhythm, play four or five events, because I think I could play well for a stretch. But with no card, and nowhere to play, and my focus being on corporate events,” he just isn’t able to make the necessary time commitment.
“I had no expectations at all,” he repeated about what took place. “No matter if I’m playing a web.com event or just a match against someone, I obviously want to play well. I’ve always been able to turn it on under pressure.”
At the local qualifier, Sadlowski had Gary McCord, a former PGA TOUR player as his caddie. The two are friends who play together when they can and as it turned out, the looper helped him immensely, especially with the shortest part of the game.
“I had McCord on the bag and he kept it pretty light. With his knowledge ... I putted pretty well that day. A lot of it comes down to not being able to read greens very well. I’ve never been a great greens’ reader. He was ‘the green’s going this way, right to left. Hit it on this line, 90 per cent speed, and it’s in.’ I think I had 11 putts on the front, or 10. I just got things rolling there.”
Having now moved to the second stage of qualifying for one of the PGA’s biggest major championships, things are going to be a bit tougher. Whereas he was up against good amateur players in the pre-qualifier, Sadlowski will now go head-to-head against PGA TOUR players without an exemption into the big show, plus other nationally- and world-ranked amateur players. He also doesn’t know if he and McCord can again team up, given hectic work schedules.
“I’ll find out Thursday (May 25) or Friday where my sectional is, and if it’s in Columbus (Ohio), Gary said he’d be on my bag for all 36 holes,” Sadlowski continued. “He’s there for the Memorial, and I’m there as well, doing a couple of outings, so hopefully I can get into the sectional in Columbus.”
No matter where this road leads, the big hitter said, his game plan would likely take a turn from what he did in Arizona to what he feels he needs to do to again advance. In the first event he used his driver three times over the 18 holes, preferring to use his 2-iron instead, which he hits in the area of 320 yards and “down Main Street.”
“I don’t have much expectation,” he said of his next stop. “I’m going to be in a big field with PGA players who do this for a living. I don’t. Am I capable of making eight or nine birdies in 18 holes? It’s 36 holes so it’s not like I can go out there and play conservative. I’m going to play aggressive because in these qualifiers, you’ve got to go deep. I think if I make eight or nine (birdies) per 18, I’ve got a good chance. It’s either going to be real low or not. That takes a lot of pressure off and I can just play a real aggressive game. Connect the dots. Obviously you have to play smart but on the holes where you can hit driver, I plan on that and using my length to my advantage. I can’t play complete Small Ball with these guys because that’s not my game. If I can use length to my advantage, I’m obviously going to do so.”
At this point, the conversation took a turn away from attempting to play in the U.S. Open through qualifications to playing full time on one tour or another. While Sadlowski had always stated in past interviews with Inside Golf he wasn’t overly interested in tour life, preferring a steady, guaranteed paycheque thanks to his corporate work as opposed to chasing money at tournaments, things seem to be turning.
“Gary has always been after me to try and play. The successes I’ve had, I honestly think I can play. For me, it would be a three year commitment. If I couldn’t do it in three years I would go back to what I’m doing now.
“Doing the corporate stuff is great and everything but I feel, you know, at one point it was fulfilling, my job, my life. But I’ve had a lot of people who are very successful players, teachers who teach the top players in the world, saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to give this a try. You’d be stupid not to.’
“So, as of right now, I’m going to go to Q-School this fall and give it a try. That could all change depending on what happens in the near future but I think this will be the fall I spend a lot of time working on my game and getting ready for (web.com) Q-School.”
So, even though he can still rip it and will continue going deep at the Re/Max World Long Drive event, this latest step of hitting more than just drives plus going deep on the scorecard, is now driving the Albertan toward what could be a new adventure in the world of golf.
About the Writer
Gord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his eighth year of writing for Inside Golf. He can be reached at noraltagolf@gmail.com. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf.
(Photo/LDA, File)
The thing is, the 27-year-old noted, he hadn’t even planned on playing in the first stage of making a run at landing a spot in the historic U.S. Open tournament.
“This was my first crack at it. The pre-qualifier was right next to me in Scottsdale. My agent planned this for me; I didn’t really want to do it. I had a few days off after being on the road for a couple of weeks doing some (corporate) outings, so I took four or five days to practice, sharpen things up. I went with no expectations.”
Despite being best known for sending golf balls into orbit with anything from a driver to a putter (which he can hit well over 200 yards by the way) Sadlowski is actually a very good all-round player. He’s appeared in web.com Tour events, making three of four cuts in the recent past, so for him, teeing it up in something like the pre-qualfier wasn’t too far from the norm nor too stressful.
“Obviously my world is corporate outings and whatnot but I do enjoy playing,” he said. “Whether I’m at home, or Scottsdale, I love playing good golf so I do work at it but it’s not something I can do every day. I’ve always been able to turn it on and play well. It would be nice to get some rhythm, play four or five events, because I think I could play well for a stretch. But with no card, and nowhere to play, and my focus being on corporate events,” he just isn’t able to make the necessary time commitment.
“I had no expectations at all,” he repeated about what took place. “No matter if I’m playing a web.com event or just a match against someone, I obviously want to play well. I’ve always been able to turn it on under pressure.”
At the local qualifier, Sadlowski had Gary McCord, a former PGA TOUR player as his caddie. The two are friends who play together when they can and as it turned out, the looper helped him immensely, especially with the shortest part of the game.
“I had McCord on the bag and he kept it pretty light. With his knowledge ... I putted pretty well that day. A lot of it comes down to not being able to read greens very well. I’ve never been a great greens’ reader. He was ‘the green’s going this way, right to left. Hit it on this line, 90 per cent speed, and it’s in.’ I think I had 11 putts on the front, or 10. I just got things rolling there.”
Having now moved to the second stage of qualifying for one of the PGA’s biggest major championships, things are going to be a bit tougher. Whereas he was up against good amateur players in the pre-qualifier, Sadlowski will now go head-to-head against PGA TOUR players without an exemption into the big show, plus other nationally- and world-ranked amateur players. He also doesn’t know if he and McCord can again team up, given hectic work schedules.
“I’ll find out Thursday (May 25) or Friday where my sectional is, and if it’s in Columbus (Ohio), Gary said he’d be on my bag for all 36 holes,” Sadlowski continued. “He’s there for the Memorial, and I’m there as well, doing a couple of outings, so hopefully I can get into the sectional in Columbus.”
No matter where this road leads, the big hitter said, his game plan would likely take a turn from what he did in Arizona to what he feels he needs to do to again advance. In the first event he used his driver three times over the 18 holes, preferring to use his 2-iron instead, which he hits in the area of 320 yards and “down Main Street.”
“I don’t have much expectation,” he said of his next stop. “I’m going to be in a big field with PGA players who do this for a living. I don’t. Am I capable of making eight or nine birdies in 18 holes? It’s 36 holes so it’s not like I can go out there and play conservative. I’m going to play aggressive because in these qualifiers, you’ve got to go deep. I think if I make eight or nine (birdies) per 18, I’ve got a good chance. It’s either going to be real low or not. That takes a lot of pressure off and I can just play a real aggressive game. Connect the dots. Obviously you have to play smart but on the holes where you can hit driver, I plan on that and using my length to my advantage. I can’t play complete Small Ball with these guys because that’s not my game. If I can use length to my advantage, I’m obviously going to do so.”
At this point, the conversation took a turn away from attempting to play in the U.S. Open through qualifications to playing full time on one tour or another. While Sadlowski had always stated in past interviews with Inside Golf he wasn’t overly interested in tour life, preferring a steady, guaranteed paycheque thanks to his corporate work as opposed to chasing money at tournaments, things seem to be turning.
“Gary has always been after me to try and play. The successes I’ve had, I honestly think I can play. For me, it would be a three year commitment. If I couldn’t do it in three years I would go back to what I’m doing now.
“Doing the corporate stuff is great and everything but I feel, you know, at one point it was fulfilling, my job, my life. But I’ve had a lot of people who are very successful players, teachers who teach the top players in the world, saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to give this a try. You’d be stupid not to.’
“So, as of right now, I’m going to go to Q-School this fall and give it a try. That could all change depending on what happens in the near future but I think this will be the fall I spend a lot of time working on my game and getting ready for (web.com) Q-School.”
So, even though he can still rip it and will continue going deep at the Re/Max World Long Drive event, this latest step of hitting more than just drives plus going deep on the scorecard, is now driving the Albertan toward what could be a new adventure in the world of golf.
About the WriterGord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his eighth year of writing for Inside Golf. He can be reached at noraltagolf@gmail.com. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf.
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