Daley holds lead at Spring Creek

Jess Daley wasn’t pleased with his putting performances in tournaments so far this spring and decided it was time for a change. The change worked out well as he birdied eight holes en route to the first round lead in the eGolf Tour’s $300,000 Spring Creek Championship.
Daley fired a 7-under par 65 in Wednesday’s opening round of the four-day professional tournament at Spring Creek Golf Club near Zion Crossroads. He owns a two-stroke lead over a trio of pursuers, including Ryan Blaum, Chris McCartin and Daryl Chappell.
Four local professionals are also competing in the event. Stanardsville’s Richard Hanna is tied for 23rd with a 2-under 70, followed by Charlottesville’s Steve Gangluff (tied 39th, 1-under 71), Crozet’s Nick Little (tied 60th, even-par 72), and former UVa golfer Cameron Yancey, who just competed in the U.S. Open (tied 80th, 1-over 73).
Daley, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is playing on the eGolf Tour for the first time this season after having previously played on the Gateway, Nationwide and PGA Tours. Since joining the eGolf circuit in
mid-April, he has scored 68 or better in 10 of his 12 rounds, including two top-five finishes.
“I hadn’t been putting particularly well the last couple of months, so I took the last couple of weeks off and spent a lot of time trying to straighten that out,” Daley said. “I worked really hard last week with my putter.”
After putting cross-handed for the past year, Daley switched back to a conventional putting grip that he had experienced more success with earlier in his career. He spent four to five hours daily last week just getting comfortable with the grip change.
Obviously, it worked. Three of his eight birdies were from 20 to 25 feet.
“Not to say I’m going to putt well every day this week, but if I can keep rolling it well and if I can drive it better, I’ll have a chance,” the leader said. “I’m always trying to shoot in the 60’s, but it’s a pretty good test out here. This is a nice golf course.”
Daley said he would focus today on trying to drive the ball better off the tee. He hit only six fairways but still managed to put himself in position to birdie four par-4s and two par-5s.
The leader made it to the PGA Tour in 2002 as a 23-year-old, but said he wasn’t ready for the challenge then, lost his card, played on the Nationwide circuit from 2003 until 2007 when he suffered an injury that caused him to lose his status.
“The year on the PGA Tour was awesome,” Daley said. “It was tough. My game was good, but it’s a different game out there than the game I played in college. You have to keep it in play a little more and manage your game a little better. I’m ready for it now and I’m hoping this is going to be my year.”
A win at Spring Creek this week would certainly get him one step closer.
Spring Creek master head pro Jack Snyder said the public is welcome to come out and watch the pros play.
Admission is free (no cell phones please).