Winnipeg’s Braxton Kuntz drops back in 2nd round of Manitoba Open

Winnipeg’s Braxton Kuntz struggled during the second round of the PGA Tour Americas Manitoba Open on Friday at the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club, finishing with a score of 72 to move to minus-3, five strokes behind the leaders. The 22-year-old native of Manitoba faced challenges throughout the round, including a costly double bogey on his 18th hole, which pushed him down the leaderboard significantly. Kuntz began the day with a mixed performance, recording two bogeys and a birdie on his front nine to be one-over-par at the turn. He managed to find some rhythm later in the round, posting two birdies on his next five holes. However, he ended with a bogey, a par, and the aforementioned double bogey, ultimately slipping 38 positions in the standings. He now shares the 40th spot heading into the weekend. Speaking after the round, Kuntz acknowledged the difficulty of the day but expressed pride in his resilience. “I barely made it into the clubhouse the last few holes,” he said. “I made it really hard on myself, but yeah, I was proud of the way that I fought back after a rough start and got it going.” He admitted to losing focus around his 14th hole, describing the latter part of his round as a struggle. “And for whatever reason on my 14th hole of the day, I kinda lost it and was just grinding coming in. And I did a pretty good job of it until 18. That was a bit of a head-scratcher but that’s golf, it happens.” Kuntz incurred a penalty stroke on his final hole after hitting his second shot over the green onto the driving range. Despite the setback, he remained optimistic about the remainder of the tournament. “Obviously it was a bit of a sour taste in my mouth,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re only halfway through the tournament, fingers crossed. So, I got lots of time to get it back.” Only one Manitoban, Kuntz, made the cut for the tournament. Ryan McMillan finished with a 74, ending his run at plus-9, while Manitoba men’s amateur champion Rory Neill recorded a 78 to conclude at plus-11. The field saw a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard entering the third round, with Austin Greaser (USA), Daniel Svärd (Sweden), Garrison Smith (USA), Adam Duncan (USA), and Chuan-Tai Lin (Chinese Taipei) all at minus-8. Former leader Drew Doyle (USA) fell to 16th after a 71. Play was temporarily halted in the afternoon due to poor weather conditions. American Thomas Longbella produced the best round of the day with a 63. Since 2009, no Canadian has claimed victory at the Manitoba Open, and the last Manitoban to win the event was Rob McMillan in 1996. This year’s tournament marks the 11th of 15 scheduled stops on the PGA Tour Americas schedule. The winner of the event will receive a prize of $40,500.