If Matthew Wolff just needed the tinkling of an ice cream truck nearby to start filling the birds, perhaps a McDonald’s breakfast was enough for Donnie Trosper.
OK, the odds are waking up late and climbing to get something to eat on the way to the course has nothing to do with the way the Canton native played Monday while trying to qualify for the Workday Charity Open, the This week’s PGA Tour event at Muirfield Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.
But it certainly didn’t hurt.
For the second week in a row, Trosper made his way onto the pitch, shooting a 10-under 62 at the Muirfield Country Club to catch one of the two points left in the star-studded field.
“I had a good strategy for every shirt shot today,” Trosper told The Detroit News. “I was just hitting the right shots and I was just puttin ‘this time and I really didn’t have any big mistakes. In a way, I kept it clean and it’s huge, especially for me, and today I did the key parts to keep up the momentum. “
Trosper made it to last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic – his first PGA Tour event – through qualifying on Monday and this week he became the first golf to qualify for two consecutive weeks since Steve Allan did it for John last season. Deere Classic and the Barbasol championship.
CLASSIC COMPLETE COVER OF ROCKET MORTGAGES
A 50 foot putt for the eagle at no. 8 unleashed the Trosper round on Monday while following him with a bird at no. 9 to take the 5-under turn. Five more birds came to the back when Trosper finished with a 35-foot downhill hole shot to post his best score ever.
“Yes, that’s my best score,” he said. “I shot 63 million but never 62. And you know what? I wasn’t even thinking about the last hole. I was just thinking about two putts. I had a 35 foot and was downhill and a pretty tough putt. I hit him and he entered. “
Monday’s round continued an intense stretch for Trosper. After losing the cut at Detroit Golf Club last week, he continued playing. After a game with a friend in Michigan on Sunday morning, he headed to Columbus in the afternoon to follow the path he would play on Monday.
Sunday’s long day just turned negative, complete with the lack of a 20-minute alarm. When Trosper had thrown down his McDonald’s big breakfast and was ready to play, there was no more pressure.
“I think it was the best thing that could have happened,” he said. “Because as soon as I got out of Rocket Mortgage, lacking the cut and stuff, I didn’t really have too much pressure on myself.”
That pressure existed last week, even without fans.
Trosper, who played one season at Michigan State after three years in central Florida, fired 78-77 to miss the cut and was happy to escape this week.
“This week will be a completely different week for me,” said Trosper. “I feel like I’m at home, I felt alone as if I had put a lot of pressure on me. I had all my friends and relatives to call me and I was sleeping in my bed. Now I’m a little bit away and I’m just doing my thing. I am with my caddy and we have a cute little hotel here.
“So yes, I’m trying to take what I learned last week and try to test myself this week.”
Does this include hitting the McDonald drive drive for the rest of the week at breakfast?
“I don’t know,” said Trosper with a laugh. “But maybe that’s my thing this week.”
Twitter: @mattcharboneau
