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Michael Gligic stands atop bunched leaderboard at Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance

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Michael Gligic stands atop bunched leaderboard at Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance


    Written by Zach Dirlam @KornFerryTour

    Michael Gligic holes birdie putt at Korn Ferry Tour Champ


    NEWBURGH, Indiana – Canadian Michael Gligic posted an 8-under 64 Thursday morning at Victoria National Golf Club, but only finished the day with a two-stroke lead over six players at 6-under par and a three-stroke lead over another six players at 5-under par after the first round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.


    Facing one of the most demanding courses on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule, Gligic birdied four of the final six holes of the back nine (his front nine), making threes at the par-4 13th, 17th and 18th, and a four at the par-5 15th. Gligic made a third consecutive birdie at the par-4 first, and followed it with two more at the par-5 third and par-4 fourth. The only bogey on Gligic’s card came at the par-4 sixth, but he rebounded with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 eighth and par-5 ninth for his 64.


    “It felt pretty easy there for a while,” Gligic said. “I was just hitting fairways and greens and giving myself a lot of good looks. I had a little bump there coming in on No. 6 and left myself a really long birdie putt and, unfortunately, three-putted. Besides that, I hit a lot of really good wedges and drove it in the fairway and with the ball in hand, it made it a little easier and was able to hit a few in there close.”


    Gligic turned professional in 2008 and played predominantly on PGA TOUR Canada, winning in 2012 and continuing to play on his home country’s circuit until 2019, when he earned Korn Ferry Tour membership. In his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, Gligic won The Panama Championship and ended the regular season as a member of The 25 for his first PGA TOUR card.


    Gligic finished outside the FedExCup Playoffs each of the last three seasons on the PGA TOUR. The 32-year-old Canadian was No. 135 on the 2021-22 FedExCup Eligibility Points List, sending him to Korn Ferry Tour Finals for a second consecutive year. Last year, Gligic closed the three-event Finals with back-to-back top-20s, including a T20 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, to secure a place in The Finals 25.


    “I got off to a poor start last year (fall 2021) and was behind the 8-ball all year,” Gligic said. “Then I missed a couple events when my daughter was born. Around April, (or) May, I started to play really well and my game has been rolling the past few months. I'm starting to see some results, so hopefully it continues and we can carry it on into this fall.


    “I think before (my daughter) I had too much pressure on myself. It was kind of golf, golf, golf, but I've just come to realize there's more outside of golf. We're probably going to hang out with the dog and our daughter then come back tomorrow and do it again.”


    Gligic finished solo-fourth at last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, ensuring himself a spot in The Finals 25 for a second consecutive year.


    “I was thinking about that today and how I feel a lot more free this time around out here compared to last year,” Gligic said. “Last year was pretty stressful and butt clenching, so to be able to walk around here and have nothing to lose, obviously I want to play well and improve my number, but it does make it a lot easier. Hopefully I can keep it going.”


    Second-round tee times will from 6:50 a.m. through 2:06 p.m. local time off the first and 10th tees.

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