Victoria, British Columbia— When Doc Redman arrived at Uplands Golf Club on Friday afternoon, where he carded an opening-round 64 a day prior, his one-stroke lead had vanished.

While Redman was taking in the Victoria scenery on Friday morning, Zach Cabra was out in the morning wave at the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist, picking up where he left off after an opening-round 66, firing a 63 to move himself five-strokes ahead of Redman before he had even taken a tee shot.

Redman, though, was not phased by the early game of leapfrog. Already having made birdie on hole Nos. 2 and 4 despite heavier wind conditions, the 21-year old made a statement on hole No. 7, rolling in a 10-footer for eagle to put himself back near the top of the leaderboard. 

“It’s great to get off to a good start, you can mess up or you can go low at any point, so it was nice to be four under pretty early,” said the Clemson alumnus. “It was playing tough today and it was a lot windier this afternoon and the greens were a lot firmer, too.”

While some players fold under difficult conditions, Redman anticipates doing the opposite in his professional career. As evidence by his top-20 finish earlier this month on the game’s biggest stage at the Wells Fargo Championship, Redman thrives when the going gets tough. 

“The Wells (Fargo Championship) gave me a lot of confidence in my game that I can compete anywhere, especially on a course like that which was really difficult, I play my best when it’s really difficult,” said Redman. “I hope conditions are similar tomorrow, like today, because I love when it’s playing tough.” 

Making one more birdie on his back nine, Redman signed for a bogey-free 65 and will play in the final pairing on Saturday alongside Cabra. 

“I don’t know the last time I was in a final pairing, but it’s a blast,” said Redman “I was disappointed not to be able to pull away a bit, but it’s going to be awesome and hopefully there’s lots of people watching.” 

Trailing Cabra and Redman by three strokes is Victoria native Jimmy Jones, who managed his second-consecutive round of 66 to slot into the third spot on the leaderboard and is currently the favourite to pick up the Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award. Jones also happens to be good buddies with Redman. 

“Late last year I went down and hung out with Jimmy (Jones) in Jacksonville and that was really fun, and likewise, I thought it was awesome he was playing well earlier on today,” said Redman when asked about his friend’s performance. “He deserves it, he got in last minute and he’s a great player. 

“You want to see your friends do well, but you want to beat them by one stroke.”