2023 champion Dough Hanzel wins Super Senior division in playoff;
Team Manitoba took home Inter-Provincial Team title on Wednesday
WINNIPEG, Man. – Bryan Hoops fired a 4-under 68 to pull away from the field and win the 2026 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO at the Niakwa Country Club in Winnipeg, Man. on Friday.
Hoops, of Tempe, Ariz. shot rounds of 74-69-72-68-283 to finish at 5-under to win by two shots over Daniel Neveu of Pinehurst, N.C.
“Very rewarding that all the time and effort…I put a lot into this, I travel a lot and hotels, I think 27 events on the calendar this year. To know I’m getting somewhere, checking the boxes that I’m supposed to be checking, the wins I want to do and expected to do. Sometimes it’s a lot of pressure. I’m happy to check one of those boxes again,” said Hoops following his win.
Hoops entered the final round one back of Todd Wiseman of Port Moody, B.C. The leaderboard had its work cut out as numerous changes were made through the opening holes of the final round. Following a double bogey from Wiseman on no. 4, Hoops jumped into the co-lead with Wiseman and David White of Winnipeg, Man.
Todd Fanning of Winnipeg, Man. carded birdies at nos. 4 and 6 to pull himself into the co-lead with the trio before back-to-back birdies from White put him at even par and ahead through six. Hoops responded with back-to-back birdies of his own to get to 1-under for the championship and took the solo lead through seven.
For Hoops, not being able to run through his full warm-up routine during the tournament meant the front nine was all about building momentum for him during the week and again on Friday.
“Felt good late on the front to get momentum and not by score but my momentum and hitting solid shots, not big hard drivers and feel a wedge or 9-iron or carve something in there it’s just hit a smooth wood or iron off the tee and keep that tempo like you build on the range so that’s what I used the front for and started to feel it later on the front side,” added Hoops.
That momentum from the front carried into no. 10 as Hoops, Fanning and White all found themselves tied for the lead following birdies.
Being tied again through 10 put Hoops right where he wanted to be.
“I knew once I got to the back if I was within one or two, I could kind of drop the hammer and be alright,” he added. Hoops did just that finishing at 13-under on the back nine for the championship.
He would pull away from the field following an eagle on the par-5 11th to move to 3-under for the tournament and open a two-shot lead.
After consecutive pars, Hoops continued his hot streak with three straight birdies on holes 14 through 16 to distance himself from a surging Fanning who was 6-under on the day through 16 to sit three back.
Fanning went on to close with a pair of bogey’s ending his round with a 4-under 68 and sit 1-under for the championship and finished third. Neveu was making a late run of his own putting up six birdies through his final nine holes to get to 3-under for the tournament following a 4-under 68 to finish runner-up.
Hoops closed with par-bogey to win his fifth tournament of the year. In July, he won The R&A Senior Amateur at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire, England.
“They’re all prestigious, this is a tough field here just like there is over there. I really had my heart set to try and win all three this year [R&A, U.S. and Canada] and I played well at the U.S. after playing well at the British,” he added.
Hoops was chasing Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. who won all three senior amateur championships in 2010.
Hoops plans to stay intown and enjoy dinner tonight with some of the past champions in the field but knows he is on the hook when the cheque comes, “it’s fine, it’s fine,” he laughed.
Along with the John Rankin Memorial Trophy, Hoops will receive exemptions into the 2027 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, 2027 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, 2027 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship (plus a 10-year exemption, if eligible) and the 2027 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
In the battle for the Super Senior division crown a three-way playoff was required featuring David Schutlz of Calgary, Alta., Ken Griffith of Red Deer, Alta. and 2023 champion Doug Hanzel of Savannah, Ga. who all finished tied at 6-over for the tournament.
Hanzel wasted little time, draining a 60-foot putt for birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the Super Senior division title for a second time.
On Wednesday, Team Manitoba took home the Inter-Provincial Team title for the first time ever at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. They entered the day one back of Team British Columbia and shot a collective 1-over to finish the team competition at 4-over to win by five shots. Team Manitoba was represented by David White, Todd Fanning and Jay Doyle all of Winnipeg.
Fanning’s 1-under 71 and White’s 2-over 74 counted for the team on Wednesday with Doyle adding a 3-over 75. On Tuesday, it was White’s 3-under 69 that led the way with both Fanning and Doyle shooting 6-over 78s. The team championship fulfilled a goal that the trio had discussed completing for some time.
The Canadian Men’s Senior Championship was established in 1962 for golfers aged 55-and-over and includes a Super Senior division for golfers 65-and-over that was introduced in 1995.
For the final leaderboard following the 2026 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
