Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – The Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced today a joint donation of $20,000 to the relief efforts directed towards the recent wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., which impacted Fort McMurray Golf Club, annual host of the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.

“We’ve always been touched by the support from the Fort McMurray community, from families billeting players at their homes to volunteers who put hard work and dedication into the event,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to seeing that spirit come through as the community recovers and gets back on its feet.”

Dry conditions and high temperatures in Fort McMurray over two weeks ago sparked a wildfire blaze that forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 residents – one of the largest evacuations in Canadian history. The fire caused extensive damage to the clubhouse and course at Fort McMurray Golf Club.

“The tragic wildfires in Alberta have impacted many lives in one of the country’s great golf provinces. It is our hope that this joint donation between the Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour will inspire others to follow suit, helping not only Fort McMurray, but the region as a whole, in an extreme time of need,” said Web.com Tour President Bill Calfee.

In addition to the donation put forth by the Web.com Tour and the Mackenzie Tour, players will show their support over the next two weeks by pledging a donation amount for each birdie they make, and asking fans to do the same.

All donations put forth by the Tours and raised by players and fans will be directed towards the United Way of Canada, through the PGA TOUR Charities, Inc.

The Mackenzie Tour will kick off its 2016 season with the Freedom 55 Financial Open, to be contested May 26-29 in Vancouver. Participating players at each event will set a dollar amount to donate for each birdie made, and fans will be able to match that number or contribute a set amount to pledge their support.

“I’m really pleased that the Web.com Tour and the membership are coming together to support such a worthy cause. A lot of us are Mackenzie Tour alums, and thus played in Fort McMurray. As well, many of us stayed with host families there, in homes we can only assume are now gone or badly damaged,” said Web.com Tour member and Alberta native Brad Fritsch. “What we are doing this week is a small token of our gratitude towards the Fort McMurray community. They support professional golf and golfers, so it is incumbent upon us to step up and help them in their time of need. Hopefully we can raise a whole lot of money and help with the process of rebuilding their lives.”

“The people in Fort McMurray have been so supportive of Mackenzie Tour players and always welcomed us into their community with open arms. Hopefully we can make some birdies and help raise a bunch of money to support and give back to a place that’s given us so much over the years,” said 2015 Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON champion Kevin Spooner.

Courtenay, B.C. – California’s Aaron Wise shot an even-par 72 on Friday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take medalist honours and earn fully exempt status for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season at the British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old sophomore at the University of Oregon finished at 14-under for the week, two shots ahead of Dallas, Texas’ Conrad Shindler and Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick.

“It feels awesome,” said Wise, who admitted victory had eluded him in recent weeks competing for the Oregon Ducks. “The last four events coming into this one, all four were top-10s and three of them were top-3s and I didn’t quite win one. I knew I had a great opportunity after the first three rounds I played, and I did well to finish this one off.”

Starting the day ahead of Shindler and San Antonio, Texas’ Jeff Rein by four shots, Wise held steady with two birdies and two bogeys on the day, giving the world’s No. 6-ranked amateur a confidence-boosting win heading into the NCAA Regionals and Nationals.

“I know I’ve been playing great, but winning’s a whole other level, and to win on a stage that’s even bigger than the college stage is awesome. Going back for regionals and nationals, I’m going to do everything I can to help my team out and take it from there,” said Wise.

The Southern California native said he plans to turn pro following the completion of the NCAA Championships on June 1, meaning he’ll miss at least the season-opening Freedom 55 Financial Open. That make his exempt status through the 2016 season even more important, a fact not lost on Wise.

“It’s awesome, especially because I’m going to miss the first two events. To be able to build your own schedule, I can plan flights and hotels and all that in advance, which is awesome,” said Wise.

In all, 41 players earned status, including 30 Americans, seven Canadians, two Chileans, one Scotsman and one Argentinian.

Courtenay, B.C. – California’s Aaron Wise shot a 3-under 69 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to maintain his lead heading into the final round at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old stumbled to a 1-over front nine, but carded four birdies without a bogey coming in to reach 14-under for the tournament, three shots ahead of Dallas’ Conrad Shindler and San Antonio’s Jeff Rein with one round to go at Crown Isle.

“I didn’t have my best stuff on my front nine, and my short game kept me in it. I had a lot of great up-and-downs. When I got to 10, I kind of re-set my goals and wanted to make six birdies on the back nine. I didn’t do that, but it was still a pretty solid back nine,” said Wise.

The University of Oregon sophomore, who currently ranks no. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said he kept calm after a wobbly start and set about his business to rebuild his lead on Thursday afternoon

“It’s just knowing your own golf game,” said Wise of making a mid-round correction that paid off. “I’ve worked with my coach long enough to where I know what my swing does and my tendencies under pressure. I knew what I was doing out there; it was just a matter of me fixing it, and it took a few holes, but I did it.”

Wise will turn professional later this spring after completing his collegiate career, but said he isn’t getting ahead of himself even with a huge slate of tournaments on the horizon, instead choosing to focus on the round in front of him on Friday.

“We have a good game plan. It’s just a matter of me going out there and hitting the shots. I didn’t do such a great job on the front nine, so I hope to get off to a better start tomorrow, and I’m excited,” said Wise.

Courtenay, B.C. – Lake Elsinore, California’s Aaron Wise shot a 4-under 68 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the second round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old, currently ranked No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, carded six birdies against one double bogey, his only dropped shots of the week, to lead by four shots over Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick through 36 holes at Crown Isle.

“I played well,” said Wise. “I’ve got a good strategy going and I’m executing all my shots correctly. I had a costly double bogey there on 16 which I’m a little irritated about right now, but I’ll get over it and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days.”

With four wins to his name in his two seasons at Oregon, Wise has flourished in his sophomore year. This spring, he was named a semi-finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top player in college golf, and credited an improvement in his putting to his strong second-year performance.

“My set-up was a little off and my stroke wasn’t very good, so I was making a lot of compensations. Since I’ve gotten a little drill that shows my hip and shoulder alignment and makes sure I’m putting a good stroke on it, and that’s really helped me score a lot better because I’m making the putts I need to make,” said Wise, who owns four collegiate victories and has twice been named Pac-12 Player of the Month.

Former Ducks to have success on the Mackenzie Tour include 2015 ATB Financial Classic Daniel Miernicki and two-time winner Eugene Wong, both of whom preceded Wise at the University of Oregon. Wise said their success on the Mackenzie Tour influenced him to follow their path when he turns pro following the college season.

Courtenay, B.C. – Barrie, Ont.’s Eric Hawerchuk shot an 8-under 64 on Tuesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the first round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

The 26-year old, whose father is NHL Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk, was bogey-free with eight birdies to lead by one over Lake Elsinore, California’s Aaron Wise after one round in Courtenay.

“I played smart and had a couple big up-and-downs, par saves that kept me going to be honest. A lot of the putts fell in, and it was a great day,” said Hawerchuk.

After missing his card at Q-School in 2014, Hawerchuk said he took a hard look in the mirror and began making changes to his game with the goal of becoming a competitive player on the path to the PGA TOUR.

“I came two years ago and I realized I wasn’t ready to play at this level. You see how good everyone is, and I took last year to just kind of work on some things that I learned, and it seems to be paying off so far. Hopefully I can just keep that going,” said Hawerchuk.

With three rounds to go, the former Central Connecticut State Blue Devil said he was still focused on competing through the week and not getting ahead of himself despite his red hot opening round.

“This is a huge bonus,” said Hawerchuk. “I was just trying to get in there, shoot a few under and be right in the mix, so to jump out to a nice start like today – I’m not going to really change anything, but it does help my mindset going forward.”

 “I was just having fun, to be honest. I had my brother-in-law on the bag, and just the stuff I’ve been working on the last few months with my coaches has been paying off. I’m just trying to be a kid again, trying to be an artist out there,” said Fink.

COURTENAY, B.C. – Mackenzie Tour Q-School resumes this week with the fourth and final 2016 qualifying tournament taking place May 3-6 at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community.

One hundred and thirty two players, including 39 Canadians, will compete at the fourth and final qualifying tournament for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. The medalist will earn full exempt status, while players finishing second to 16th Exempt through the first four events and are subject to re-shuffle. Players finishing 17th to 40th earn conditional status.

Crown Isle, a 7,025-yard layout designed by Graham Cooke and Associates in 1992, has hosted Mackenzie Tour qualifying each of the last two years. Water-lined with 11 lakes and immaculately manicured, the course offers stunning vistas of the Comox Glacier and Beaufort Mountain Range.

Among the Canadians looking to earn status is five-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Grant Fuhr. The Hockey Hall of Fame member and Spruce Grove, Alta., native has played Q-School on three occasions previously and was recently named the Honourary Tournament Chair of the Oil Country Championship. He competed at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel last year on a sponsor exemption.

CANADIANS IN THE FIELD (39)

• Adam Cornelson (Langley, B.C.)
• Andrew Funk (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Grant Fuhr (Spruce Grove, Alberta)
• Turner Southey-Gordon (Toronto, Ontario)
• Josh Wytinck (Glenboro, Manitoba)
• Keith Martin (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Michael Belle (Burnaby, B.C.)
• Shawn Vanderwal (Kamloops, B.C.)
• Ryan Werre (Redcliff, Alberta)
• Mitch Sutton (London, Ontario)
• Braeden Cryderman (Hunstville, Ontario)
• Kevin Stinson (Mission, B.C.)
• J.J. Regan (Burlington, Ontario)
• Brendon Williams (Victoria, B.C.)
• Thomas Hay (Langley, B.C.)
• Ryan Curran (Thornton, Ontario)
• James Seymour (Aurora, Ontario)
• Brian Churchill-Smith (Oakville, Ontario)
• Charlie Boyechko (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Marko Viinikka (Victoria, B.C.)
• Scott Stiles (Calgary, Alberta)
• Mitchell Fox (Calgary, Alberta)
• Tyson Beaupre (Grande Prairie, Alberta)
• Scott Cameron (Langley, B.C.)
• Andrew Rasmussen (Delta, B.C.)
• Tony Mak (Vancouver, B.C.)
• Michael Powell (Surrey, B.C.)
• William Deck (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Matt Hoffman (Thornhill, Ontario)
• Gianfranco Guida (Maple, Ontario)
• Eric Hawerchuk (Barrie, Ontario)
• Aaron Cockerill (Gunton, Manitoba)
• Russell Budd (Toronto, Ontario)
• Matt Hamilton (Courtenay, B.C.)
• Ryan Crnac (Richmond, B.C.)
• Zejun Ni (Calgary, Alberta)
• Brendan Dillon (Port Moody, B.C.)
• Donghoon Oh (Coquitlam, B.C.)
• Jacob Vanderpas (Vancouver, B.C.)

More info:

Field List
Tee Times
Scores

Santee, Calif. – California’s John Chin shot a final round 2-under 70 on Friday Carlton Oaks Country Club to earn victory and medalist honours at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s USA West Qualifying Tournament.

Chin finished the week 14-under, one stroke ahead of Rancho Santa Fe, California’s Colin Featherstone, earning him fully exempt status on the Mackenzie Tour for 2016.

“It was a lot of fun out there. My goal was just to try and limit my mistakes and not make any bogeys. Colin’s putter got hot at the end there and made things interesting, but it was a lot of fun,” said Chin.

The win comes on comfortable territory for Chin, who was victorious at Carlton Oaks for the second time in as many weeks, having claimed a Golden State Tour event last week in a warm-up for Q-School.

“I had a lot of confidence coming into this week, so I was just saying ‘why can’t I do it again?” To see the results on top of the hard work, it feels good,” said Chin.

A former Web.com Tour member, Chin said he entered 2016 with renewed focus after missing out at the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-School last fall, and that his offseason preparation paid off over the course of the week.

“The last two days, my ballstriking was a little shaky, but that’s what I practice for – my misses didn’t hurt me too much. Anyone can hit it well, but it’s about when you’re grinding that really counts,” said Chin.

For the week, 40 players in total earned status for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour season.

Santee, Calif. – California’s John Chin shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday at Carlton Oaks Country Club to take the 54-hole lead at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school.

The 29-year old rebounded from bogeys on his first two holes with eight birdies to reach 12-under for the tournament, three shots ahead of fellow Californian Colin Featherstone with one round to go.

“It was kind of a kick in the butt and got me going,” said Chin of the bogey-bogey start. “I didn’t feel like I was trying to press anything and was just trying to take it one shot at a time, and 66 is just what happened.”

A former Web.com Tour member, Chin was victorious at a Golden State Tour event held at Carlton Oaks last week. The University of California-Irvine grad said he’s benefited from being familiar with the challenges presented by the tough Perry Dye layout.

“It’s definitely a ball-striker’s course. If you’re not striking your ball somewhat decently, you’re going to have a hard time even playing out here,” said Chin.

Jae Yong Kim is the leading Canadian heading to the final round. The North York, Ont., native is tied for 8th at 1-under after a 2-under 70.

Santee, Calif. – California’s Cody Blick managed a 3-under 69 in breezy conditions on Wednesday at Carlton Oaks Country Club to take the solo lead through 36 holes at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school.

The 22-year old recent graduate of San Jose State University carded five birdies and two bogeys to reach 8-under par and lead by two shots over California’s John Chin and fellow Californian Colin Featherstone with two rounds remaining in the quest to earn Mackenzie Tour status for 2016.

“We’re only halfway there, so it’s the same thing as the first two rounds; I’m going to pick out targets, swing at ‘em and whatever happens happens. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I’m expecting gusty, high winds, so we’ll see,” said Blick.

With the sun just rising on his professional career, Blick said he was embracing the transition from college and learning the nuances of the professional game.

“It’s different. In college, if you lose by four shots in a tournament, you’re still in fifth. If you’re four back of the lead in a professional event, you’re 30th. Every shot is 10 guys, so every shot really matters,” said Blick.

Two shots behind Blick were Chin, who fired the day’s only bogey-free round (69) and is coming off a victory at a Golden State Tour event at Carlton Oaks last week, and Featherstone, who played collegiate golf at nearby San Diego State.