Four-way tie atop leaderboard heading into finale at TPC Toronto
CALEDON, Ontario—Four players—Andrew J. Funk, Brendan Leonard, Canada Life Series Points Standings leader Yi Cao and Albert Pistorius—are jammed at the top of the leaderboard with one round left in the Canada Life Series tournament at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s Heathlands Course. Lest you think the winner will come from that group, a bevy of other players are within shouting distance and will have plenty to say who lifts the trophy Friday afternoon.
Amateur Garrett Rank is only a stroke back, while the trio of Aaron Crawford, David Byrne and JJ Regan are two behind. Friday is shaping up as a battle as the Series completes its third of four tournaments.
Leonard wasn’t doing much with his round when he got things revved up.
Shifting from calling games to making birdies? No problem for NHL ref Garrett Rank.
He's one off the lead heading into the final round at the #CanadaLifeSeries. pic.twitter.com/2ocq6Y7jeu
— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) September 4, 2020
“I made a nice eagle on No. 1. I had 217 (yards) to the pin and hit 5-iron, and I was right on it,” Leonard said of his quick start to his back nine that gave a jolt to his day. “I was 1-over going into that, so it flipped pretty quickly once I eagled there, and I hit it pretty close on the next.” Leonard followed that 3-under streak with another birdie at his 15th hole before closing with a disappointing bogey at the par-5 ninth, his 18th hole that, in retrospect, would have given him the outright lead. There’s nothing to hang his head about, though. The par-5 played .231 strokes over par Thursday as wind continued to wreak havoc on players’ strategy.
“It’s just staying patient, and that’s all I did out there,” Leonard added.
Cao, winner of the previous event at Bear Mountain and the first-round leader, found the going a bit more treacherous during his second tour of the Heathlands Course. Cao could never get out of neutral, playing the front nine in 1-under and the back nine in 1-over, with consecutive bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 before he parred out. Like every other player, the British Columbia resident who is a native of China, battled the wind.
“I think the most-important thing about the wind out here is just how wide open it is, especially on the greens. The tee shots don’t bother me as much, but it makes the greens pretty tough to read. I was struggling a little bit on the greens.”
Even tied for the lead, Cao smiled at the prospect of going for two wins in a row.
“I just love playing out here, and I love the position that I’m in [Friday],” he added.
Pistorius had the round of the day, a 64 that moved him up 37 places on the leaderboard. His clean scorecard showed no bogeys and birdies on Nos. 1, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 16. Funk only had one bogey to go with five birdies.
Rank is also more than satisfied with his position with 18 holes to play. “I got off to a nice start. The wind was kind of down for the first five or six holes. I hit some nice shots and made some nice putts,” Rank explained. “I didn’t finish as strong as I would have liked, but I’m in a good spot.”
Cao’s momentum continues, takes lead at TPC Toronto
CALEDON, Ontario—Two weeks ago, Yi Cao won the second Canada Life Series tournament in Langford, B.C., and in the process he moved to the top of the Canada Life Series Points Standings. He certainly likes his position and doesn’t seem to be interested in relinquishing his status as the Series’ top player. Wednesday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s Heathlands Course, the native of China who moved to Canada during his teenage years, fired an opening-round, 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Tyson Turchanski. A quartet of players, Derek Gillespie, Brendan Leonard, Blair Bursey and JJ Regan are at 5-under with 36 holes to play.
Cao is still smiling not only about his solid first-round play and his win two weeks ago but the trajectory of his career and how quickly things changed once the Canada Life Series began.
“With little playing opportunities this year, I was thinking about quitting golf to pursue another career,” Cao said. “The Canada Life Series literally changed my life, and with four events I really can’t ask for anything more.”
Wednesday, under rainy, gloomy but warm conditions that gave way to sunshine later in the day, Cao began quickly on the Heathlands Course’s back nine. He birdied his first two holes of the day then remained in neutral the remainder of his opening nine, making seven consecutive pars. He got things going after the turn, with three consecutive birdies and four in five holes. Cao’s lone bogey of the day came at No. 7, but he atoned for that with closing birdies on his final two holes.
Even after one round, Cao, a winner on PGA TOUR China-Series in addition to his breakthrough Canada Life Series triumph, is not necessarily thinking ahead.
“I try not to think about the benefits of winning the Canada Life Series,” Cao said of what’s afforded the Points Standings champion—conditional 2021 Mackenzie Tour status and a start in the 2021 RBC Canadian Open. “The most important thing for me is to stay positive and accept the result.”
Turchanski had a clean scorecard Wednesday, with six birdies—three on each TPC Toronto nine. He couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start as he birdied the first three holes of the tournament. Turchanski also closed in style, making a pair of birdies at Nos. 17 and 18.
Bursey, a former Utah Valley University golfer, joined the group at 5-under but looked like he might even hold the lead the way things were going on his opening nine and as he made the turn. Yet after making birdies on his 10th, 11th and 12th holes of the day (TPC Toronto’s Nos. 1-3), Bursey made six consecutive pars as he stalled at 5-under.
“I think the biggest thing for me is my coach and I were working on some stuff that would help long-term, and I’m just trying to get comfortable with those changes,” said Bursey, who seemed plenty at ease in the opening round. “I want to see how it maybe changes my approach, mostly in terms of hitting it farther.”
Cao is completely dominant in winning wire to wire
LANGFORD, B.C.—Beginning the day with a five-shot lead, Yi Cao, a Delta, B.C., resident by way of China, let everybody in the field at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community’s Valley Course know he wouldn’t be taking his foot off the gas. Cao birdied his first hole of the final round, shot a closing 66 and was completely dominant for all 54 holes as he won the Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Valley Course event by a whopping eight strokes over Joey Savoie and Albert Pistorius. Cao was bogey-free Wednesday, with his 66 his best score of the week. The 29-year-old walked away with the $9,000 first-place check, and he also took over the lead on the Points List, picking up 500 points for the win.
Cao has been the best player through the Series’ first two weeks, never shooting an over-par round during his six tours around Bear Mountain’s two courses, with a win and a tie for third in two weeks’ work. He was a combined 17-under in the two tournaments.
“The biggest event I’ve won was on PGA TOUR (Series)-China, but I have never won going into the final round with a lead. On PGA TOUR China, I started eight shots back, so this was a new and fun experience,” said Cao, recalling the final-round 63 he shot to win the 2018 Chongqing Championship.
The key to victory for the native of Beijing was his ability to conquer the Valley Course’s four par-5s. He played them in 9-under for the week. He gave a first-round signal that the par-5s was where he would do his damage, making birdie on all four par-5s. He birdied the 12th hole all three days, and, naturally, he put a bow on his triumph by making a birdie at the tournament’s closing hole, the par-5 18th.
“My strategy on the par-5s was to just keep my ball in play the first tee shot, and then if I have a good chance to reach the green I’ll go for it. Otherwise I would stay back and play for the green in three shots,” Cao added. “Luckily my putter worked.”
Although Savoie was never in contention, he helped himself considerably with his closing 64 that was, like Cao’s round, bogey-free. Savoie, making his Canada Life Series debut after skipping last week’s tournament, began the day tied for 17th and, like Pistorius, earned 245 points and $3,375 with his runner-up performance.
“It feels good. I didn’t shoot under-par until today. I felt like I made all my birdies and all my good swings during one round for the week,” Savoie said.
“It felt like I made all my birdies and good swings during one round this week”
Solid round of 7-under par, 64 and new official @BearMountain Valley Course record for @joeysavoie_. #CanadaLifeSeries pic.twitter.com/WmPy6YTvCl
— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) August 20, 2020
The next tournament, at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s Heathlands Course, will be a Wednesday-through-Friday affair, beginning September 2. The players will enjoy a 14-day layoff as they make their way across the country to the Toronto suburb of Caledon.
Did you know Joey Savoie was a member of Team Canada and didn’t turn pro until this season? He has played in five previous Mackenzie Tour tournaments, all as an amateur, making two cuts, a tie for 30th at the 2019 Osprey Valley Open his top outing.
Cao opens big Bear Mountain lead with 18 to play
LANGFORD, B.C.—China’s Yi Cao appears to be playing a different course than everybody else this week. After shooting a 67 in the opening round of the Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Valley Course event, Cao matched that score Tuesday as he opened a five-shot lead with one round remaining in this 54-hole event. At 8-under, he’s five strokes ahead of Canadians Michael Blair and Russell Budd. Sebastian Szirmak is alone in fourth, six shots behind Cao.
It’s been an impressive performance by the 29-year-old Cao, who lives in the Vancouver suburb of Delta. The former PGA TOUR Series-China winner and Mackenzie Tour player has made only two bogeys and has easily been the best player for the first 36 holes.
With a one-shot lead when the day began, Cao made a par at No. 1 and a bogey at the second. His scorecard with clean after that. While he made only one more birdie on the front nine, at No. 9, he added four additional birdies in five holes, starting at No. 11 to extend his lead. The only hole he didn’t birdie during that stretch was the 13th.
“I have no idea what to expect for [Wednesday]. I do believe there are certain players who can really shoot low scores, so I better just keep the same game I played today and [Monday],” Cao said.
He did mention his escape with a par on his final hole of the day as being somewhat key to keeping his big cushion. After a poor tee shot, he faced a 260-yard second shot on the par-5. He laid up with a 2-iron, with 50 yards to the pin. However, he missed the green with his approach shot, bladed his fourth into the bunker and then holed his shot from the sand. “I had an adventure on 18,” he joked afterward.
Budd wasn’t able to birdie the par-5 18th hole, while Blair was, and that deadlocked the two in second place. Blair’s biggest mistake of the second round came at No. 15 when he double bogeyed the par-5.
Szirmak began his second round quickly, getting to 4-under through five holes on the back of his opening, even-par 71. He made the turn at 4-under and moved to 5-under with a birdie at the par-4 11th before coming in at 2-over. Back-to-back double bogeys starting at No. 12 were his undoing.
Cao, Kerr enjoy strong openings at Bear Mountain’s Valley Course
LANGFORD, B.C.—China’s Yi Cao rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th hole Monday, and Scott Kerr matched him on that hole about an hour later, and those two putts were enough to give Cao and Kerr the opening-round lead at the Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Valley Course. The duo shot 4-under 67s and lead Andrew Harrison and Michael Blair by a shot. Mackenzie Tour member James Allenby leads a group of five players at 2-under—all very much in contention after day one of the Series’ second event.
Cao (pronounced Chow) had an indifferent front nine, with the native of Beijing making seven pars after a birdie on No. 1 to open his day. His lone bogey of the afternoon came on the fourth. He picked up the pace on the back nine, with birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 15 and his birdie at the last.
“The greens were softer than last week compared to the Mountain Course, but I was able to take a little bit of advantage of that,” said, Cao, who had been a regular Mackenzie Tour player since 2016 before losing his card following the 2019 season. His career-best finish, however, came in one of his two 2015 starts, tying for 19th. “I was trying to hit it closer to the flag and make a few more putts. Luckily I got a few in.”
Kerr had six birdies and two bogeys on his first tour around the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, but his most memorable hole was a par at the 13th.
“I think I made the best par of my life today. I had a bit of a wait and I didn’t do a great job resetting after the wait, so I blasted [my tee shot] into the bush and had to re-tee, obviously (because) right’s just absolutely dead,” said Kerr, the former Simon Fraser golfer. “But I hit a good second one down the fairway, had 185 yards and holed out from there with an 8-iron and walked off with a pretty crazy 4.”
Evan Holmes hangs on for impressive Bear Mountain triumph
LANGFORD, B.C.—The good thing about shooting a 63 in the opening round is it gives you a cushion for the rest of the tournament. Evan Holmes can definitely relate.
Despite playing the final 36 holes in only even-par, Holmes rode his 8-under start to victory in the Canada Life Series’ first tournament at Bear Mountain’s Mountain Course. Holmes defeated Zach Anderson by two shots to take the early lead on the Points List with three tournaments remaining. Canadians Raoul Ménard and Derek Gillespie and China’s Yi Cao tied for third, at 4-under.
Since Monday when Holmes made three consecutive birdies to begin this inaugural Canada Life Series event, he has maintained his advantage even as Anderson chipped away each day. Anderson moved from five strokes behind after 18 holes to three shots back when the final round began. Anderson shot a Wednesday 71 but bogeyed three of his final four holes after getting to 9-under with a birdie at No. 13. Following a par at the 14th, Anderson made bogeys at 15, 17 and 18. Holmes also struggled coming in on a difficult scoring day. The former University of British Columbia golfer moved to 10-under through 13 but played his final five holes in 2-over. In the end, he benefited from Anderson’s stumbles and his strong beginning to the tournament paid dividends.
“The highlight of the week is for sure the first-round 63. It was nice to get off to that good start,” Holmes explained. “It feels really good. You probably have to win at least one of them to be No. 1 (at the end of the Series), so I couldn’t have asked for a better start, and I’m looking forward to the other three.”
“Chasing Evan all day was good, and getting off to a good start definitely helped,” said Anderson. “I think everyone in the group was tied at minus-8 through three and then Lawren fell off and me and Evan were battling it out pretty good on the back nine. Then we both stumbled coming in.”
Lawren Rowe, who began the final round a stroke behind Holmes, struggled to a 5-over 76 to fall into sixth place, at 3-under. Holmes was philosophical about what turned out to be the toughest day of the 54-hole tournament.
“It was long and tiring. The same as [Tuesday], swirling winds all day and a little bit stronger,” Holmes said of the final round. “It was tough to hit a lot of good shots out there, but it was nice to grind it out. “Conditions were pretty tough,” he continued, noting the dryness of the course because of the wind. “It got a little baked out again and a lot of wind. It was very tough to commit to clubs.
Holmes takes one-shot lead into final round at Bear Mountain
LANGFORD, B.C.—Evan Holmes was not as crisp as he was Monday when he opened the Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Mountain Course event with a sterling 63. On a day where he only managed three birdies and two bogeys, shooting a 1-under 70, it was still enough to get him to 9-under and good for a one-shot advantage over Lawren Rowe heading into the final round Wednesday. Zach Anderson is alone in third, three shots behind, while Golf Canada team member Laurent Desmarchais and Albert Pistorius are at 5-under and four back.
“It was a little tricky all day. I didn’t really get off to a good start. The wind was swirling so it was tough to commit to some clubs out there,” said Holmes, the former University of British Columbia standout. He opened his day with three pars and a bogey, at the par-3 fourth, not exactly breaking quickly out of the gate. Holmes got that stroke right back with a birdie at the fifth before parring out, making the turn at even-par.
“Conditions were a lot tougher today. The pins were a little bit harder, and there was a lot more wind, a lot more swirling. The back nine was tough.”
Even so, Holmes made a textbook birdie at No. 10, hitting his tee shot to the island green to about a foot. His final birdie of the day came at the 13th, with a bogey at No. 11 squeezed in. From there, he parred out.
Rowe began the day three shots behind Holmes but narrowed the gap with his 68, on the strength of five birdies.
“My round was pretty similar to [Monday] actually. I started off a bit slow and just got through the front nine at even. I hit the back nine and was able to make a few birdies from there. I made a few putts finally.”
Rowe’s most-memorable hole of the day was his birdie on the par-3 14th. Although he wasn’t going directly at the pin, his tee shot landed 15 feet from the hole. He rolled that putt in during what was the middle of a four-birdies-in-six-hole stretch.
Canada Life Birdies for Kids program to raise money for children’s causes
WINNIPEG – Canada Life is proud to announce they will support charitable causes at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada-affiliated Canada Life Series. Canada Life will donate $5 to charity for every birdie made and $20 for every eagle made over the course of this four-event golf series.
“We’re proud to support Canadian golfers through the Canada Life Series. Adding a charitable component to the events made sense and is another way we can help Canadians,” said Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, Canada Life. “This program will also add another element of competition to the tournaments, which is always fun. We’re eager to see how many birdies and eagles are made.”
The Mackenzie Tour created the Canada Life Series to give Canadian-based players the opportunity to continue pursuing their goals in a season where international events have been suspended. The series features two 54-hole events at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community in Langford, BC and two more at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, ON.
In B.C., donations from the Canada Life Birdies for Kids program will go to Canucks Autism Network (CAN). CAN was founded in 2008 by Vancouver Canucks co-owners, Paolo and Clara Aquilini, whose son has autism. CAN provides programs to individuals with autism and their families and works to promote acceptance and inclusion through community engagement and training initiatives in BC and beyond.
In Ontario, donations will go to Start2Finish. Start2Finish’s mission is to break the cycle of child poverty by providing ongoing educational support to at-risk children in Canada during their school years. Since its inception 20 years ago, Start2Finish has equipped over 100,000 children with vital opportunities and skills to help them build a cycle of success.
“Charity is at the core of everything we do at the PGA TOUR and the charitable impact our events have in Canada is central to what we do week in and week out. This program is going to have a significant impact in these communities and provides a platform for players to give back in a unique way,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “We are very familiar with Canucks Autism Network and Start2Finish. Both do amazing work, and we were only too happy to associate with these great organizations.”
Canadian PGA TOUR players past and present to support Canada Life Series with bonus-pool money
TORONTO—With the Canada Life Series set to begin next week in Langford, British Columbia, a consortium of PGA TOUR players—past and present—have provided even more incentive for players to play well during the four-tournament Series.
Former PGA TOUR winner Ian Leggatt and 10 other players have each donated (CA) $1,000 that forms a bonus bursary that will be used to reward the player or players who shoot the low 18-hole round at each of the Canada Life Series’ tournaments. Every week, the player with the lowest single-day score will earn $2,750. In the event of more than one player shooting the low round, they will split that week’s money.
In addition to Leggatt, the organizer of this initiative, players who donated are Stephen Ames, Corey Conners, Graham DeLaet, Michael Gligic, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Mackenzie Hughes, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir, who all played on the Mackenzie Tour or its predecessor, the Canadian Tour, in their careers.
Created in partnership with the Golf Canada Foundation, the player bursary aligns with the Foundation’s support of high-performance golf, helping the next generation of athletes inspire Canadians of all ages and abilities.
“Golf Canada Foundation is excited to support this initiative through the Canada Life Series with the generous backing of Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada alumni,” Said Martin Barnard, CEO of Golf Canada Foundation. “Aspiring professionals working to advance their careers have had their competitive seasons impacted significantly during the pandemic, and we hope this bursary will help players emerge even stronger on the various Tours next year.”
“We’re pretty fortunate that we’ve been able to start playing again,” said Hadwin about the PGA TOUR’s season restart after the COVID-19 interruption to the schedule. “Not only that, but we’re pretty fortunate where we are in life, as well.
“Being on the PGA TOUR is the ultimate goal of all the guys who are playing,” continued Hadwin, a native of Abbotsford, B.C., who turned pro in 2009, played two years on the Mackenzie Tour’s predecessor—the Canadian Tour—before joining the PGA TOUR in 2015. “I think it’s our duty and job to pay it forward a little. A lot of us have come through the Mackenzie Tour. I know what it’s like traveling across (the country). You’re not making a ton of money and hoping to get to the next level. This is nice that we can help out and give those guys a little something extra to play for. It’s not much, but every little bit counts.”
The Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Mountain Course on Aug. 10-12 is the first of two back-to-back tournaments at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community. The final two events will be at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, each tournament open to Mackenzie Tour players and high-level professional and elite players living in Canada.
In June, the Mackenzie Tour canceled its 2020 season due to COVID-19. The Canada Life Series is a response to that cancellation, giving players competitive, money-making opportunities.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the generosity of these players who understand what it’s like to be a young pro trying to make his way in professional golf,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “It truly is a fraternity among Canadian professionals, and to have these 11 players provide this bonus money only enhances what we’re trying to accomplish with the Canada Life Series.”
Mackenzie Tour announces four-event Canada Life series
TORONTO —With the official Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada sidelined this season due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tour announced Friday that it will hold a series of four tournaments for players residing in Canada. The tournaments are set for Langford, British Columbia, and Caledon, Ontario, in August and September, all events contested under the direction of the Mackenzie Tour and its staff.
The Canada Life Series will feature two 54-hole events at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community in Langford on Vancouver Island and two more at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. Fields will consist of Canadian professionals and elite amateurs, as well as Mackenzie Tour members, regardless of citizenship, who are already in Canada. Officials anticipate field sizes between 90 and 120 players, with purses set at $50,000 (CAD) per event.
Exempt players for the Canada Life Series will include any Canadian professional who has held status on any of the PGA TOUR’s International Tours since 2018 (Mackenzie Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China). In addition, six sponsor exemptions will be used by Golf Canada for its national team members. Canada Life will receive two sponsor exemptions, while both host facilities will have two sponsor exemptions each. The Tour will fill the fields on a first-come-first-served basis if the exempt categories don’t reach their limits.
“It was certainly disappointing when circumstances surrounding COVID-19 required us to cancel the 2020 Mackenzie Tour season. We were poised for a great summer of golf, but we never lost sight of the purpose for this Tour, which is to give players opportunities to play tournaments on quality golf courses,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “Canada Life has been an incredible partner in helping us put this together, and with two terrific venues—Bear Mountain and TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley—we will stage four exceptional tournaments.
“To be able to promise the top player from the Canada Life Series additional playing opportunities next season on the Mackenzie Tour only enhances what we’re trying to do, and we’re extremely pleased that will happen,” Pritchard continued.
The player who earns the most points during the four tournaments will be granted conditional Mackenzie Tour status and guaranteed six tournament starts on the 2021 Mackenzie Tour. In addition to those playing opportunities, Golf Canada will also award the top player a spot in the 2021 RBC Canadian Open. The players finishing in the second-through-fifth positions on the final points standings earn conditional 2021 Mackenzie Tour status along with two guaranteed Mackenzie Tour tournament starts. The players finishing between Nos. 6-10 earn a discounted rate into one of the 2021 Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournaments.
“At Canada Life, we believe in helping Canadians achieve their potential. The Canada Life Series is one way we can do that,” said Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, at Canada Life. “We’re very proud to be able to provide Canadian-based players the opportunity to advance their careers.”
The first two Canada Life Series tournaments will be at Bear Mountain’s two courses, both designed by World Golf Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus and his son Steve. The Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Mountain Course is from August 10-12, while The Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Valley Course is August 17-19.
The Mountain Course has twice hosted PGA TOUR-affiliated golf, the PGA TOUR Champions’ 2016 and 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship. Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie won the 2016 event, while American Jerry Kelly prevailed a year later.
“Bear Mountain’s two courses are quite diverse, and Jack and Steve designed them in such a way that we think the tournaments will certainly have different feels to them while at the same time providing excellent tests of golf,” said Rob Larocque, Bear Mountain Director of Golf.
The Series will observe a one-week break, allowing players to travel to the other side of the country for the final two events, outside Toronto. The Canada Life Series at TPC Toronto’s links-style Heathlands course is set for September 2-4. The following week, September 9-11, the players will once again tackle the Heathlands, one of three signature Doug Carrick courses at TPC Toronto, for the Series’ closing event, the Canada Life Series Championship.
TPC Toronto is also no stranger to PGA TOUR-affiliated tournament golf. It has been home to the Mackenzie Tour’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votarantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates since 2018, with the eventual Mackenzie Tour Player of the Year in each season winning both editions of the tournament—Tyler McCumber in 2018 followed by Paul Barjon in 2019. McCumber is currently a PGA TOUR member, and Barjon is playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“The Mackenzie Tour is a familiar and important partner of ours, and we’re thrilled to be hosting two Canada Life Series tournaments here in September. We look forward to seeing some outstanding players compete on the Heathlands and follow in the footsteps of Tyler, Paul and the other champions who have played here over the last two years,” said TPC Toronto President Chris Humeniuk.
“It was gratifying to see TPC Toronto enthusiastically embrace this concept. We planned to play the Heathlands for the 2020 Osprey Valley Open, and we will now use the Canada Life Series events as a chance to showcase this spectacular course to these players,” Pritchard added.