PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. AND SAN FRANCISCO – Following a successful live streaming collaboration during the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs, the PGA TOUR has announced that Twitter will be the exclusive global platform to distribute, on a free basis, more than 70 hours of live competition coverage across 31 tournaments through the remainder of the 2016-17 Season.

Twitter will begin live streaming at the CareerBuilder Challenge on January 19 and conclude at the season-ending TOUR Championship. Coverage typically will include the first 60 to 90 minutes from the early Thursday and Friday morning hours of PGA TOUR LIVE’s Over-The-Top (OTT) subscription window, on a global basis. This coverage will include pre-game analysis, interviews, range coverage, and live competition from the first two holes of each day’s PGA TOUR LIVE Marquee Groups.

The live streams will be available globally to Twitter’s logged-in and logged-out audience on Twitter and connected devices and can be found at www.PGATourLive.twitter.com and on @PGATour. The partnership also includes opportunities for advertisers, including packages with television style mid-roll spots, combined with original clips produced by the PGA TOUR, available for sponsorship and promotion on Twitter.

The partnership also includes an extension of the PGA TOUR and Twitter’s Amplify program, with PGA TOUR increasing its highlight videos and regular content creation across Twitter and Periscope.

“Twitter and the PGA TOUR have been working together on Twitter Amplify for many years now, and the program has been a tremendous success for both companies,” said Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer of the PGA TOUR. “Streaming PGA TOUR LIVE programming to Twitter’s global audience, as well as the millions of users who follow @PGATOUR and hundreds of PGA TOUR player accounts, will provide new and innovative ways for sports fans to engage with our premium OTT offering.”

The PGA TOUR teamed with Twitter to offer portions of PGA TOUR LIVE’s premium window during the opening rounds of the first two events of the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs.

For more information on the RBC Canadian Open, visit www.rbccanadianopen.com. 

Oakville’s Town Council voted unanimously this week to extend an Interim Control By-law (ICB) that restricts the use of the Glen Abbey Golf Club to its existing uses for an additional year. The ICB was originally passed February 1, 2016 and with a one-year extension, will now remain in effect up to and including January 31, 2018.

In the meeting, Mark H. Simeoni, with the town’s planning services department, updated Council on the status of key planning studies underway and explained the town’s reasons for recommending an extension to the ICB.

A first draft of the study is expected in the spring of 2017 with public consultation, revisions if any, and implementation to follow as required. A draft of a cultural heritage assessment is also expected to be completed in the spring of 2017.

Section 38 of Ontario’s Planning Act permits a municipality to pass an ICB for up to a year (with the right to extend the by-law for a further year) in order to complete a review or study of land use policies in the municipality.

ClubLink, the owners of Glen Abbey, has appealed the town’s ICB to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). A appeal hearing is scheduled to begin January 30, 2017 at Oakville’s Town Hall.

Canada’s only PGA TOUR event, the RBC Canadian Open, will take place July 18-24, 2017 at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – It was only fitting that Jared du Toit took the final shot of the RBC Canadian Open.

Although the amateur from Kimberley, B.C., fell out of contention in the final round of the PGA Tour event, he still got the biggest ovation of the day at the awards ceremony on the 18th green at Glen Abbey Golf Club. Fans gave him a rousing standing ovation when he birdied on the final shot of the tournament and again as he was given the Gary Cowan medal as the Canadian Open’s lowest scoring amateur player.

“It was awesome,” said du Toit of the hundreds of fans that followed him around the course on Sunday. “I probably could have shot a hundred out here and they would have been behind my back all day. Honestly unbelievable.”

Du Toit started the day tied for second and was in the top pairing with leader Brandt Snedeker. The 21-year-old Arizona State University player struggled in the front nine with two bogeys and a birdie before rallying with three birdies and a bogey in the back. Du Toit finished the day a 1-under 71 and tied for ninth at 9 under.

Although it was a solid performance for du Toit, he tumbled down the leaderboard as the PGA Tour’s professionals finally found their rhythm on a hard, firm course that had frustrated most players all week. Still, du Toit finished the week two shots better than world No. 1 Jason Day.

Jhonattan Vegas shot an 8-under 64, birdieing the final three holes, to rocket up the leaderboard and earn a one-stroke victory. The 29-year-old Venezuelan began the day five strokes behind Snedeker, and four behind du Toit and U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson.

Vegas earned US$1,062,000 and a spot in the PGA Championship next week at Baltusrol in New Jersey. He also received a two-year tour exemption and a spot in the Masters next year.

Du Toit, who only had 15 fans following his trio in Thursday’s opening round, had nothing but praise for the Canadian fans who rallied to support him after 5-under 67 in the first round thrust him to the top of the standings.

“Unbelievable. The atmosphere they were providing was unbelievable,” said du Toit, who added that he lost count of how many high fives he doled out on Sunday, but that there were enough to make his hands sore. “Every tee box, every green, everyone was clapping, hollering, ‘Go Canada!’

“It was truly unbelievable. I’m on cloud nine right now.”

Making his breakout performance even more impressive, Du Toit learned on Saturday night that he had bronchitis after what he initially thought was a cold grew worse over the past seven days. Coach Derek Ingram drove du Toit to nearby Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and the young player only got five hours of sleep ahead of Sunday’s final round.

“We’re going to take care of this bronchitis a little bit, probably hold off the celebration a little more,” said du Toit. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Ingram, who was named the head coach of Canada’s men’s golf team earlier in the month, wasn’t surprised by du Toit’s performance.

“Jared’s been playing great, he’s been trending really well for the past six months,” said Ingram. “He’s been playing great, a bit of a surprise to be in the final group of the Canadian Open as an amateur, but not surprised that he played well at all.”

Adam Hadwin (71) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 49th at 1 under, amateur Garrett Rank (76) of Elmira, Ont., was in a group tied at 77th 8 over and Corey Conners (78) of Listowel, Ont., finished at 12 over in 80th.

Hadwin won the Rivermead Cup as low professional Canadian, but even then he didn’t feel wholly comfortable taking the award from du Toit.

“Little awkward holding this with Jared playing so well this week, y’know, he beat me by eight,” said Hadwin during the awards ceremony. “Not sure I should be holding this, but I’ll accept it.”

A Canadian hasn’t won the national golf championship since 1954, when Pat Fletcher accomplished the feat at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf Club. An amateur hasn’t won the Canadian Open since American Doug Sanders at Montreal’s Beaconsfield Golf Club in 1956.

Can't say enough about @Jareddutoit's performance @RBCCanadianOpen this week – a terrific ambassador for golfhttps://t.co/mJfJFn2mjO

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 24, 2016

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Jhonattan Vegas rallied to win the RBC Canadian Open for his second PGA Tour victory, birdieing the final three holes at Glen Abbey Golf Club for an 8-under 64 and one-stroke victory.

The 29-year-old Venezuelan began the day five strokes behind leader Brandt Snedeker, and four behind U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and Canadian amateur Jared du Toit.

Du Toit finished tied for ninth at 9 under after a final round of 71. He was trying to become the first Canadian to win the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

Du Toit struggled to start today’s round with two early bogeys, but birdied 16 and 18 to finish two shots ahead of world No. 1 Jason Day.

Vegas earned US$1,062,000 and a spot in the PGA Championship next week at Baltusrol in New Jersey.

He also received a two-year tour exemption and a spot in the Masters next year.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Jared du Toit was the first to start celebrating.

The amateur from Kimberley, B.C., had the best view, of course, of his 40-foot putt for eagle on the 18th hole. The shot helped move him to 2-under par on Saturday afternoon and into a tie for second at the RBC Canadian Open.

His caddy Sean Burke – who met du Toit for the first time on Monday – was next, rushing to hug the 21-year-old on the green as the fans started to cheer. The hundreds of supporters who’d endured the relentless heat on the baked hills surrounding the bunkered green at Glen Abbey Golf Course got to their feet and started clapping, most of them with their hands above their heads.

Spain’s Jon Rahm, who was teammates with du Toit at Arizona State University, had stayed to watch his long-time friend finish his round and started jumping up and down and shouting.

Finally, as du Toit started the steep climb up to the official scorer’s trailer, the fans started singing. Straining to be heard over the cheers and applause, a growing section of fans belted O Canada.

“Unbelievable,” said du Toit. “The atmosphere out here has been unbelievable. Walking to each green, each tee box, everybody hooting and hollering ‘Go Canada!’

“It’s been unbelievable.”

A Canadian hasn’t won the national golf championship since 1954, when Pat Fletcher accomplished the feat at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf Club. An amateur hasn’t won the Canadian Open since American Doug Sanders at Montreal’s Beaconsfield Golf Club in 1956.

On Sunday, du Toit will be in position to end both droughts.

When asked if he could win the tournament, du Toit puffed out his cheeks and loudly exhaled.

“I have no idea. I’ve been surprising myself all week,” he said. “If I play good, solid golf, get a good night’s sleep, do all the little things right, yeah, I like my chances.”

He’ll be in the top pairing with American Brandt Snedeker in the fourth and final round. Snedeker had a seven-foot eagle on the same hole about an hour before du Toit overshadowed him.

Snedeker shot a 6-under 66 to move 15 spots up and take sole possession of the lead at the PGA tour event at nine under.

“I think I’m going to be the most hated man in Canada tomorrow, but it’s going to be a lot of fun trying to figure it out,” said Snedeker, who had yet to meet du Toit. “For a 21-year-old kid to be playing golf here is awesome, let alone to do it in your national open.

“I mean, I can’t imagine the nerves this kid has to be playing as great of golf as he has.”

Dustin Johnson (71) started the day as the co-leader with Luke List, but took a step back to sit at eight under with du Toit. American Steve Wheatcroft and Germany’s Alex Cejka were tied for fourth, two shots behind Snedeker.

List struggled in the top pairing with Johnson, carding a 5-over 77 to drop from first down to a tie for 28th.

Johnson drained a birdie putt on the 18th hole to salvage his day somewhat, finishing 1-under 71 on the day.

“I had a rough day on the greens,” said Johnson, ranked No. 2 in the world. “It didn’t feel like I was hitting bad putts. I don’t know, ball was not going in the hole.

“You know, tomorrow, hopefully get some putts to roll in.”

Rahm, who was tied for third with du Toit at the start of Saturday’s third round, shot par to remain at 6-under par and stay in contention in a group tied for sixth.

Adam Hadwin (74) of Abbotsford, B.C., finished in a tie for 44th at even, while amateur Garret Rank (76) of Elmira, Ont., tied for 71st at 4 over and Corey Conners (76) of Listowel, Ont., finished the day 78th, at six over.

Canada’s Jared du Toit sits a shot back headed into the final round of the #RBCCO.https://t.co/Zld9AMM4zR

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 24, 2016

OAKVILLE, Ontario – Brandt Snedeker overpowered the par-5 18th hole Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open to take a one-stroke lead over Canadian amateur Jared du Toit.

Snedeker hit a 378-yard drive and 121-yard approach to set a 7 1/2-foot eagle putt that he holed for a 6-under 66. He had five straight birdies on Nos. 2-6, bogeyed 11 and 15 and birdied the par-5 16th.

Snedeker – a member of Team RBC – won the 2013 tournament at Glen Abbey. The 35-year-old American won the Farmers Insurance Open in February at Torrey Pines for his eighth PGA Tour title.

Du Toit, coming off his junior season at Arizona State, made a 40-foot eagle putt on 18 for a 70. On Friday, he rebounded from a triple bogey and bogey with three straight birdies.

Pat Fletcher, born in England, was the last Canadian winner in 1954 at Point Grey in Vancouver. Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. Albert Murray, a Canadian also born in England, won in 1908 and 1913.

Phil Mickelson was the last amateur winner on the tour in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, tied for the lead with Luke List after each of the first two rounds, was a stroke back after a 71. He birdied the final hole.

Steve Wheatcroft and Alex Cejka were 7 under. Wheatcroft had a 64, and Cejka shot 69.

Jon Rahm, du Toit’s former Arizona State teammate, was in the group at 6 under in his fourth start since turning professional. The Spaniard eagled 16 and birdied 18 in a 72.

Matt Kuchar also was 6 under after a 70.

Top-ranked defending champion Jason Day tied for 28th at 2 under after a 69. He shot a 76 on Friday after opening with a 69.

List also was 2 under after a 77. He had a triple bogey and two double bogeys on the back nine.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Luke List’s biggest challenge might just be tuning out the hoopla that comes with playing alongside Dustin Johnson.

List made a nine-foot putt on the 18th hole to draw even with Johnson on Friday evening to remain co-leaders after two rounds at the Canadian Open. Both finished 1-under 71 to stay tied atop the leaderboard at 7 under.

That means the two will be paired for Saturday’s third round and the sophomore PGA Tour player will have to get used to the hundreds of fans that follow the superstar Johnson from hole to hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

“If I can just forget about what everybody else is doing and stay in my mind set,” said List on what it will take to stay on top of the leaderboard. “I’ve had a really good frame of mind the last couple days.

“Just my attitude right now, if I can keep that up, I’ll be happy with the way I finish.”

Johnson got off to a slow start in the morning group, including a double bogey on his third hole, before recovering with four birdies in his back nine to take a one-shot lead over List, his co-leader from Thursday’s first round.

“I really don’t know what happened the first four holes. Just got off to a bad start. Hit it in a couple awkward spots. Made some bad bogeys,” said Johnson as List began his afternoon round. “But I fought back and turned it around and felt like I played really nicely from 14 on in.”

List cruised through the front nine, opening with a birdie on the first hole then holding par all the way to the 11th, which he bogeyed. Back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14 seemed to take List out of the running, but he recovered with birdies on 16 and 18.

“Two more days of this golf course, it’s a challenge out there,” said List of the fairways and greens that have been baked dry, making them firm and fast. “Those valley holes, 11 through 13, 14, really play tough.”

“Looking forward to taking aim at those tomorrow.”

Although they’ve had identical results in the first and second rounds of the Canadian Open, Johnson and List’s experiences at Glen Abbey have been very different.

Johnson, as No. 2 in the world rankings, has fans cheering him every step of the way, following him around the course despite the heat advisory affecting all of southern Ontario. Even as he spoke with media fans shouted “Let’s go D.J!” at Johnson.

On the other hand, List is 309th in the world and spent the first and second rounds playing relatively undisturbed.

“(Johnson’s) one of the hottest players in the game, so playing with him or around him is always good right now,” said List.

Amateur Jared du Toit (71) of Kimberley, B.C., was briefly tied for first, but a triple bogey sank him into an eventual tie for third at 6 under, joining Spain’s Jon Rahm and American Kelly Kraft.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was much sharper on Friday, improving on his first-round par performance with a 2-under 70 to tie for 21st.

Amateur Garrett Rank (75) of Elmira, Ont., was tied for 36th at par, while Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., just made the cut at 2-over par.

Conners was 3-over 75 on Thursday and thought he’d played his way out of the third round Friday after he double bogeyed on No. 9, his final hole of the day. He finished with a 1-under 71 on Friday, putting him at 2-over par on the tournament, which, at the time, was a shot over the cutline.

Adam Cornelson (73) of Langley, B.C., was at 4-over par. Nick Taylor (74) of Abbotsford, B.C., Graham De Laet (72) of Weyburn, Sask., and David Hearn (75) of Brantford, Ont., all tied at 5 over.

“It’s obviously disappointing but it’s another golf tournament, and I’m able to kind of get over it a little bit easier now than I used to be probably,” said DeLaet, who will represent Canada in men’s golf at the Rio Olympics along with Hearn. “Obviously I wanted to play well here this week, but there’s more tournaments to play.”

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch (74) was 7 over, Branson Ferrier (74) of Barrie, Ont., wrapped up at 8 over, Mike Weir (75) of Brights Grove, Ont., was 9 over, amateur Blair Hamilton (79) of Burlington, Ont., was 12 over, amateur Hugo Bernard (76) of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., was 13 over and Montreal’s Dave Levesque (75) finished at 16 over.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Jared du Toit didn’t know what to do with himself after signing his scorecard.

The amateur golfer from Kimberley, B.C., eagled the par-4 17th hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club then birdied 18 to tie for third in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. Americans Chesson Hadley and Kelly Kraft were also at 5-under 67, a shot behind co-leaders Luke List and Dustin Johnson.

Du Toit came down the steps of the scorekeepers trailer to calls from fans asking for his signature. Then a media relations person from the PGA Tour directed him to a waiting circle of reporters with microphones and cameras, all to the surprise of the Arizona State University player.

“It’s the first time I’ve had to sign autographs after a round, so that was awesome,” said a smiling du Toit. “It’s definitely in the top-three rounds I’ve played in my career, feeling wise.”

Du Toit, who was born in Calgary but moved to British Columbia as a child, hadn’t played at Glen Abbey before practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. He relied on the advice of his caddie, a local golf teacher. The 21-year-old member of Golf Canada’s amateur team is just going to keep things simple heading into Friday’s second round.

“I don’t tee off until 2:30 tomorrow, so I shouldn’t have no sleep as an excuse,” said du Toit. “Just come out here, keep doing what I’m doing.”

Amateur Garret Rank (69) of Elmira, Ont., who is a professional hockey referee, was the second lowest Canadian behind du Toit. Rank, who was paired with du Toit, made an eagle putt from the rough edge of the green on 18 to finish at 3 under.

“I was a little uptight at the beginning, but Jared was playing well and just kind of told myself, ‘hey, played a lot of golf with him and there’s birdies to be made,”’ said Rank. “Just stayed really patient and closed strong and was 4-under on the last four.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 72 to finish the first round at par, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 2-over 74. Adam Cornelson of Langley, B.C., Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford are tied at 3 over.

Olympian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., amateur Blair Hamilton of Burlington, Ont., and Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch all tied at 5-over 77, and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Branson Ferrier of Barrie, Ont., were grouped together at 6-over 78. Amateur Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., was 9-over 81 and Montreal’s Dave Levesque was 13-over 85.

#TeamCanada amateur Jared du Toit sits T3 at the @RBCCanadianOpen after opening with a 5-under 67. #RBCCOhttps://t.co/TTVLwvrEEj

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 22, 2016

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Dustin Johnson and Luke List may be co-leaders, but it’s the weather that’s dominating play at the RBC Canadian Open.

Johnson made an eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club to tie clubhouse leader List at 6-under 66 on Thursday. Johnson seemed well back after a double bogey on 14, but then recovered with a birdie on 16 to set up the climactic shot.

Most players struggled with the fast greens and fairways, making it tricky to play off the browned rough and not roll through the harder grass as a drought continues to dry out southern Ontario. High winds had flags ripping wildly and played havoc with high shots, making it difficult to play an accurate long game.

“It’s firm and fast,” said world No. 2 Johnson moments after stepping off the course. “It’s definitely tough to get the ball close to the hole. You’ve really got to land the ball on your numbers.

“With it being as windy as it was today, it was tough to do that.”

List had a birdie on No. 10, his first hole of the round, then followed it up with a birdie on Nos. 13, 15, 16 and 18 to take an early lead. He stayed steady through the front nine to finish ahead on a hot, sunny day. He pointed to his early start time _ 7:20 am _ as helping with his quick start.

“I was very fortunate that the first five holes there wasn’t much wind at all and then it kind of picked up,” said List, who was allowed him to miss the worst of the unforgiving weather.

Strong winds especially affected play on the back nine of Glen Abbey, which are mainly in a valley. High shots would get grabbed by the wind when the ball lofted above the valley’s walls, creating strange shots.

The seventh hole also frustrated several players, with a water hazard and several bunkers surrounding the green, forcing golfers to loft the ball above a tree line and then get victimized by the wind.

“If you miss the fairway, you’re pretty much done, there’s no chance of keeping it on the green,” said world No. 1 Jason Day, the reigning Canadian Open champion. “My mentality is just trying to get it up there as far as I can. As long I can just keep driving it straight, try to get up there somewhere around the green, if I miss it then I’ve got a wedge in my hand and hopefully I can hit it high and get it stuck on the green.”

Amateur Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., eagled the par-4 17th hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club, then birdied 18 to enter the clubhouse in a tie for third at 5-under 67. Americans Chesson Hadley and Kelly Kraft were also at 5-under. Day was 3-under 69.

Du Toit compared playing at Glen Abbey on Thursday to playing in the desert.

“Going to Arizona State, I’ve played in a lot of dry conditions, so I think the conditions today were kind of in my favour,” said the 21-year old NCAA player, who added that “some of the drives are just running out outrageously.”

Amateur Garret Rank (69) of Elmira, Ont., who is a professional hockey referee, was the second lowest Canadian behind du Toit. Rank made an eagle putt from the rough edge of the green on 18 to finish at 3 under.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 72 to finish the first round at par, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 2-over 74. Adam Cornelson of Langley, B.C., Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford are tied at 3 over.

Olympian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., amateur Blair Hamilton of Burlington, Ont., and Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch all tied at 5-over 77, and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Branson Ferrier of Barrie, Ont., were grouped together at 6-over 78. Amateur Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., was 9-over 81 and Montreal’s Dave Levesque was 13-over 85.

Today was the first time @Jareddutoit has had to sign autographs after a round. He’s T2 & sits as the top Canadian.https://t.co/WxdbjRCDJM

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 21, 2016

Andrew Gyba knew that taking the superintendent’s position at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., came with a series of unique challenges. First of all, Glen Abbey, a Jack Nicklaus design that opened 40 years ago, was partly built on a flat plain, with the most interesting holes plunging into a river valley where air circulation and light have been a challenge since the course’s inception. But more than that, Gyba had no experience preparing a golf course for a PGA Tour event, and, as practically anyone who follows golf in this country knows, Glen Abbey was created for the RBC Canadian Open, and has hosted the tournament regularly throughout its history.

“You hear the horror stories about how difficult the tour will be to deal with,” Gyba says. “And they knew I was coming in with zero experience at a PGA Tour event. But they offered a lot of help. They just want to put the best product out there for the week the tournament is here.”

This year Gyba faces interesting challenges. A spring with little rain has turned into a summer with nearly no precipitation. And water use is always a delicate balancing act for the Canadian Open.

“There was a time, I think, when the science of using water wasn’t really understood,” Gyba says. “What we’ve learned is that water can kill a course if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

How to create a playing surface—greens and fairways—that measure up to the consistency of what the PGA Tour’s best expect, while also allowing the course to be played in corporate events leading up to the tournament is a challenge. And how and when water is used is a key.

Bill Paul has seen it all when it comes to the Canadian Open. The long-time tournament director, who now works trying to locate or create venues for future tournaments, has attended or been part of every Canadian Open held at Glen Abbey since its first in 1977. Paul says the course’s conditions have always been a challenge, but they’ve improved as the years have passed.

“I think in the early days the guys were experts in their time,” says Paul. “But now the superintendents are better educated. The tour guys are better. And there’s more of a science to maintaining the course. They’ve certainly taken a really thoughtful approach to how water is used.”

Water has long been an issue for Glen Abbey, which is set in a residential community, with Sixteen-Mile Creek running through the valley holes. The course has a mix of holes that have poa greens, and others where newer bentgrass was used following the ice damage of 2014. It makes for an interesting mix and raises the question of how Gyba gets consistency out of two different types of grasses.

“How do you get a new bentgrass green to react the same as a 40-year old poa green?” he asks. “Speed comes from firmness. So everything is done by hand. We rarely water the greens—especially the low spots—by hand so we don’t overwater them.”

He says proper water management throughout the course is key.

“There’s a time when the science wasn’t understood—it was water all the time,” he says. “But what we’ve learned is that water can harm a course and we’ve got more appreciation for consistency. If you’re just turning the sprinkler heads on mindlessly, no golf course will hold it and the water distribution of your sprinklers will make the low points wet. You’re watering now for your wettest spot on a hole. You want just enough so a player won’t stand on it and find it squishy.”

Instead Gyba wants to water for the driest parts of the course. That means instead of watering at night, he irrigates at a minimum in the dark hours, with significant hand watering during the day. Then he uses he carefully monitors any watering in the morning. “I light up only the areas that are dry and get them to match up,” he says.

Paul says there were opportunities for the RCGA, which owned Glen Abbey until 1998, to redo the course’s greens with a newer bentgrass. For some reason they never pulled the trigger, and now Gyba deals with the mix of turf. Adding to the challenge is the microclimate created in the river valley where holes 11 through 15 run. Air circulation has long been a problem in the area, though Gyba says he manages the troublesome greens—namely the par 4 11^th and par 3 12^th—by using the alternate greens built for both holes.

One of the key issues facing Gyba is how he balances the demands on the course for the tournament with that of the regular members and corporate outings that dominate Glen Abbey for most of the year. How do you grow rough without turning a company outing into a six-hour blood bath where no one is happy? How do you keep the greens in the shape you need and be able to push them to speeds of more than 12 on the stimpmeter?

Gyba has most of this down. To deal with pitch marks on greens he keeps the putting surfaces relatively firm. He grows the rough to three inches for Monday of tournament week and allows it to naturally lengthen from that point.

“We are dialing the moisture percentages down and there’s a point where the green plays firm and fast, still has an adequate amount of water for the plant, and are resistant to ball marks,” he explains.

On the actual tournament week Gyba has a staff of 80, including other ClubLink employees and additional superintendents, to assist with his efforts. The PGA Tour sends Harry Schuemann, one of its agronomists for competitions, to the Abbey regularly. While many pundits and outside observers feel the PGA Tour has mishandled club courses by forcing them to grow the rough too high—only to cut it down tournament week, Gyba hasn’t any issue. He says the tour spent more time with him when he was new to the Abbey, but that they’ve helped him put forward the best course available.

“They want the best possible product they can put out there, and they are incredibly understanding,” he says. “They look at the means you have, and say what they’d like. But then they work within those parameters.”

What does Gyba want? He wants the course to be a little brown, with the fairways turning colour as the week goes on.

“You want to have some aesthetic appeal,” he says. “But in a perfect world on Monday you’d be green tee to green. And then we turn the water off and as the day goes, some of the humps and mounds start to turn. That’s not the end of the world. We’re never going to be Chambers Bay at the U.S. Open. I think the players appreciate how we keep the golf course.”

Sure he hears criticism when Bubba Watson or Jason Day smash a drive 350 yards on 17 or 18, but Gyba says that’s balanced out by the firmness of other areas of the course.

“I’ll have people say ‘Are you kidding me, Bubba hit it 380 on 18?’ But that makes no difference,” he explains. “If you make him respect the approach shot and worry about the downhill putt, then you’re making the course work the way it should.”

In the end, Gyba says running the tournament at Glen Abbey remains a thrill, even if tournament week is tiring. Paul, who has seen numerous superintendents work the tournament, says the experience is invaluable, and benefits both the course and the golfers who play it.

“One thing is clear,” Paul says, “when the Canadian Open leaves a tournament, the super will be better at his job and his members will have a better golf course.”

This article appears courtesy of the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association and initially appeared in the organization’s magazine, On Course. www.ogsa.ca.