Team Canada member Justin Matthews tied for fourth; Team British Columbia and Team Ontario tied for first entering the final round of the Inter-Provincial Team Championship
CALGARY, Alta. – Jay (Jihoo) You, Tiger Xie, and Brett Jones are all tied for the lead following the opening round of the 121st Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, on Monday at Mickelson National Golf Club and Heritage Pointe Golf Club in Calgary, Alta.
You of Langley B.C. and Jones of Calgary, Alta. played their first round at Heritage Pointe Golf Club and Xie of Surrey, B.C. played at Mickelson National Golf Club where they all shot rounds of 6-under 66. You finished the first round carding one eagle and five birdies.
“Overall, my irons were pretty good, I was sticking a lot of my shots inside 15 feet and also my putts were rolling dead centre which helped a lot,” said You. “On hole seven I hit my drive off the heel and had around 250 yards in with front wind, I just aimed right at the centre of the green hoping to get it close and I ended up sticking it to three feet for eagle.”
Xie finished his round with two eagles and five birdies. One of his eagles on hole no. 13 was holed out from 140 yards. “I was hitting the ball off the tee really well, I think I hit like 12 fairways today. Then on a couple of the drivable par fours, I was able to take advantage on those,” said Xie. “My putting wasn’t great today, I missed a lot of chances, the greens here are really hard to read.
“Overall, my chipping and off the tee was really good today,” added Xie. “I hope to continue doing what I did today, maybe work on my putting later today, just try and make some more birdies out there.”
Jones finished his round carding nine birdies, putting him in a good position to compete for the Earl Grey Cup. Jones finished in second overall and first in the amateur division at the 2026 Mickelson National Invitation earlier this month.
Team Canada member and lowest ranked World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) player in the field (no. 89), Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont. shot 5-under 67 at Heritage Pointe to sit T4 heading into the second round. Matthews was unable to play a practice round prior to the tournament as he was playing in the PGA Tour Americas Osprey Valley Open in Caledon, Ont.
“My dad helped me a lot, he saw the golf course before. It was a lot of target golf, I had to be patient, hit on the right side of pins and make some putts,” said Matthews.
“I think any time you get to play at the next level it gives you more perspective and helps you appreciate special weeks like this when you come back to amateur golf,” said Matthews on whether experience playing at the next level gives him an advantage coming into this week.
Some of Matthews Team Canada teammates including Ethan Wilson of Edmonton, Alta. finished his round at Heritage Pointe at 3-under 69 carding four birdies. Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont. is sitting at T34 following a 2-under 70, finishing his round with 4 birdies. As well as Jager Pain of Woodbridge, Ont., Eddie Gu of Aurora, Ont., and Spencer Shropshire of Ramara, Ont. who all shot 1-under 71 and sit at T49.
Fifteen players are within two shots of the lead entering the second round on Tuesday. Players will switch courses for their second round with players who played at Heritage Pointe, heading to Mickelson, and players who played at Mickelson will play at Heritage Pointe.
The winner of the Earl Grey Cup will receive direct exemption into several events, including a spot in the field at the 2027 RBC Canadian Open. Additionally, the Canadian Men’s Amateur champion will earn an exemption into the 126th U.S. Amateur, 2027 U.S. Open Final Qualifying, and 2027 U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying. The winner will also be exempt into the 2027 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and will have the chance to defend their title, if eligible.
Team British Columbia and Team Ontario are tied at 5-under in the Inter-Provincial Team Championship. Trailing them are Team Quebec sitting at 4-under and Team Nova Scotia at 2-under. The Inter-Provincial Team Championship will conclude following tomorrow’s second round where the winning province will be presented with the Willingdon Cup.
For the individual and inter-provincial team leaderboards following the opening round of the 121st Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
