Pro-am rounds can be a fun opportunity for serious golf fans to meet their favourite players and for the golfers to get some extra practice in ahead of that week’s tournament.

But for Canadian golfer Selena Costabile and former NFL players Josh Scobee and Marcus Pollard it was a chance to get into the intricacies of the athlete’s mindset. The trio were grouped together for the pro-am on Tuesday ahead of the Epson Tour’s Atlantic Beach Classic and got into a lengthy discussion as they made their way around the course. 

Costabile, who is from Thornhill, Ont., and Scobee bonded over the similarities between being a golfer and a placekicker.

“Because you really just have one shot to perform,” said Costabile. “He was giving me a lot of insights about how you have to have two different mindsets. One is in practice, and then once you get in to a competition or the tournament, on the course or on the football field, whatever that may be, you have to almost switch to more of a performance mindset.

“Trying to just get the ball between the posts is similar to trying to get the ball in the hole and do that as best as you can while not really thinking about the mechanical side of it.”

Scobee was a kicker on the Jacksonville Jaguars for 11 seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 and then spending a couple of months with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 before retiring the next year. He connected on 80.1 per cent of his field-goal attempts and 98.2 per cent of his extra-point attempts for a total of 1,046 points.

He said that he developed his “how and where” approach about six years into his career.

“I told her what I’ve always tried to do — and it’s not always easy — but what I tried to do was to separate practice from the games,” said Scobee. “Practice is where you’re trying to figure out how to do it. You’re working on your technique, and little things that you practice to be ready for the game or a tournament or whatever. 

“Then separating that from where to hit it, or where to kick it whenever I was playing. So I told her it’s the how versus the where, how to do it versus where to hit it.”

Pollard was a tight end with the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons over 14 seasons, catching 40 touchdowns and over 4,280 receiving yards. Although Pollard didn’t have much to add to Scobee and Costabile’s conversation on mechanics, the kicker said he had a lot to say about mindset in general.

“It’s fun to get in front of other athletes that play different sports and go around the table and talk about what we all thought about or how we prepared,” said Scobee, “It all basically comes back to the same things and that’s the beauty of sports.”

Costabile said the conversation came at a good time for her because she has missed two cuts to start the Epson Tour season.

“I’m trying to work on leaving all the work of the off-season in the off-season and trusting that I did the work and now I just have to go out to play,” said Costabile. 

She’ll be joined by Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., in the field at Atlantic Beach Country Club. 

Thibault, in her first full season on the Epson Tour, made the cut at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on March 8 and again at the IOA Golf Classic on March 15. She said she was happy with those results because her ball striking has not been up to its usual standard.

“To be honest, the focus hasn’t been on cuts because you’re trying to win it so it’s been more annoying in that sense,” said Thibault. “But I’m still excited because to start the season the top 50 women’s golfers in the world were in Asia so the first three Epson Tour events were probably the strongest fields we’re getting the whole year. 

“To be able to really not feel like you have your game and still fight and put those scores up, I’m extremely proud of that.”

The 25-year-old said that her focus this off-season has been to focus on the natural motion of her swing.

“I’m diving more into my creative side and more into my given talent and working with that instead of trying to fit into a box,” said Thibault. “I’ve been more of a sponge, going into tournaments and seeing what tendencies show up with adrenalin instead of being so technical, because I had really tried to fit into a box with a certain swing and it looked better but then I kind of lost a bit of lag there.”

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. She is fifth on the Race to CME Globe season standings, having finished in the top 10 in three of her first four tournaments of the year. Rookie Savannah Grewal (29th) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN — Golf Canada announced on Wednesday afternoon that Mississauga Golf and Country Club would host the CPKC Women’s Open Aug. 18-24, 2025. It’s the first time the national women’s championship has been in the Greater Toronto Area since 2019 when Magna Golf Club hosted it in Aurora, Ont.

PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor is 11th in the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s Valspar Championship. Adam Hadwin, who is also from Abbotsford, B.C., won the Valspar in 2017 and is No. 30 in the points list. Five other Canadians are in the field at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla., including Mackenzie Hughes (71st) of Dundas, Ont., Adam Svensson (72nd) of Surrey, B.C., Ben Silverman (88th) of Thornhill, Ont., Taylor Pendrith (93rd) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Roger Sloan (201st) of Merritt, B.C.

PGA TOUR AMERICAS — The PGA Tour Americas begins its inaugural season on Thursday with the Bupa Championship. The third-tier tour is a combination of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, that ended last year. Twelve Canadians will tee it up at PGA Riviera Maya in Tulum, Mexico.

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is 15th on the Road to Dubai standings, the European-based DP World Tour’s points list. He’s the lone Canadian in the field at this week’s Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas schedule, which features 16 tournaments spanning eight countries, beginning in March and concluding in September with the Fortinet Cup Championship. PGA TOUR Americas, which was introduced in April 2023, is the merger of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada into a singular Tour.

“We are thrilled to announce the schedule for the inaugural PGA TOUR Americas season in 2024,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin, who also oversees PGA TOUR Americas. “We are extremely grateful for our partners in their support of our members, our tournaments and our communities, and I’m confident our 16-event schedule will prepare our members for the next step in their professional golf journey.”

Fortinet is expanding its relationship with the PGA TOUR and sponsoring the season-long points race for PGA TOUR Americas, which will be referred to as the Fortinet Cup Standings. The top 10 players from the final 2024 Fortinet Cup Standings will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2025 season, as well as a share of a $100,000 USD bonus pool, with the No. 1 player earning $25,000 USD. In addition to the $100,000 USD bonus, players will compete for $3.6 Million USD in prize money across the 16 events ($225,000 USD purse for all 16 events).

The 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season opens with the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico, at PGA Riviera Maya from March 21-24, which moves from its previous position at the end of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season to become the season-opening event.

Following a two-week break, the Tour will resume with the 69th Brazil Open at Rio Olympic Golf Course, which will mark the first time since 2017 a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event will be held at the course which famously hosted the 2016 Olympics. Over the subsequent three weeks, PGA TOUR Americas will travel to Santiago del Estero, Argentina, for the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational presentado por Zurich (April 18-21), followed by the Diners Club Peru Open at Lima’s Los Inkas Golf Club (April 25-28), and the KIA Open at Quito Tenis y Golf Club in Quito, Ecuador (May 2-5).

The Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia (May 16-19) will mark the conclusion of the six-event Latin America Swing, at which time the top 60 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access into the 10-event North America Swing. Additionally, the No. 1 and No. 2 finishers from the Fortinet Cup Standings at the conclusion of the Latin America Swing will earn conditional membership for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, though those players can improve their status through the season-long standings.

During the four-week break between the Latin America and North America swings, PGA TOUR Americas will host six Qualifying Tournaments throughout North America, allowing players opportunities to earn access into the final 10 events of the PGA TOUR Americas season. Also taking place during the midseason break, players who finish Nos. 6-25 in the final 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn access to the North America Swing, which will see fields increase from 144 to 156 until the Fortinet Cup Championship.

The North America Swing, which features nine events in Canada and one in the United States, opens June 20-23 with The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, at the Uplands Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia, immediately followed by a trip east to Strathcona County, near Edmonton, Alberta, for the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golf Course.

Following a one-week break in play, PGA TOUR Americas resumes with the inaugural playing of the Explore NB Open, which will be played at Mactaquac Golf Course in New Brunswick from July 11-14. This marks the first time PGA TOUR-sanctioned golf will be contested in the province of New Brunswick. The Tour then heads to the province of Quebec, for the Quebec Open at Golf Chateau-Bromont (July 18-21), followed by back-to-back weeks in Ontario with the Commissionaires Ottawa Open at Eagle Creek Golf Club and the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club.

The season resumes after an off week with the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open presented by Brandt (Aug. 15-18) in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, immediately followed by the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open at the Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg (Aug. 22-25).

The season’s penultimate event – the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens – will be contested in Brainerd, Minnesota from Aug. 29-Sept. 1. At the conclusion of the CRMC Championship, the top 120 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access to the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship at TPC Toronto’s newly renovated North course, where the top 10 players on the final Fortinet Cup Standings will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership.

2024 PGA TOUR Americas Schedule

Calgary, Alta. – Étienne Papineau finishes his PGA Tour Canada season with a Korn Ferry status card for the first time in his career. He finished 4^th in the Fortinet Cup rankings.

Papineau has been a Team Canada member for six years. Native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu just outside of Montreal and alumni of West Virginia University.

He started off his season strong when he won the season opener the Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist. He finished runner-up at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open. He also finished 4 times in the top 5.

Étienne will receive conditional status on the Korn Ferry tour. The top five finishers are also exempt into the final stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying School. Since he is the top Canadian finisher in the standings he will receive an exemption into the 2024 RBC Canadian Open.

“If I just keep doing what I’m doing … There are some little details that I need to work on and get better at, but golf game-wise, I think I’m trending in the right direction. So just adjust those little details and the stuff that I would like to work on, and I think we’ll be there one day.” Said Papineau when asked about his future on the PGA Tour.

Etienne Papineau is in the home stretch.

There are two events left on the PGA Tour Canada schedule and Papineau sits third in the Fortinet Cup standings, the top-ranked Canadian on the third-tier tour.

If he can hold on to his spot, he’ll be promoted to the Korn Ferry Tour. If Papineau can move up to the top spot, he’ll also earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open.

“It’s part of my goals to move up,” Papineau said Wednesday from Brainerd, Minn. “Obviously, I want to get to the PGA Tour, but if I can get on the Korn Ferry Tour next year, that will be a definitely a big step up.

“I’ve been working for that for a long time. It would definitely mean a lot and it would be definitely a big step in my career.”

Papineau, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is one of several Canadians in the field for this week’s CRMC Championship at Craguns Legacy Course in Minnesota.

Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald is fourth on the PGA Tour Canada’s standings and also in a strong position to advance his career.

The tour’s season wraps up next week at the Fortinet Cup Championship on the Talons course at Calgary’s Country Hills Golf Club.

Papineau has earned 944 points this season, thanks to two top-10 finishes including a win at the Royal Beach Victoria Open on June 18.

He’s 266 points behind American Sam Choi, the overall points leader on the PGA Tour Canada.

“I think just being really consistent over the summer has been great for me,” said Papineau. “I think that’s why I’ve had good performances.

“We’re just trying to keep it going.”

Surprisingly, Papineau also credits a couple of off-season injuries for his success. He took several months off to heal his foot and his knee before returning to play in March.

He said that the forced rest was helpful for him with the grind of a professional golf season.

“I think that helped me reset back to zero and start all over again,” said Papineau, who works with Golf Canada’s men’s coach Derek Ingram and University of Montreal coach Pierre Dugas. “When I got back to it, we created a good game plan with my coaches, and I’ve been following it.”

GRANT THORNTON INVITAITONAL – Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners will be partners at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a unique event that will have players from the LPGA and PGA Tours compete together in a co-sanctioned tournament for equal prize money of US$4 million. They both represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Grant Thornton Invitational is Dec. 4-10 in Naples, Fla.

LPGA TOUR – Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., and Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., are in the field at this week’s Portland Classic. Henderson tied for 13th at the CPKC Women’s Open in Vancouver on Sunday to move her up to eighth in the LPGA Tour’s rankings. Szeryk missed the cut in Vancouver, dropping to 91st in the standings.

Papineau’s dominant Sunday leads to first PGA TOUR Canada win

VICTORIA, British Columbia—Canadian Étienne Papineau emerged from the pack to shoot a final-round 6-under 64 on Sunday to decisively win the Royal Beach Victoria Open and claim his first career PGA TOUR Canada victory.

Papineau, one of four tied for the lead after 54 holes, finished at 18-under 262 on the Uplands Golf Club. The victory vaulted Papineau into the early lead of the season-long Fortinet Cup standings.

Papineau won by five strokes over George Kneiser and Chris Korte, who finished tied for second, at 13-under 267, and by six shots over Jared du Toit, Chris Francoeur, Sam Choi and Jason Hong.

“It’s been a crazy week, an amazing week for me,” Papineau said. “I’m extremely excited, extremely pumped, and it’s a good start of the season for sure.”

Papineau, a native of Mercier, Quebec, was the favourite of the gallery all day. He finished with six birdies and no bogeys and matched his first-round 64. He became the first Quebec-born winner on PGA TOUR Canada since 2013.

Papineau took a two-shot lead when he made an eight-foot birdie on the 403-yard par-4 fifth hole to go to 12-under. A near chip-in on the seventh led to another birdie and was followed by birdies at No. 8 and No. 9. That flurry allowed him to make the turn in 30 and expand his lead to four shots. No one got closer than two shots the rest of the afternoon.

“I stuck to my gameplan all week,” Papineau said. “I shot 5-under on the front (nine), and it was a really good start. I had some really good tee shots, really good approach shots. As I said [Saturday], the putter was a little cold, but I said hopefully they will fall tomorrow and that’s what happened on the front nine.”

Papineau instructed his caddie to not let him look at the leaderboard all day, and he didn’t take a peek until the 16th hole. By that time the tournament was his to lose.

“You never know what can happen, but once I got up and down for par on 17, I knew I had a three- or four-shot lead,” Papineau said. “I just said hit it the fairway on 18—or just hit it anywhere on 18—and you should be fine. I looked at the leaderboard again before I putted and saw I was leading by four or five at that point. So, it kind of sunk in and a little bit of tears, I’m not going to lie, after I made my last putt.”

The victory marks a complete comeback from off-season surgery in December. Papineau tried to play again in March but struggled to regain his form. He took a few more weeks off to let his body completely heal and has played well since.

“Now I’m back,” Papineau said. “It’s been an amazing journey so far and hopefully it’s just the start of it.”

Kneiser, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, had a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, but never got any traction Sunday. He had three bogeys and shot 69.

Korte, of Littleton, Colorado, matched Papineau’s 64 and climbed 12 spots in the standings. An eagle on the 12th hole sparked a second-nine 30.

“The eagle on 12 is really where the back nine got kick-started,” Korte said.

Du Toit, from Calgary, got the Canadian faithful roaring with an early 65. He was 4-under through seven holes when a bogey slowed his progress. He was still able to climb 10 spots and earn his second career top-five PGA TOUR Canada finish.

“I had a great start, which is exactly what you kind of want when you’re four or five back starting the day,” du Toit said. “I cooled off a little bit, and there are a couple holes that I would have like to have been in position to birdie, but I stuck it out and played a real solid round of golf. I’m quite happy with today for sure.”

Francoeur, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, finished strong with four birdies on his final seven holes to shoot 66.

Hong got to within two shots after a two-putt birdie on No. 12, but his charge ended with bogeys on three of the final six holes. The Australian closed with an even-par 70.

Choi, in his professional debut after finishing at Pepperdine University, finished with a disappointing double bogey to shoot 69.

Tied for eighth at 11-under 269 were Cole Bradley of Louisville, Kentucky, and Chase Sienkiewicz of Sacramento, California, who both shot 68, and Hayden Shieh of Fremont, California, who shot 71. Shieh was one of the four leaders entering the final round.

Fortinet Cup Standings

(Through Royal Beach Victoria Open)

Eleven Canadians completed 72 holes, with Étienne Papineau winning the tournament and Jared du Toit earning a top-10 performance (tied for fourth).

COURTENAY, British Columbia—It was a popular win as Jimmy Jones held it together just enough to walk away with medalist honors at Crown Isle Resort, shooting an even-par round of 72 Friday to capture the top spot at the sixth and final 2023 PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

Jones—who lists Lake Cowichan, British Columbia, as home and is the son of the late LPGA Canadian great Dawn Coe-Jones—had a strong following all week, just two hours from his mom’s hometown.

It was just as an attractive runner-up finish for Max Sear, who hails from the provincial capital of Victoria, where the opening tournament—the Royal Beach Victoria Open—begins play this coming week as PGA TOUR Canada’s ninth and final season gets underway.

Sear, a member of Royal Colwood in Victoria, had family and friends on hand to witness his play as he tied for second with U.S. player Carr Vernon, a stroke behind Jones’ leading pace.

Jones and Sear started the day in the top two spots, respectively—with Jones holding a two-stroke lead—and managed to hang on for the gallery that followed. The winner had rounds of 72-63-68-72, finishing at 13-under, while Sear suffered a double bogey on his final hole for a 1-under 71 to fall one shot short of forcing a playoff.

Vernon birdied his last two holes to catch Sear with his round of 69.

With the win, Jones earns full playing privileges for the year, eligible for every open tournament. It was an emotion triumph, he admitted.

“The nerves were real. Exciting nerves, too. This win is going to bring me to tears,” he said, his eyes starting to mist up. “This one is for Mom. She was up there, cheering me on, and it means a lot to me, especially with all the support here.

“It feels, like we said [Thursday], like a home game. You want to perform for everybody in the crowd. But there were a lot of emotions and thoughts out there. Everyone knows golf, though, you have to keep it simple, and that was the goal.”

It was a cautious start as Jones had to hit a provisional drive on the first tee, but he luckily found the errant first tee shot. He had three birdies and three bogeys on the day and gutted things out, which the fans appreciated at tournament’s end.

“I signed a bunch of autographs today, more than I ever have, which is pretty cool and makes you feel good. It’s so special to have my boy Mark (Valliere, his caddie) with me and my godmother, Kelly, was here watching,” said Jones.

“It was Family Part Two up here, and it’s something I will always wear on my sleeve, and I hope to come back here as many times as I can,” said the Tampa-born Jones, who won with the tattoo DCJ (his mom’s initials) and a Maple Leaf freshly stamped on his right wrist.

Jones was also glad he pulled off the win and had Sear there right behind to make it a Vancouver Island affair.

“We had a fun day. We were chatting a lot, and I’ve known Carr, too, from playing college, so it was a good grouping,” Jones said.

As for Sear, it was a bit of a struggle all day, but his putter saved him just enough, until the final hole when he missed an eight-footer for bogey that would have forced a playoff with Jones.

“I didn’t have my best stuff. I struggled all day, hitting wipey cuts again. I just managed it with a good couple of up and downs before I completely puked on myself on the last hole,” he said. “I slipped on the drive (on 18); chipped it out; hit another bad shot; bad chip and missed the putt and missed by one.

“It is what it is. I’d rather do it now than when there’s a purse on the line, I guess,” Sear said, still glad to have played in the final grouping. “I had never played with Jimmy before, so it was nice to connect. Any time you can feel like it’s a home game and play well makes it that much sweeter.” 

Several others made their charges to earn exemptions through the first half of the season, including Canadian amateur Matthew Anderson, who just turned pro, finishing fourth after his final-round 66 propelled him 11 spots.

Tyson Dinsmore’s 67 left him fifth, while Kyle Vance made the biggest leap, with his 8-under 64 that left him tied for sixth with fellow U.S. player Daniel Wetterich and Canadian Raoul Ménard, who both shot 69s.

A four-player playoff featuring Canadians A.J. Ewart and Jake Lane and U.S. players Hagen Fell and Dylan Healey produced the last two exemption spots for the first half of the season with Lane making a par on the third extra hole to advance and Healey making birdie on the fifth playoff hole to secure the final spot.

Ewart and Fell, along with 18 others, picked up conditional playing status.

Did you know that 2022 PGA TOUR Canada Fortinet Cup winner Wil Bateman earned the right to start in the field at the PGA TOUR’s Canadian Open in Ontario this week and turned in a scintillating, 6-under 66 Friday to move into a tie for 23rd after two rounds at Oakdale Golf and Country Club? The 66 moved him up 84 spots on the leaderboard after an opening 74.

Key Information 

How the Tournament Worked 

PGA TOUR Canada, along with PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, are international PGA TOUR-sanctioned tours that provide access to the Korn Ferry Tour and are part of the pathway to the PGA TOUR. Since its inception in 2013, PGA TOUR Canada has held 34 Qualifying Tournaments across the U.S. and Canada. This event was the final of six 2023 PGA TOUR Canada Qualifiers scheduled in advance of the 2023 season. Each qualifier was a 72-hole, no-cut event, with playoffs, if necessary, for the medalist position and for the 10th and final position available.

One-hundred-seventeen players started the tournament Tuesday, with 114 completing all 72 holes. Below is a breakdown of the various PGA TOUR Canada memberships earned this week.   

• There were 15 amateurs playing at Crown Isle Resort. The top finisher was Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ontario, who was fourth after rounds of 70-69-72-66 – 277. He, of course, turns pro with the result. Here are the three players who earned status this week:

Etienne Brault of Mercier, Quebec, ran into a nice stretch of holes midway through his final round. A birdie on No. 8 was followed by par on 9 before he birdied the 10th hole and eagled the par-4 11th with a rare deuce on the hole that plays 401 yards. It was the third eagle on the hole for the week and second on the day as Hagen Fell also turned the trick Friday after Ty Campbell completed the feat in the second round.

Callum McNeill, who shot a course record 60 on day two and was in position for a finish that would lead to exempt status, struggled to a 75 and fell 11 places into a tie for 14th. The Scotsman started the day four shots back of winner Jimmy Jones. McNeill will have conditional status this season. 

Crown Isle had been good to Jimmy Jones and Max Sear. Sear finished fourth here last year and Jones tied for seventh.

Matthew Anderson, of Mississauga, Ontario, got on a heater in the much-cooler temperatures Friday, weather that also featured some light rain throughout the day. Anderson finished with seven birdies and a bogey for an impeccable round of 6-under 66. “It feels good. I definitely expected to be sitting in this position, with status, but it’s actually nice to have done it. Having to go out and shoot a good round when I needed it was cool as well,” he said.

Kyle Vance made a big leap of his own via a spectacular 8-under 64 that moved him up 27 places into the tie for sixth and status through the first half of the season. “I had to make it happen. It was definitely there. I had a great practice round. The second round killed me,” Vance said of his 77. “I felt like I was stumbling. The next round I figured it out and shot minus-5 and then minus-8 to finish. We were checking the leaderboard. I knew I needed two more (birdies) and went birdie-birdie to finish. I really needed it.”

It’s amazing what can transpire when your give-a-darn factor drops. Take Aidan Goodfellow for example. The Parksville, British Columbia, resident got over the disappointment of shooting his way out of a top-10 spot Thursday. With the stress gone, he turned in an 8-under 64 in the final round, adding to his 71-78-77 start. The 64 moved him up 27 positions on the leaderboard, but still left him at 55th overall.

Will Stewart from the United States kept a nice, clean scoresheet on his final round, with three birdies on each side and no bogeys to be seen for a 7-under 65. It was a nice bounce-back from his 77 Thursday. The 65 pushed him up 32 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 40th, but he ultimately fell short of getting his card.

Quotable

“It was a rough winter. I needed surgery on my hip and couldn’t play for about three months, but the people behind me stuck with me and this is for them. A little fight back to show what I have in me.” – Kyle Vance

“A lot less than you think. It was a lot of trust in my game that was the main reasoning. That putter got going. I gave myself some chances and took advantage of them.” – Noah Steele speaking about the difference in his play the last two days (rounds of 70 and 65) following opening scores of 74-75. His tie for 24th left him with conditional status.

“I’m thrilled. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get me to this stage.” – Noah Steele

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada will merge into a singular Tour to form PGA TOUR Americas, which will begin play in February 2024, the PGA TOUR has announced.

PGA TOUR Americas will consist of 16 events contested across Latin America, Canada and the United States from February through September. The top 10 finishers on the season-long points list will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the following season.

“As we build on the rich golf history across Latin America and Canada, we are thrilled about PGA TOUR Americas and the role this tour will play in preparing players for the next step in their professional golf journey,” said Alex Baldwin, who oversees PGA TOUR Americas, the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. “PGA TOUR Americas will be an extremely competitive tour aimed at identifying, developing and transitioning top-performing players to the next level as they ascend through the ranks and strive to reach the highest level of professional golf, the PGA TOUR.”

The PGA TOUR Americas season will begin in February with the Latin America Swing, which will conclude in May. Eligibility for the Latin America Swing will include the top 60 finishers from the final 2022-2023 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Points List and the top 60 finishers from the final 2023 PGA TOUR Canada Points List. PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will also provide access to the Latin America Swing of PGA TOUR Americas for the winners of a First Stage site, as well as additional finishers beyond the 40th position and ties from Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Additional access to the Latin America Swing will include the Latinoamérica Dev Series and the highest finisher on the 2023 APGA season-long points list who is a member of the APGA Player Development program.

The top 60 players from the Latin America Swing will continue on to compete in the North America Swing. Additionally, PGA TOUR Americas will host a mid-season Q-School, as well as introduce graduates from PGA TOUR University (finishers 6-20). Full eligibility for PGA TOUR Americas will be announced later this year and will feature similar categories to PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada, including open qualifiers, sponsor exemptions and eligible Korn Ferry Tour members.

As PGA TOUR Americas heads to the North America Swing, members will compete in Canada and the United States from June through September in an effort to finish in the top 10 on the season-long points list and earn Korn Ferry Tour membership – exempt through the third reshuffle – for the following season.

In addition to Korn Ferry Tour cards being awarded to the top 10 finishers on the PGA TOUR Americas Points List, there are also numerous performance benefits available on PGA TOUR Americas. Five conditional Korn Ferry Tour cards are available to the top two finishers in the Latin America Swing and the top three performers from the North America Swing, in the event those individuals do not finish in the top 10 on the final PGA TOUR Americas Points List.

Additionally, performance on the PGA TOUR Americas Points List will grant access into 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. The top 10 finishers on the PGA TOUR Americas Points List, the top two finishers in the Latin America Swing and the top three finishers in the North America Swing will earn exemptions to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

Finishers 11–25 on the PGA TOUR Americas Points List, finishers 3–10 from the Latin America Swing and finishers 4–10 from the North America Swing will earn exemptions to Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

All remaining PGA TOUR Americas members will earn exemptions to First Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

The 2024 PGA TOUR Americas schedule will be announced in September. Finalized details regarding eligibility – including the priority ranking – as well as purses and points distribution, will be announced closer to the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season beginning in February 2024.

TORONTO — PGA TOUR Canada announced its 2023 schedule, featuring a calendar of 10 tournaments that begins in June and concludes in September. After a successful inaugural Fortinet Cup season, this marks the second year of the competition that rewards top points-earners during the PGA TOUR Canada season. 

“We couldn’t have been more pleased with our 2022 season. Introducing the Fortinet Cup was so fulfilling for everybody associated with PGA TOUR Canada, and it was extremely gratifying to again team with long-time partners and venues while also welcoming new communities, golf courses and partners. It’s with a significant amount of pride that we present this new schedule,” said PGA TOUR Canada Executive Director Scott Pritchard. “We’ve put together a strong group of tournaments in conjunction with our partners, sponsors and host organizations, and while our season is still a few months away, we can’t wait to get underway.” 

“Fortinet is excited to once again welcome our community of customers and partners to a season-long Fortinet Cup in Canada. Our first year sponsoring PGA TOUR Canada was an unqualified success, with more than 600 technology leaders sharing insights and a first-class golf experience,” said Marc Asturias, Vice President of Marketing and Government Vertical at Fortinet Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. “We’re a company with a long track record of key investments in Canada over the last 20 years as its top cybersecurity platform vendor. Making the investments needed across Canada has been critical—to showcase the talents of these early-in-their-careers professional golfers, positively impact communities and local nonprofits across the Tour and bring value to our business customers and partners.”

Following six Qualifying Tournaments that lead up to the regular season, PGA TOUR Canada will begin its season June 12-18, at the Royal Beach Victoria Open at Uplands Golf Club in British Columbia’s capital city. 

The next week, June 19-25, the Tour travels to Waskesiu, Saskatchewan, for the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open. The third tournament in three weeks is the ATB Classic in Edmonton, moving to a course that is a PGA TOUR Canada venue for the first time—Northern Bear Golf Club.

The Tour will have a one-week break before players visit Quebec, for the Quebec Open at Golf Château Bromont on July 10-16. This is Golf Château Bromont’s inaugural year hosting a PGA TOUR Canada tournament. The Commissionaires Ottawa Open at Eagle Creek Golf Club in the capital city’s suburb of Dunrobin is the next week, July 17-23. 

The third of four tournaments in a month-long stretch of golf is the venerable Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos CBM Aggregates at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ontario, on July 24-30. This will be the fourth playing of the tournament at the only TPC facility in Canada. The four-tournament stretch concludes with a return to Windsor, Ontario, for the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club July 31-August 6. 

As the end of the season approaches, the Tour will observe a scheduled two-week break, the season concluding with three consecutive tournaments. Players will travel to Winnipeg, Minnesota in the U.S. and then end in Calgary. 

“We feel there is a good pacing to the tournaments, our breaks coming at strategic times, allowing the players to regroup and recharge at critical points during the season,” Pritchard added. 

The CentrePort Canada Railpark Manitoba Open, the 2022 PGA TOUR Canada Tournament of the Year, is again set for Southwood Golf and Country Club on August 21-27. After making history in 2022 as the first tournament outside Canada to host an official event, the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens will again be at Cragun’s Conference and Golf Resort in Brainerd, Minnesota. 

The following week, the Tour’s ninth season ends, with the limited-field Fortinet Cup Championship, moving to a new home at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary for its final event. The top-60 players on the Fortinet Cup standings following the CRMC Championship will be eligible to compete. Country Hills has previously hosted PGA TOUR Canada tournaments four times. In addition, the winner of the Fortinet Cup Championship will earn a berth in the PGA TOUR’s Fortinet Championship played in California later this year. 

“All nine of our full-field tournaments are crucial as they lead to the Fortinet Cup Championship. Returning to a familiar spot—Country Hills Golf Club—is an exciting turn of events for the conclusion of our year as we crown a Player of the Year and send off five players to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2024 season,” Pritchard continued. “PGA TOUR Canada has grown immensely since it began in 2013, and I am constantly amazed and impressed at the level of play and abilities of our players. The fact they are going on to success on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR should come as a surprise to no one.”

2023 PGA TOUR Canada Schedule

PGA TOUR Canada announced it will hold six Qualifying Tournaments to determine Tour membership for the 2023 season – five in the U.S., beginning in late-February and concluding with a final qualifier in Canada a week before the Tour’s regular season begins.

PGA TOUR Canada completed its season in September, crowning the Fortinet Cup Points List leader – Edmonton’s Wil Bateman – as Player of the Year. Bateman became the inaugural winner of the Fortinet Cup after winning twice in 2022 and is now a fully exempt member of the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2023 season. Players hoping to follow in Bateman’s footsteps can begin by earning PGA TOUR Canada membership, with playing spots available at the six Qualifying Tournaments. 

“We are coming off a remarkably successful season, and we will continue to build on that momentum in 2023. The first steps are at our Qualifying Tournaments, where players can get on the path that will take them to their ultimate destination, which is the PGA TOUR,” said PGA TOUR Canada Executive Director Scott Pritchard. “Through the years, we’ve been fortunate that so many players are interested in pursuing their professional dreams by playing on PGA TOUR Canada. We anticipate there will be strong demand by players to come to our Tour, as players know about the quality of courses, the cities we visit and the caliber of competition PGA TOUR Canada offers.”

The qualifiers begin with two tournaments in Florida (Weston and Howey-in-the-Hills) on consecutive weeks in late-February, early March. The action starts February 21-24 at The Club at Weston Hills’ Tour Course, as it hosts a Qualifying Tournament for a second consecutive year. The Howey-in-the-Hills tournament is at historic Mission Inn Resort and Club, a long-time host of both PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica tournaments. It has hosted six previous PGA TOUR Canada qualifiers. The following week, the RTJ Golf Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Alabama, is the site for a third consecutive year.

A month later, the qualifiers move west, with events at Wigwam Golf Club in the Phoenix suburb of Litchfield Park, Arizona (April 4-7) and at Soboba Springs Golf Course in San Jacinto, California (April 11-14).

Notable PGA TOUR members to emerge from these sites in recent years include Cameron Young (medalist at Dothan in 2020), Will Zalatoris (runner-up at Wigwam Golf Club in 2019), Alex Smalley (T3 at Howey-in-the-Hills in 2020), Hayden Buckley (T4 at Wigwam Golf Club in 2019), Carson Young (T7 at Howey-in-the-Hills in 2020) and Philip Knowles (T9 at Howey-in the-Hills in 2019).

Bateman finished T5 at the Wigwam Golf Club site in 2021, retained membership for 2022 via the points list and won the Fortinet Cup with his two-win season.

The final Qualifying Tournament is set for June 6-9 in Courtenay, British Columbia. Crowne Isle Resort and Golf Club has previously hosted seven Qualifying Tournaments. PGA TOUR Canada’s season begins the week after this Q-School.

Here is a look at the six tournaments that will all be 72-hole, Tuesday-to-Friday, no-cut events:

“This is a great lineup of tournaments that will test players’ skills and abilities. Those who emerge with Tour cards will have another strong PGA TOUR Canada schedule to play in 2023, with a chance to continue progressing in their professional careers,” Pritchard added.

Among player benefits available, a three-time winner on the Tour would earn automatic promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour. Additionally, the top five players on the 2023 Fortinet Cup Points List will receive 2024 Korn Ferry Tour membership, with the player finishing first earning fully exempt status. The top five players will also be exempt into the Final Stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, competing for a PGA TOUR card, which will be awarded to top-five finishers and ties. Those in the sixth-through-25th Fortinet Cup positions are exempt into the Second Stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. In addition, the top 60 players on the final Fortinet Cup standings will retain their PGA TOUR Canada playing privileges for 2024.

PGA TOUR Canada will announce its complete regular season schedule in early 2023.

KITCHENER, Ont.—Wil Bateman didn’t necessarily need to win the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship in order to secure the Fortinet Cup title and Player of the Year honors. That’s exactly what he did, though, shooting a final-round 1-under 69 Sunday at Deer Ridge Golf Club to defeat Jeffrey Kang by two strokes. In the process, Bateman won the Fortinet Cup, finishing with 1,654 points and vaulting past Jake Knapp, who entered the week with the standings lead. It was quite the double dip. 

ELECTRIC!!

Edmonton’s @WilsonBateman wins the @FortinetCupChmp and the #FortinetCup in dramatic fashion.

He’s earned full @KornFerryTour status for next year pic.twitter.com/itRDW4eNKH

— PGA TOUR Canada – Fortinet Cup (@PGATOURCanada) September 18, 2022

With the victory, Bateman locked up his 2023 Korn Ferry Tour playing privileges, making him eligible to play in every open tournament on that Tour’s schedule. He is also the second Canadian—along with Mackenzie Hughes in 2013—to win PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year honors. He pocketed a $25,000 bonus from Fortinet for winning the inaugural Fortinet Cup, and next summer Bateman is invited to play in the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open. By finishing second, Knapp will be conditionally exempt on next season’s Korn Ferry Tour. He tied for 34th at the closing tournament of the year. 

After Bateman and Knapp, the third-, fourth- and fifth-place Fortinet Cup finishers were Americans Noah Goodwin, Scott Stevens and Ryan Gerard, respectively. The players received their membership cards during a ceremony following the end of play Sunday at Deer Ridge Golf Club.

Bateman, a native of Edmonton, played in his 59th career PGA TOUR Canada event with this appearance—this season easily his best. Before this year, Bateman had never recorded a top-three finish and only had one career top-10.  

Exempt when the season began by virtue of his 21st-place finish on the 2021 Forme Tour Points List, Bateman was three strokes off the lead through 54 holes in the season-opening Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist. A final-round, 3-over 73 derailed his chances, but he put everybody on notice two weeks later when he chipped in to end the playoff and record an extremely popular win at his hometown ATB Classic presented by Volvo Edmonton. He put an exclamation mark on his season with his resounding victory Sunday, allowing him to join Noah Goodwin as the only two-time champions this season. 

“I think setting some solid goals for myself and knowing that I can attain them was big. Coming into this week, I think I put more pressure on myself, more than the pressure I felt when I was out [on the course] just because I wanted to achieve some of my goals,” Bateman said. “I knocked off a few of those goals, so it was a lot of fun.

“I still have bigger goals and dreams that I want to accomplish,” Bateman continued, “but this is a really good start. Just knowing where I was four to five years ago, if someone would have told me that I would be here I would say they were insane.”

“What a fun season it was, and to come down to the Fortinet Cup Championship, our final event of the year, with so many players with still so much to play for has been incredible to watch,” said PGA TOUR Canada Executive Director Scott Pritchard. “Wil proved from start to finish that he was our best player against formidable competition, and his performance under pressure this week to win the tournament and the Fortinet Cup was impressive. He will always have the Fortinet Cup on his mantel to remind him of what a special season 2022 was. Congratulations to Wil on what is an outstanding accomplishment. I can’t wait to see what he can do next season the Korn Ferry Tour.” 

The players who finished in the sixth-through-10th positions on the Fortinet Cup standings are exempt into the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament in Savannah, Georgia. That 72-hole tournament is November 4-7. The five PGA TOUR Canada players exempt into the Qualifying Tournament, hoping to secure Korn Ferry Tour status via that route, are Thomas Walsh (No. 6), Jeffrey Kang (No. 7), Danny Walker (No. 8), Joe Highsmith (No. 9) and Ian Holt (No. 10). 

The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 34th in its history, starts in mid-January, the full schedule still to be announced. 

Beginning in 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR by awarding all 50 membership cards to Korn Ferry Tour players for the following PGA TOUR season. Players can initially qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour through the Qualifying Tournament and by securing a top-five Fortinet Cup finish on PGA TOUR Canada or a top-five Totalplay Cup performance. PGA TOUR Canada sent its first five players to the Korn Ferry Tour following its inaugural season in 2013. They were Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Riley Wheeldon (Canada), Mark Hubbard (U.S.), Hugo Leon (Chile) and Wil Collins (U.S.). This is the eighth group of PGA TOUR Canada players to move on to the Korn Ferry after the Tour did not contest tournaments in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic.

Final 2022 Fortinet Cup Standings