TORONTO — The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada is busy preparing for another strong season, announcing Thursday the dates and sites for its six 2020 Qualifying Tournaments, events that help determine the Mackenzie Tour membership.

The six sites will be Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. (March 3-6); Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Ala., (March 10-13); Soboba Springs Golf Resort in San Jacinto, Calif. (March 24-27); Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz. (March 31-April 3); TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (April 14-17); and Crown Isle Resort & Golf Club in Courtenay, BC (April 28-May 1).

Each event is a 72-hole, stroke-play, no-cut tournament, with fields of 132 players. An overflow site (TPC San Antonio) will be available if the Tour can’t accommodate a significant number of applicants among other qualifying sites. In the event that all sites exceed their capacities at the entry deadline, and when 78 or more applicants have not been assigned to a site in the lottery process, applicants may be eligible to compete at the overflow site. Having this San Antonio location to accommodate additional applicants will provide the flexibility to conduct a seventh Qualifying Tournament.

“In order to capture ongoing demand, every effort has been made to provide applicants with an opportunity to earn membership to the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada,” said Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Vice President and Managing Director Todd Rhinehart. “Having made adjustments to the registration process and qualifying competition procedures, we have made every effort to accommodate applicants who wish to begin their journey to the PGA TOUR on an equitable basis.”

Registration will open on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at noon EST.

“So many players have come to our Qualifying Tournaments through the years, and not long afterward we see them playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. From there, they go to the PGA TOUR. It’s at the qualifiers where it all begins for many players as they embark on their pro careers,” Rhinehart added. “I’m constantly amazed at the players who come to play on this Tour. Our roster is deep with talent, and it’s at the Qualifying Tournament where we often see them for the first time. We will continue to welcome the best, up-and-coming players from across the globe and then watch them as they eventually progress to the biggest stages in professional golf.”

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is new to the Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournament rotation, while the other five sites have all hosted tournaments in the past. This is the second time Mission Inn and Soboba Springs have held qualifiers, while Wigwam Golf Club and TPC Sawgrass are hosting for the third time. Crown Isle Resort is a host for a seventh time.

In 2019, England’s David Wicks captured medalist honours at the year’s first Qualifying Tournament, while Americans John Coultas, Will Gordon, Jake Knapp, Chase Parker and Andrew McCain medaled at the other five sites.

LONDON, Ont. — From start to finish, Paul Barjon was the top player on the 2019 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, and it showed in the final Order of Merit standings as Barjon finished atop the earnings’ chart as the season came to a close September 15. With his tie-for-27th finish at the season-ending Canada Life Championship, Barjon, who entered the week in the No. 1 spot, held on to edge Canadian Taylor Pendrith by $2,746 to win the Player of the Year Award that goes to the Order of Merit winner. Barjon pocketed $127,336 in his 12 starts to Pendrith’s $124,590. With the No. 1 final position secured, Barjon becomes fully exempt on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour, while Pendrith will be conditionally exempt next season as he remained No. 2 in the standings by tying for 11th this week.

After Barjon and Pendrith, the third-, fourth- and fifth-place Order of Merit finishers were Americans Jake Knapp, Lorens Chan and Patrick Fishburn, respectively. The players received their membership cards during a ceremony following the end of play Sunday at Highland Country Club.

Barjon, a native of Dumbea, New Caldenoia, who graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, completed his third full Mackenzie Tour season by enjoying his best campaign as a professional. Barjon also played the Tour 2016 and 2018, and Sunday’s tournament was his 36th career start.

Fully exempt when the season began, Barjon finished sixth at the season-opening Canada Life Open then won the following week, in Victoria, at the Bayview Place DCBank Open. He followed that with a second win, capturing the Osprey Valley Open outside Toronto in July. In his 12 tournaments, Barjon had eight top-10s and didn’t miss a cut.

“Finishing No. 1 was obviously the target at the beginning of the year. Whether I could do it or not was definitely a question mark. You always want to be the first guy, but it’s hard to put that into your mind that you can do it,” said Barjon after receiving his Player of the Year trophy. “I wish I had played better this week, but it was a great experience to play as No. 1 throughout the week and still a great accomplishment to finish first and get full Korn Ferry Tour status for next year.”

“It was quite a battle for Order of Merit supremacy and Player of the Year honors. We had so many twists and turns all week, and Paul is an impressive winner and someone we know will represent the Mackenzie Tour well as he moves on in his professional career,” said Todd Rhinehart, Mackenzie Tour Vice President and Managing Director. “Paul started his year in impressive fashion and never slowed down. To have as many consecutive under-par rounds as he did is a testament to not only his talent but his consistency throughout the year. We congratulate Paul on this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to watching him next season on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

The players who finished the sixth-through-10th positions on the final Order of Merit are exempt into the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament in Winter Garden, Fla., outside Orlando. That 72-hole tournament is December 12-15. The five Mackenzie Tour players exempt into that tournament, hoping to secure Korn Ferry Tour status via that route, are Hayden Buckley (No. 6), David Pastore (No. 7), Dawson Armstrong (No. 8), Greyson Sigg (No. 9) and Jonathan Garrick (No. 10).

The 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 31st 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 top-five Order of Merit finishes on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China. The Mackenzie Tour 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.).

Final 2019 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit Top 10

PONTE VEDRA, Fla. –  The PGA TOUR’s three international tours—PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China—will use a points-based system for its Orders of Merit, starting in 2020, the three Tours announced September 11. This will align these three Tours with the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour, which are both using points to measure players’ success. PGA TOUR Champions uses money earned by players for its regular season standings and then switches to a points-based standard when the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs begin.

The three international Tours are moving to this modified, consistent points system to assist fans and help avoid confusion with currencies used in the current Orders of Merit. Since their inceptions, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica has based its Order of Merit on the U.S. dollar, while the Mackenzie Tour has employed the Canadian dollar and PGA TOUR Series-China recognized the Chinese yuan.

“There has always been a bit of confusion among the three Tours regarding currency and the Orders of Merit, or money lists. This new format will streamline what we’re doing across the board and make it easier for fans to track player progress in a simple-to-understand way,” said Rob Ohno, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, International Tours. “In 2020, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica will be the first international Tour to start its season and debut the points system, and the other two tours will follow once their seasons begin.”

With the launch of the FedExCup in 2007, the PGA TOUR moved to a points-based system. The TOUR’s sole focus is on points as players vie to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs and battle to win the FedExCup. In 2019, the 30th year of Korn Ferry Tour, the Tour changed to a points-based system, with PGA TOUR Series-China veteran Xinjun Zhang winning the regular season points title (1,962 points) and Scottie Scheffler winning the three-tournament Finals points title (1,267 points). Both players will be PGA TOUR members in 2019-20.

In 2020, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour and PGA TOUR Series-China tournament winners will receive 500 points each, and an enhanced 600 points will go to the winners at the season-ending tournaments for all three Tours.

“We’re very excited for this new method. It will provide a uniformity among our Tours and give our fans a new way of easily tracking their favorite players on whichever Tour they are following,” Ohno continued. “After 13 successful years using FedExCup points on the PGA TOUR and an extremely positive debut using points on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour, it convinces us even more that this change is the correct way to go.”

Only professionals playing in tournaments will be eligible to receive points as amateurs are not able to earn official money or points. When amateurs do make the cut at a tournament, those available points will be vacated and not distributed to remaining professionals.

In the event of ties—an inevitability at any tournament—points will be distributed to those players using the same method currently employed to distribute prize money—each tying position averaged and distributed evenly to each player in that tying position.

This is how the points will be distributed among the top-15 players at a given tournament (ties excluded):

MONTRÉAL, Québec — Entering the final round of the Mackenzie Investments Open with a five-stroke cushion over Kyle Mueller, Taylor Pendrith made the turn on Sunday at Elm Ridge Country Club and the mood shifted from ‘will he do it?’ to ‘how many will he do it by?’

In the end, Pendrith tapped in for par on the final hole to shoot a bogey-free 67, giving him an eight-stroke victory and his second Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR title of the season and his career.

“It was definitely the best week of tournament golf I have ever played,” said Pendrith, who moved to second on the Order of Merit with the win. “I honestly don’t remember playing from the rough on the weekend, maybe once or twice, but my wedge game was dialled in, especially today.

“I kept my head down all day,” added Pendrith. “I figured I was leading but never knew by how much. I was debating hitting iron on No. 17, it’s a tough tee ball, but I decided to hit driver because it was downwind and I hit 8-iron on the green and made a two-putt birdie. After that I knew I was going to win.”

Pendrith’s commanding performance broke the Mackenzie Tour’s relative-to-par scoring record, previously held by Corey Pereira, who shot 26-under at last year’s ATB Financial Classic in Calgary.

#TeamCanada’s @TaylorPendrith putts out to win at 28 under, the lowest score ever in @PGATOURCanada history ??? pic.twitter.com/eTwVUOfmGq

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) September 8, 2019

“That was definitely the most under par I’ve ever been over four days,” said the 28-year old. “It was a great field out here and there are so many players who could compete on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR, but to win by eight feels really good.”

With the eight-stroke victory, Pendrith matched the largest margin of victory in Mackenzie Tour history, a feat previously accomplished by Lee McCoy at the 2017 Canada Life Open and Hank Lebioda at the 2017 Mackenzie Investments Open.

“This just gives me tons of confidence,” said the Richmond Hill, Ontario native. “My game is really sharp right now, so If I can continue playing the way I have been then I have no doubt I will have a chance to win on the Korn Ferry Tour next year.”

The win adds an extra layer of excitement to an already compelling season-ending Canada Life Championship. While, historically, the Player of the Year Award and full Korn Ferry Tour exemption has been decided before the final event of the season, the top spot is still very much up for grabs.

“To be fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour next season would be a big relief,” said Pendrith, who sits just over $5,000 behind Order of Merit leader Paul Barjon “There’s still work to do next week in London, I know it’s super close, there’s three or four guys who could do it, so there’s a lot of pressure but it’s just golf and I’ll go make as many birdies as possible and see how it ends up.”

Pendrith, who has never shot a round higher than 68 in eight rounds at Highland Country Club, says it is his favourite course on the Mackenzie Tour.

“I love that place and I’ve played well there before,” said Pendrith. “My game is in a good spot right now, so hopefully I can keep the momentum going,” added Pendrith who’s best finish at the Canada Life Championship is a tie for 8^th in 2015.

With the victory, Pendrith not only picked up his sixth Canada Life Canadian Player of Week award of the season, but also locked up the Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year award and will be recognized at the conclusion of the Canada Life Championship. This will be Pendrith’s second Canada Life Player of the year award after claiming the Dan Halldorson trophy in 2015 while finishing second on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit.

MONTRÉAL, Québec — On Friday at the Mackenzie Investments Open, Taylor Pendrith was the only player to shoot 62 at Elm Ridge Country Club.

On Saturday, Pendrith matched Friday’s round with his second-consecutive 62 and was again the only player to shoot 62 at Elm Ridge Country Club.

In what he calls a “very similar round” to Friday, which included nine birdies, one eagle and a bogey, Pendrith, who entered the day tied for the lead, separated himself from the field and heads into Sunday with a five-stroke cushion over Kyle Mueller.

“It’s always hard to back up a really low round with another low one,” said Pendrith, who has shot 62 four times in his past four tournaments. “I feel really good and I’m hitting it great off the tee and taking advantage of having a lot of wedges in. Everything went my way today.”

Getting off to a hot start, Pendrith opened with four birdies in his first five holes, quickly jumping two-strokes ahead of Mueller.

“Everybody in our group played well,” said Pendrith. “Kyle (Mueller) and I both shot 4-under on the front and then after I made birdie on No. 11, I kind of just took off.”

After back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14, Pendrith made par on Nos. 15 and 16 before hitting his second shot on the par-5 17^th to 20 feet.

Watching Mueller drain a 30-foot putt on the same line, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native confidently did the same before closing his round out with a birdie on the final hole.

“The course is awesome, and I was able to hit a ton of fairways,” said the 28-year old Pendrith. “I was able to hit the ball close today and made some putts.”

Pendrith is seeking his second win of the Mackenzie Tour season, a win that would likely catapult him into the second position on the Order of Merit and give him a chance to become just the second Canadian to win Mackenzie Tour Player of the Year honours.

A win on Sunday would come in a different fashion than his maiden victory at the 1932byBateman Open in Edmonton a month ago, where he shot a course-record 63 on Sunday to erase a four-stroke deficit.

“I’m just going out there and playing golf,” said Pendrith, who managed the lowest back-to-back rounds on the Mackenzie Tour since Zach Wrights 62-61 start at the 2018 Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open. “Having the lead is nice, but I’m going to go play aggressive, I always have. I’m a pretty aggressive player and I’ll try to make as many birdies as possible and see how we do at the end.”

14 strokes ahead of fellow Canadian James Allenby, Taylor Pendrith is primed to earn his sixth Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year award of the season.

Coming off a three-year break from elite competition, Rebecca Lee-Bentham is finding ways to keep golf interesting.

She’ll be the only woman in the field when the Mackenzie Investments Open tees off at Montreal’s Elm Ridge Country Club’s North Course on Thursday. It’s not the first time that Lee-Bentham has played against an elite male field, so the Golf Journalists Association of Canada’s 2013 female professional of the year knows what challenges the rain-soaked course will present.

“I’m getting no rolls so it’s all in my carry and I don’t carry the ball very far,” said Lee-Bentham. “It’s hard because we’re playing the same tees. We’re playing at 7,000 yards and I usually play at, I think 6,600 is the average in the LPGA. So when you add all that it is difficult because I’m hitting a lot longer clubs to the holes.”

Lee-Bentham has excelled against men before. She was on the men’s golf team at Toronto’s Northview Heights Secondary School with Albin Choi, Richard Jung and Daniel Kim, all of them now on pro tours. Lee-Bentham proudly notes that she won the regional high school championship while at Northview Heights.

The 27-year-old from Markham, Ont., also finished 10th at the Bermuda Grey Goose World Par 3 Championships in May, holding a first-round lead against a predominantly male field that included PGA Tour-winner Chip Beck, among others.

“Whenever I go out for a fun game it’s 95 per cent men,” said Lee-Bentham. “I’m always surrounded by them anyway. Yes it’s different because the Mackenzie Investment Open is a different environment where they’re all tour pros but I’m trying to focus more on playing the golf course rather than focus on how long they’re hitting it past me.”

Choi has total confidence in Lee-Bentham, who he believes has the skills to surprise people.

“I think she’s going to do a lot better than what people think,” said Choi. “The toughest part about playing in a men’s event is obviously just the yardage, the golf course is longer.

“But she’s going to just be hitting some longer clubs into the greens. She’s going to do a lot better than people expect.”

This year has been a welcome return to competition for Lee-Bentham, who retired as a player in 2016. She had been working as a golf coach and spending more time with her family and, in her own words, growing as a person. This season she has decided to play occasionally in elite competitions.

“My perspective on golf changed. Just seeing golf as a small part of life, it’s not everything,” said Lee-Bentham. “Before it was all of nothing. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I really cared about my performance and results. I put that in front of happiness.”

The Mackenzie Investments Open is the penultimate stop on the third-tier Canadian golf tour. The Mackenzie Tour’s season wraps up next week at the Canada Life Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

WINNIPEG — A new father as of nine-months ago, travelling to Comox, B.C. for Mackenzie Tour Q-School in April was the first time that Derek Barron was forced to be away from his son, Bennett.

Four months later, signing for an even-par 72 in a gusty wind that prevented any player in the final 18 groups from breaking 70 at Southwood Golf & Country Club, Barron was victorious at the 100th edition of the Players Cup, his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win.

“This makes it worth it,” Barron said. “This just affirms that I am doing the right things in my life and in my career with what I do every day.

“The fact that I have a wife and a son and to have to leave regularly and be away from them, it’s really difficult,” said Barron. “This makes it a little easier, because it’s hard to leave them and I love them so much.”

Relatively new to professional golf, Barron says he was “remodelling apartments” when he was the same age as many of the players on the Mackenzie Tour and taught golf for a living from 2012-2016 before deciding to give Tour golf a shot.

“Having a child changes everything,” said the Tacoma, Washington native. “It’s not about whether or not I enjoy what I’m doing for a living, it’s about whether or not this is the right thing to do to provide for my family.”

Without the support from his family and friends in Washington, Barron recognizes his career path may not have been a possibility.

“My wife is amazing. She wants me to do it as long as I can and she supports me and takes care of Bennett and my extended family at home chips in, it’s a real team effort,” said Barron. “It makes me appreciate the opportunity others have given me and the work and the time and the guidance they have all given me to get to this point.”

With his wife, Madi, at home watching Bennett, Barron stepped onto the driving range Sunday morning in preparation of his 12:50 P.M. tee time, in the final pairing of the day alongside Brad Miller, who led by one.

“I told myself this morning when I felt the wind that the game plan was going to be to have as many birdie looks as possible,” said Barron. “It didn’t matter if it was 20, 35, 50 or eight feet. I’d take my chances with the putter. I just had to hit it solid.”

With Miller struggling throughout the day, Barron took advantage and found himself in a three-way battle for the championship, attempting to fight off Kyler Dunkle and Ryan Snouffer.

Dunkle, the first to finish, posted 13-under as Barron arrived at hole No. 14, also at 13-under.

Calm and composed, Barron made birdie on No. 14 and, after making par on No. 15, made a five-foot birdie putt on No. 16 to take a two-stroke lead into the final two holes.

“I just did what I did all week, kept it in play and stuck to the game plan,” said Barron, who navigated the final two holes without much stress. “I didn’t mind having seven, six, or five irons into greens because I was confident in hitting the middle of the greens and taking the 20 or 30-footers, so I was proud of how I hung in there and stuck to my plan.”

With two events left in the Mackenzie Tour schedule, the win moves Barron from 54th to 7th on the Order of Merit, a spot that would award him Korn Ferry Tour status and an exemption into the final stage of Q-School in December.

“Hopefully this is a launching pad for something bigger in the next year or two,” said Barron. “All I can do is try to do the same thing and see what happens.”

Myles Creighton, playing in his second-career Mackenzie Tour event, picked up Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week honours, firing a final-round 68 to finish T17.

Full scoring can be found here.

CALGARY, Alta. — For the first time in 2019, 72 holes wasn’t enough as Hayden Buckley needed extra holes to claim the ATB Financial Classic title for his first professional victory. Buckley made par on the first playoff hole to defeat Sam Fidone.

“Sam is a great dude to play with, and we battled all day,” said Buckley, who moves to the fifth spot on the Order of Merit with the victory. “I’ve been close so many times, and finally finishing it off was something I really liked.”

Beginning the day with a three-stroke lead over Fidone, Buckley made two birdies in his first three holes to create some separation. Fighting back, the tournament quickly became a two-man race as Fidone played hole Nos. 2-7 in 5-under par to get within one of Buckley heading into the back nine.

“It felt like I was due for a good ball-striking day,” said Buckley, who was named the University of Missouri Male Athlete of the Year after a four win 2017-18 senior campaign. “I haven’t really hit it well all week. I’ve hit it good enough to compete, but I haven’t hit it where I wanted to, and I did that today.”

While Buckley was striking it well, but failing to convert on the greens, the opposite could be said for Fidone, who made a 40-foot putt for par on No. 10 after driving his ball into the fescue.

Buckley called hole No. 15 a “turning point,” when, for the first time of the day, his name was no longer at the top of the leaderboard.

“I had 95 yards in, hit it over the green and made bogey as (Fidone) made birdie and jumped ahead of me,” said the 23-year old. “I got a little flustered because I wasn’t sure how that happened. I got a little momentum, and the ball started flying farther. It was a pretty emotional day.”

With Buckley comfortably on the green on the 17th, looking at a 12-foot birdie chance, Fidone flew the green from 75 yards and left himself a tricky pitch, short-sided with the green sloping away from him.

Buckley watched as Fidone hit his chip well past the pin, to 50 feet.

“I’ve always been taught, and a lot of guys will say that you always expect somebody to make it,” said the Tupelo, Miss., native, whose premonition came to life as Fidone buried the putt and delivered a massive fist pump. “It kind of hurt me right before I had to hit my putt next. It went in and I immediately thought, ‘Do it right back to him.’”

Buckley’s try narrowly missed, and after the two players made two-putt pars on No. 18, that set the stage for a sudden-death playoff.

“I haven’t been in the final group this year. I’ve been close but had a lot of experience in the past three or four weeks competing and falling short so many times,” said Buckley. “There were times on No. 18 and in the playoff I still felt some nerves.”

Buckley was unable to make his 10-foot birdie try on the first extra hole, leaving Fidone with a slippery five-footer to extend the playoff. He was unable to convert.

“It was one of those days that didn’t feel like I went out and got it but did enough to get it done,” said Buckley. “Winning with a par in the playoff, it didn’t feel like I won it, but it was good enough.”

While the finish was Buckley’s first win as a professional, he has knocked on the door many times this season, finishing in the top 10 in five of nine starts.

“A lot of confidence has been built up over the past year,” said Buckley. “My senior year in college I had a good stretch, winning four out of nine tournaments, and I came close a few more times, so it’s not like all of a sudden that I feel like I belong. I’ve felt like I’ve belonged for a long time.”

Due to a birdie on the final hole, Taylor Pendrith picked up his fourth consecutive Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award as the highest Canadian finisher. It is his fifth honor of the season. Pendrith finished the event tied for fifth, marking the fourth consecutive event the 28-year old has finished within the top five.

CALGARY — Conditions were tough and low scores were few and far between during the third round of the ATB Financial Open–unless your name is Hayden Buckley.

Firing a 64 that bettered the next-best score by two strokes, the University of Missouri alum made eight birdies to back up two weekday 66s to start the tournament at Country Hills Golf Club.

“The score was more than I could ask for. It was a day where every putt seemed to go in,” said the first-year pro. “The putter saved me. It wasn’t a great ball-striking day by any means.”

Following a bogey on the first hole after a wayward tee shot, Buckley made back-to-back, 12-foot birdie looks on the next two holes to quickly get himself back into red figures for the day.

“With it being cold and windy, it’s always tough, but I managed to find a few more (birdies) on the front,” said Buckley, who made two more, on Nos. 6 and 7, to grab the lead. “No. 8 was definitely my turning point.”

After pulling his drive into the fairway bunker for the second time of the week, Buckley topped his next shot and left it in the bunker.

“I’m sitting there about 115 yards out from the back pin and almost flew it in the hole,” said Buckley, who has four top-10s this season in eight starts. “[The ball] ended up 10 feet away, and I made it for par, so it was close to a double bogey that could have thrown me off; to make a par and go to the back nine was huge.”

Pushing his tee shot on No. 10, a mammoth par 4 playing into the wind, Buckley managed to hit a 4-iron from 245 yards, playing downhill, to 10 feet, which he again poured in.

“Those were a few strokes that really changed everything,” said Buckley. “It was a grind the rest of the day because the backside is so tough, and I didn’t hit it well enough to make birdie until the last three holes.”

Making three downhill birdie putts on his final three holes, Buckley separated himself from the field and heads into the final round of an event with the lead for the first time in his Mackenzie Tour career.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve had a win,” said Buckley, who was named the University of Missouri Male Athlete of the Year during his 2017-18 school year. “I had a few in college and none since, so it’s been a long time. At the end of the day, it’s about playing a round of golf, and if I win, I win, and if not, I’ll go to the next week and keep trying.”

Currently in the 10^th position on the Order of Merit, a win would likely move Buckley into the fifth position on the Order of Merit, a spot that would earn him Korn Ferry Tour status at year’s end.

“If you don’t finish in the top spots in a tournament you get lapped by a lot of guys,” said the 23-year old. “It’s pretty top heavy, but I know if I can win here then I can win a lot of places.”

Trailing Buckley is Sam Fidone, at 14-under, while Zach Zaback, at 13-under, will be the third player in the final group Sunday as players will tee off in threesomes in the morning to avoid a forecasted afternoon thundershower. The final group is slated to tee off at 9:20.

Seven Canadians head into the final round within the top 20 on the leaderboard. Taylor Pendrith battled back from two bogeys in his first three holes on Saturday to post an even-par 71 and is the low Canadian, in a tie for fifth.

Pendrith is in search of his fourth consecutive Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week award, while Stuart Macdonald, Wil Bateman, James Love, Wes Heffernan, James Allenby and Riley Wheeldon are all within the top 20.

Full scoring can be found here.

EDMONTON, ALTA — For the first time since 2016, a Canadian picked up a win on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada.

Entering the 1932byBateman open with a heap of momentum following a runner-up finish at the Osprey Valley Open and a T3 at the HFX Pro-Am, Taylor Pendrith set the Edmonton Country Club course record with a closing 62, the best round on Sunday by three strokes, to win on the Mackenzie Tour for the first time of his career.

“I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet, but it feels really good and I’ve been so close many times,” said Pendrith, who lost in three separate playoffs during his 2015 Mackenzie Tour campaign. “To know that I’m a winner on this Tour brings me a lot of confidence. It’s hard to win on any Tour, so it feels awesome to be the champion here.”

41 events have transpired on the Mackenzie Tour since Adam Cornelson won the 2016 Bayview Place DCBankOpen, the last time a red and white flag was at the top of a leaderboard at week’s end.

“I’m having a lot of fun this year, travelling around and trying to have more fun than I have in the past,” said the Golf Canada Young Pro Squad team member. “It’s so cool seeing the fans out cheering on the Canadians, I’m not sure if there’s ever been more Canadians on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour and here, so it’s pretty awesome.”

Pendrith entered Sunday trailing leader Will Gordon by four strokes, but birdies on three of his final four holes on the front nine quickly shrunk the gap and put the Canadian within two of the lead.

“Honestly, I didn’t look at the leaderboard all day today,” said Pendrith, who has played his last 16 Mackenzie Tour rounds in the 60s. “I’ve been playing really well the past few events and I knew a low one would potentially jump me up. I had a feeling on the first tee I was going to go post a low one.”

Three more birdies in his next six holes matched Pendrith with Gordon and Ryan Ruffels, who was also having himself a day with five birdies in his first 10 holes.

Eyeing down the 17^th hole, where he had made eagle in two of his previous three rounds, Pendrith launched a mammoth drive 390-yards down the fairway and had a gap wedge into the 560-yard hole.

“I figured I was getting close to the lead, but I didn’t really know,” said the 28-year old. “I thought about hitting 3-wood, but I decided that I had been hitting driver great all week, so I stuck with it and hit a really good drive, the best of the week there for sure.”

The Richmond Hill, Ontario native stuck his shot 10-feet from the cup and watched anxiously as his eagle try caught the edge of the hole and dropped to give himself a two-stroke lead.

“It was a really difficult putt, but it caught the high side,” said the fourth-ranked player on the Order of Merit. “I thought it was going to lip out on the high side, and then it dropped and that really capped off the round.”

Pendrith made a stress-free two-putt on the par-3 finishing hole and then went to the driving range to prepare for what could have been the first playoff of the season.

“It’s nice to finally break through and get that win,” said Pendrith. “I’ve been so close before, especially this season. With four events left I really want to keep that momentum going and maybe even jump another spot up the Order of Merit.”

Along with the victory, Pendrith picked up his fourth Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award of the season and is in good position to secure the second Dan Halldorson trophy of his career, awarded to the Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year.

Making birdie on his final two holes of the tournament, Lorens Chan finished as the runner-up to Pendrith.

Full results can be found here.