HALIFAX, N.S. — Playing his last 42 holes without a bogey at Oakfield Golf & Country Club, Lorens Chan finished Saturday the way he entered it—with a one-stroke lead at the HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar.

“I played fine today,” said Chan, who has four top-10 finishes this season in six starts. “I couldn’t really take advantage of the par-5s today, but I saw I was a bit behind mid-round, and I made a few birdies on the back nine to keep myself ahead.”

Chan, who entered the tournament with the second-best scoring average on the Mackenzie Tour, at 67.5, will attempt to fend off a slew of six players within three strokes of his lead, including two-time 2019 winner Jake Knapp and Canadian Taylor Pendrith, fresh off a runner-up finish at the Osprey Valley Open.

“(It’ll take) a lot of birdies, probably,” said the 25-year old Chan. “It’s a bunched leaderboard, so you can’t afford many mistakes. You have to go out and make as many birdies as you can.

“Dru (Love) proved it Thursday that 59 is almost out there, he shot 60,” Chan added, “so I don’t think people five or six back are out of it, and we might end up chasing.”

Speaking of birdies, only Paul Barjon’s 122 tops Chan’s 112 on the Mackenzie Tour this season; making the UCLA alum’s eight consecutive pars to open the third round surprising.

“There were some birdie opportunities on the front. On No. 1, I hit one bad shot and one bad chip to take myself out of a good birdie chance,” said Chan. “I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in, and on the back I hit a few more that did.”

A win would project Chan, who, in six attempts, hasn’t fired a final round over 68 this season, to move from the sixth spot on the Order of Merit into third.

Folding into a two-way tie for second, one stroke back, are Hayden Shieh and Stoney Crouch, each having their best outings this season, coming into the tournament 87th and 138th, respectively, on the Order of Merit.

Looking for his second consecutive Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award, Taylor Pendrith shot a third-round 68 and is two strokes back.

Full scoring can be found here.

HALIFAX, N.S. — On Friday morning at Oakfield Golf and Country Club, Lorens Chan followed his opening-round 66 with a bogey-free 63 to head into the third round of the HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar tied for the lead alongside Stoney Crouch.

Performances like Friday have come to be expected from Chan this season as the UCLA product boasts the second-lowest scoring average on the Mackenzie Tour, at 67.5.

“The last few weeks I’ve been hitting it better. At the beginning of the season, the ball striking was off, but the putting was helping,” said Chan. “It just flipped the last few events, and the putter was a little bit cold, so I took a day off Monday and hit the reset button, and my stroke has felt a lot better since.”

Chan started his rally on hole No. 6. Hitting his approach shot on the par-5 to 10 feet, the 25-year old confidently knocked it in and added another birdie on No. 9 to make the turn at 4-under.

Not satisfied, especially after seeing how low the scores were during the tournament’s first day, with 14 players posting 7-under or better, Chan made five birdies in his final seven holes to turn in the second-lowest round of the day, bested only by Lee Detmer’s 62.

“It’s nice knowing what you have to do,” said the sixth-ranked player on the Order of Merit. “Knowing that every day there are going to be a seven- or 10-under posted, it’s a green light to be aggressive, knowing that there are birdies out there.”

Recording four top-10 finishes this season, Chan heads into the weekend in search of his first-career Mackenzie Tour victory.

“It’s going to take two more days of what I did today and yesterday,” said Chan. “The course isn’t too long; so far the conditions have been perfect. I have to keep going and make as many birdies as I can.”

Meanwhile, Crouch made birdie on his final four holes of the day to follow an opening-round 64 with a 65.

“Those last few holes on the last nine I was seeing the (putting) lines really well and was rolling it really well and got in that zone that’s hard to describe,” said Crouch. “[That feeling] doesn’t stick around long, but hopefully it comes back a little bit over the next two days.”

Taylor Pendrith is the low Canadian heading into the third round, backing up his opening-round 65 with a 66 as he looks to add to his resume following a runner-up finish at last week’s Osprey Valley Open.

Full scoring can be found here.

HALIFAX, N.S. — Dru Love played the best golf of his professional career Thursday afternoon, besting the Oakfield Golf and Country Club course record by two strokes, making eight birdies and two eagles en route to an opening-round 60 at the inaugural HFX Pro-Am.

Hot out of the gate, the University of Alabama alum made birdie on the first hole of the day and proceeded to play the par-5s in a combined 5-under par.

Adding seven more birdies throughout the day, the 12-under 60 matched the second-lowest round on the Mackenzie Tour this season.

“I got off to a good start, making a birdie, and hit both my approach shots on the par-5s inside 15 feet, two-putting the first one, and then I managed to make the second one and got going,” said Love. “It was a great day.”

Fresh out of the shrink wrap, Love debuted a new putter, which he says “got hot” at just the right time.

“I’ve been telling my teacher and my dad that if I get the putter going, everything is going to take care of itself,” said the 25-year old. “I’m beyond ecstatic with how it’s going with the putter, I’ve been struggling all year, so it was fun to see it get in the hole today.”

Turning to the back nine, Love played hole Nos. 10-13 in 5-under, putting himself at 10-under with five holes to play. Making birdie on No. 16, Love had a chance to match Greyson Sigg’s feat from the GolfBC Championship, finishing with three consecutive birdies to shoot 59.

“We had to wait for about 25 minutes on No. 17 tee and I think I started thinking about it too much,” said Love. “I knew if I made birdie there, I would have a putt on 18 to shoot 59, but I’m not mad about it. It’s the first time I’ve been in that position, that close to shooting 59, so I had a blast and I’m ready to learn from it and go build on it [Friday].”

With his ball off the green on No. 17 following his fourth shot, Love chipped in for par from 25 feet, and on No. 18 he walked in a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe to take a two-stroke lead into the second round.

“I knew it was going in before I hit it. I had the perfect read and I had been making everything all day,” said Love, who has made the cut in all three of his Mackenzie Tour starts this season. “It was all about the putter, everything I hit either lipped out or went in.

“I’m not going to be picky; I’m going to be grateful for my 60.”

Two strokes back of Love is Jared Wolfe, who matched the Oakfield course record, at the time, with a bogey-free 60.

Taylor Pendrith carried the momentum from his runner-up finish into the first round in Halifax, posting a 7-under 65 and is the low Canadian heading into the second round.

CALENDON, Ont. – Paul Barjon proved Sunday why he’s been so tough to beat this year.

With his second victory of the season, Barjon sits on top of the Order of Merit with a focus on the Korn Ferry Tour that’s as sharp as his play was this week.

The native of Dumbea, New Caledonia shot a 5-under-par 67 Sunday at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates to win by three shots over Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

“I knew 25-under would have a pretty good chance out here and it worked out,” said Barjon. “My putting was good, everything, overall, was pretty solid. Nothing incredible, but nothing was poor either … just made the putts towards the end at the right moments.”

Barjon and Pendrith traded birdies on the par-5 No. 1 before Barjon flinched first, making a bogey on the par-3 No. 7. He bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 and added another birdie on the par-4 No. 9. From there, Pendrith had to play catch up, despite being buoyed by the near-hometown crowds Sunday.

“It was awesome … all the support out here. A lot of my buddies, family and friends and a lot of local support too,” said Pendrith, who is from Richmond Hill, Ont., less than an hour from TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “It was definitely a fun week and I played pretty good. I have to be happy.”

It wasn’t good enough to top Barjon this week, however. Barjon made three birdies in the last eight holes, combined with a handful of clutch par saves.

Pendrith made two birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 but made a costly bogey on the par-4 No. 17 after hitting his tee shot into the trees on the right side of the fairway. That was the difference, in the end.

“Honestly I played really well, I hit the ball great. I didn’t make a bogey until No. 17, which was kind of unfortunate, but it’s a hard hole. I thought I could miss the tree with my back swing but I kind of got it and didn’t hit it how I planned to and made an unfortunate bogey,” said Pendrith. “Overall I played really well, so I have to be happy with the result. It was pretty fun.”

Barjon had a two-shot lead heading into Sunday but he wasn’t resting on his laurels. He said he had some tension Saturday night and had trouble sleeping. He alluded to Greyson Sigg, who shot 59 in the final round of the GolfBC Championship as an example of how anyone can have a chance to win on the Mackenzie Tour.

“It was a little stressful, but you’re ahead. But I felt good. It was different than chasing someone,” said Barjon, who heaped the praise on Pendrith after Sunday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley turned into a match-play scenario between the two.

“I’ve never played with him before but people told me ‘oh yeah, he hits it a mile.’ He does hit it far and he’s got great hands around the green. I was playing behind him yesterday and I was like, ‘this guy is scary. He can make a lot of birdies. But it was fun. We had a good match.”

With the runner-up finish, Taylor Pendrith wins his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award of the season.

Next week the Mackenzie Tour heads to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the inaugural HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar.

Full results can be found here.

CALEDON, Ont. — When Paul Barjon is on his game – which, when you look at his year so far, seems to be all the time – he is difficult to beat.

And it doesn’t look like the Dumbea, New Caledonia native is slowing down anytime soon at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates.

After opening with scores of 64 and 66, improving upon his Mackenzie Tour-best scoring average of 67.05, Barjon fired a third-round 66 on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley and heads into the final round with a two-stroke lead over Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

“I played really good today,” said Barjon, who has been under-par in each Mackenzie Tour round thus far this season. “I hit the ball really well and then to make a few putts here and there, that’s what you have to do out here.”

Entering the round tied for the lead with playing-competitor JD Fernandez, Barjon got his round started by making eagle on the par-5 1st. He held the lead by himself after that 25-foot putt dropped, and he wouldn’t let go of that position on the leaderboard all day.

After making his only bogey of the week on hole No. 4 (breaking a stretch of 49-consecutive holes without a bogey), the Bayview Place DCBank Open champion made a birdie on No. 6 before a thunderstorm sent players back to the clubhouse for close to 2-hours.

“I hit a lot of good shots, but the pins were pretty tough and the wind was blowing,” said Barjon. “After the delay I came out, hit it to about six feet on No. 8 and made my second eagle, which was really nice.”

On the back side, Barjon made birdie on No. 11, a long par-3 with a hazard on the right and the wind off the left, a hole he said would play a key role in determining the tournament’s champion.

“I just knew if I went a little long of the pin and a little left, I would have the straightest putt you can have there without going right at the pin,” said Barjon. “I had about a 30-footer left and made it, so that was really cool.”

With four top-10 finishes this season on the Mackenzie Tour, a victory would propel Barjon into first place on the Order of Merit.

Barjon will likely have a large crowd following along on Sunday, playing alongside Pendrith, who is in search of his first-career Mackenzie Tour victory.

“It’ll be fun, hopefully they cheer for me a little bit,” laughed Barjon. “He was in the group ahead of me and they had quite a few people following. It’ll be fun.”

With a win on Sunday, Pendrith would become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since Adam Cornelson in 2016 at the Bayview Place DCBank Open.

“I’m in a great position, and any time you’re playing in the final group on Sunday it’s a good thing,” said Pendrith, who finished third on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit in 2015. “I’m just going to go try to make as many birdies as possible and see what happens.”

Full scoring can be found here.

CALEDON, Ont.—Co-leading the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos and CBM Aggregates at 14-under alongside JD Fernandez through two rounds of play, Paul Barjon has yet to make a bogey this week on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North course as he seeks his second win of the Mackenzie Tour season.

With a scoring average just a hair below 67 this season – tops on the Mackenzie Tour – another trophy to accompany his hardware from the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist would propel Barjon to the top spot on the Order of Merit.

However, even with four top-10s, a T19 at the RBC Canadian Open, and not a single Mackenzie Tour round over par this season, this is the first time the 26-year old heads into a Saturday as a leader.

“So far, I’ve always seemed to be coming from behind, so this is fun,” said the Dumbea, New Caledonia native. “We’ve played 36 holes, but there are still 36 left. As Tyler (McCumber) showed last year, a 61 is out there, so anybody can catch you.”

So far this week, it has been Barjon’s efforts on the par-4s, which he has played 9-under par, that has set him apart – along with his ability to grind for pars when the North course shows its teeth.

“I’m 1-under this week on the par-3s, which is good because they’re not easy,” said Barjon. “I’ve made a couple 15-footers for par when I’ve missed in the wrong place, but I found a little something with my swing on the back nine with my irons, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Heading into the weekend, Barjon says two holes, No. 7 and No 11, are going to be key, and could determine who adds their name to the trophy.

“No. 11, you have to hit a good shot, you don’t have a choice or else you’ll make bogey or worse,” said Barjon. “And then No. 7, those two holes are key because right after you have a stretch of easier holes, so you have to set the tone.”

Meanwhile Fernandez (65-65) is off to the best 36-hole start of his Mackenzie Tour career and has momentum on his side after firing four sub-70 numbers at the Windsor Championship on his way to a T28 finish.

Sitting one stroke back is a group of three players: Taylor Pendrith, Sean Walsh and Carter Jenkins. Pendrith is seeking his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award after claiming the prize with a T10 finish at the Bayview Place DCBank Open and is looking to become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since 2016.

Caledon, Ont. — When Taylor Pendrith hits the golf ball, people take notice, especially when he does so in the General Toronto Area.

Growing up in Richmond Hill, Ont, about an hour east of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, site of this week’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos and CBM Aggregaetes, Pendrith feels right at home on the North course’s fairways, proven by Thursday’s 9-under 63, which leads the tournament by one-stroke among those to finish their opening round.

“I’ve been out here a bunch, living kind of close by,” said Pendrith. “I didn’t play very well here last year, so this is a little redemption.”

Being one of the longest hitters on not only the Mackenzie Tour, but any Tour, Pendrith says the wide fairways suit his style of play, despite missing the cut at the event in 2018.

“There’s lots of drivers,” said the 28-year old. “I can cut it over a couple bunkers, which is an advantage for me, and I drove it fantastic today, hitting lots of fairways and giving myself some opportunities.”

Pendrith did his damage on the back nine on Thursday. Making the turn at 3-under, the Kent State alum made four birdies on his next five holes to move to 7-under.

“Honestly, on the front nine I missed two or three very makeable putts and I was a little disappointed to be 3-under through 8,” said Pendrith. “I was hitting it great, I think I only missed one green, so I had a lot of opportunities and I was able to get the putter going on the back nine.”

Finishing with back-to-back birdies, the second coming after a weather delay that lasted nearly two hours, Pendrith signed for his lowest score of the season, and best opening round since his 62 to open the 2018 Windsor Championship.

“I’ve been pretty close to having a good tournament, I just haven’t capped it off,” said Pendrith, who has one top-10 finish this season and is coming off a T16 at last week’s Windsor Championship. “I’ve been hovering around 25^th going into Sunday and I’ve played OK. It’s nice to get off to a good start and hopefully keep it going.”

Paul Barjon, who continued his strong 2019 season by posting a bogey-free 64, looking for his fifth top-10 finish this season, and Jeremy Gandon trail Pendrith by one stroke.

Due to Thursday’s weather delay, play was suspended due to darkness and 19 players will return to finish their opening rounds at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on Friday morning at 8:15 A.M., while second round tee times will begin at 7:15 A.M., as originally planned.

Full scoring can be found here.

WINDSOR, Ont.— Entering the final round of the Windsor Championship with 26 players within four strokes of the lead, the stage was set for an incredible day of golf. Sunday did not disappoint.

Especially if your name is Dawson Armstrong.

Opening with two birdies in his first three holes, the Lipscomb University alum managed a clean card, marking down three more circles throughout the day.

Not having to make a par putt from outside three feet for the duration of the round, Armstrong picked up his first-career Mackenzie Tour title by one stroke over six players.

“I’ve never seen a leaderboard as jam-packed as that one,” said Armstrong following the victory. “Come about No. 16 today there were 12 guys within two shots of the lead, it was just jam packed all day and anyone could make a run at any given time.”

Playing in the third to last grouping of the day, Armstrong tapped in for par on hole No. 18 at 20-under and managed to dodge bullet after bullet as he became a highly-engaged spectator. This was already after Patrick Fishburn missed a short par putt on the last hole in the group ahead to drop to 19-under.

Playing competitor Ryan Ruffels missed a six-foot birdie putt which would have matched Armstrong in the clubhouse. At the same time, the entire final group of Bryson Nimmer, Jonathan Garrick and Will Register, who were all within one-stroke of the lead, made bogey on the difficult No. 16 to fall two back.

Register managed birdie on No. 17, giving himself a chance to force a playoff, but had to chip out from the fescue following his drive, leaving himself 65-yards to the pin.

“I called my fiancé [after finishing] and she said, ‘don’t get excited until you know for sure’,” said Armstrong. “I really kept an even keel and came out here and watched, there was nothing I could do but just accept whatever happened.”

What happened was that Register almost made it, twice. The ball landed two inches from the pin, jumped a few feet past, and slowly trickled back, burning the edge of the cup; Armstrong hugged caddie Derek Bayley.

“That was the most nerve-racking shot I’ve ever seen from someone, he’s got some guts to hit that shot when he needed it,” said Armstrong. “Sadly, he didn’t make it and sadly we didn’t have the chance to perform in a playoff. (Register) is a deserving player and he’s going to get his share out here.”

Entering the week in spot No. 13 on the Order of Merit, Armstrong said that it was his previous professional experience that helped propel him through Sunday.

“This is my 15^thevent up here, so putting myself in contention two of the last four events, I’m really happy with where I was,” said Armstrong. “The game felt great and I’m more confident than I’ve ever been

“To have it all cap off this week was really special, because it feels good to be back in that situation where you have the nerves running and you have to calm down and just perform, that was the best feeling.”

His second year on the Mackenzie Tour, Armstrong had a moderately successful debut campaign, finishing in spot No. 34 on the order of merit following a successful collegiate career where he managed the lowest career scoring average (71.2) in Lipscomb history.

“Last year I never felt like I could get myself in contention, whether it was me backdooring a top 10 or worrying about the cut every week, it was a different mindset last year compared to this year,” said the 23-year old. “Instead of trying to finish top-10, I’m going out trying to win, and this week it worked out pretty good.”

Fishburn, Ruffels, Garrick, Register, Paul Barjon and Anthony Maccaglia made up the grouping one-stroke back, while Riley Wheeldon managed his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week title of the season, as well as his first top-10 finish of the year, finishing two-strokes back at T8.

Vancouver, B.C. — Waking up on Sunday five-strokes behind leader James
Allenby, 24-year old Jake Knapp plotted his way around Point Grey Golf & Country Club like a
surgeon, firing a final-round 64 to claim his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada victory
at the Canada Life Open.

Knapp’s four-day total of 267, 21-under par, set the Canada Life Open tournament record,
breaking Lee McCoy’s mark of 268, 20-under par, from 2017.

“It probably hasn’t sunk in quite yet,” said Knapp. “I got to Facetime my parents for a minute
and my brother, but I think when I talk to them about what actually happened, it’ll sink in a bit
more for sure.”

Plagued with injuries in recent years, Knapp described the past few seasons as a “long and tough
road” and was quick to give credit to his entire team who helped him battle his way back into full
competition mode.

“I love my parents, I can’t thank them enough for everything they do for me,” said the 57thranked
player from the 2017 Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit. “They put up with me 24/7 and
help me with travel and everything else. For them to stick with me through it all means the world
and I can’t thank them and my team and my family enough.”

In contention for the duration of the week following an opening-round 65, Knapp lost some
ground to the field due to a 2-under par 70 on Saturday and figured it would take a round similar
to the one he played today in order to get the job done.

“I’m staying with a host family, and Joe Harrison is there too, and we were talking about what it
might take, I said 20 or 21-under,” said Knapp. “I knew that last group would be playing in front
of a lot of people, like my group was yesterday, so I figured they’d be dealing with a little bit of
the same.

“I sent a text to my coach this morning like, ‘what does a guy have to do to shoot 8 or 9-under
today,” continued the Costa Mesa, California native. “He said plain and simple, ‘go shoot 4-
under on the front and shoot 4-under on the back.’”

Knapp is obviously a great listener. With no bogeys to speak of on the front nine, and four
birdies, he found himself halfway to his number as he spotted his name on the ninth-hole
leaderboard among a log-jam of players around 18-under par.

Making three more birdies between hole Nos. 12 and 15, Knapp holed-out from the bunker on
hole No 17 for birdie, a shot he called “the shot of my life.” One more birdie for good measure
on the 72nd hole and Jake Knapp reigned supreme by three strokes, firing 4-under on the front
and 4-under on the back.

“It means a lot, there’s so many good players out here,” said Knapp. “So many guys are going
from the Mackenzie Tour to the Web.com Tour and to the PGA TOUR, it’s obvious that this is a
proving ground to get to that next level.”

Not only does the win give the UCLA alumni a notable head-start on the Order of Merit, it also
earns him an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open, taking place from June 3-9 at Hamilton
Golf & Country Club.

“I haven’t played any PGA TOUR events since 2015, I tried not to think about that today, but it
means a lot and we’ll see what I can do against the best players in the world,” said Knapp, who
missed the cut in both his 2015 starts, one at the U.S. Open and one at the Farmers Insurance
Open. “Ideally, I’d go out there and play well and let the chips fall where they do, but it’s just
good to go test your game at that level for sure.”

Firing a final-round 71 and finishing T2, Canadian James Allenby claimed the first Canada Life
Canadian Player of the Week Award of the season and the $2,500 bonus that goes along with it.

Full leaderboard is available here.

Key Information
• Making just a single bogey on Sunday, Purdue alum Brian Carlson dropped a 12-foot
eagle putt on the final hole to sign for a final-round 66 to place T2.
• Playing on the same UCLA Bruins team as Knapp, Lorens Chan had the round of the day
at Point Grey, firing a bogey-free 63 to improve 11 spots on the leaderboard, finishing
T4.
• Firing a bogey-free 68 on Sunday, 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion Doc Redman finished
T19 in his Mackenzie Tour debut.
• Only eight of the 69 players on Sunday played their rounds over par.
• Currently in seventh place on the Web.com Tour’s Points List, Canadian Michael Gligic
earned a spot in the RBC Canadian Open, being the top 2018 Mackenzie Tour alumni on
the Web.com Tour following the Evans Scholar Championship.
• The Mackenzie Tour now heads to the second stop on the BC Golf Swing at Uplands
Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia for the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented
by Times Colonist where Sam Fidone will attempt to defend his title. The winner of the
event will also receive an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open.

Quotable
“Coming from behind like that, you want to do your best to make as many birdies as possible.
Five-back going into the day, you try to make as many birdies as you can and make those guys
feel a bit of heat, if you can. I saw the leaderboard after nine and saw Lorens Chan was 8-under
after 12, so I knew birdies were out there and then I rolled in a putt to get to 17 or 18-under and I
tried to keep my head down and stick to my game plan like I had been the whole week, it worked
out in the end.” – Jake Knapp

“I don’t think there’s ever a time when you think you’re there. Like one of my buddies told me,
‘you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad as you think you are’. That
keeps you in that middle ground to keep working but to never get down on yourself. I enjoy
going to the gym and working out, I’m at the gym six or seven days a week and then I’m at the
course all day, so I’ve put in a lot of time and I’ve been more honest with myself this off-season
on what I really needed to get better at. I hit it pretty good off the tee but putting was something I
needed to get better at, and I putt it really well this week.” – Jake Knapp

“It’s one step closer to the end goal, moving closer and closer to that end goal, it’s what
everybody out here wants; to be on the PGA TOUR. This is great experience.” – Brian Carlson

“This was one of the best tournaments putting wise I’ve played. I didn’t have a three putt and
had a lot of good makes. I started a little slow and got on a heater on the back nine, I made a
good birdie on No. 12 and then good ones on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. It was nice to be in the hunt
and get that feeling again.” – Dylan Wu

“I got the putter going on the front side, I made four birdies in a row. I started the day 10 back,
so I wasn’t really expecting anything, I was just trying to play well and then see how it goes.” –
Lorens Chan

“Honestly, it was kind of a grind with ball striking this week. I wasn’t hitting it too well and
every day I was talking to my coach on the phone to see if I could do something different and see
if it helped. I worked on it on the range and I wouldn’t say I made too much progress, but I rolled
it really nice.” – Lorens Chan

“I shot three 69s in a row, so my friends were like, ‘if you shoot one more 69, it wouldn’t be any
surprise. I was hoping I wouldn’t shoot 69, in the good way, but I didn’t expect 63.” – Lorens
Chan

“We have five UCLA guys here, so it’s kind of like a mini reunion, same as last year, and it
feels really good to represent UCLA.” – Lorens Chan

“This is definitely the way you want to start a season. This is my third year out here, hopefully
my last, fingers crossed, but we’ll see how it goes. My mom is a trooper, she’s been caddying for
me for a while. As long as I’m happy she’s happy” – Lorens Chan

Final-Round Weather: Sunny. High of 23. Wind 7 KM/h.

It was only when he was sitting alone in a hotel room in Argentina that Hugo Bernard truly appreciated that he was finally a professional golfer.

“I usually play events with my good friend Jared du Toit, but that week I was there just by myself,” said Bernard. “I was in my hotel room after every round and I was like ‘well, I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and just play golf.’

“It’s super different than amateur golf. Amateur golf you’re used to staying with host families or travelling with teammates.”

The 2016 Canadian amateur champion turned pro in October and played in four events on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica this winter – making the cut three times – most recently tying for 49th at the BMW Jamaica Classic. He returned home this week to start plying his trade on the Mackenzie Tour, starting on Thursday with the Canada Life Open at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf and Country Club.

Bernard flew from Jamaica to Orlando, Fla., on Monday and then drove himself back home to Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., before flying on to Vancouver on Tuesday night.

“I was so excited to be back in Canada,” Bernard said with a relieved laugh. “It’s so easy here. You’ve got a Holiday Inn in every town or a host family and I’ve got friends on the tour.”

Du Toit, from Kimberley, B.C., and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., are two other prominent Canadians on the Mackenzie Tour this season. The Mackenzie Tour is one of three international PGA Tour-sanctioned circuits that provide access to the Web.com Tour, the developmental circuit of the PGA Tour.

Notable alumni include Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., all of whom have gone on to win PGA Tour events.

“I’d say the Canadians on the Mackenzie Tour feel comfortable playing in Canada,” said Pendrith. “Just because it’s their home country. The golf courses are the same kind of grass that you grew up on playing. I think that can definitely translate into the golf game.”

Point Grey Golf and Country Club’s best known as being the site of the 1954 Canadian Open. Pat Fletcher won that year, no Canadian has captured the national championship since.

“You can feel it when you get there that it’s special,” said Bernard, who has previously played the course. “I remember the members form last year are super proud of their golf club. You can feel the atmosphere there.”

The big-hitting Pendrith, who arrived in Vancouver on Sunday, really likes how Point Grey plays, even though it rained a few times at the start of the week with more predicted on Saturday.

“The greens are perfect. They’re still kind of firm despite the rain,” said Pendrith. “It’s in fantastic shape. Should be a good test.

“The rough isn’t overly long, but it’s wet, so hitting fairways will be key.”