Posted on 12th June, 2018
Source: Brad Ziemer, GolfBC Championship Correspondent
A Canadian has not won a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event in more than two years. Brad Ziemer looks at five Canadians (including four British Columbians) who could break that drought at this week’s GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon:
- Jared du Toit: Kimberley native turned pro almost exactly one year ago and has shown flashes of brilliance. He shot a course record 61 in the third round of last year’s GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon. Last week in Victoria, du Toit was tied for third heading into the final round but struggled on Sunday. One of these weeks, he is going to string together four good rounds. Maybe that happens this week.
- Ryan Williams: Vancouver native has been one of the Mackenzie Tour’s most consistent performers. Like du Toit, Williams has shown good form at Gallagher’s. He finished solo second behind runaway winner Dan McCarthy in the inaugural GolfBC Championship in 2016. Williams has finished inside the top 15 on the Mackenzie Tour money list in three of the four past years.
- Riley Wheeldon: This former B.C. Junior champion from Comox started the new Mackenzie Tour season with a top-10 finish at the Freedom 55 Financial Open in Vancouver. Wheeldon is a past winner on the Mackenzie Tour and finished second on the money list in 2013. He appears to have put some recent struggles with his game behind him and is regaining the confidence he seemed to have in spades when he first turned pro.
- Eugene Wong: Not that long ago, this North Vancouver resident was regarded as one of this country’s top golfing prospects. He had a brilliant collegiate career at the University of Oregon and won the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Award as the top collegiate player in the United States. Wong won twice on the former Canadian Tour and has also won on the PGA Tour China circuit. He hasn’t played a lot of competitive golf in the last year, but if he gets hot, look out.
- Taylor Pendrith: Back in 2015, Pendrith finished second three times on the Mackenzie Tour and was third on the money list. That earned the Ontario native a promotion to the Web.com Tour, but he struggled with his game and the big-hitting Kent State University product had to return to Canada. He slowly seems to be piecing his game back together. With his length, Pendrith should feast on the par 5s this week at Gallagher’s.
