Parry, McCann & Shepherd Set the Pace at Titleist & FootJoy Canadian PGA Assistant's Championship
VICTORIA, BC (September 28th, 2010) – After five straight days of drizzling rain in Victoria, BC the sun finally came out to showcase everything Gorge Vale Golf Club and the host city has to offer. Three players share the opening round lead of the Titleist & FootJoy Canadian PGA Assistant’s Championship after Brian McCann of Mississauga, ON, Bryn Parry of North Vancouver, BC and Scott Shepherd of Richmond, BC all fired matching 5-under par 67’s.
Visit www.cpga.com to view full field scores from round one and to watch Canadian PGA TV interviews with the leaders from opening day.
McCann is well known in Southern Ontario having racked up victories all over the province and currently sits as the all-time money leader on the Great Lakes Tour. In addition to his local victories, McCann has held status on the Nationwide Tour and Canadian Tour over the years. He joined the Ontario PGA Zone in 2010 from the Tournament Player Division to work at The Academy at BraeBen.
“It was the first time in a long time that my putter finally matched up with the quality of my ball striking,” stated McCann, whose best finish on the Nationwide Tour was a tie for 9th in the 2004 Virginia Beach Open. “This is a great golf course and I’m happy to be off to a great start. I’m having a lot of fun playing in a National Championship again.”
Parry has arguably the best resume of any player in this talented field over the past five years and he looks like he has the fire in his eyes to add to that resume again this week. The two-time champion of this event only missed one green on his Tuesday tour around Gorge Vale Golf Club.
“I felt like I had about 15-20 footers all day long and while I could have been a couple of shots lower with a hot putter I’m very happy with where I’m at,” said Parry, who will tee it up in Hawaii for the first stage of PGA Qualifying School in a few shorts weeks. “The leaderboard is packed with guys that know how to go low so tomorrow I’ll just try to birdie every hole as I know the other guys will try and do the same.”
Shepherd, Assistant Professional at Hi-Knoll Golf Centre in Surrey, BC, spun around the Gorge Vale Golf Club with relative ease carding six birdies against one bogey to share the leading heading into the second round.
Ed Maunder of Whitby, ON, Mike Belbin of the Royal Mayfair Golf & Country Club in Edmonton, AB and Jamie Kureluk of Cottonwood Golf & Country Club in Calgary, AB sit one shot back after 4-under par rounds of 68.
Maunder, a Teaching Professional at Deerfield Golf Center, enjoyed one of his best finishes on the Canadian Tour right here at Gorge Vale back in the early 2000’s. While the course had some recent renovations since then it looks like Maunder is poised to be in the hunt for the Canadian PGA title come Thursday afternoon.
Belbin’s name seems to climb to the top of the leaderboard each and every year at the Canadian PGA Assistant’s Championship and 2010 looks like it won’t be any different. Belbin’s opening round this year was pretty steady – five birdies, one bogey and sixteen greens in regulation.
“It was actually a pretty boring round which is nice to have sometimes,” said Belbin, who finished 4th in last year’s event, T3rd in 2006 and 2nd in 2005. “The Canadian PGA Assistant’s Championship is a major for me each and every year and while I’ve been close in the past I really want to seal the deal one of these years.”
Kureluk is a player that flew a little bit under the radar for a few years but that all changed in a hurry when he fired an 11-under par 25 on the back nine at the Alberta Open earlier this year. A lot of players that haven’t seen Kureluk since last year’s event shook his hand and offered their congratulations over the past couple of days. While it wasn’t as magical as that legendary round this summer, Kureluk’s start puts him right in the hunt for his first Canadian PGA National Championship.
Host club Canadian PGA Professional Germain Francoeur of Victoria, BC continues to have a great week as he sits in a five way tie for 5th place after posting a 3-under par 69 in the first round. Francoeur helped organize a pro-am for the Gorge Vale membership on Monday and he fired a 7-under par 65 on his home track to take home the winner’s cheque.
Defending champion Matt Palsenbarg of Surrey, BC came in at 1-over par 73. The long bomber that works out of the Northview Golf & Country Club currently sits in a tie for 34th place.
In the InterZone team competition the defending champions from Alberta (Belbin – 68, Kureluk – 68, Buttar – 71 and Toth – 73) are back at it again with a commanding five shot lead over team Ontario (B. McCann – 67, Levesque 70, Millage – 74, Poletto – 75). The InterZone competition is compiled of four players on each team representing the nine Canadian PGA zones for a bonus purse of $5,000. The score is determined by the calculation of the best three scores in each four man team per day.
The second round of the Canadian PGA Assistants’ Championship gets underway tomorrow, with the field cut to 60 plus ties after the round.
Tee times go from 7:30 am to 1:20 am on Wednesday at Gorge Vale Golf Club and spectators can come out to watch for free.
The total purse for the championship is $60,000 with the champion receiving a $9,000 first place cheque.
For more information contact:
The total purse for the championship is $60,000 with the champion receiving a $9,000 first place cheque.
For more information contact:
Jeff Dykeman
Director of Business Development & Brand
Canadian PGA
jeff@cpga.com
647.400.4460
Director of Business Development & Brand
Canadian PGA
jeff@cpga.com
647.400.4460
Adam LeBrun
Tournament Director
Canadian PGA
adam@cpga.com
About the Canadian PGA:
Established in 1911, the Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association is a non-profit association comprised of approximately 3,500 golf professionals across the country with a mandate to promote and advance the game of golf, serving the needs of both its membership and the golf public through professional and junior golf development programs and high-calibre competitive events. The National Office is located in Acton, Ontario with nine Zone Offices across the country. For more information, visit www.cpga.com
Tournament Director
Canadian PGA
adam@cpga.com
About the Canadian PGA:
Established in 1911, the Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association is a non-profit association comprised of approximately 3,500 golf professionals across the country with a mandate to promote and advance the game of golf, serving the needs of both its membership and the golf public through professional and junior golf development programs and high-calibre competitive events. The National Office is located in Acton, Ontario with nine Zone Offices across the country. For more information, visit www.cpga.com