Stellar Leaderboard at PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada

[Jasper, Alta.]—Players took advantage of ideal scoring conditions Monday at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club.

Twenty-three players were under par when play was suspended due to darkness partially through the first round of the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy.

Eddward Boudreau (Gorge Vale Golf Club), Dave Levesque (La Prairie Club de Golf), Jacob Patte (Oshawa Golf Club) and Gary Hartford (Riverside Golf Club) lead the way after 5 under-par rounds of 67.

“The key to most of the rounds out here will be the par-5s and par-3s,” says Boudreau after his round, which featured birdies on three of Jasper’s four impressive par-3s. “For me to turn it around and birdie almost all the par-3s and make a few pars on some easy, getable par-5s is different.”

Levesque, who is currently ranked No. 4 on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC, agrees saying the classic Stanley Thompson designed golf course can be taken advantage of if players are conscience of playing strategic golf.

“You need to avoid some spots on the golf course and you need to think your way all through the round,” he says.

Shingo Akizuki (Mayfair Lakes Golf & Country Club), Mark Strong (Vancouver Golf Club), Michael Coghill (Niakwa Country Club), Colin Murray (Peninsula Lakes Golf Club) and last year’s champion Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair Golf Club) are all one shot back at four-under. Jason Jurimae (Gallaghers Canyon Golf Club) and Bill Walsh (Fairtree Golf Centre) round out the top 10 at three under.

Belbin says he wasn’t surprised by the low scoring Monday at Jasper.

“Conditions were really good, greens were good speeds and this golf course is awesome,” he says. “We had dead calm winds and 24 degrees today, plus you’re basically on top of the world out here in Jasper—how can you not enjoy yourself?”

The $60,000 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy resumes Tuesday morning with a 36-hole cut to the low 60-players and ties. Round 1 will resume at 9:00 am for the four groups with holes left to play, while round 2 will commence as scheduled at 8:30 am.

The 36-hole InterZone competition compiled of four players on each team representing their respective PGA Zone will also be decided at the end of the championship’s second round of play.

The full leaderboard can be viewed here, while Tuesday’s second round tee times are available here.

To follow the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy online throughout tournament week, visit the PGA of Canada’s Twitter feed, YouTube channel, FaceBook page and website.