Josh Landine chips in on 18 to force playoff, wins PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf
(Enfield, NS) – With seven players within two strokes of the lead heading into Thursday’s final round of the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf, there was a feeling from the start of the day at Oakfield Golf & Country Club that something special was about to happen.
That special moment came from Ashburn Golf Club professional Josh Landine, who made the large crowd around the 18th hole erupt when he chipped in to force a playoff against Yohann Benson.
“The chip came out exactly how I wanted it to,” said Landine, who fired rounds of 68-69-70 this week. “The ball landed right on my landing spot. It kind of kicked left a little harder than I was expecting, but it also didn't break as much to the left as I thought it would.”
“And then watching it, I was thinking it might hang on the lip, but it looked like it had one more revolution in it. And sure enough, it did,” continued Landine.
Prior to the chip that ignited the Oakfield spectators, Benson and Landine had each had a taste of the top of the leaderboard.
Benson made three birdies in a row from 4-6 to take a shot 3-shot cushion, while Landine birdied 8-9-11-12 to take a two-stroke lead in the early afternoon.
However, a double on the par-3 13th locked Landine and Benson at the top, while Wes Hefferrnan and James Swan lurked just a shot back.
Heffernan and Swan each made bogey on 17 making it a two-man race. On 18, Benson nestled a 40-foot putt up to the hole, making Landine’s chip from about 20 feet a must make – he made no mistake.
Earlier in the round, Landine cracked the sole of his driver. While he was able to continue using the club during the round, a playoff is defined as a ‘new round’, so Landine was unable to use the club when he replayed the 18th hole.
“Oddly, I was kind of calm going into the playoff. We joke that my wife is undefeated in playoffs when she caddies for me. So that gave me a little sense of false confidence, I guess,” said Landine. “I didn’t really see where Yohann’s tee shot ended up because I was going to find the rules official to ask him about my cracked driver head. So, then that kind of freed me up a little bit to just hit a great shot. I actually got further down than I was in regulation using less club off the tee, a little bit of adrenaline there maybe.”
Landine hit a great approach shot to 15-feet, while Benson faced a tough lie in the rough on a downslope. His iron shot landed near the hole but bounced over the green and he was unable to get up-and-down as Landine two-putt his way to victory.
“It was a crazy day,” said Landine with a laugh.
Following the round, Landine made sure to thank his wife and caddie, the Oakfield members and volunteers, as well as Callaway Golf for their support of the event.
“Callaway means so much (to me). They sponsor some of our local events as well, and not only sponsor it, but they participate and they're there on site for the events,” said Landine. “They're always there at our buying shows. Their local rep is great, Tommy Dunn, and just to have their support at this event, really, as long as I can remember since I joined the association, has been really great, and I really appreciate it.”
Wes Heffernan finished the event alone in third, while Maxwell Cohen’s final-round 65, the low score of the tournament, moved him into a tie for 4th with James Swan, Khan Lee and Mitchell Fox.
The 12th hole was selected this week as the E-Z-GO ‘It’s Good to Go’ hole of the week. All players who made eagle this week were put into a draw for a $250 cash prize. Thomas Keddy, Alex McDonald and Paul Bonenfant eagled the hole on Tuesday; Wes Heffernan, Brodie Shields-Tyler, Luke Bogdan and Aaron Wagner eagled the hole on Wednesday; and Maxwell Cohen and Colwyn Abgrall eagled the hole on Thursday.
After a random draw, Colwyn Abgrall is our E-Z-GO winner.