Yohann Benson wins the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf
By: Brendan Stasiewich, PGA of Canada
Yohann Benson is an impeccable golfer.
During a round of golf, he says, he “never gets too up, or too down.”
Self-awareness in its purest form.
On Thursday, during the final round of the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf, from 125-yards out on the 9th hole, Benson holed out for eagle, the idyllic way to lead into the final nine holes of a national championship.
On the 10th tee of Bayview Golf & Country Club, you would have thought he two-putt for par.
The eagle matched him with Marcus Khaw and two-time Assistants’ champion Wes Heffernan.
Benson then made birdie on 10, 11 and 13 to take a three-stroke lead.
And when things suddenly got tight on 18, he hit three textbook shots to make birdie to win the event for the second time, by two strokes over Heffernan and Khan Lee, who made three birdies in the last four holes to put the pressure on.
For Benson, a PGA of Canada national champion for the third time, having previously won this event in 2023 as well as the PGA Championship of Canada in 2024, the victory was the product of patience, preparation and a temperament perfectly suited to championship golf.
“It feels awesome,” said Benson after the round. “I wasn't expecting such a good golf course, how firm and how fast it was. It's a great win and a great beginning of the season for me.”
The victory was anything but straightforward.
After birdies on the 1st and 4th holes, Benson stumbled with consecutive bogeys on six and seven before producing the shot of the tournament. Standing 125 yards from the flag on the ninth hole, as mentioned earlier, he holed his approach for eagle to instantly vault himself into contention.
“I holed out from 125 on nine, which was awesome,” said Benson.
From there, the momentum was unmistakably his.
While much of the field struggled with Bayview's firm greens and gusting winds, Benson played the back nine with confidence, making birdies on 10, 11 and 13 to separate himself from a crowded leaderboard that featured nearly a dozen players within striking distance at the start of the day.
“The wind was howling,” said Benson. “It was very difficult. The scores weren't really, really low. It was a very strong test and I'm very happy to come out on top.”
After a bogey on the par-3 17th trimmed his lead to one, Benson arrived on the 18th tee needing a birdie to put the tournament on ice. He responded like a champion, finding the fairway before hitting a superb approach that set up a closing birdie and removed any remaining doubt.
“I did a really good job during the round noticing where the dots were and where the misses were,” Benson explained. “I was very well prepared. I knew how far I had behind the pin because you can't see the green from your second shot on 18. I knew I had plenty of room behind and could be aggressive.”
"It's very sweet to win the PGA of Canada's Assistants' Championship, especially with it sponsored by Callaway,” said Benson. “Now being a staffer, now being part of the family, it's really, really sweet."
The victory continues a remarkable run of form for the Quebec native, who will tee it up in the RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in just two weeks.
"TPC Toronto is a long, long golf course, so I'm going to have six and five irons into most of the par fours,” said Benson, who will be making his first ever start in the Canadian Open. “I really need to have that dialed in for the competition in two weeks, which will be, again, such a privilege to play with the tour guys."
Making 14 birdies during the event, including a tournament-leading seven on Thursday, Marcus Khaw is the inaugural Birdie Juice Birdie Race champion. Khaw takes home a $250 bonus as well as a Birdie Juice care package.