Vancouver Open Full of PGA Tour Canada Talent

Pagoda Ridge Features Unique Asian-Influenced Pieces Of Architecture Including The Great Wall Of Langley, Which Greets You On The Right Side Of The 14Th Hole - Image Credit Alfie Lau

by Alfie Lau

If you didn’t know the event was the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Vancouver Open at Pagoda Ridge and Ledgeview, you might have thought it was the second Vancouver stop on PGA Tour Canada.

Dotting the leaderboard is PC Financial Open runner-up Riley Wheeldon, PGA Tour Canada winner of the Syncrude Boreal Open in Fort McMurray, Kevin Spooner, and PGA Tour Canada regulars Ryan Williams, Adam Cornelson, Brad Clapp, Kevin Stinson, Thomas Hay and Seann Harlingten.

That’s because the VGT event falls in a nice two-week hole in the PGA Tour Canada schedule and after the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary ended on Aug. 2 – its now permanent date after flooding in 2013 precipitated a date change – many of these professionals came back to Vancouver to relax and recuperate before the final five events, beginning with the National Capital Open in Ottawa, of the Tour run from Aug. 20 to Sept. 20.

VGT Commissioner Fraser Mulholland has done an admirable job building up the little tour that could and you just need to look around at all the sponsor flags which ringed the putting green at Pagoda Ridge.

Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies, as the title sponsor of the Vancouver Open, is prominently on display, as are presenting sponsors Blume and CNA. And because all the pros are playing in the Charity Pro-Am Title Sponsored by 2 UNDR and Presenting Sponsor Saputo, those banners are also prominent, along with the 2 UNDR underwear tee gift which went to all amateurs in the Pro-Am.

Harlingten would have the best day, winning $500 for the low score of (-5) 67, but the biggest winners would have to be local golf fans who don’t need to travel far to see tomorrow’s champions today.

Some 41 professionals teed it up, including Jerry Christiansen from Saskatoon, SK and Scott Stiles from Calgary. Stiles said there’s no comparable tour to the VGT in Alberta, so he’s thankful for the opportunity to compete and work on his game as he tries to gain status on PGA Tour Canada and then the Web.com Tour.

image credit alfie lau

Sponsor Flags Ringed The Practice Green And Entrance To Pagoda Ridge During The 2Undr Charity Pro-Am Prior To The Johnston Meier Vancouver Open

The numbers for the VGT are startling: 245 tournaments hosted since 2006, with $1.85 million in purse payouts; 8 players sent to PGA Tour Q-School; 24 players on PGA Tour Canada or higher; 12 VGT players who’ve won on PGA Tour Canada in the last five years and 13 of the top 23 top ranked (by OWGR) golfers in Canada.

The coup de grace has to be the success seen by two VGT alumni, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. Taylor won the Sanderson Farms Championship last November and is exempt on the PGA TOUR for the next two-plus seasons. Hadwin looks set to keep his 2015-16 card and play in the FedEx Cup because of his consistent performances all year on the PGA TOUR.

While Hadwin was in Reno, NV trying to win the Barracuda Championship and earn his way into the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Taylor was actually back at Ledgeview, visiting family and relaxing with some of his buddies before they headed out to play the VGT.

Hadwin won the Vancouver Open in 2010 and 2011, with subsequent winners of the event being Eugene Wong in 2012, Chris Epperson in 2013 and Adam Cornelson in 2014.

As for the 2UNDR Charity Pro-Am, prizes for the top 13 teams saw everything from KIKKOR gift certificates to Cleveland golf gear being awarded to the winning teams. Pagoda Ridge played very tough, with slick greens and pins worthy of the final round of the Vancouver Open.

A notable highlight was the Johnston Meier $1 million Shoot-Out after the tournament ended. Mulholland hit the best shot by a professional, missing an ace by 8 inches on the par-3 3rd hole, and qualified for the Shoot-Out, but as a good host, he did not win.

And while a lot of fun was had on the day, Mulholland’s vision for the VGT is the lasting legacy of the Little Tour That Could:

“By providing the most professional and competitive environment possible, the VGT has been giving professionals and amateurs the ability to hone their skills and compete for significant professional purses and prizes. VGT’s objective is to create the environment for success and give our most competitive golfers a path to reach the highest plateau of golf possible – the PGA TOUR.”

www.twitter.com/AlfieLau