Canadians To Watch At The Beachlands Victoria Open
There are more than a few players coming in hot. Here are our five definitely worth keeping an eye on...
#5 - Anyone From The Monday Qualifier
While we may not know this as we go to press there will be 8 spots available from those competing at Highland Pacific. There are more than 50 Canadians registered to compete including locals Jimmy Jones, Callum Davison, Darren Day Jr., and Ben Griffin See the full field HERE
#4 Justin Towill
Fresh off earning the last tour card at the Q-School in Courtenay last week (see story HERE), the Kelowna native will be making his debut on PGA TOUR Americas. The 6'-4" lefty has the ability to put double circles on his scorecard. Last week at Crown Isle he posted three eagles and during a stint on the U.S.-based Asher mini-tour earlier this year he made an ace on a 179-yard par three. Look for more fireworks at Uplands.
#3 Jeevan Sihota
Victoria's native son has had a bit of a sophomore let-down so far during his second full year of playing the Tour. He made just three of six cuts on the Latin swing and placed 93rd on tour in terms of stroke average. It's easy to forget Jeevan is only 20-years old. In a Times-Colonist story from May 24th about the government adding $100,000 in support of the tournament (which can be viewed HERE) Sihota spoke about playing in South America and returning home, “The best word to describe it [playing in Latin America] is that it’s different... I am looking forward to the Canadian portion of the tour. Especially this Victoria tournament because I live 15 minutes away. This one is close to the heart... as a kid, I used to watch the pros playing here at Uplands and I would love to win here one day.” Look for the big hitter to rebound over the friendly confines of Uplands.
#2 Stuart Macdonald
At the age of 29, Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald may be entering the journeyman age for professional golf but he still definitely grinding away and getting wins. His last full year on the Korn Ferry was in 2022 and a loss of status led to a return to the then PGA TOUR Canada and the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2023. That year - for the two tours combined - he would make 13 of 14 cuts and win the Commissionaires Ottawa Open earning just over $84,000 USD for the year. 2024 has seen him continue that good play with a win in late April at the he Diners Club Peru Open in Lima... a city where he had previously earned medalist honours at the 2017 Peruvian Amateur. He also qualified for the PGA TOUR's Mexico Open finishing a very respectable 24th earning over $60,000. He enters the Canadian swing in fourth place in the Fortinet Cup and if he can remain in the top ten he will earn full exempt status on the Korn Ferry tour plus an exemption to the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-School. One more win would likely ensure that. Note: Macdonald had not confirmed competing as of press time.
#1 Matthew Anderson
The 24-year old from Mississauga just finished playing the Latin swing of the PGA TOUR Americas and served notice that he is a player who can contend. He made the cut in all six tournaments he played, placed in the top ten three times and won once at the Brazil Open. He led the tour with a 69.23 stroke average and leads the point race for the Fortinet Cup. This gives him the same opportunities as Macdonald but his lead at the end of the Latin swing guarantees him at least conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. If that wasn't enough to motivate Matthew, a good finish at Uplands would likely move him into the top 500 players in the world according to the OWGR.
See the full list of competitors HERE