Elmvale’s Andrew Nagel will tee it up alongside some of the best amateur golfers in the world later this month, after he qualified for the 120th Canadian Amateur Championship.
Nagel was one of six Barrie-area golfers to compete in the Ontario Amateur Championship at Deerhurst Highlands Golf Course in Huntsville, Ont., last week, where he finished tied for 52nd.
Over the first two days, Nagel, who plays out of Barrie Country Club, posted rounds of 75-77, allowing him to make the 36-hole cut by one single stroke. He finished the tournament with rounds of 79-76, punching his ticket to the national championship, which will be held at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club from July 26-31.
Barrie’s Ashton Rinaldi (81-75) and Mitchell Brassard (80-76), the latter of whom is the son of MP John Brassard, were among those who missed the two-day cut. Taylor Beckstead (75-86), Joshua Taylor (80-73) and the aptly-named Bradley Greenside (77-78), all of whom play out of the nearby Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club, also did not qualify to play the event’s final two rounds.
The provincial championship was won by Eric Zhao from Bayview Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont., who had a score of -7 following rounds of 70-71-70-70. Zhao prevailed in a playoff over Dawson Lew from Coppinwood Golf Club (Goodwood, Ont.), while NHL referee Garrett Rank from Westmount Golf and Country Club (Kitchener, Ont.) finished in third-place.
The Canadian Amateur Championship is one of the country’s most prestigious golf tournaments and regularly attracts top amateur players from around the world. Previous winners of the event include past and current PGA Tour players, like Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes and Richard Zokol, all of whom went on to win PGA Tour events.
The tournament’s winner is also customarily granted a spot in the following year’s Canadian Open, where they will have the opportunity to compete against top-tier PGA Tour players, like Rory McIlroy.
Next year’s Canadian Open is set to be played at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ont.
