TOTTENHAM – SPORTS — After traversing across the country—from Victoria to Edmonton to Saskatchewan to Prince Edward Island to Caledon—PGA TOUR Canada moves just 35 kilometers down the road this week, staying in the general Toronto metro area.
The Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open is set for Thursday through Sunday at the Woodington Lake Golf Club (Legends Course). Last week’s Osprey Valley Open was played at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
“Being in the same city is awesome, and I think it just allowed us an opportunity on Sunday night and a little bit [Monday], as well, to explore the city, see what it has to offer and kind of get away from golf for a second,” said Jacob Solomon, who tied for fifth place last week. “So, yeah, it’s nice to be here again—same rental car and just comfortable with the conditions. I think it helps a lot.”
Solomon is coming off a season-best performance. He finished three shots behind Danny Walker and Cooper Musselman Sunday.
“Last week was a great feeling to get in the mix, obviously. Anytime you’re contending on Sunday and getting the adrenaline going, it’s really cool,” Solomon said. “I just managed my golf super well. (My) putter got hot the first couple days, and unfortunately just fell a little short on the last nine holes with one birdie one, one bogey.”
While acknowledging he really couldn’t get any putts to go down in the final stretch, Solomon is taking a similar mindset about this week’s tournament, in general.
“Just try to get in contention early and stay there,” said Solomon, a former star at Auburn.
Walker won at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in a playoff over Musselman. There has yet to be a repeat champion on PGA TOUR Canada this season, causing a bit of logjam in the Fortinet Cup standings. Walker leads the overall points lead, with 620, but is followed is closely followed by the three other 2022 champions: Wil Bateman (ATB Classic; 591), Brian Carlson (Prince Edward Island Open; 562) and Scott Stevens (Royal Beach Victoria Open; 519).
This week’s venue provides a change of pace for the competitors. Solomon noted the differences between Woodington Lake and TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, explaining that the conditions are pretty soft. Tee shots are a little bit tight and the really thick rough could be penalizing. Fairways, thus, are at a premium, as is hitting the right spots on the greens.
The Rundown
DATES: July 28-31, 2022
OFFICIAL NAME: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open
HASHTAGS: #FortinetCup
SCHEDULE: Sixth of 11 official events of the 2022 PGA TOUR Canada season
VENUE: Woodington Lake Golf Club (Legend course)
PAR/YARDS: 71 (36-35), 6,863
POINTS LIST: Winner earns 500 points
PURSE MONEY: (Canadian) $200,000 (winner claims Canadian $36,000)
CUT: Top 60 professional (and ties, plus any amateurs inside the top-60)
FORTINET CUP: The season-long points chase mirrors the competitive structure of the points-based competitions on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. Through the sponsorship, the Fortinet Cup offers a new $100,000 player bonus pool—with $25,000 to the winner—to the top Fortinet Cup points-winners. The top-five Fortinet Cup points-earners gain membership to the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour, while Korn Ferry Tour benefits are available to those finishing sixth through 10th. In addition, the Fortinet Cup winner will also be exempt into the PGA TOUR’s 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Fortinet Cup standings
Rank | Player | Points |
1 | Danny Walker (U.S.) | 620 |
2 | Wil Bateman (Canada) | 591 |
3 | Brian Carlson (U.S.) | 562 |
4 | Scott Stevens (U.S.) | 519 |
5 | Cooper Musselman (U.S.) | 418 |
6 | Joe Highsmith (U.S.) | 379 |
7 | Cooper Dossey (U.S.) | 374 |
8 | Jake Knapp (U.S.) | 364 |
9 | Chris R. Wilson (Canada) | 336 |
10 | Jorge Villar (Mexico) | 258 |
TITLE SPONSOR: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
BENEFITING CHARITIY: Ontario Disabilities Championship
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
Thursday, July 28 First Round
Friday, July 29 Second Round
Saturday, July 30 Third Round
Sunday, July 31 Final Round
FIELD OVERVIEW:
SIZE: 156 players
COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: Australia (2), Canada (42), China (3), England (1), France (2), Germany (2), Hong Kong (1), Mexico (1), Switzerland (1), United States (100), Zimbabwe (1).
LAST PGA TOUR CANADA TOURNAMENT: Danny Walker won his first PGA TOUR Canada event in nearly four years by edging Cooper Musselman in a playoff Sunday at the Osprey Valley Open.
OPEN-QUALIFYING: Earlier this week, the tournament conducted a Monday qualifier, with eight playing spots available for the best-performing players in the 18-hole event. The following qualified.
Player (Country) | Score |
Kevin Gordon (Canada) | 5-under |
Calvin Ross (Canada) | 5-under |
Etienne Brault (Canada) | 4-under |
Branson Ferrier (Canada) | 4-under |
Mike Van Sickle (U.S.) | 4-under |
James Hervol (U.S) | 3-under |
Ryan Elmes (U.S.) | 3-under |
Ryan Linton (U.S. | 3-under |
GOLF COURSE: Woodington Lake Golf Club (Legends course)
PGA TOUR CANADA ALUMNI: Since 2013, more than 250 players have graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour, with 46 players accounting for 52 wins. From there, 54 players have moved on to the PGA TOUR, with 14 players accounting for 17 wins. They are Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Joel Dahmen, J.J. Spaun, Nick Taylor, Tony Finau, C.T. Pan, Talor Gooch, Adam Long, Aaron Wise, CamDavis, Ryan Brehm, Chad Ramey and Sepp Straka. There are currently 10 Canadians on the PGA TOUR.