PGA Tour Canada 2022: A battle in the Fortinet Cup standings is underway

After Noah Goodwin collected the Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open seven days prior, Ryan Gerard won the Québec Open at Club de Golf Le Blainvillier in the exact same fashion – through a wire-to-wire finish, a notably rare occurrence for the PGA Tour Canada.

When the former University of North Carolina standout completed his four rounds with a 16-under, he won the tournament by a mere one stroke over Thomas Walsh. The Canadian Tour typically doesn’t produce such tightly fought contests, but fans have witnessed consecutive weeks of events producing point chasers until the final hole, which hasn’t happened since 2017.

Gerard said, following his win in Québec: “It was a fantastic experience. I just really tried to stay patient and stay calm out there today. I knew I was leading by quite a few at one point, but I just wanted to take it one shot at a time. You never know what can happen.

“You just really have to lock in and stay focused on your game. You can’t worry about what anyone else is doing,” Gerard continued, who finished in Québec with a 73 this past weekend. “You’re just focused entirely on what you need to be doing. Everything else is a distraction.”

The Fortinet Chase

Following the Québec Open, technical issues prevented the Tour from updating their Fortinet Cup standings. But now we know that Gerard’s victory on Sunday propelled him into the top-five rankings. With the current standing’s leader Danny Walker absent from the event, the overall Fortinet Cup race has opened up the title chase.

Fifty-seven points separate the top-three players. Walker remains in first place with 720 points, but Wil Bateman is a mere 41 points behind in second. Bateman moved from the No.3 spot when he tied for seventh at Club de Golf Le Blainvillier’s Heritage course. Brian Carlson fell into third, 57 points behind Walker.

Six different winners’ have been produced from six tournaments during this year’s PGA TOUR Canada. Noah Goodwin is the only champion from this season who isn’t positioned in the top-five rankings, currently at No.6. But after his success in Ontario last weekend, his available odds of obtaining a viable position in the upcoming contests have significantly dropped. Aside from his success in Ontario, Goodwin had an impressive first round at the Québec Open, shooting a 1-under-71; unfortunately, an injury forced him to withdraw after 18 holes.

With that said, Ontario sports betting odds still have Walker in the most favorable wagering position, and he’d likely own a more significant lead should he have played in Québec.

The rest of the top-ten rankings involved Jake Knapp, Thomas Walsh, Cooper Dossey, and Cooper Musselman. And although he’s played just two tournaments this season, Walsh has entered the top-ten.

It’s been a positive weekend for Gerard, who also moved his Official World Golf Ranking from 1,831 to No.817 – the first time he’s entered the top 1,000 in his professional career.

Understanding the Fortinet Cup

For those still unaware of the Fortinet Cups’ purpose, it was designed to mirror the competition standings of the point-based tourneys from the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. The sponsorships supply a $100,000 (Canadian) player bonus pool, with $25,000 going to the winner. Top Fortinet Cup point-earners can earn membership for the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour, and the No.1-ranked player at the end of the season will become eligible to compete in every open 2023 Korn Ferry Tour tournament. The Fortinet Cup winner will additionally become exempt from the PGA TOUR’S 2023 RBC Canadian Open. Players that finish between second-fifth will receive a membership, and Korn Ferry Tour benefits will also become viable for those who finish sixth-tenth.

Current Fortinet Cup Standings

(Post Québec Open)