Blair Bursey Victorious In Victoria To Close Mackenzie Tour Season

Details

Category: Inside Golf

Published: 2021-10-04

VICTORIA, British Columbia—Blair Bursey grinded his way to a 1-over round of 71, and it was good enough for him to hang on for win at the season-ending Reliance Properties DCBank Open at Uplands Golf Club. The Gander, Newfoundland, native finished at 10-under, claiming a one-shot victory over a quartet of players after recording four top-five finishes earlier in the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

“It’ nice to get the rewards of the hard work,” said Bursey who finished the season in second place on the points list. “A lot of close calls but it feels really nice, and satisfying, to pull this one out despite having some difficulties over the last few days.”

Four players tied for second—amateur Jeevan Sihota, Andrew Harrison, Jonnie Motomochi and Yi Cao. Harrison, the Camrose, Alberta, native shot an even-par round of 70, and had a chance to force a playoff on No. 18, but his birdie putt came up one rotation short of falling into the hole.

“It’s definitely kind of heartbreaking,” said Harrison. “I gave myself a good look there, straight up the hill, and I just forgot to hit it. It’s frustrating for sure right now, but I’m proud of how I played today, and I fought as hard as I could out there.

Sihota of Victoria, only age 17, finished as the top amateur this week.

“It was a good week,” said Sihota who is a member of the Golf Canada Under-18 national team. “Obviously it hurts a little bit but to come up one shot short, but it was a good week and I scrambled well today to keep myself in it.”

Sunday’s final round at Uplands Golf Club also capped a run of seven consecutive weeks on the road for many of the players, including Bursey.

“This was a huge step forward for my development, and probably for a lot of other guys too,” said the lefthanded Bursey. “When you’re playing in consecutive weeks, you find out a lot about yourself and your game. It will really help with preparation as we move forward in our careers.”

Two Ontario golfers, Craig Stefureak of Caledonia, and Aurora’s Marc Casullo, tied for sixth place, at 8-under, along with Etienne Brault of Mercier, Quebec.

Key Information

Points List Standings

Season Complete

Complete Points List

• Points List winner and Player of the Year Callum Davison, of Duncan, British Columbia, tied for low-round-of-the-day honors with Etienne Brault. Both players shot 6-under 64s. By virtue of his Player of the Year win, Davison earned a berth in the 2022 RBC Canadian Open.

• Delta, British Columbia golfers Jonnie Motomochi and Yi Cao both shot 2-under rounds of 68 Sunday to get into the four-way tie for second place.

• Twenty-nine players shot under par in the final round.

• Prior to this season, Blair Bursey had only played in two Mackenzie Tour tournaments—both in 2019. He missed the cut at the HFX Pro-Am and tied for 47th at the Mackenzie Investments Open.

• Blair Bursey gave an indication of what he could when he played in the four-event series of events in Canada a year ago after the global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Mackenzie Tour. In those four tournaments, Bursey made the cut in all four starts, tying for ninth and tying for fourth in event Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

• The top-five players on the final Points List earned 2022 PGA TOUR Canada membership. First place on the Points List, Davison, received exempt status for the entire 2022 PGA TOUR Canada season, while those in the second-through-fifth positions earned exempt status up until the first reshuffle based on player performance. They include Blair Bursey, Kingston amateur Noah Steele, Cambridge, Ontario’s Brendan Leonard and Michael Blair of Ancaster, Ontario.

Quotable

“I had to have a bit of awareness that I didn’t have my best stuff today. Regardless, I still had to find a way to get the ball in the hole. It was probably more of a mental battle than a physical one.” –Blair Bursey

“I’m really looking forward to getting some chances on this Tour next year, playing against the full fields, and the whole nine yards. It will be great, and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.” –Blair Bursey

 “I want to say thanks to my friends and family back home. I’m as far west as I can be right now, and I know back east everyone is really excited, so I just want to say thanks to everybody that has supported me since day one.” –Blair Bursey on the support from his hometown in Gander, Newfoundland

 “I’m proud of how I hung in there. I didn’t have my game, but I had some good up-and-downs and stayed in there until the end. Looking back on that, I just have to be happy with how I hung in there.” –Andrew Harrison

 “I just have to keep grinding. The little things matter, for sure. Just like one or two shots and sometimes just one bad shot can cost you a tournament.” –Jeevan Sihota on what he learned this week

Final-Round Weather

Warm and partly cloudy. High of 15. Wind SE at 12 kph.

• PGA Canada
• Rotator