Golf Note: Heffernan Cruises to Win Canada’s PGA Championship

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It’s not like a stress-free win in golf, but with an eight-stroke lead and a very good mood about hitting the ball, Calgary’s Weshefernan was at least a little more relaxed. .. He finished the wire-to-wire victory in the historic 100th play of the Canadian Bet Regal PGA Championship.

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This probably prevented me from going home and biting my excessive nails.

Some of Hefernan’s friends and supporters were unaware that this was a 72-hole shootout, so he was already after finishing his third lap at the Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario, near Toronto. I received some congratulatory texts from people who thought so. I sealed the title.

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Oops.

“It put some extra pressure on me,” Heffernan laughed. “I just said,’Well, there’s one more round left.’ And now they’re worried, so everyone apologizes. Then you have to win, or you’ll feel sick. prize?”

After all, they had nothing to worry about.

Hefernan finally signed for a total of 10 under 278 in four days, finishing five shots before the pack after the final round on Friday.

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The 45-year-old is as modest as they come, but he admits he didn’t miss many shots in a national showdown featuring 100 clubs and a field of education professionals from across the country. I did.

“I absolutely striped it. I hit it really well,” he said. Hefernan, who spent some outstanding seasons on what was then known as the Canada Tour and is now the owner / instructor of Dynamic Motion Golf Performance, said. “It was probably great to hit an iron in a tournament throughout all four rounds.”

This included a fierce start on the final day, knocking on the first four approach shots within 10 feet of the flagpole, with little chance of a companion coming back.

A few hours later, he was posing for a photo with the PD Los Trophy. His name is about to be engraved with something like a starry sky like Arnold Palmer or Lee Trevino.

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“And all the great Canadians are there too. It’s pretty cool,” Heffernan said when the congratulatory messages came one after another. “It definitely makes a lot of sense to me.”

With his dominant performance at Beacon Hall, Heffernan remains at the top of Canada’s PGA player rankings. Thanks to its best status, he earned tax exemption to tee it up at the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month.

He missed the cut at the start of the PGA Tour for the first time in over a decade, which proved to be an important introductory book for his two proud fathers.

“Two weeks ago, I was able to play and practice for a full week in PGA Tour conditions on a really tough golf course, so I think I’ve improved to everyone else,” Hefernan said on a walk at Beacon Hall. I said later. He fired rounds 68-69-69-72. “This course was even stronger. It wasn’t a tough setting as it wasn’t a PGA Tour event, but it helped prepare for a tough golf course. For many, how hard and fast it is. I think I was a little shocked about that, but two weeks ago I started playing in some very tough conditions in the first two rounds at St. George’s. He helped me prepare.

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“And basically I was lucky to be able to play for seven days in a row, so I took part in this tournament sharply, and it definitely showed.”

Chip shot: Riley Fleming (Links Ridge) arrives at Beacon Hall as a defending champion and finishes in 4th place with 1 under … Country Hills Megan LeBlanc returns to the familiar perch — City Amateur of the Calgary Ladies Golf Association. Leaderboard top. She has now won this particular trophy five times. LeBlanc completed three spins in Earl Gray and was seven strokes off the field with a great score of even par 216. Sidney Bisgrove (Canyon Meadows) came in second with a 4-under 68 (best round of the tournament), and Calasmith (Mickelson National) claimed low net honors … Pincher’s outstanding amateur Ethan Chek Creek was in the weather. Earn the right to brag at the shortened Thunder Alberta Open. Hee-seop Choi, who competes jointly with North Carolina State University Wolfpack and is a regular player at Lethbridge CC during the summer, sat at 9 under 135 before the final round was washed away by heavy rain. Stefan Cox, head of Calgary G & CC, finished as Choi’s runner-up and raised $ 8,000 payday as a top pro.

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

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