Scott Stevens is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but he is getting used to the wet left coast of the continent. He got into the PGA Tour sa国际传媒 Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by the sa国际传媒 by doing well amid a downpour in a qualifier held in Tacoma, Washington.
He did more than well Saturday in similar conditions in co-leading with Cooper Dossey, a two-time NCAA Div. 1 All-American out of Baylor University, after the third round Saturday at Uplands with a 13-under total of 197.
“I gained a lot of confidence in the Q School,” said Stevens, a 2019 graduate of the NCAA Div. 1 University of South Carolina Fighting Gamecocks.
“It’s my first time as a member of a PGA-sanctioned tournament and it’s been awesome with a course in perfect set-up and condition.”
It needed to be in the wet conditions.
“The weather actually suits my game well,” said Stevens.
“It was similar to Tacoma. You have to hit a bunch of fairways and greens and roll in a few putts on days like this,” said Stevens.
“The key is to keep your grips dry. I care more about my grips than I do about myself. The rain is tougher on the caddies than it is on us.”
Stevens and Dossey held three-shot leads heading into Sunday’s final round over a group of five tied for third place at 10-under 200.
“You just have to stay calm,” said Stevens.
“There’s a bunch of guys close to the lead and all those guys are capable of winning this.”
In the third-place grouping at 10-under were the leading Canadians Joey Savoie, Wil Bateman and Chris Crisologo.
Savoie won the low-round trophy at Bear Mountain two years ago in the sa国际传媒 Life Series tournament. The native of La Prairie, Que., out of NCAA Middle Tennessee State, represented sa国际传媒 in the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games and was Canadian amateur golfer of the year in 2018 and competed in the RBC Canadian Open that year.
“It’s one shot at a time,” said Savoie.
“I think it’s always easier to chase than to lead.”
About the day, he added: “There was a good amount of people who came out to support our group despite the weather.”
Top Island golfers were Maxwell Sear of Royal Colwood, tied for 22nd at 7-under 203, Jeevan Sihota of Gorge Vale tied for 39th at 4-under and Riley Wheeldon of Comox, tied for 56th at 1-under.
The golfers this week are trying to follow in the footsteps of the likes of the top-two finishers of the last normal pre-pandemic Victoria Open in 2019 as winner Paul Barjon and runner-up Doc Redman both went on to the PGA Tour. They are part of a total of 54 PGA Tour sa国际传媒 alumni to have advanced to play on the PGA Tour since 2013 with 16 PGA Tour victories between them. More than 250 PGA Tour sa国际传媒 alumni have gone onto play on the Korn Ferry Tour, one step from the PGA Tour, since 2013 with 50 victories between them.
The golfers this season are also chasing the full-season exemption into the 2023 Korn Kerry Tour for the top placer in the 2022 PGA Tour sa国际传媒 Fortinet Cup season points standings, with the second-through-fifth-place finishers earning selected provisional starts on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour. The top-two season finishers, and top Canadian, on the PGA Tour sa国际传媒 this year will also earn exemptions into the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
“It’s an exciting Tour because there’s an opportunity to make the Korn Ferry Tour,” said Stevens.
“So you’re playing for a little bit more than just money here because the ultimate goal is the PGA Tour.”
The Royal Beach Victoria Open is the opening tournament of the 11-event 2022 PGA Tour sa国际传媒 season.
