Andrew McCain, proving to be a survivor, did not get voted off the Island.
Not only does he get to stay, but he can bring 14 of his buddies with him to Uplands Golf Club from the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒's final qualifying tournament at Crown Isle in Courtenay.
McCain won the four-round Crown Isle tournament by three strokes at 17 under par to claim the sixth and final qualifying tournament for the 2019 Mackenzie Tour, which includes the Bayview Place DC Bank Open presented by the sa国际传媒 from May 30 to June 2 at Uplands.
The University of Maryland Terrapins graduate gained a full exemption into the 2019 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 season.
The second through 14th placings earned entry into the first six Tour stops, which include the Vancouver and Victoria events. But it was McCain, a 25-year-old native of Knoxville, Tennessee, who won the big prize of a full year鈥檚 ride.
鈥淚t's not really like a normal golf tournament because it鈥檚 more stressful all the way through,鈥� McCain said in a statement.
鈥淎t the same time, it鈥檚 almost more satisfying just because you have one shot every year to do it [qualify for the season].
鈥淪o, to show up and have some game when it matters, means a lot. It鈥檚 great not really having to worry about when you鈥檙e going to play, or where you鈥檙e going to play, or if you鈥檙e going to get into an event.
鈥淜nowing you have a place to play the entire year is exciting.鈥�
The 15th to 40th finishers in Courtenay gained conditional status for the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 season as space allows. Falling into that category with their Crown Isle results were Island hopefuls Zach Anderson of Nanaimo, an NCAA Pac-12 graduate of the Washington State Cougars out of Dover Bay Secondary, and Parklands Secondary graduate and former University of Victoria Vikes player Andrew Funk.
Overall, however, it was not a halcyon week for the 31 Canadians who battled a mostly American field of NCAA Div. 1 golfers for the coveted Tour spots.
Top Canadian was Simon Fraser University Clan graduate Michael Belle from Burnaby, who tied for sixth and was seven off the pace set by McCain.
The winner of the Bayview Place DC Bank Open will be granted an exemption into the PGA鈥檚 2019 RBC Canadian Open the following week and will jump right from Uplands to the heady confines of the big-league gathering at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
CHIP SHOTS: You can get there from here. There are 11 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 alumni, who came through Uplands, and who are now in the top-100 of the latest FedEx Cup standings, including Corey Conners at No. 20, Tony Finau at No. 26 and C.T. Pan at No. 28.
