This could be the Mackenize Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒鈥檚 version of A Star Is Born.
It has been Callum Davison鈥檚 breakout season with everyone else playing supporting roles. The 21-year-old from Maple Bay has won two of the seven previous tournaments and leads the season points standings by a robust margin heading into the concluding Reliance 颅Properties DCBank Open presented by the sa国际传媒 today through Sunday at Uplands.
That he has home-Island advantage this week almost doesn鈥檛 seem fair. Davison has played Uplands many times before with his unorthodox cross-handed style in which he uses a left-handed grip to play right-handed. It鈥檚 what he has felt comfortable with ever since he was a kid tearing up his home Cowichan Golf Club course and winning the sa国际传媒 U-14 championship as a 12-year-old.
鈥淚t just felt natural to me, the grip and all. That鈥檚 when it hit me: 鈥楬ey, I can play this game,鈥� 鈥� said Davison.
He was a rep hockey player as well, up to Bantam Triple-A with the Cowichan Valley Capitals system, but there was never any doubt what sport he would pursue. Those early roots planted at Cowichan Golf Club still have him firmly grounded in the game of golf.
鈥淐owichan head pro Norm Jackson was a mentor and has believed in me since Day 1, as has everybody at my home club,鈥� said Davison.
So much so that Cowichan assistant pro Andy Johnson will be Davison鈥檚 caddy this weekend at Uplands. That role usually goes to his dad, Robert Davison, as Callum likes to keep things 颅in-house almost literally.
Brother Cameron Davison came out of Cowichan Golf Club to play NCAA Div. 1 at Pepperdine University. Callum Davison, who completed his secondary schooling online, decided on a different route and turned pro three years ago after initially signing NCAA Div. 1 with the University of Nevada Wolf Pack. Not that it was going too well earlier this year after he qualified for the 2021 Forme Tour in the U.S.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the longest hitter and was having a difficult time off the tee after four events in the Forme Tour, so I got fitted for a new driver, and started hitting it not bad,鈥� said Callum Davison.
That began paying big 颅dividends this month with two victories in the pandemic-abbreviated eight-tournament Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 with Davison winning the GolfBC Championship last weekend at Gallagher鈥檚 颅Canyon in Kelowna by two strokes with a 14-under 270 after taking the Brudenell River Classic in Prince Edward Island with a one-stroke victory over Noah Steele at 15-under.
鈥淥nce I get it onto the 颅fairway, I feel very confident in my game,鈥� said Davison.
That has given the Islander a healthy lead in the season standings, with 1,164 points to second-place Steele鈥檚 926. Steele, a Team sa国际传媒 player and amateur from Kingston, Ont., has been the other breakout storyline of the season.
Both Davison and Steele have plenty to shoot for in their careers. The top two finishers from the last Victoria Open pre-pandemic in 2019, winner Paul Barjon and runner-up Doc Redman, both went on to the PGA Tour. There鈥檚 nothing odd about that. Future PGA players from Steve Stricker to Tony Finau to Mackenzie Hughes have come through the Victoria tournament since 1981.
The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 leads to the Korn Ferry Tour, which leads to the PGA Tour. The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 since 2013 has produced 56 PGA Tour players, who have won 11 PGA tournaments, and more than 300 players for the Korn Ferry Tour, who have produced 47 victories at that gateway-to-the-PGA level.
鈥淭he PGA Tour is every kid鈥檚 dream and is what I have been striving for since I was 12-years-old,鈥� said Davison, who spends winters golfing out of the family鈥檚 second home in Palm Springs, California.
The first round of the 颅Reliance Properties DCBank Open presented by the sa国际传媒 is today, second round Friday, third round Saturday and final round Sunday. As per the sa国际传媒 health guidelines for outdoor events, fans are allowed onsite.
Forced by the pandemic, this is the second-to-latest date the Victoria Open has been held since its inception in 1981. It will revert to its regular first-week-of-June time slot in 2022. The prize purse this week is $100,000. It will return to its 颅normal $200,000 level next year.
CHIP SHOTS: Chelsea Truong, a 15-year-old player with a four handicap, had her head shaved before teeing off in Wednesday鈥檚 Pro-Am to raise funds for the Cops For Cancer Tour de Rock.
