The smile on Scott McCarron鈥檚 face said it all.
He had that look of, it鈥檚 good to be back on Vancouver Island.
What鈥檚 not to love, right? The popular PGA Tour Champions pro, who hails from Sacramento, but now calls La Quinta, California, home, finished second here last season in the inaugural Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, losing out in a three-hole playoff to Colin Montgomerie.
So far this season, McCarron has won four times 鈥� at the Allianz Championship in Week 2; then again at the Constellation Senior Players Championship in July; a month later at the Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods Open; and two weeks ago in Calgary at the Shaw Charity Classic.
The former Canadian Tour player 鈥� who teed it up in the early 1990s at Gorge Vale after earning his card at Morningstar 鈥攁lso finished second last week to Montgomerie at the Japan Airlines Championship. He has earned $2,267,585 in 20 events in 2017 to sit second on the Charles Schwab Cup standings, just behind Bernhard Langer鈥檚 $2,594,635.
How impressive has McCarron鈥檚 year been? Along with the four victories, he has had three runner-up finishes and 10 top-10s, exactly half the 20 events played.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a good year and it was a good year last year, second [in the Charles Cup] going into the last event. I鈥檓 playing well, playing solid and I鈥檓 trying to track down my idol, Bernhard Langer,鈥� said the smiling McCarron. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a real tough guy to catch. He puts a lot of work into it.
鈥淚鈥檝e watched him a lot, and played with him a lot and he鈥檚 been an inspiration for me to see what I need to do to be at the top. I鈥檝e worked real hard to get on Champions Tour, to get ready for it,鈥� said McCarron, 52. 鈥淭he guys at the top put in the most work.鈥�
And Victoria is one of the favourite stops for him and his wife, Jenny McCarron. In fact, she will play a round or two at the Valley Course during the stay.
鈥淩eally good memories 鈥� I love being up here. The golf course was in great shape last year. I love being in the mountains and, for me, it鈥檚 almost like being home,鈥� said McCarron, whose mother, Gloria McCarron, resides in Kaslo in the West Kootenays. Like last year, she will venture in to watch.
Having recorded a solid scoring average of 68.84 over the 2017 season, McCarron hopes to zero in on Langer鈥檚 No. 1 position. He hopes to finish the job this year at Bear Mountain, after letting the win slip away in 2016.
Leading heading to the final hole on Sunday last year, McCarron hit his tee shot under a tree branch and had to chip out on the par-15 18th. He suffered a bogey when a par would have won him the tournament.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 blame the tree,鈥� he said on Tuesday, just minutes after playing the same hole on his practice round. 鈥淯nfortunately, I didn鈥檛 hit a god shot there. I put myself in a good position to win. I should have won the tournament, but missed a hybrid off the tee and it ended in a bad spot. But I had my chances in the playoff and just didn鈥檛 get it done. Colin played well and he was a good champion.鈥�
CHIP SHOTS: A total of 78 players will tee it up at Bear Mountain with the total purse here having dropped from $2.5 million US to $1.8M with the winner earning $270,000 and last place collecting $900. 鈥� Four of 16 players earned the right to play this week in qualifying on Tuesday on the Valley Course. Kent Jones of Los Ranchos, New Mexico, led the way with a 64 followed by Mauricio Molina of Argentina at 69 and Jeff Hart of Solana, California with a 70. Australia鈥檚 David MacKenzie, who used to play the Canadian Tour, nailed down the fourth and final spot in a three-way playoff after a tie at 71.
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Twitter/tc_vicsports
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THE TOURNAMENT
Schedule for the PGA Tour Champions鈥� Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship. All rounds on the Mountain Course.
鈥� TODAY
Pro-Am No. 1
Gates open at 8 a.m.
鈥� THURSDAY
Pro-Am No. 2
Gates open at 7 a.m.
鈥� FRIDAY
First Round
Gates open at 7 a.m.
鈥� SATURDAY
Second round
Gates open at 7 a.m.
鈥� SUNDAY
Final Round
Gates open at 8 a.m.
Trophy presentation at 6 p.m.
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TICKETS: Pro-Ams $25; Tournament day pass $40; Tournament weekly pass (Wednesday-Sunday) $99
PARKING: Free with shuttle to course at Western Speedway, Old Belmont school (Sat.-Sun. only) and Camosun College Interurban (Sat.-Sun. only)
