A National Hockey League Hall of Famer and the son of another will be in the field of 132 players teeing it up at the final Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Qualifying School, beginning today at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay.
Grant Fuhr, a former Victoria Cougar who went on to win five Stanley Cups, will give it another go over the four rounds. Eric Hawerchuk of Barrie, Ont., son of NHL Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk, continues to try to make a living on the tour.
For Fuhr, who is making his fourth attempt at Q-school, it’s all about fun.
“Old and stubborn — that’s half the fun of it. I enjoy it. It’s fun to try and be competitive,” he said after his Monday practice round with Hawerchuk at the 7,025-yard course up-Island.
“I’m going to say I’m the oldest guy here by about 25 or 30 years, give or take,” said the 53-year-old, who is director of golf at Desert Dunes in Desert Hot Springs, California, owned by retired curler Kevin Martin and three other Canadians. “I enjoy playing in these and try to be competitive. It fuels the fire a little bit, fills a void.”
Fuhr has attempted to earn his card three previous times to no avail. At last year’s Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel in Thunder Bay, he was given a sponsor’s exemption, where he shot rounds of 83-84 and missed the cut of 141 by 26 shots in the tour stop.
He’ll be back at the Staal tournament this year and is the honorary chairman of the tour stop in Edmonton, the Oil Country Championship in late July. Fuhr is heading to Montreal for a signing following Q-school; home for a week; then competes in Marshall Faulk’s event in San Diego. Fuhr competes in roughly 20 pro-am tournaments during the year.
“I have no real expectations here. I just go out and play and see where it takes me,” said the laid-back former goaltender, who was in Victoria in November for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Western Hockey League. “That’s the easiest part for me. When I get the opportunity to go out and play, I relax. I’ve accomplished what I want to accomplish in life, so this is kind of a bonus.”
This is the fourth and final qualifying school for the tour and the winner will earn full exemption for the 2016 season, with the second- to 16th-place finishers receiving exemption through the first four events, before a re-shuffle through earnings. The 17th- to 40th-place finishers receive conditional status.
Among the players to watch are Adam Cornelson of Langley, who has placed in the top-25 nine times in his 50 career Mackenzie Tour starts; Aaron Wise and Jonathan Garrick of California, who are No. 6 and 40, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking; Sepp Straka of the University of Georgia; and Hugo Leon, of Chile, who has won twice on the Mackenzie Tour. Leon also finished fourth on the Order of Merit in 2013 to earn status on the Web.com Tour, where he has competed the last two years.
Other competitors with local ties or who have previously played events in the area include Marko Viinikka of Victoria; Matt Hamilton of Courtenay; Langley’s Thomas Hay; Kevin Stinson of Mission; and Brendan Dillon of Port Moody.
The 2016 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada season begins May 26 with the Freedom 55 Financial Open at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver before shifting over to Victoria for the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist on June 2 at Uplands Golf Club.
CHIP SHOTS: Gordy Scutt of Olympic View topped the field at last weekend’s Arbutus Ridge Open, the first major on the Vancouver Island Pro Tour, with rounds of 70-64 for a 134 total, ahead of amateur Brent Wilson’s 68-68 finish. Darren Griff, of Morningstar, finished second among the pros at 142 total while Jeff Palmer of Ardmore was third at 145.
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