Amateur Crisologo comes up big
B.C. native has impact in debut at Canadian Open
Chris Crisologo might not be the biggest of fellows, but he can sure pound the ball.
Listed at a generous 5-foot-9, Crisologo hit one out there 364 yards at Glen Abbey on Sunday afternoon.
The 22-year-old Richmond, B.C., native was playing with compatriot Roger Sloan during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open and recorded a respectable 3-under 69 to hit 9-under for the tournament.
“It was quite the experience,” Crisologo said of playing in his first Canadian Open. “Coming to the event, I felt pretty good about my game, and I felt really good making the cut and then having a little bit of impact on the weekend.”
Crisologo, one of seven Canadians to make the cut from the 21 entered in the tournament, was the only amateur in the field to get through to the weekend and his score was good enough to rank him fourth among the homegrown golfers. A national team member since last fall, Crisologo has some big events ahead of him.
“I’ve got a week off, or at least five days off back home in Vancouver, and then I’ve got the Canadian Amateur coming up and the U.S. Amateur over at Pebble Beach,” the Simon Fraser University product said.
Crisologo’s playing partner, Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot a 4-under 68 to get to 10-under.
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., won the Rivermead Cup as low Canadian for the second consecutive year after firing a final round 68 to get to 15-under.
Calgary’s Ryan Yip had a solid 2-under 70 to finish at 12-under, to rank behind Hughes among the Canadians.
Veteran David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., came in at even-par 72 for a four-round total of 7-under.
Things didn’t go as well for Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C.
Silverman wound up at 4-under for the event, as did Taylor, a winner on the tour in 2015.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
The Hamilton Golf and Country Club will play host to the Canadian Open in 2019 and 2023.
It will be the sixth time the tournament has been held at the course, and next year will mark the 100th anniversary of its first appearance when James Douglas Edgar won, with a 17-year-old Bobby Jones as runner-up.
The date of the tournament is also moving from its late July start to June 3-9, right before the U.S. Open.
Event organizers are hoping to attract a deep field.
The purse for the event is also increasing from $6.4 million this year to $7.6 million in 2019.
DUFFS AND DIVOTS
Two-time Canadian Open champion Bruce Lietzke died Saturday of brain cancer. He was 67. Lietzke won the tournament in 1978 and 1982, both times at Glen Abbey. … It was a good day for Canadian golf around the world. At St. Andrews in Scotland, Calgary ’s Stephen Ames tied for third at the Senior British Open, while Peter Campbell of Baddeck, N.S., shot a closing round 70 to win his first pro title at the Beijing Championship.