LONG-AWAITED TOUR DEBUT
Canadian Open beckons 36-year-old
Ryan Williams went from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other last Sunday.
That’s par for the course in professional golf.
“At one end, I felt like breaking a club over my knee when I got to the car,” Williams said in a phone interview.
“At the other end, I felt like cracking (open) a bottle of Champagne.”
The Vancouver golfer and Mackenzie Tour veteran bogeyed four of his last five holes in the final round of the Mackenzie Investments Open in Mirabel, Que., dropping him from three-under par for his round midway through the back nine to one-over par by the end.
He finished the tournament tied for 17th at eight-under par, lamenting what could have been a possible tie for second, not to mention a better payday.
But then Williams received a text from his agent, and the frustration seemed to vanish.
The gist of the text message? Williams was informed that he had received a sponsorship exemption into this week’s RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.
At age 36, Williams will make his PGA Tour debut.
He’s tried a few times to get into previous national championships through the Monday qualifiers, but to no avail. He had planned to once again compete in the Monday qualifier for this year’s event, until the good news arrived.
Realizing the significance of this achievement will soon come for Williams, whose path in professional golf has been truly unconventional compared to most of his peers. His game growing up was hockey. He played junior B and junior A, and had aspirations of going to Europe to pursue a professional career.
Golf, at that time, was a casual springtime sport for Williams.
“I didn’t really consider golf at that time because I just didn’t think I could be a professional golfer,” he said. “Some friends that I played a lot of golf with through the spring and summer, they pushed me to maybe think about golf as a career.”
The path most professional players follow often seems to include a successful career as a junior and then in the collegiate ranks, be it here in Canada or down in the U.S. It wasn’t until his mid-20s that he decided to pursue a career as a pro.
In competitive tournament play, there is little or no guarantees of advancing to the different stages and ultimately to the PGA Tour where the biggest sums of money can be made.
Having worked with well-known local professional Phil Jonas to improve his game, Williams first earned his Canadian Tour card via qualifying school in 2008. He then missed the cut in every single one of the eight events he played in that year. As a result, he said, he lost his status and had to go back to Q -school the following year to regain his card.
“That was a pretty big eye-opener,” said Williams. “I was uncomfortable and just didn’t really know how to be a pro.”
The results have improved over time. He made the cut in nine of 11 events in 2015 and finished in the top 15 of the money rankings each of the last three seasons. Every year, the top five players earn
I’ve got a great support group ... a ton of people pushing me to keep pursuing this.
status on the Web.com Tour, which is one step below the PGA Tour.
Williams sits 18th in the order of merit in 2017, about $16,800 out of fifth. Slow starts or poor finishes have held him back at times, he admitted. It takes only one big week, however, to swing up the standings. Get onto the Web.com Tour, and it’s another step closer to the ultimate goal of a PGA Tour card. He isn’t about to drop the chase, either.
“I’ve got a great support group,” Williams said. “I’ve got a ton of people pushing me to keep pursuing this. Every year is a big year, but … I’m just trying to be, if anything, more patient. I feel like it’s been working. Honestly, I wish I had a few better finishes on the Mackenzie Tour but … I know the results aren’t showing like the way I feel like I’ve been playing.
“I feel like I haven’t put four rounds together yet, but I know I’m really close.”