Burlington amateur to compete in Canadian Open
‘Home game’ happens to be the Canadian Open
Golfer Blair Hamilton swings from National Amateur Team to the top of the game
In the midst of a conversation about golf stats, Blair Hamilton’s coach dropped a bombshell.
“By the way, I wanted to let you know that you got into the (Canadian) Open,” he said.
Hamilton, a 21-year-old Burlington native, is a member of Canada’s National Amateur Team and is No. 81 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“I was a little shocked and pretty fired up (when I found out). Very, very excited,” said Hamilton.
He is one of 15 golfers in the tournament and was hand-picked for an exemption by Golf Canada. The organization likes to bring members of the national amateur team into the field.
“We want to give (Hamilton) that opportunity to compete in a PGA Tour event, to see what it’s like and experience it,” said Dan Pino, director of communications for Golf Canada.
It will be his first time playing in a Canadian Open, which features some of the best golfers in the world — and it’s only 15 minutes from his house.
This year, the tournament is back at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville.
“I’ve played the course a bunch of times. I love it. I’m going to treat it like a home game,” said Hamilton. “It’s in my backyard, and I’m just going to use it as positive momentum.”
During the school year, he lives in Texas and studies corporate communications at Houston University
Hamilton escapes the Canadian winters not for pleasure, but for work.
“It’s hard to do your job well if you can only do it eight months a year,” he said.
In the summer, he comes home to work in Burlington’s Hidden Lake Golf Club pro shop. “I’ve being doing it since I was 12 years old,” Hamilton said.
“It’s a good summer job, but I don’t really get to do it a whole lot now since I travel a lot,” he added.
His thirst for the game of golf began at age 11 during a visit overseas to his father in Scotland.
They stayed on a golf course and he played every day. “I fell in love with the game,” he said. A year later, he joined the Hidden Lake junior program and, by age 13, he was playing in tournaments.
Golf started consuming his life. He played before school and after school. “It’s kind of all I did,” he said. The constant practice made him stronger and, by 16, he was the No. 1 juvenile in Ontario.
He was selected to the Canadian Junior National team in 2012, and then to the Canadian Men’s Amateur team in ’14. “I’m probably at the golf course six days a week. It’s turning into my profession and I try to treat it that way. If I really want to have a long career and take my game to the next level, I need to start working harder than everyone else,” said Hamilton.
After graduation, he’s hoping to turn pro. “I’ll turn professional when the time is right, whenever I feel my game is ready, which will most likely be fall next year.”
Hamilton said he likes to keep his social and professional lives separate and turns to music and DJing to escape. “My goal in this tournament is to play as well as I can. It’s a great honour to be invited by RBC and the board at the Canadian Open, I look forward to the week and playing well,” he said.
It’s always nice when you’ve got a home crowd. Lots of family and friends are going to be there watching.”