Bursey set to play in his biggest event as a pro
After winning a qualifier Tuesday, Gander native tees off today in Mackenzie Tour event in Quebec
Gander’s Blair Bursey has already taken part in a dozen events during this, his first year as a professional golfer.
But today, when he begins play on the Elm Ridge course in Ile Bizard, Que., just outside Montreal, he’ll be doing something he hasn’t yet done in 2019 — compete in a Mackenzie (Canadian PGA) Tour event after earning a berth through qualification.
And the 22-year-old Blair Bursey should be teeing off with confidence, having shot a sixunder-66 on Tuesday on the very same course, putting him in a tie for the top score among more than 50 would-be qualifiers and earning him one of eight berths in the Mackenzie Investments Open.
Bursey is a conditional player on the Mackenzie Tour, this country’s top pro golf circuit, meaning he generally can only get into events through qualification.
He did play in the Steele Jaguar Pro-am, a Mackenzie Tour event in Halifax in July, by virtue of a sponsor’s exemption, and did quite well, although his tworound score of four-under-par left him just one stroke short of making the cut and playing the full event.
However, he didn’t qualify for other Tour events earlier this season in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto.
Otherwise, Bursey has been busy on other circuits, including the Outlaw Tour in the southwestern United States, where he registered his first professional win, and on the Great Lakes Tour. He is also coming a fourthplace finish last week at the Ontario Golf Association’s Ontario Open.
On Tuesday, Bursey had eight birdies and two bogeys on his way to a qualifying score that left him in a tie for top spot with Zachary Jaworski of St. Petersburg, Fla.
The total prize purse for the Mackenzie Investments Open is $200,000, including $36,000 for first place.