THUNDER BAY – Back-to-back six-under 66s earned Taylor Moore his first professional win at last year’s Staal Foundation Open.
It also earned the San Antonio, Texas native a promotion to the Web.com Tour in 2017. In anticipation of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada’s return to Whitewater Golf Club, we thought we’d take a look at where last year’s top finishers are at this summer.
- Taylor Moore – Moore is showing his good showing last summer in Canada was no fluke, with a pair of top 10 finishes on the Web.com Tour this year, including a third-place finish at the Nashville Golf Open. He’s currently in 27th place on the money list, just outside where he needs to be at season’s end to follow 2015 Staal Foundation Open champion J.J. Spaun to the PGA Tour.
- Corey Conners – Bettering his third-place finish in 2015 with a runner-up result last year, the Canadian Conners qualified for the U.S. Open in 2017, though did not make the cut. Also promoted to the Web.com Tour this season, Conners has a pair of top 10 finishes to his credit and sits 43rd on the money list, within striking distance of the top 25 and the PGA Tour in 2018.
- Austin Connelly – The Texan, who also spent summers in Nova Scotia growing up, finished solo third at Whitewater a year ago and managed to qualify for the Open Championship in 2017, the third of four of golf’s major championships. The 20-year-old has played six events on the European Tour this season and sits 150th in the Road to Dubai rankings.
- Manav Shah – The Bakersfield, Calif. native has struggled so far this season on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, making just one cut and earning $1,835 to sit 57th on the money list.
- Michael Gligic – Tied for fourth and five shots off the lead last year, Gligic has one top 20 showing on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada this year, a 14th-place showing at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist. He’s 40th on the order of merit.
- Cameron Peck – It’s been a rough summer for Peck, who tied for fourth in Thunder Bay last year. The 25-year-old has yet to make a cut and thus has no official money winnings.
- Tain Lee – Lee, who held the 36-hole lead in last year’s Staal Foundation Open, is 35th on the Order of Merit rank in 2017, with $4,423 in earnings. His best finish to date in 2017 is a T16 at the GolfBC Championship.
- Aaron Cockerill – Has a top 8 finish to his credit this season and ranks 21st on the money list. He was eighth in Thunder Bay a year ago.
- T.J. Vogel – Vogel, the 2012 U.S. Public Links champion, played in the 2013 Masters and is off to an outstanding start on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada this year, ranked fifth on the money list. He was runner-up in Victoria and has made the cut in all three events to date.
The Staal Foundation Open begins next Thursday at Whitewater Golf Club.
