Brendan Leonard Battles the Elements to get His First Professional Victory

Brendan Leonard

Waterloo ON - The Great Lakes Tour continued their season at Grey Silo Golf Club in Waterloo (ON) this past Thursday.  Considering the rain soaked conditions over the past week to ten days, the golf course was in remarkable condition to host the field of 48 professionals and 8 elite amateurs.  

The forecast was ominous from the start with Tour Officials putting a stipulated round of 9 holes into effect due to the heavy rainfall warning and imminent weather system tracking toward the region.  However, the heaviest rains held off long enough for the field to complete 18 holes and crown a champion... 

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Mark Von Kalcreuth #1 Tee

The first pairing of the day started at 7:58am and it became evident that players were going to need to take advantage of calm and dry conditions on the front nine, before the rain began to intensify.  

In the first pairing, amateur and former winner on the Great Lakes Tour Mark Von Kalcreuth from Burlington (ON) set the pace early posting 7 pars and 2 birdies on the front nine.  He didn't make a bogey until the 15th hole and after a birdie on the final hole, posted a 2 under par 69 to take an early clubhouse lead.  There would only be three groups that completed their round without any significant rain or wind.

As the players made the turn, it seemed the scores were getting increasingly lower.  The 9:10 pairing of Branson Ferrier Barrie (ON), Brendan Leonard Cambridge (ON) and last week's Shootout winner Michael Dart Toronto (ON) collectively shot 11 under par on the first nine.  Ferrier birdied the final four holes to post a 5 under par 31 while Leonard made four birdies and five pars in his outward score of 32.  Michael Dart stayed close behind at 2 under par.

Ed Maunder of Oakville (ON) birdied four of his last five holes on the front nine and added birdies on holes 10 and 12 to move to 5 under par for his round and a share of the lead with only a few holes to play.  A bogey on the par four 13th and an uncharacteristic bogey on the par five 17th left Maunder a little short of the eventual winning score of 64.  Maunder made a closing birdie on the 18th hole to post a score of 4 under par 67 and finish in a tie for fourth.

As the rain and cold intensified, the back nine progressively became a struggle for many players.  However, Brendan Leonard and Branson Ferrier kept focused and continued to make birdies.  Ferrier made 8 birdies in total, but two bogies on the 11th and 15th holes proved to be the difference.  Leonard was tied with Ferrier heading into the 15th hole at 5 under par.  After a birdie by Leonard and a bogey by Ferrier, the door was open for Leonard to close out his first professional win. 

Ferrier made a late charge with birdies on the final two closing holes to post a 6 under par 65.  Leonard made a birdie on the par five 17th and followed it up with a par on 18 for a bogey free final score of 7 under par 64.

"It got tough out there and we just wanted to get a score posted as quick as we could." Said Leonard of his round. "It's nice to finally get the first pro win and start the season strong."

For the win Leonard took home $1,550 in earnings along with 500 points toward the GLT Order of Merit presented by Roll ReadyTM.  The leader of the Order of Merit as of June 20, 2017 will receive an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifying at Heron Point Golf Links on July 24th.  The top 4 finishers of the Order of Merit at the end of the season will receive a cash bonus.

The next event on the Great Lakes Tour schedule is the first 54 Hole Championship of the season, The Barrie Classic at Tangle Creek G&CC.  The event will be contested May 11 to 13 with a cut to the low 40% and ties after 36 holes.  The Barrie Classic will feature a $20,000 purse with a winner's share of $4,000 and 600 Order of Merit points.

Notable Scores from GolfNorth Series #1 Grey Silo
Stephane Dubois 3 - Brantford (ON) - 66
Ed Maunder T4 - Oakville (ON) - 67
Michael Dart T6 - Toronto (ON) - 68
Mitch Sutton T6 - London (ON) - 68
Michael Gligic T11 - Kitchener (ON) - 69
Mark Hoffman T15 - Wasga Beach (ON) - 70 (Defending Champion)

For full field results please visit HERE
For updated GLT Order of Merit presented by Roll ReadyTM please visit HERE

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