Fresh off his remarkable week on the PGA Tour, Chris Crisologo will be among the favourites when the 114th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship tees off on Monday in Duncan.
The 22-year-old Richmond native turned heads with his 45th finish at the Canadian Open at Glen Abby in Oakville, ON. It earned him medalist honours as the low amateur of the tournament and he was fourth among the Canadian contingent thanks to rounds of 68-69-73-69 — finishing the 72-hole event at 9-under.
The Canadian Amateur will be co-hosted at the Duncan Meadows Golf Course and Pheasant Glen Golf Resort. In 2017 at the Toronto Golf Club, Zach Bachou became the 22nd American to capture the event. Other previous winners include current Canadian PGA Tour regulars Mackenzie Hughes (2011-12) and Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor (2007). It’s a prestigious list Crisologo is certainly capable of joining as he proved against the top professionals in the world.
“It was quite the experience. Coming to the event, I felt pretty good about my game, and I felt really good making the cut and then having a little bit of — you know, having a little bit of impact on the weekend,” he said. “Honestly, all around, I thought I could have played a little better, actually, which is kind of surprising. I think it was a little mediocre out there. But just to be out here and take it all in is an amazing feeling.”
The recent Simon Fraser University graduate, where he enjoyed an All-AMerican collegiate career, showed he could more than hold his own against the “big boys,” especially off the tee.
During Sunday’s final round, Crisologo had the second longest drive on the par-5 16th hole — a staggering 364-yards. However, it was watching PGA Tour players’ work with the shorter clubs that he will take with him moving forward.
“It's crazy how many strokes they save not entirely around the greens but kind of the second shots and being in the right places here and there. I found myself in a lot of crazy places. I had to do a lot of crazy math, too, while we're at it,” he said. “But yeah, it's just kind of the consistency that they have just going through week in and week out. It's just unbelievable just seeing the consistency, even just on the range, and then out here on the course, everything is kind of — you know, standard deviation is a little smaller than mine right now.”
The Canadian Open is part of a busy summer for national amateur men’s team member who captured last month’s B.C. Amateur in Kamloops. Following the Canadian Amateur he is headed south to renowned Pebble Beach in California for the U.S. Amateur, Aug. 13-19.
He hasn’t swayed from his development plan despite his success at Glen Abby.
“We've always kind of stuck with the time being in the next two years,” added Crisologo of when he will turn pro. “It kind of depends on how my play is and opportunities that arise. So I'm going to stick with that.”
Three other Richmond players will also be playing in the Canadian Amateur — Zaahidali Nathu, Mike Aizawa and Keith Ng.
