With plenty of hype around Corey Conners at the first major of the year – the 32nd ranked golfer in the world finished inside the top 10 in each of the last two trips around Augusta National – there are lots of reasons to believe a Canadian may break through for a major championship win sooner rather than later.
That is, of course, on the men’s side.
Brooke Henderson won the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in a playoff over Lydia Ko. She has finished outside the top 10 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship just twice in her career and continues to be a constant threat at wherever that Championship is hosted.
But with the first men’s major of the year now in the rear-view mirror, it’s a good time for Canadian golf fans – who are in the midst of spring and the start to their own golf seasons – to go back and celebrate Canadian successes at the PGA Championship.
Here are four Canadian PGA Championship efforts worth cheering about.
MIKE WEIR – 2003
No list of Canadian golfing performances should start with anyone other than Mike Weir, and this is no different.
Weir has had some solid results at the PGA Championship in his career (including a 6th-place result in 2006, his career high, and a T10 in 1999 when he played in the final group on Sunday with Tiger Woods), but the most impressive performance would be his T7 in 2003.
That was the year Weir won the first major of the year and added a T3 at the U.S. Open. Weir was very much in the mix through 54 holes at the PGA Championship but struggled Sunday and fell to a T7. Still, for all the expectations on Weir after his Green Jacket triumph earlier in 2003, it was a wonderful way to put a bow on a Canadian golfers’ finest major-championship season.
STEPHEN AMES – 2007
Ames was a winner on the PGA Tour by the time the 2007 PGA Championship had begun, including his biggest triumph – the 2006 Players Championship. He also finished T9 at the 2004 PGA Championship.
But through three rounds at Southern Hills Country Club Ames was trending towards a win and ended up in the final group on Sunday alongside Tiger Woods.
Although Woods would go on to win and Ames would finish T12, it was a nice cap to a solid major championship run for Ames in 2007, as he finished T10 at the U.S. Open and T24 at the Masters as well that year.
GRAHAM DELAET – 2017
Although Graham DeLaet hasn’t won the PGA Tour, the closest he came to winning a major came at the 2017 PGA Championship, contested at Quail Hollow.
DeLaet fired a third-round 68 to get into the top 10. He shot a 2-under 69 in the final round to finish at 4 under for the week.
DeLaet also finished T14 at the 2014 PGA Championship – his second-best major championship result.
RICHARD ZOKOL – 1993
Richard Zokol got off to a quick start at the Inverness Club, firing an opening-round 66 (just two shots back of the lead). He was steady enough through the balance of the week, shooting rounds of 71-71-70, but couldn’t quite climb the leaderboard to contend for a victory.
Still, Zokol notched his best-career major championship finish, a tie for 14th.
