North Vancouver’s Bryn Parry certainly earned the 2013 PGA of Canada Championship.
Parry beat No. 1 seed Brian McCann 4&2 on Friday morning and then beat Ontario’s Billy Walsh 2&1 in the Friday afternoon final to secure the 2013 PGA of Canada Championship and an automatic spot into next month’s RBC Canadian Open.
Parry started the final by winning the first two holes, on a par and a birdie, before Walsh narrowed the margin at the sixth with a birdie. But Parry got his two-hole lead back on the 10th, making birdie to Walsh’s par.
The two would stay there until the 14thhole, where Walsh’s approach on the par-5 was so good that Parry conceded the eagle and the margin was only one going into the final four holes.
Parry’s putting magic showed up on that hole, as he made a 15-foot slider to halve the hole and take a lot of steam out of Walsh’s sails.
After halving the 16th, Parry closed out Walsh on the par-3 17thwhen Walsh’s tee shot landed 10 yards short in the rough and he couldn’t covert his eight-foot par putt. Parry’s routine par was enough to give him the championship he covets so much.
The final was delayed for approximately an hour, as torrential rain made playing conditions all but impossible midway through the gripping final.
Parry began the day with a chess match against McCann, which had many things riding on it. The winner would not only move on to the final against Walsh, but also be in pole position for an automatic exemption into the 2013 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey next month.
McCann drew first blood with a birdie on the third before Parry equalized with a birdie on the par-5 7th. But McCann’s luck ran out on the back nine, as Parry rained pars and birdies on him, winning the 10thwith a birdie and 11thwith a par before back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 closed the match out.
Parry, who had only played the last four holes once, in his quarterfinal against Marc Girouard, didn’t need the 17thand 18thholes on Friday morning against McCann.
Walsh earned his spot in the final with a dominating 6&5 victory over Louis-Pierre Godin of Quebec.
With the win, Parry only needed to finish two slots ahead of McCann to earn the Canadian Open exemption and with his win Friday afternoon, it didn’t matter what happened in the consolation final between McCann and Godin.