It was a record-breaking victory for Langley’s Adam Cornelson.
The 28-year-old set a a new Mackenzie Tour — PGA Tour Canada record, finishing with a 20-under par 260 to win the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by the Times Colonist in Victoria over the weekend at Uplands Golf Club.
He set the record with a chip-in birdie on the 72nd hole and finished with a five-stroke victory over Taylor Moore.
The win also moves Cornelson to second place on the Order of Merit and in position to earn Web.com Tour status for 2017.
“It’s the best week of my golfing life,” said Cornelson, finding a poetic ending in capturing his first win at his favourite tournament.
“I’ve always felt like if and when I was going to win, it would be at this tournament. It suits my eye so well, and I love this city so much. The support this city, this crowd and the volunteers have showed me, it was chilling. I’ve never felt support like that in my life, and it gave me so much energy to continue on, it was phenomenal.”
Cornelson — a 2005 Langley Secondary graduate — shot an opening round 64, followed that with a 67 and then closed with rounds of 64 and 65.
The win comes as validation for an offseason of hard work and self-reflection for Cornelson, who finished 94th on the Order of Merit in 2015 to lose his card. After setting new goals and putting in hard work on his fitness and swing, the University of New Orleans grad came in to the year with new motivation, and it paid off on Sunday.
“At the end of last year, I didn’t know if I wanted to keep doing this. My family is so supportive, they egged me on and I worked harder than ever,” said Cornelson, adding that the success of his Mackenzie Tour alumni peers at the next level provided extra inspiration. “You see guys that win and finish in the top five on this Tour and go up through the pipeline, like Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Roger Sloan and Joel Dahmen, they all started here and when you see them succeed, it’s motivating.”