Final Round of 64 Gives Byron Smith Win in Times Colonist Open
A final round of 6 under par on Sunday gave American Byron Smith an overall score of 13 under par for the tournament, well enough for a three shot victory to win the 27th Annual Times Colonist Open.
This is the third career Canadian Tour win for the 28 year old native of California, who picks up a $32,000 pay cheque with the win.
Two Canadians tied for second at 10 under, as amateur Brady Johnson displayed his potential as a future star on the Canadian Tour along with Victoria native Jim Rutledge, who finished a spot higher than his third place mark in this tournament in 2008.
Following Rutledge and Johnson was a five way tie for fourth place, which included Canadians Richard Scott and Ryan Yip. Scott was the leader through most of the tournament as he lead or co-lead the clubhouse after each of the first three days of play only to a fire a disappointing 1 over 71 on the final day of play to finish at 8 under.
Once again Uplands Golf Course provided a tremendous playfield for the competitors, as it was announced in last year that an agreement between the Canadian Tour and UGC has been finalized that will keep the Times Colonist Open at Uplands until at least 2012.
The Times Colonist Open, which has been a regular stop on the Canadian Tour season since 1984, has had winners including future PGA stars such as Dave Barr, David Hearn, Steve Stricker and Craig Parry. Hopefully in time we can also say that this year's competitors such as Byron Smith and Brady Johnson made stops in Victoria en route to a career on the PGA Tour.
