Canadian Amateur: Ashton McCulloch moves to top of leaderboard with one round left

August 9, 2023 | by Golf Canada

Ashton McCulloch (Golf Canada)

A jammed leaderboard and a back nine that relinquishes birdies has all the ingredients for a drama finish

The term “Moving Day” certainly lived up to its definition on Wednesday at The Pulpit Club as Ashton McCulloch finished strong to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the 118th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. was two-over through 13 holes on Wednesday but finished with three straight birdies on holes 14 through 16 to sit at 6-under for the tournament and hold a one-shot lead over Collin Hodgkinson and Caleb VanArragon.

“It’s exactly why you don’t quit in a round. I really struggled with the putter early, I missed a couple putts that I felt I should have had…I couldn’t get anything going," McCulloch said. "It all started when I lipped out from forty feet on 10. I was like no, they’re going to start dropping and then I made back-to-back ten footers on 15 and 16, and that really propelled me to a strong finish today."

McCulloch has played well all week posting rounds of 69-68-70 and was part of Team Ontario’s Inter-Provincial team championship win on Tuesday. For McCulloch it comes down to trusting himself and his game.

“I’ve played well all week, when I haven’t had my best stuff, I’ve found a way to grind through for a couple holes and find something that works. It’s going to be fun tomorrow,” McCullich said.

Behind him are Hodgkinson (Beaverton, Ore.) and VanArragon (Blaine, Minn.) both players sit at 5 under. Hodgkinson caught fire with four straight birdies from 11 to 14 but ended with a double bogey on the 18th to shoot 67 and sit in a tie for second.

“I was playing really well and hit one poor tee shot on 18, and it cost me two shots. Other than that, just hitting the ball really well and putting really well,” said Hodgkinson.

VanArragon was 1 over through 11 holes on Wednesday but finished with three birdies and an eagle in his final seven holes to finish with a 68 to tie with Hodgkinson.

“I was able to hit a good wedge to within about two feet on 12 and then 13, I had a good number in the fairway, the wind was into the face which was good, it helped me stop the ball on the green hit a good seven iron to about six feet and made the putt from then on I felt I had a lot of momentum going,” said VanArragon.

The packed leaderboard includes three players at 4-under par heading into Thursday’s final round at The Pulpit. John Wild (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Xavier Marcoux (Concord, Mass.), and round two leader Jordan Gilkison (Washington Township, Ohio) all sit two back of McCulloch.

The final round at The Pulpit will tee off at 8:00 a.m. with the leaders teeing off at 10:01 a.m.

The 2023 Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion receives an exemption into the 2024 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. and the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship taking place at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. from August 14-20.

Day Three Recap

Play resumed at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday on both courses of The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ont. after Monday’s opening round was suspended due to darkness. 108 players in the field completed their opening rounds and were treated to sunny skies but windy conditions for round two.

Kent State's Jordan Gilkison of Washington Township, Ohio shot back-to-back rounds of 68, to sit at 6 under for the tournament and leads by one shot over McCulloch in the race for the Earl Grey Cup heading into Wednesday’s third round.

“I think I’m playing really solid, and my bogey avoidance has been really good,” said Gilkison after finishing his second round at The Paintbrush.

“I’m hitting a lot of greens and giving myself a lot of birdie putts. When I am missing greens, I’m doing a good job of saving par so I would say all parts of my game are feeling pretty good right now,” he added.

Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont. finished his first round at The Paintbrush in the morning with a 68 and followed up with a 1-under 70 at The Pulpit to sit in a tie for third with Alejandro Alonso of Mexico and Zach May of New Zealand at 4 under. Round three will be reduced to low 70 and ties.

The first two rounds of the tournament saw the field of 264 golfers split between playing both The Pulpit and The Paintbrush. The final two rounds of the national championship will be played on The Pulpit.

Provincial Team Champions crowned

The Willingdon Cup belongs to Team Ontario, as the host province was crowned as the Inter-Provincial Team champions on Tuesday at the 118th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Ontario finished the team competition at 3-under to edge, the defending champions Team Quebec by one shot. Team Ontario consists of Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., Cameron Pero of Bloomfield, Ont. and Garrett Rank from Elmira, Ont.

“I’ve never played for the inter-provincial team in the Canadian Men’s Am so it means a lot to me and to play with these two incredible guys and win it for Ontario is pretty cool,” said Ashton McCulloch after Tuesday’s round. McCulloch’s scores of 69 and 68 counted for the team on both days.

“My name is not on that trophy, and I’ve done some cool things in golf so it’s cool to be on there,” said Garrett Rank with a smile.

“There’s a lot of really sweet names on there of guys that have gone on to do some really cool things in the game of golf. Golf is a very individual sport so anytime you get to play in a team setting and play with two other guys and get in that team atmosphere…it’s fun,” added Rank.

Rank shot a 1-over 72 on Tuesday to have his score count, while Cameron Pero’s 1-over 72 counted on Monday towards the team score. “This is my first Canadian Am and it was a pretty cool experience here at The Pulpit Club. I didn’t have my best stuff this week, I fought the putter pretty bad, but Ashton stepped up for the team and put together two pretty great scores so thanks to him,” said Pero.

Day One Recap

Josh Nagy shot an opening round of 65 on Monday to sit as the clubhouse leader in the 118th playing of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

The opening round was delayed due to fog that pushed back tee times by two and a half hours or more on both courses of The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ont. Most of the players in the afternoon wave were not able to complete their rounds on either course with play being suspended for darkness at 8:15 p.m. As a result, round one will resume at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday with round two tee times to follow.

Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont. was one of those not able to finish his opening round and is also at 6-under through 13 holes at The Paintbrush.

Nagy of Saskatoon, Sask. played in the morning wave and recorded seven birdies on his way to 6-under and holds the clubhouse lead by one-shot over Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. and Nicholas Dentino of Carmel, Ind.

“Just kept the driver in play all day and then the putter started to heat up on the front nine,” said Nagy following his round. “Made a nice long birdie putt on one and then on three, had a good look at eagle and was able to get that down for birdie and played the par fives really well too so that really helps.”

Nagy did just that as he birdied all three of the par-5 holes on The Paintbrush on Monday. He has had a successful run of late having won the 2023 Saskatchewan Amateur men’s title last month and said he hopes to build off that tournament through this week.

McKinlay, was also playing The Paintbrush and briefly held the lead on Monday. He finished with six birdies, including four in a row from holes Nos. 14-17.

“I birdied 11, made a good birdie there and those four in a row I just had good numbers, good wedges and I think I had about three or four putts from seven feet, and I made them all,” said McKinlay.

In the Inter-Provincial Team Championship, Team Alberta sits at 6-under to lead Team Saskatchewan by one stroke and the defending champions, Team Quebec, by two. Team Alberta consists of Brady McKinlay, Ethan Wilson (St. Alberta, Alta.) and Kye Fisher (Leduc, Alta.). The team championship is being played over the first 36 holes of the tournament.

The first two rounds of the tournament see the field of 264 golfers split between playing both The Pulpit and The Paintbrush. Players who start on The Pulpit will then play the Paintbrush for round two and vice versa. The final two rounds of the national championship will be played on The Pulpit.

The 2023 Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion receives an exemption into the 2024 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. and the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship taking place at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. from August 14-20.

Results: Canadian Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Ashton McCulloch	, Canada	700	69-68-70-70=277
2	Philip Arci	, Canada	500	73-73-66-70=282
T3	Jordan Gilkison	Springboro, OH	400	68-68-73-74=283
T3	Caleb VanArragon	Blaine, MN	400	71-69-68-75=283
T5	Chris Vandette	, Canada	400	69-74-74-67=284

View full results for Canadian Amateur

About the Canadian Amateur

Canadian Amateur: Ashton McCulloch moves to top of leaderboard with one round left

This competition is open to male amateur golfers. Canadian players must be a member of a golf club in good standing with Golf Canada or who are Gold level members of Golf Canada’s membership program. Foreign players must be members in good standing w...