Canadian Tour - 2009 Season Concludes This Week

Submitted by CanTour Communications John Berkovich

NAYARIT, Mexico – The Canadian Tour wraps up its 2009 season this week at the US $125,000 Riviera Nayarit Classic presented by IDN.

The tournament is being played at the stunning Pacifico Course at Punta Mita Club de Golf, a Jack Nicklaus design.

The course is set amid vistas of white-sand beaches and the surrounding Sierra Madre Mountains and takes full advantage of its seaside location – eight holes border either the Pacific Ocean or Banderas Bay.

The event returns to the Canadian Tour after a one year hiatus; Wes Heffernan captured the 2007 title by five strokes over Anthony Rodriguez.

The Calgary native is back and looking for his first title of 2009 as he gears it up for PGA TOUR Q-School in a few weeks.

Heffernan has enjoyed a solid season with six top tens, and, aside from a missed cut in Saskatoon, his worst finish this year is a T-18 at the ATB Financial Classic in his hometown.

Don’t be surprised if Rafael Gomez makes it two in a row this week. The winner of more than 20 worldwide didn’t get rattled on Sunday as he watched his lead erode.

Scott Gibson added another top ten to his 2009 Canadian Tour portfolio last week, finishing third at Riviera Maya.

It was his third top-three finish of the season and what better way to cap off a great season than with a victory at the final event.

He may be jetlagged from his trek to Estonia, but Stuart Anderson could be a threat.

Now living in Victoria, B.C., and playing with tremendous confidence, the big man is having an even bigger season. He won Montreal and has three other top tens on his 2009 resume.

Brock Mackenzie has the game to earn his first Tour title. He finished T-4 in Victoria and T-10 in Montreal and was a Nationwide Tour regular in 2007.

Like many players this week, he will be using the tournament as a final tune-up for Q-School and a win would be a tremendous boost.

Keep an eye on Mitch Gillis this week. The Williams Lake, B.C. native has three consecutive top tens and earlier this year he stated that his goal was to win a tournament this season.

He has one chance left and he may just do it.