Panasik, Beauchemin & Davis Lead at the BreconRidge Canadian PGA Seniors’ Championship

- Local favorite Graham Gunn sits one shot back-

KANATA, ON (July 3, 2008) - The BreconRidge Canadian PGA Seniors’ Championship at The Marshes Golf Club in Kanata, ON looked more like a British Open in the first round with windy weather conditions and two rain delays taking most of the morning headlines in Ottawa.

Bob Panasik of Windsor, ON, Yvan Beauchemin of Louiseville, QC and John C. Davis of Waterdown, ON made it around the Marshes Golf Club in the fewest shots on Thursday with even-par 72’s, although all three took very different routes to get there.

Panasik, the 66-year old Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and three-time champion of this event, recorded the shot of the day when he dunked his wedge shot from 129 yards on the par four 6th hole for an eagle. He almost did the same on both the 1st and 13th hole as he knocked wedges to one inch and three inches respectively.

“My putter got a bit of a day off today as I was hitting it from the fairway or around the greens to tap in range most of the day,” said Panasik, who also leads the Super Seniors Division (60 + years of age) by two shots over Bobby Breen of Brampton, ON. “This is one of my favorite events to play in every year and I couldn’t be happier to be tied for the lead after round one.”

Beauchemin likely had the smoothest trip around The Marshes Golf Club as he hit seventeen greens in regulation en route to an even-par score of 72. Beauchemin, a “rookie” as a Senior player, has spent some of the year trying to Monday Qualify for Champions Tour events and will be heading to Champions Tour Qualifying School this fall.

“I hit my driver and irons very well today but I just couldn’t get my shots from the fairway close enough and was left with twenty or thirty foot putts on most of the holes,” commented Beauchemin, a four-time champion of the Canadian PGA Club Professional Championship. “If I can hit some of my irons closer to the pin tomorrow I can make some more birdies but with this field and this golf course nobody will be running away with the victory.”

Davis, the Head Teaching Professional at Joshua Creek Golf & Tennis, ended up having an unexpected advantage as he was in the last group of the day and did not have to weather the combination of wind and rain like the first few groups did.

“I really putted great today out there and it was nice to keep warm and stay dry in the morning while the other players unfortunately had to delay their round,” said Davis, who finished tied for 36th in this event last year. “My game plan for tomorrow is to keep things simple and see if I make it around here again without many hiccups.”

Local favorite and 2006 Champion Graham Gunn of Nepean, ON is right in the hunt again after firing a one-over par 73 to sit one shot behind the leaders. Having won the 2006 event at The Marshes and finishing tied for second last year, Gunn is expected to be the crowd favorite in one of the final groups on Saturday.

In the Diamond Division (70 + years of age), defending champion Don Renaud of Kanata, ON fired a very impressive four-over par 76 to lead by six shots over Doug Sullivan of Indian Mountain, NB. The Diamond Division players faced the toughest challenge of the day as they were the first groups off and had to play in the harshest weather.

Defending Champion and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Dave Barr of Kelowna, BC shot a five-over par 77.

The $55,000 BreconRidge Canadian PGA Seniors’ Championship is a three-day, 54-hole individual stroke-play competition open to Canadian PGA Professionals 50 and older. The Super Senior (60 and older) and Diamond (70 and older) divisions will be contested over 36 holes on Thursday and Friday.

The Marshes Golf Club is one of the premier golf destinations and leading corporate-play facility in the National Capital Region. The Robert Trent Jones II design opened for public play in 2001 and has garnered many accolades. The 7,027-yard course includes six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s.

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For more information contact:

Jeff Dykeman
Manager of Business Development
Canadian PGA
jeff@cpga.com
647.400.4460

Brad Moyer
Manager of Events and Employment
Canadian PGA
brad@cpga.com
800.782.5764 (x227)

About BreconRidge:

Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, BreconRidge is one of the world’s top 50 electronic manufacturing services (“EMS”) companies with facilities located in Canada, the United States and China. Employing state-of-the-art technology and world-class talent, BreconRidge provides customers with a full service operations model. Servicing the needs of both emerging and established original equipment manufacturers in the communications, industrial, military, aerospace and consumer market sectors, BreconRidge delivers: design, process and test engineering services, component sourcing, global procurement, supply chain management, manufacturing, order fulfillment, and distribution services, along with after sales support, including product repair, refurbishment, warranty tracking and complete logistics services. Products manufactured by BreconRidge can be found all over the world. Find us on the web at www.breconridge.com

About the CPGA:

Established in 1911, the Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association is a non-profit association comprised of approximately 3,500 golf professionals across the country with a mandate to promote and advance the game of golf, serving the needs of both its membership and the golf public through professional and junior golf development programs and high-calibre competitive events. The National Office is located in Acton, Ontario with nine Zone Offices across the country. For more information, visit www.cpga.com