Alan McLean makes albatross on 5th hole on way to back-to-back PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by GOLFTEC titles

McLean shoots 67-60-65 to win by five shots over David Morland IV, hometown Marc Hurtubise wins Super Senior title

A common phrase you hear in interviews with players after tournaments is that they “left a few out there.”

And while there were a few putts here or there that ~maybe~ could have dropped, you definitely won’t hear Alan McLean uttering that phrase after shooting 24-under the recommended in three rounds at Parcours du Vieux Village in Bromont, QC.

After winning the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by GOLFTEC in a playoff last year, his walk up 18 this time around was substantially less stressful. His birdie on 17 put him up by four strokes and, as he did the previous two days, he made another birdie on 18 to win by five.

It seemed all-but certain that his near 59 on Wednesday, when he tapped in on 18 to shoot a 12-under 60, would be the highlight of his week; but not so fast.

On the par-5 5th hole, McLean hammered a drive down to 160-yards out. The E-Z-GO ‘Good to Go’ hole of the week certainly lived up to its name, as it was certainly well within go-zone.

McLean hit a hard 9-iron, which landing three feet behind the cup and spun in gently for his fourth-career albatross. Though he didn’t see it go in, the author of the story you’re reading right now yelled ‘it’s in!’ prompting a celebration and smiles all around for the group.

You can see the albatross here.

“I hit it and it was all over the flag and my caddie said ‘oh this could go in’, it was hard to tell because we were below the green if it landed before the pin or after the pin, but now I know it landed after and rolled back, but we didn’t see it go in. Someone behind the green yelled and threw their hands up,” said McLean, who’s hole-out was actually his second albatross of the year, the first coming a few months ago with a 4-iron.

The albatross certainly started McLean on the right foot, moving him from 1-under through four to 4-under through five, giving him plenty of breathing space the rest of the round.

“I’ve had an opportunity to work on my game this year, but the rewards haven’t been there. The past 36 holes something clicked, and I made some putts, hit shots close and kept the ball in front of me,” said McLean. “As a whole, it was a fantastic week. It is a really fun golf course to play that gives a lot of birdie opportunities and today was pretty special.”

“Making the two on the par five at the beginning of the round, you want to be able to attack early, so to get off to a fast start really let me enjoy the rest of the day.”

In his post-round speech on the putting green, McLean mentioned that he was looking at the trophy and was just so grateful to join legendary Canadian players with multiple PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by GOLFTEC titles, like Moe Norman and Jim Rutledge.

“I’m very honoured. I feel like the tournament has so much strength and I hope we just keep getting stronger and with the support of Calven (Wang) and Dean (Larsen) from GOLFTEC we have the opportunity to make this tournament special,” said McLean. “I’ve always said this in my career but golf, I think, needs a boost and we need to get more professionals competing and hopefully we can get more players out because this is a fantastic week and the comradery is first class.”

Parcours du Vieux Village Head Professional Marc Hurtubise claimed the Super Senior division on Wednesday, firing 67-66 the first two rounds, and finished the main division in a tie for fifth.

David Morland IV was sharp the final two rounds, firing a pair of 63s, making 19 birdies and just a single bogey during the stretch, to finish alone in second. Jim Rutledge will need to wait another year to try to match Moe Norman’s mark of eight Canadian Seniors’ titles, as he rounded out the top 3 at -15.

The full leaderboard can be found here.

The fifth hole week was deemed the ‘E-Z-GO It’s Good to Go Hole of the Week’. Whoever made the low score of the week was put into a draw for a $250 bonus. Our champion Alan McLean will add another $250 to his pocket, as his albatross was, of course, the low score on the hole.