Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island wins the Canadian Amateur from start to finish
Mawhinney overcomes early triple bogey and beats defending champion Ashton McCullough by one stroke
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Tyler Mawhinney survived a wild final round on Thursday to finish where he started after a first-round 65 – in the lead at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and as the start-to-finish winner of the 119th Canadian Amateur Championship.
The Fleming Island High School junior, who was the Class 3A individual champion last fall and led the Golden Eagles to the team title, hit an 8-iron from 158 yards on the par-4 17th hole to cap off a 69 that gave him a 15-under-par 273 victory over defending champion Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ontario.
“It’s not quite clear yet, but I’m proud that I was able to finish it after playing great golf,” Mawhinney said during his post-round press conference.
Mawhinney, who was named the Times-Union’s 2023 Boys High School Player of the Year and Florida Dairy Farmers’ Mr. Golf, won the Earl Grey Cup for winning a national amateur championship that is just five years younger than next week’s U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota – where Mawhinney has earned a spot in the field should he accept it.
“A few people have said see you in Hazeltine. I guess that’s next, but we’ll figure that out when we get there,” he said.
Mawhinney recovered after three-pointer
Mawhinney started the day with a one-stroke lead and looked to be on the verge of victory when he made a birdie on his first hole and an eagle on the second.
But he managed a triple bogey 7 on the par 4 hole 3 and the game could begin. In addition to Mawhinney and McCulloch, three other players were in the lead in the final round.
After his triple bogey, Mawhinney fell one stroke behind McCulloch. He regained the lead with a birdie on hole 8, lost it again with a bogey on hole 10, and regained the lead with a birdie on hole 12.
Another bogey one hole later put Mawhinney level with Rylan Shim of Centreville, Va., at the top.
Mawhinney then hit a 3-wood off the tee on the 16th hole and had to hit a 205-yard shot. He reached the green and needed two putts for birdie to regain the one-stroke lead.
“The best shot I ever made”
Then came his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole. He had 157 yards to the flag and was preparing for a downhill shot into a headwind. He aimed with an 8 iron.
The result?
“Best shot of my life,” said a player who made a hole-in-one in the first round of the 3A state tournament.
The ball never left the pin and fell to the ground 12 inches from the hole. Mawhinney made a birdie and made par on the final shot to hold off McCulloch’s final birdie and still win. McCulloch finished with a 69.
Shim (69) and Braxton Kuntz (71) tied for third place at 12 under par.
Mawhinney gets a place at the PGA Tour’s Canada event
In addition to a place in the US Amateurs, Mawhinney will receive a few perks for his victory. He is exempt from participating in the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto and does not have to qualify on site for the 2025 US Open and US Amateurs.
Now all that’s left for him is the Junior Players Championship on Labor Day weekend and his junior year at Fleming Island.
“We couldn’t be prouder of Tyler,” said Eagles coach Bruce Cloud. “He’s the Canadian Amateur champion. That’s really special.”
