Canadian PGA Tour hopefuls compete in Aruba Cup

Adam Cornelson is hoping to be heading to Aruba on a high.

Cornelson, a professional golfer from British Columbia, is one of a group of Canadians battling in Florida to get playing privileges on the Web.com Tour, the stepping stone to the PGA Tour. Immediately after he’ll head to Aruba to play in the inaugural Aruba Cup, a team event that pits a group of Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada golfers against pros from PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

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“I hope it is a celebratory week for me,” says Cornelson, 29, who recorded his first win on the Mackenzie Tour this year. He’s making his first appearance at the final stage of the grueling Web.com Tour qualifying school. The tour has kick-started the career of several Canadians in recent years, including Mackenzie Hughes from Dundas, Ont., who won recently on the PGA Tour, and Abbotsford, BC’s Nick Taylor, who won at the end of 2014. Both played on the Mackenzie Tour and Web.com Tour before making the jump to the PGA Tour.

Stephen Ames knows the challenges of playing golf at the highest levels. Ames, a Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and multiple winner on the PGA Tour, is the captain of the Mackenzie Tour squad at the Aruba Cup, which will play Ryder Cup-style matches on the island near Venezuela. Now playing on PGA Tour Champions for golfers over the age of 50, Ames is keen on interacting with the Mackenzie Tour golfers, which includes five Canadians.

“What I’m looking for out of those guys is that they play their best and enjoy the situation,” says Ames. “They’ll be playing against players that you’re probably going to play against on the PGA Tour when you get there, and it’s the same for the Latin American players. They’re all trying to get to the grand stage of playing on the PGA Tour, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase their games at this event.”

Ames, who has only met a couple of the golfers personally, plans on connecting with the players once they arrive in Aruba.

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“I’m hosting them all for dinner, and there’s another practice round on Wednesday, so I’m going to have quite a bit of time with them,” he says. “From my perspective, this is a wonderful opportunity to try and give back to some of the younger guys trying to get on to the PGA Tour, where I’ve been for the last 18 years.”

Burlington, Ont.’s Mike Gligic is another of the Canadians on the squad who is also competing in the final stage of Web.com Tour qualifying this week. He’s met Ames on several occasions—the two worked with Canadian golf instructor Sean Foley in the past—and Gligic is hopeful Ames can provide some insight on what it takes on the PGA Tour.

“I’m hoping he’ll walk with us during practice rounds and I’ll get the chance to ask him how he’d play some of the shots I’ll face,” Gligic says. “I want to pick his brain about the experiences he’s had both on and off the course.”