Alex Chiarella wins Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open

American Alex Chiarella finished 20 under par to win Lethbridge’s Paradise Canyon Open while also taking home $36,000 on Sunday afternoon.

Chiarella beat fellow American Travis Trace by a single stroke. While the rain did put a bit of a damper on the tournament by delaying the final round, the sun eventually came out.

“I was part of the wave that had to wait for four hours on Thursday after only playing seven holes and then waking up early on Friday to finish your round then go for another 18,” Chiarella said, adding that they had another rain delay Sunday. “Patience, that was my one word this week to myself, I kept telling myself: patience.”

The rain also didn’t keep fans off the field.

“We’re used to it southern Alberta, and like they say wait for five minutes and of course the weather is going to change,” said golf fan Stan Adamus.

Although a majority of the players were from the United States, there were also several Canadians taking part, including Jared Du Toit who finished in 11th place at 14 under par.

“I was born in Calgary, played a lot of junior golf in Lethbridge, this is about as close to home as it gets for me,” he said. “Definitely feels good. I love this place I had a local caddie on the bag, a buddy of mine who played junior hockey here, so yeah very cool.”

This was the second year the tournament has been held in Lethbridge.

“Last year was a great way to kick it off, “ said Brendan Stasiewich, media official for the Mackenzie PGA Tour Canada. “For a tournament in its inaugural season to gain so much momentum and bring it into 2019 and to see the success again, it’s great to have an event like this in Lethbridge.”

The Mackenzie PGA Tour now moves on to Ontario for the Windsor Championship which goes from July 4 to 7.