Paul Barjon takes the win at Osprey Valley Open in Caledon

Written By JAKE COURTEPATTE

A heated Sunday led to a win for American Paul Barjon over Canadian Taylor Pendrith at last weekend's Osprey Valley Open in Caledon.

A five-under 65 was good enough for Barjon to earn his second Mackenzie Tour victory of the season, besting Pendrith by three strokes.

“I knew 25-under would have a pretty good chance out here and it worked out,” said Barjon in a press briefing post-match. “My putting was good, everything, overall, was pretty solid. Nothing incredible, but nothing was poor either… just made the putts towards the end at the right moments.”

The pair went neck and neck for a majority of the tournament, with Barjon leading Pendrith by two strokes heading into the fourth and final round on Sunday. A large hometown crowd cheered for Pendrith throughout the majority of day four.

“It was awesome… all the support out here. A lot of my buddies, family and friends and a lot of local support too,” said Pendrith, who is from Richmond Hill, less than an hour from TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “It was definitely a fun week and I played pretty good. I have to be happy.”

It was on the seventeenth where Pendrith realized his chances had grown slim, posting a bogey after a tee shot into the trees to extend Barjon's lead. It was his only bogey of the round leading up to that moment.

“Honestly I played really well, I hit the ball great. I didn't make a bogey until No. 17, which was kind of unfortunate, but it's a hard hole. I thought I could miss the tree with my back swing but I kind of got it and didn't hit it how I planned to and made an unfortunate bogey,” said Pendrith. “Overall I played really well, so I have to be happy with the result. It was pretty fun.”

Pendrith was looking to become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since 2016. He held the lead after the first round by shooting a 63.

Barjon, meanwhile, embraced the challenge that comes with holding the lead.

“It was a little stressful, but you're ahead. But I felt good. It was different than chasing someone,” said Barjon, who also praised his Canadian competitor. “I've never played with him before but people told me ‘oh yeah, he hits it a mile.' He does hit it far and he's got great hands around the green. I was playing behind him yesterday and I was like, ‘this guy is scary. He can make a lot of birdies. But it was fun. We had a good match.”

Pendrith returned the praise.

“There was a couple times in the round when the momentum was going my way and he was grinding for pars,” said Pendrith. “He made a lot of nice five to eight footers for par so he played awesome. He hit the ball well and was just very steady all day.

“I figured it was the two of us up top, but I didn't know until 17 and then I needed an eagle, and he needed to make par, but he hit a great shot in there to 15-20 feet. It was going to be difficult. But I hit a good putt, it had a chance to go in but hit the lip. I kind of thought it was just me and him at the top, but it was fun playing with Paul.”

Osprey Valley signed a five-year contract for the tournament with the Mackenzie Tour in 2018, with options open for the future.