Cleve Dheensaw ~ Times Colonist
It was elbows up over three playoff holes as two Canadians battled for every inch of grass deep into Sunday at Uplands Golf Club to decide the championship of the 2025 Times Colonist Victoria Open presented by Andrew Sheret Limited.
When the divots settled, it was Drew Nesbitt of Toronto who emerged ahead of A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam to claim the US$40,500 first-place prize of the US$250,000 purse before a large gallery that ringed the greens during the playoff holes.
Some great Canadian golfers and future PGA Tour players such as Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Hadwin have come through the Victoria tournament since 1981 — but Nesbitt became only the fifth Canadian to win the event.
“That’s amazing. I’ve been able to have a few relationships with those guys, and conversations with them and learning from them, and kind of following in their footsteps. Those guys all played up in Canada and went on to PGA Tour careers. I would love to be able to do that but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.”
It’s been a long journey to chase that dream for 30-year-old Nesbitt.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of determination and a lot of belief that I can still do this,” he said.
“I’ve been out there a little longer than some of these other guys. But I’ve dug deep internally and tried show myself that I know I can do this and play to my potential. I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to be good at this game.
“Age is just a number. Somebody who I fancy is Justin Rose, who is 46 and playing incredible golf. Keegan Bradley is another one. Those longtime PGA Tour veterans have been able to show, hey, you can still do this as you get older.
“Fred Funk was a [PGA Tour] rookie at 33. Today just shows me that I have the game to play and compete at both this and higher levels.”
At stake are the 10 tour cards into the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour that will go to the top 10 finishers in this season’s PGA Tour Americas standings.
The Korn Ferry is the tour leading into the PGA Tour in the pro-golf ladder. The win at Uplands took Nesbitt a few big steps up the rungs and into the PGA Tour Americas top-10 on the season, and on the verge of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour.
The final tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season will be this weekend at Morgan Creek in Surrey.
“It’s incredible how difficult the competition is now,” said Nesbitt, whose dad, Dave Nesbitt, caddied for him at Uplands.
“There are so many good players even at this level and the quality of play is world class.”
Nesbitt came into the final round Sunday trailing Ewart by four shots. Both tied at 20-under 260 after four rounds to send it to extra holes. After both players parred and then birdied the 18th hole, they moved to No. 9 where Nesbitt won it with a birdie.
“I’m happy to be the first Canadian to win on the PGA Tour Americas this year. There’s one more week to hammer down,” said Nesbitt.
“Just because you are in a position right now to hold a Korn Ferry Tour membership, you can’t take anything for granted. This tour is very strong with good players and anything can happen.”
Nesbitt and Ewart were among the 156 players from 18 nations — including 19 from Canada — who teed off Thursday at Uplands, chasing their pro golf dreams and also chasing American Michael Brennan.
Brennan leads the Fortinet Cup season standings and is on a tear, having won three of the previous four PGA Tour Americas tournaments. He has clinched a Korn Ferry Tour card for next year. Brennan tied for fifth at Uplands with a 16-under 264.
The majority of players who started out at Uplands, 111, were from the U.S. with 19 from Canada and five each from China and Argentina, two each from Australia and Norway and one each from Colombia, Costa Rica, Chinese Taipei, Cayman Islands, England, India, Ireland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Scotland and South Africa.
The 2025 PGA Tour Americas began in March with the six-tournament Latin American portion in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Colombia.
The 10-tournament North American portion features nine stops in Canada and one in the U.S., and began July 3-6 with the Explore New Brunswick Open at Mactaquac in Fredericton.
The top 120 players on the season, following the Times Colonist Victoria Open, have advanced to the culminating Fortinet Cup Championship this week at Morgan Creek in Surrey.
PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica merged to form PGA Tour Americas in 2023. The former Canadian Tour became PGA Tour Canada in 2013, with 65 PGA Tour Canada alumni having advanced to play on the PGA Tour over the past decade with 26 PGA Tour victories between them.
More than 300 PGA Tour Canada alumni have gone on to play on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2013, with more than 50 victories among them.
In whatever incarnation, the Times Colonist Victoria Open presented by Andrew Sheret Limited has been a part of it since 1981.
The Victoria tournament has featured the likes of future PGA Tour players Steve Stricker, Stuart Appleby, Scott McCarron, Kirk Triplett, Mike Weir, Tony Finau, Taylor, Conners, Hadwin and Hughes.
TEE-OFF: The 2025 Times Colonist Victoria Open raised $200,000, the highest charity total for the season on the PGA Tour Americas. The money goes to Easter Seals Camp Shawnigan.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com