Barjon wins Order of Merit and Player of the Year Award

 

LONDON, Ontario—From start to finish, Paul Barjon was the top player on the 2019 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, and it showed in the final Order of Merit standings as Barjon finished atop the earnings’ chart as the season came to a close September 15. With his tie-for-27th finish at the season-ending Canada Life Championship, Barjon, who entered the week in the No. 1 spot, held on to edge Canadian Taylor Pendrith by $2,746 to win the Player of the Year Award that goes to the Order of Merit winner. Barjon pocketed $127,336 in his 12 starts to Pendrith’s $124,590. With the No. 1 final position secured, Barjon becomes fully exempt on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour, while Pendrith will be conditionally exempt next season as he remained No. 2 in the standings by tying for 11th this week.

After Barjon and Pendrith, the third-, fourth- and fifth-place Order of Merit finishers were Americans Jake Knapp, Lorens Chan and Patrick Fishburn, respectively. The players received their membership cards during a ceremony following the end of play Sunday at Highland Country Club.

Barjon, a native of Dumbea, New Caldenoia, who graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, completed his third full Mackenzie Tour season by enjoying his best campaign as a professional. Barjon also played the Tour 2016 and 2018, and Sunday’s tournament was his 36th career start.

Fully exempt when the season began, Barjon finished sixth at the season-opening Canada Life Open then won the following week, in Victoria, at the Bayview Place DCBank Open. He followed that with a second win, capturing the Osprey Valley Open outside Toronto in July. In his 12 tournaments, Barjon had eight top-10s and didn’t miss a cut.

“Finishing No. 1 was obviously the target at the beginning of the year. Whether I could do it or not was definitely a question mark. You always want to be the first guy, but it’s hard to put that into your mind that you can do it,” said Barjon after receiving his Player of the Year trophy. “I wish I had played better this week, but it was a great experience to play as No. 1 throughout the week and still a great accomplishment to finish first and get full Korn Ferry Tour status for next year.”

“It was quite a battle for Order of Merit supremacy and Player of the Year honors. We had so many twists and turns all week, and Paul is an impressive winner and someone we know will represent the Mackenzie Tour well as he moves on in his professional career,” said Todd Rhinehart, Mackenzie Tour Vice President and Managing Director. “Paul started his year in

impressive fashion and never slowed down. To have as many consecutive under-par rounds as he did is a testament to not only his talent but his consistency throughout the year. We congratulate Paul on this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to watching him next season on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

The players who finished the sixth-through-10th positions on the final Order of Merit are exempt into the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament in Winter Garden, Fla., outside Orlando. That 72-hole tournament is December 12-15. The five Mackenzie Tour players exempt into that tournament, hoping to secure Korn Ferry Tour status via that route, are Hayden Buckley (No. 6), David Pastore (No. 7), Dawson Armstrong (No. 8), Greyson Sigg (No. 9) and Jonathan Garrick (No. 10).

The 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 31st in its history, starts in mid-January, the full schedule still to be announced.

Beginning in 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR by awarding all 50 membership cards to Korn Ferry Tour players for the following PGA TOUR season. Players can initially qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour through the Qualifying Tournament and by securing top-five Order of Merit finishes on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China. The Mackenzie Tour sent its first five players to the Korn Ferry Tour following its inaugural season in 2013. They were Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Riley Wheeldon (Canada), Mark Hubbard (U.S.), Hugo Leon (Chile) and Wil Collins (U.S.).

Rank Player (Country) Earnings (Canadian $)
1. Paul Barjon (New Caledonia) 127,336
2. Taylor Pendrith (Canada) 124,590
3. Jake Knapp (U.S.) 120,925
4. Lorens Chan (U.S.) 116,541
5. Patrick Fishburn (U.S.) 81,140
6. Hayden Buckley (U.S.) 80,634
7. David Pastore (U.S.) 62,137
8. Dawson Armstrong (U.S.) 52,437
9. Greyson Sigg (U.S.) 51,046
10. Jonathan Garrick (U.S.) 50,355

2020 Korn Ferry Tour Members Via Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada

Paul Barjon this Season

Barjon shot an opening-round, 1-under 71 at the Canada Life Open, the first event of the season. That began a Mackenzie Tour record-breaking streak of 28 consecutive under-par rounds by Barjon. By the time the season was over, 44 of Barjon’s 48 scores were under-par. In the process, he won twice—at the Bayview Place DC Bank Open and at the Osprey Valley Open. He also added three additional top-fives and a top-10. This season, the former Texas Christian golfer also stepped away from the Mackenzie Tour to play on the PGA TOUR, tying for 20th at the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open. In addition, he Monday-qualified into the PGA TOUR’s Valero Texas Open and tied for 64th at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch in April.

Taylor Pendrith this Season

Pendrith had a slow start to his season, with only one top-10 in his first five starts. But after a second-place finish at the Osprey Valley Open and a tie for third at the HFX Pro-Am, Pendrith broke through at the 1932byBateman Open, shooting a final-round 62 to come from behind to win. Four weeks later, in Montreal, Pendrith was winning again, 62s playing prominent roles in his runaway triumph. The Richmond Hill, Ontario, native and Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year shot back-to-back 62s in the second and third rounds of the Mackenzie Investments Open to win by eight strokes, the largest winning margin in Mackenzie Tour history.

Jake Knapp this Season

Knapp earned Mackenzie Tour membership by winning the Qualifying Tournament outside of Phoenix in April. Five weeks later, the UCLA graduate built on that by winning the season-opening Canada Life Open, opening with a 65 and finishing with a 64 in Vancouver. Knapp won for a second time, in Kelowna, at the GolfBC Championship. Close calls at the Osprey Valley Open (third place) and the HFX Pro-Am (runner-up) cemented his top-five position on the Order of Merit. Knapp also made the cut at the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open, finishing 70th.

Lorens Chan this Season

Chan opened his 2019 Mackenzie Tour season with four consecutive top-10s. Following a tie for 37th at the Windsor Championship and a tie for 19th at the Osprey Valley Open, Chan broke through in a big way in Halifax, winning the HFX Pro-Am by two strokes. That began another solid run of tournaments, as he finished runner-up in his next start, at the 1932byBateman Open, and turned in a third-place showing at the ATB Financial Classic a week later, in Calgary. For the season, Chan played 48 rounds (never missed a cut), with 46 of them at par or better. Forty-two of those were under-par rounds and 40 were in the 60s.

Patrick Fishburn this Season

Fishburn missed the first cut of his Mackenzie Tour career a week ago but came back strong in the season-ending Canada Life Championship, assuming control of the tournament through 54 holes and coasting to his first professional title, a three-stroke win over fellow American David Pastore in London. In the process, Fishburn moved from No. 11 on the Order of Merit when the week began to No. 5, earning 2020 Korn Ferry Tour membership. In 2019, Fishburn was a consistent money-maker, sprinkling in three top-10s to go with his victory. He finished third at the Bayview Place DCBank Open, tied for second at the Windsor Championship and tied for sixth at the HFX Pro-Am.