Manitoba Open a springboard to top-tier golf

There’s no Scheffler, Schauffele, Mcllroy or Matsuyama in the field. In that sense, you’ll be searching long and hard to find many household names this week at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open.

But make no mistake: The pros who will be teeing it up at Southwood Golf & Country Club starting on Thursday are on the cusp of a career breakthrough and potentially becoming “the next big thing” on a much bigger stage.

“These players are some of the top up-and-coming players in the world and they’re going to be on the PGA Tour in a matter of years, if not sooner,” Scott Pritchard, the vice-president of PGA Tour Americas, said Tuesday at the launch for one of the oldest tournaments in North America, which first began in 1919.

For Exhibit A, look at last year’s champion, Hayden Springer. The 27-year-old Texan has gone from grinding it out in the Great White North to full-time member on the PGA Tour in the blink of an eye. Springer, who shot a 59 earlier this season at the John Deere Classic, has earned US$825,940 in 2024 including a trio of top-10 finishes.