Sundre, Alta. – Tyler Saunders of St. Albert, Alta. topped the field while four other Albertans picked up exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifier on Wednesday to wrap up regional qualifying at the Sundre Golf Club in Sundre, Alta.
As a result of the field consisting of less than 120 players, only the top ten per cent of players – fifth place and ties – earned exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifier, set to be contested on Sunday, June 1 at The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ont. The field includes players that qualified through regional qualifiers across the country, with four spots in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open up for grabs ahead of the tournament.
Saunders humbled the course on Wednesday with a scorching front nine that included the first eagle of the day at the par-5 seventh to pull him into a tie with clubhouse leader, Mike Valk of Medicine Hat, Alta., at four-under par.
Saunders – a former member of Team Canada’s Junior Boys program – didn’t wait long after making the turn to cut himself loose atop the leaderboard, sprinkling in back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 to power his way to six-under par. Despite dropping a pair of shots after bogeys at the 15th and 16th hole, Saunders was able to make a birdie putt on the par-3 17th to finish his round of 67 and keep his solo lead.
“I wasn’t expecting to hit it as well considering the conditions, but it felt really good to hit a lot of really good shots like I did today and make the putts,” said Saunders, who admitted to the challenges of playing in rain and enduring temperatures that at points, felt like two degrees during his round.
“Just to have a shot at getting into an event like that is pretty special. It’s pretty cool just to be able to go to Ontario in a couple weeks and be able to try and get my name in the field,” he added.
Though bouncing around the top of the leaderboard on Wednesday, Valk dealt enough damage throughout the morning wave to comfortably sit in second place and advance to the Final Qualifier. His six birdies on the front nine led the field, but bogeys at holes seven and 16 kept him from contending for the day’s top spot.
Phelan Shaw of Calgary, Alta. carded a two-under round of 70 to finish in third place despite picking up a trio of bogeys. His hometown counterpart, Jared Code of Calgary did just enough to squeak into the top five of the leaderboard and grabbed momentum with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to get to two-under par. A bogey on the 17th dropped him to one-under par, however, his round of 71 served to be enough with Chase Strang of Airdrie, Alta. joining him to nab the last available spot.
RBC Canadian Open – Alberta Regional Qualifier Results:
| Pos. | Player | Residence | To Par | Total |
| 1 | Tyer Saunders | St. Albert, Alta. | -5 | 67 |
| 2 | Mike Valk (a) | Medicine Hat, Alta. | -4 | 68 |
| 3 | Phelan Shaw | Calgary, Alta. | -2 | 70 |
| T4 | Jared Code (a) | Calgary, Alta. | -1 | 71 |
| T4 | Chase Strang (a) | Airdrie, Alta. | -1 | 71 |
For the full leaderboard, click here.