Chilliwack’s Brett Webster Overwhelmed By Support As He Heads To RBC Canadian Open
Brett Webster - Image Credit Jerome Goddard/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
The highlight will come when he actually tees it up in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open, but the past three weeks have also been lots of fun for Brett Webster.
Ever since playing his way into the event by winning a regional qualifier May 8 at Squamish Valley Golf Course, the Chilliwack resident has been overwhelmed by all the support he has received.
Everywhere he goes, Webster hears words of encouragement and congratulations. “Basically from the day I qualified until now it has kind of been like that,” Webster said in an interview before heading to Toronto. “Every day there is somebody I see in everyday life who comes up and offers me their support and say they are excited to watch. That has been super cool.
“All the members at Chilliwack Golf Course have been awesome. I played men’s night Wednesday night and there was just an overwhelming amount of support, so many people coming up to me and saying congratulations and good luck.”
To say the tournament has been on Webster’s mind the past three weeks is an understatement. “It is hard to take your mind off it,” he said. “I have basically been thinking about it every day.” He’s also been trying to work on his game, while holding down a full-time job and dealing with a busy family life. Webster and his wife Kylee have two young sons.
“Prior to the qualifier, I really hadn’t been playing as much, so I have ramped things up to just try and get a little sharper and be ready.”
Webster, who works in the hospitality industry with Old Yale Brewing, will have several family members and friends at TPC Toronto to watch him play in his first PGA TOUR event. In addition to his wife and kids, Webster’s parents and his sister and her family are heading east to offer their support.
There will be nerves, of course, but Webster takes comfort in the fact that he has played the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course) before. “I played the Monday qualifier there last year so I kind of know what to expect on that course. Even though it is a relatively wide golf course, I think driving it in play is going to be key based on how they typically grow the rough at Canadian Opens. They actually sent the player advance sheet yesterday and it said it’s four- to six-inch rough.”
Webster said he and caddie Ian Mulder will have to be laser-focused about keeping the ball in the fairway. “We have to make sure we pick a line in the fairway and not just go out there thinking it’s wide open and you can just wail away. When I played the Monday qualifier there last year, that is where I struggled. I got it into the rough and on some of the holes if it’s wet at all you just can’t get it to the green.”
Mulder is an old high school buddy of Webster’s. They played on the Yale Secondary golf team with Nick Taylor that dominated the high school golf scene two decades ago and were junior members at Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford. “We grew up playing golf together,” Webster said of Mulder. “He has stepped away a little bit. He’s still a good player, a one- or two-handicap. He’s super excited and I’m happy to have him because he was helpful to me in the qualifier as well.”
Taylor and Webster remain close friends. They played 13 holes together last week at Chilliwack Golf Club when Taylor was enjoying a week off from the PGA TOUR. Webster said he and Taylor hope to play a few holes together Monday at TPC Toronto.
Webster, who will turn 37 on Tuesday of tournament week, knows he will be taking a big step up in class at TPC Toronto. Most of his competitive golf in recent years has come on the Vancouver Golf Tour. It’s important that Webster, who played collegiate golf at the University of the Fraser Valley, doesn’t allow himself to become overwhelmed by the fact that he’s finally about to play in his first PGA TOUR event.
“I think like anybody it is mostly about staying in the present,” he said. “For me, it’s largely going to be mental. I feel pretty good about where my game is at. I just can’t get too far ahead of myself or get down when I do make a bogey. I think that's what I did very well in the qualifier. I wasn’t focusing on what score I was at or anything like that. Just taking it as it comes. That’s probably going to be the biggest thing for me.”
And, of course, soaking up every moment.
Webster is one of six British Columbians in the field for next week’s tournament. In addition to PGA TOUR regulars Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Adam Svensson, Merritt’s Roger Sloan and A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam have been given sponsor’s exemptions.
Ewart will be making his second Canadian Open start after missing the cut as an amateur at St. George's in 2022. He is coming off a nice run on the PGA Tour Americas circuit, where he posted two top-10s and did not shoot a round over par in six events in South America and Mexico.
Several British Columbians are also trying to play their way into the field at Sunday’s final qualifier where four spots are available.