Jake Lane Eagles His Final Hole To Earn Spot In RBC Canadian Open
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Jake Lane grew up in the northern B.C. community of Charlie Lake and caught the golf bug playing Lake Point Golf & Country Club.
Like all kids, Lane dreamed big. During those countless summertime rounds at Lake Point, when the sun didn’t set until late into the evening, Lane would imagine maybe becoming good enough to play professional golf and one day competing in a tournament he watched on television every year.
The RBC Canadian Open was a major in his eyes and now Lane is going to play in it.
The 25-year-old played his way into the PGA TOUR event by winning a regional qualifier at Pitt Meadows Golf Club.
Lane fired his five-under 67 early in the day and then sat inside the clubhouse for nearly seven hours to wait and see whether his score held up. It did and Lane could not be any happier.
“This is a dream coming true,” Lane said. “I can’t really put it any other way. I have been watching the Canadian Open since I was a child.” Lane, now a Metro Vancouver resident who plays out of Meadow Gardens Golf Club in Pitt Meadows, has only been a pro for two years. He graduated from Appalachian State University in North Carolina in 2022 and last year played the PGA Tour Canada circuit. He has also been a regular on the Vancouver Golf Tour, which he credits with helping him hone his game.
The Canadian Open, now less than three weeks away, is set for May 30-June 2 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club. It offers a purse of $9.4 million, a tad more than the $200,000 that was on offer last summer at PGA Tour Canada events.
“The game is good right now, it has been trending in the right direction,” Lane said. “I have been playing on the Vancouver Golf Tour, I’ve had lots of good finishes coming into this, and I feel like I can go there and contend, to be honest. That’s what I will go there to do and I am looking forward to it.”
Lane is confident he can handle any nerves that come his way as he steps onto his biggest stage as a golfer. He said he will prepare for the tournament the same he does for all of the other events he plays. “I am going to show up like it’s a PGA Tour Canada event, like any other week, I am going to get there on Monday and learn the course,” he said.
“On PGA Tour Canada last year I got to know what a week looks like Monday to Sunday. I know last year I did a little too much Monday to Wednesday and felt burned out multiple times by Thursday. I know that now and I am not going to do that when I go to Hamilton. I feel prepared in that way.”
Lane eagled the par 5 18th hole at Pitt Meadows to post his five-under score, which edged Jordan Brajcich of Everett, Wash., by one shot. “I couldn’t have played 18 more perfectly,” he said.
“I hit a drive 330 (yards) with a draw right down the middle to a back right pin. I like to draw my irons so that was tough for me, but I played it perfect. I had 180 in and hit a 7-iron to 10 feet. I was lucky enough to have a playing competitor hit it right behind my ball and he missed the putt, but he gave me a perfect read and I just thought, geez, I am going to make this, I have a perfect read on it and I have no excuse. I hit it right in the middle. When I made that eagle I knew I had a chance.”
All he had to do was wait a while.
CHIP SHOTS: A total of 138 players teed it up in the Pitt Meadows qualifier. The top 23 players finishing behind Lane — who were all even-par or better — earned a spot in the Monday qualifier for the RBC Canadian Open that will be played tournament week.
Click HERE to see final qualifying scores.