The 103rd Ontario Men's Amateur Championship at Deerhurst Highlands will feature five players from Barrie and five more from across Simcoe County competing for the province's amateur golfing crown.
Only twice in the tournament’s history has a golfer from Barrie topped the leaderboard: Rick Todd won at Whitevale in 1985, and Bill Hutcheson won at West Haven in 1995.
However, this year’s field is stacked with accomplished golfers, some at NCAA Division I programs.
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LOCAL PLAYERS
Ashton Rinaldi: at just 16 years old, the St. Joseph’s CHS golf team captain is pursuing a career in the sport with the goal of recruitment by a DI program. He qualified for this tournament with a top-eight finish in the qualifier at Redcrest, and has since played in the Ontario Men’s Match Play Championship at Tarandowah, where he had a top-20 finish.
Bradley Greenside: Greenside plays out of Tangle Creek, and is best known for winning the 2023 Ontario Champion of Champions tournament. That qualified him for the Ontario Men’s Amateur later that year, where he’s finished in the top 50 in back-to-back years to bring him back for 2025 at Deerhurst.
David Kowalewski: another 16-year-old, he’s no stranger to big tournaments. He played in last year’s Ontario Men’s Match Play, and later won the GBSSA regional with Maple Ridge SSEarlier this year he missed the cut at a Canadian Open regional qualifier by three strokes. He qualified for this tournament with a top 8 at May 28 qualifier at Redcrest.
Joshua Taylor: a former member of Georgian College’s golf team, he qualified for this tournament by way of winning the Ontario Public Amateur in 2024.
Mitchell Brassard: the son of Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard, Mitchell is making a name for himself on the links. After finishing his junior year at Tiffin University (NCAA Division II), he’ll play in his second Ontario Men’s Amateur after finishing tied for 29th in 2024 in St. Catharines.
The five other players from Simcoe County include:
- Taylor Beckstead, Alliston
- Exemption: top 10 finish at May 20 qualifier at Silver Lakes
- Andrew Gwilliams: Bradford
- Exemption: top 8 at May 28 qualifier at Redcrest (low score of 70)
- Andrew Nagel, Elmvale
- Exemption: top 10 finish at May 29 qualifier at Wildfire
- Dimitri Protopapas, Innisfil
- Exemption: top 10 finish at May 29 qualifier at Wildfire
- Spencer Shropshire, Ramara
- Exemption: top 10 from 2024 U19 Ontario boys’ junior golf pathway rankings
COURSE SPECIFICATIONS
| Designed by | Par | Length | Course rating | Slope rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom | 72 | 6,878 yards (6,289 metres) | 75.5 | 136 |
This is a very spread out golf course, so much so that there’s a shuttle service that will take players from check-in to the practice facility, between holes six and seven, and between holes nine and 10.
FORMAT
This year’s tournament will continue with the traditional 72-hole stroke-play format. The last year with a match play format was 1966.
Like on the PGA Tour, there’s a cut at 36 holes which will keep the lowest 60 players (with ties) of the 156-player field.
WEATHER FORECAST
Round one: sunny near noon. High 27 C. Humidex 31 C.
Round two: cloudy with 40 per cent chance of showers. High 22 C.
Round three: cloudy with 60 per cent chance of showers. High 22 C.
Round four: cloudy with 30 per cent chance of showers. High 26 C.
