Davis Lamb Stays Hot, Wins Back to Back Events
BROMONT, Québec— Three weeks ago Davis Lamb had to fight his way into the field. Now, after winning back-to-back events on PGA TOUR Canada, he’s one win away from automatic membership on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Lamb handled the bad weather that temporarily beset Golf Château Bromont on Sunday to shoot a 7-under 63 and win the Québec Open powered by Videotron Business. Lamb finished at 22-under 258, one shot ahead of David Kim, who fired a closing round of 62.
It’s been only two weeks since Lamb became the first Monday qualifier to win a PGA TOUR Canada event, which earned him exempt status for the rest of the season. This week, after the TOUR took a week off, he became the first back-to-back winner since Tyler McCumber in 2018. A third win this season means an instant promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I’ve just been trusting my game,” Lamb said. “I think both these courses (where he’s won) have suited me very well. It’s a premium hitting the fairway and controlling my spin into the greens. I didn’t overcomplicate things. I kind of took advantage when I had the opportunity and just made pars when I had to.”
Lamb, of Bethesda, Maryland, also took over first place in the Fortinet Cup standings. The winner of that season-long points race receives a $25,000 bonus and full status on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2024. He leads Canada’s Étienne Papineau by 407 points.
Lamb offset two bogeys on the front nine with five birdies and made the turn in 32. He added four more birdies on the finishing nine and two-putted for par on 18 for the victory.
“Foot on the gas all day,” Lamb said. “I knew nobody was going to stop chasing, so it was a matter of making as many birdies as I possibly could, waiting out the rain delay and coming out and making more birdies. It was a full sprint with a little stop in the middle, but it was a lot of fun.”
Kim, of Los Angeles, carded the fourth 62 on PGA TOUR Canada this season. He shot 32 on the front and finished with a 30 on the back, which included an eagle at the drivable par-4 15th hole and a birdie at 18.
Lamb was playing in the group behind Kim but was never sure of where he stood.
“I had no idea,” Lamb said. “I figured I was in the lead by at least one, and I thought it might be two, but I guess David birdied 18. I had 25 feet and two putts to win, and I thank God I did it because I wasn’t sure where I stood.”
Lamb is trying to remain focused on the task at hand, even though he is close to Korn Ferry Tour status.
“I don’t expect anything,” he said “I’m just going to go out there and keep playing my game, and if it happens, it happens. If you would have told me that I’m standing here after two wins under my belt and three weeks before I didn’t really have any status and any guaranteed starts, I would be shocked. It’s given me a tremendous amount of confidence, and I’m just excited to keep it rolling. We’ve got a long season ahead.”
Brian Richey of Lakeland, Florida, closed with a 65 and finished third, at 15-under 261. Carr Vernon of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, finished with a 63 and moved up three spots to finish four, at 17-under 263.
The low Canadian was Chris R. Wilson of Toronto. He closed with a 69 and took solo fifth (16-under 264).
Tied for sixth were Australian Jason Hong, Sam Choi of Malibu, California, and Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Key Information
Thirty Canadians entered this week’s Québec Open powered by Videotron Business, with 11 making the cut. Chris R. Wilson led the way with his fifth-place finish. Here are how all the Canadians fared, who completed 72 holes.
Tyler McCumber, son of 10-time PGA TOUR champion Mark McCumber, was the last back-to-back PGA TOUR Canada winner. He won the 2018 Osprey Valley Open by one stroke over Michael Gellerman and then, after the TOUR observed an off week, he won the Syncrude Oil Country Championship by two shots ahead of Ian Holt.
Anyone who wins three tournaments in a season earns an automatic promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour. The last player to do so was TylerMcCumber, in 2018. Dan McCarthy won four times in 2016. Those joining DavisLamb with two wins in a season are JoelDahmen (2014), C.T. Pan (2015), AaronWise (2016), PatrickNewcomb and KramerHickok (2017), JakeKnapp, PaulBarjon and TaylorPendrith (2019) and NoahGoodwin and WilBateman (2022).
Canadian Étienne Papineau, who has led the Fortinet Cup standings all season since his opening-week victory at the Royal Beach Victoria Open, shot a 63 Sunday and vaulted 18 spots to tie for 16th. Papineau, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, dropped to second in the points standings.
Michael Blair and Brandon Lacasse, both of Quebec, made their sponsor’s exemptions pay off. Lacasse finished with a 67 and Blair closed with a 69, leaving the duo tied for 36th.
Because of a threatening weather forecast, officials pushed the starting times for the final rounds to earlier in the morning. Despite a one-hour, 40-minute suspension because of rain and lightning danger, the round resumed and ended with no further issue.
Quotable
“This is kind of like the grass I grew up putting on, which is a huge advantage at any golf course. I had a couple of great reads that I just kind of stood over and was confident and made a good stroke.” – Davis Lamb on his putting round
“It hadn’t been my best six, eight months leading up to these two events. (I) struggled a little bit with some swing stuff over the winter and, unfortunately, that led right into Q-school, where I played good enough to get a card but not good enough to guarantee any starts. But you know, I never quit.” – Davis Lamb
“It was kind of a relentless effort from my coaches to get my swing back to where it needed to be. And we’ve been building off momentum for a while now, although the results haven’t shown. I’m just glad it’s paying off now in a big way.” – Davis Lamb
Final-Round Weather: Mostly cloudy and warm. High of 27. Wind S at 5-7 kph. There was a one-hour, 40-minute rain and weather delay in the middle of the round.
