Paul Barjon tops Mackenzie Tour season-long Order of Merit

LONDON, Ont. — From start to finish, Paul Barjon was the top player on the 2019 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, and it showed in the final Order of Merit standings as Barjon finished atop the earnings’ chart as the season came to a close September 15. With his tie-for-27th finish at the season-ending Canada Life Championship, Barjon, who entered the week in the No. 1 spot, held on to edge Canadian Taylor Pendrith by $2,746 to win the Player of the Year Award that goes to the Order of Merit winner. Barjon pocketed $127,336 in his 12 starts to Pendrith’s $124,590. With the No. 1 final position secured, Barjon becomes fully exempt on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour, while Pendrith will be conditionally exempt next season as he remained No. 2 in the standings by tying for 11th this week.

After Barjon and Pendrith, the third-, fourth- and fifth-place Order of Merit finishers were Americans Jake Knapp, Lorens Chan and Patrick Fishburn, respectively. The players received their membership cards during a ceremony following the end of play Sunday at Highland Country Club.

Barjon, a native of Dumbea, New Caldenoia, who graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, completed his third full Mackenzie Tour season by enjoying his best campaign as a professional. Barjon also played the Tour 2016 and 2018, and Sunday’s tournament was his 36th career start.

Fully exempt when the season began, Barjon finished sixth at the season-opening Canada Life Open then won the following week, in Victoria, at the Bayview Place DCBank Open. He followed that with a second win, capturing the Osprey Valley Open outside Toronto in July. In his 12 tournaments, Barjon had eight top-10s and didn’t miss a cut.

“Finishing No. 1 was obviously the target at the beginning of the year. Whether I could do it or not was definitely a question mark. You always want to be the first guy, but it’s hard to put that into your mind that you can do it,” said Barjon after receiving his Player of the Year trophy. “I wish I had played better this week, but it was a great experience to play as No. 1 throughout the week and still a great accomplishment to finish first and get full Korn Ferry Tour status for next year.”

“It was quite a battle for Order of Merit supremacy and Player of the Year honors. We had so many twists and turns all week, and Paul is an impressive winner and someone we know will represent the Mackenzie Tour well as he moves on in his professional career,” said Todd Rhinehart, Mackenzie Tour Vice President and Managing Director. “Paul started his year in impressive fashion and never slowed down. To have as many consecutive under-par rounds as he did is a testament to not only his talent but his consistency throughout the year. We congratulate Paul on this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to watching him next season on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

The players who finished the sixth-through-10th positions on the final Order of Merit are exempt into the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament in Winter Garden, Fla., outside Orlando. That 72-hole tournament is December 12-15. The five Mackenzie Tour players exempt into that tournament, hoping to secure Korn Ferry Tour status via that route, are Hayden Buckley (No. 6), David Pastore (No. 7), Dawson Armstrong (No. 8), Greyson Sigg (No. 9) and Jonathan Garrick (No. 10).

The 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 31st in its history, starts in mid-January, the full schedule still to be announced.

Beginning in 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR by awarding all 50 membership cards to Korn Ferry Tour players for the following PGA TOUR season. Players can initially qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour through the Qualifying Tournament and by securing top-five Order of Merit finishes on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Series-China. The Mackenzie Tour sent its first five players to the Korn Ferry Tour following its inaugural season in 2013. They were Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Riley Wheeldon (Canada), Mark Hubbard (U.S.), Hugo Leon (Chile) and Wil Collins (U.S.).

Final 2019 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit Top 10