Windsor, Ontario, Canada — With a 65 on Sunday at Ambassador Golf Club, Mark Anguiano picked up his first career Mackenzie Tour victory on Sunday at the Windsor Championship.

While five birdies in his first seven holes put Anguiano in a good place, it was the birdies he made on 15 and 17 that sealed the deal for the 25-year-old to lift his first trophy on Tour.

“When I bogeyed 14 I knew I had to man up,” said Anguiano. “I birdied 15, made a clutch par on 16 and made another clutch putt on 17. After hitting it on the green on 18 I had a good feeling that I was going to pull it off.”

It came down to the last half-hour of play until it became clear who the winner was going to be. Throughout the day, Anguiano exchanged the lead with both Canadians near the top of the leaderboard; Anguiano’s playing partner, Taylor Pendrith, and Michael Gligic, playing in the group ahead.

“All the guys in front put a lot of pressure on us, but I was very at ease,” said Anguiano. “I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself throughout the week, even today, I knew Michael and Taylor had a little more pressure being at the top and being Canadian.”

After making birdie on 17, Anguiano walked up the 18th green with a two-stroke lead after Gligic narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie chance.

“I wasn’t sure until I got up to the green where I was really on the leaderboard, I didn’t want to know,” said the Bellflower, California native. “My caddie knew, which was good, but it wasn’t until I got to my ball on the green that I knew, and it’s a great feeling.”

The large Windsor crowd surrounding the 18th green gave Anguiano a king’s welcoming as he approached his ball, 15-feet away from the hole.

“The fans were very respectful of me and the other players that were also contending,” said Anguiano. “I felt good out there all week, there’s some stretches where you won’t hit it great or feel good on the greens, but I stayed very patient during those times and that’s important to be on top.”

Anguiano previously contended this season at the GolfBC Championship, shooting a 62 in round 1. However, a second round 71 made it difficult for the 2017 Web.com Tour player to claw his way back up the leaderboard and ended up coming in a tie for sixth.

This time around, Anguiano followed up his first round 63 with two 66s and a 65 to claim the victory.

Placing in a tie for second is Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week Michael Gligic with rounds of 64, 68, 64 and 66.

The Kitchener, Ontario native took sole possession of the lead after a birdie on the 13th, but bogeys on both of the par 3s on the back nine, including a 3 putt on the 16th, opened the door for Anguiano to be named champion.

Key Information

•  After taking a step backwards with a bogey on the 12th, Joseph Harrison made two eagles in three holes to help propel himself to a T2 finish, his best ever finish on the Mackenzie Tour. For the week, the fourth year PGA TOUR Canada player fired rounds of 66-65-66-65.
•  George Cunningham began his day on Sunday by jarring his approach shot on the first hole for eagle. The 2018 GolfBC Championship winner went on to birdie the next two consecutive holes to begin 4-under through his first three and shot 30 on the front nine. Cunningham couldn’t replicate the success on the back side, making bogey on 10 and 12 to eventually fire a 64, his best round of the week. The Arizona grad finished the week tied for fourth.
•  One bad swing may have been all that kept Pendrith from his first Mackenzie Tour victory. Beginning the day with an eagle on his third hole, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native shot 33 on the front to make the turn right on Anguiano’s heels. However, on the 14th hole Pendrith snap hooked his shot on the par 3 into the water hazard and made a double-bogey 5. While Pendrith followed the score up with a birdie on 15, he would have to settle for a T4 finish, his strongest of the year.
•  In his second Mackenzie Tour start, Theo Humphrey began the day with five birdies and an eagle through his first seven holes, and at one point held a share of the lead after an eagle on the par-4 15th hole. The Vanderbilt University alum struggled on the home-stretch, bogeying his closing two holes to shoot 66 and finish in a tie for 6th.
•  Zach Zaback fired his second best sore of the week on Sunday, making no bogeys on his way to a final round 65.
•  Order of Merit Leader Zach Wright finished in the top-10 for the fifth consecutive week to start the Mackenzie Tour season. Wright wasn’t able to gain momentum until his back, nine where he made five birdies and shot 31 to follow up an even-par front side.
•  Kyle Mueller (T11) and Andrej Bevins (T13) had the low scores on the golf course on Sunday, each shooting 63.

Quotable

“The course is awesome, it’s a great layout and a lot of holes aren’t really one going out and one going straight back, so there’s lots of sidewind and crosswind holes and not straight in or downwind, so that makes it tough to get it close and you have to really dial in your shots into the greens. When you get onto the greens you can make some putts. The greens are relatively flat, but you have to keep pressing out here and that’s the hard part.”

– Mark Anguiano

“This week was awesome. There were tons of fans and they were really rooting the Canadians on, so it was really fun to be in contention on the weekend and I played some good golf down the stretch and it was just a fun week.”

– Michael Gligic

“The golf course was great, there were low scores but we get that most weeks, so it was nice to go out and make a few birdies this week and be up there with the leaders.”

– Michael Gligic

“There’s so many good players, and I was a bit bummed out because I handed it over to Pendrith there in Lethbridge, so this week I kind of took one back from him, so I’ll probably give him an earful for that.”

– Michael Gligic

“I got off to a rough start this year, missing the cut three events in a row, but I kept working hard and the past few weeks I’ve seen some good signs, so just keep going and next week is a course I really like so hopefully I can get myself in contention again.”

– Michael Gligic

Fourth-Round Weather: Sunny. High of 31. Wind 5 KM/h.