9 to Watch this Week

The second Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament in the Western part of the United States begins Tuesday, March 30 at The Wigwam in the Phoenix suburb of Litchfield Park. Last week, the Tour was in San Jacinto, California, where Jeffrey Kang was the medalist, joining previous medalists Camilo Aguado, Luis Gagne and Keenan Huskey. Those players earned their membership in Florida (Aguado and Gagne) and Alabama (Huskey). This week at The Wigwam’s Gold Course, designed and built in 1965 by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 104 players will be vying for the top-six exempt positions and additional conditional status in a 72-hole, no-cut tournament that ends on Friday, April 2. Here are nine players to follow this week. 

Wil Bateman, Canada

The Edmonton native played college golf at the San Diego State and turned pro in 2013. He has played in 40 career Mackenzie Tour events and 27 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica tournaments. In 2015, Bateman broke through and won the Hyundai-BBVA 89 Chile Open, defeating current PGA TOUR player Rafael Campos by a shot. 

Cooper Dossey, United States

Dossey enters this week as the 25th-ranked amateur in the world. The senior at Baylor is also No. 16 in the latest PGA TOUR University rankings. In June 2019, Dossey, an Austin, Texas, native, won the prestigious North and South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 and No. 4. During the medalist during stroke play portion then he took out Georgia Tech’s Noah Norton, 5 and 4, in the championship match. 

Kyle Kochevar, United States

He played golf at the University of Virginia, counting among his teammates former Mackenzie Tour players Danny Walker and Derek Bard. His twin sister, Brooke, played college golf for the University of Maryland and is currently the assistant golf coach at Benedictine University in Illinois.

Josh McCarthy, United States

He is a fifth-year senior, playing at Pepperdine University and is currently ranked 25th in the PGA TOUR University rankings and is No. 129 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. His last college triumph came in Moorpark, California, when McCarthy opened with a 75 then rebounded with a 64-67 finish to coast past a trio of players for a three-stroke win. 

Elis Svard, Sweden

The native Sodertalje, Sweden, won the 2020 HNS Amateur Open at Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course. He rolled to a five-shot triumph over Grant Engle. He played his first four years of college golf at Cal State-Monterey Bay, where he was a three-time Ping All-American and two-time California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. With an extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19, he transferred to Ohio State, where he is currently competing. 

Aaron Terrazas, Mexico

The former UTEP golfer just missed on earning an invitation to the Masters Tournament, finishing second to Argentina’s Abel Gallegos Caputo at the Latin America Amateur Championship at Mayakoba Golf Club in his native Mexico. Terrazas returned to Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Course last fall, making his PGA TOUR debut in the Mayakoba Golf Classic. 

Sahith Theegala, United States

The three-time Pepperdine All-American has eight PGA TOUR starts on his resume, most recently at the Safeway Open, where he tied for 14th. In each of his last two weeks, Theegala has been busy on the Korn Ferry Tour, tying for 19th two weeks ago, at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open and firing three rounds in the 60s last week in Savannah, Georgia, at the Club Car Championship (tied for 46th). In college, he won three Player of the Year honors—the Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award. 

Tyler Weworski, United States

Weworski was a 2019 Mackenzie Tour member, making four cuts in six starts, a tie for 14th at the Canada Life Open his best outing. Weworski, who makes his home in nearby Scottsdale, has made one PGA TOUR start, at the 2020 Barracuda Championship, and has he 17 Korn Ferry Tour appearances on his resume. 

Sean Yu, Chinese Taipei

He began his collegiate career at the University of California before transferring to San Jose State. For the Spartans, he won the 2019 Visit Stockton Pacific Invite and the Annual Western Collegiate (shared with Isaiah Salinda). Yu competed in the 2020 Collegiate Showcase at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, winning the 18-hole medalist honors and earning an invite to the PGA TOUR’s Genesis Invitational (missed the cut).