  Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C. holds the trophy for the top Canadian after the final round of the Canadian Open Golf championship in Oakville, Ontario on Monday July 27, 2009. Baryla is the newest Canadian on the PGA Tour. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn |
Chris Baryla is the newest Canadian on the PGA Tour.
The golfer from Vernon, B.C., finished up a strong comeback year on Sunday, placing seventh in the Nationwide Tour Championship to finish 19th on the money list and earn his PGA Tour membership in 2010.
Baryla was limited to just seven Nationwide starts a year ago because of back problems. That left him without full status on tour to start this season and forced him to Monday qualify for events early in the year.
He ended up making the cut in 13 of 14 tournaments and earned US$217,680. The top-25 players on the Nationwide Tour move up to the PGA Tour each year.
"To be able to come back after having my back injury and Monday qualifying into the events and make it into the top-25 is awesome," said Baryla. "This is such a great opportunity for me to go to the PGA Tour and play against the best players in the world. It hasn't even hit me yet to say exactly how I feel right now."
The 27-year-old has certainly shown he can compete on the PGA Tour. He finished as the low Canadian at the RBC Canadian Open in July, when he tied for eighth at Glen Abbey.
Baryla turned professional not long after qualifying for the 2003 U.S. Open.
