Aaron Goldberg
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Kane Hanson is turning the Canadian Tour Championship into a Cinderella story of sorts.
Current Order of Merit leader Aaron Goldberg wants to make sure midnight comes at some point Sunday.
Hanson (70) and Goldberg (66) will make up the final pairing Sunday as they share the lead at 10-under heading into the final round of the $325,000 crown jewel at St. Catharines G&CC.
Andres Gonzales, the 2009 Saskatchewan Open champion, made a push on AMJ Campbell Moving Day, using a 63 to vault into third spot, one shot behind the leaders. Devin Carrey of South Surrey, BC (71) is at minus-8.
It was a much different story for Kris Wasylowich of Lethbridge, Alb. Starting the day just two shots behind Hanson, Wasylowich stumbled to a 79.
As he arrived in St. Catharines, Hanson knew he had to come up with a strong effort if he wanted to keep his Tour card. Having not made a cheque since April, Hanson was facing the very real possibility of losing his playing status for next year.
"It's been weighing on my mind for the past month and a half," he admitted. "This was a big week for me. I just wanted to make sure I had a place to play next season."
It's looking like that won't be a problem. Instead of just holding on to status, Hanson has his eyes on a much larger prize, namely the $52,000 winner's share of the Canadian Tour-record $325,000 pot.
Goldberg, on the other hand, is looking to put an exclamation point on a dominating sophomore season. The 25-year-old has made the cut in all seven of his starts, with a pair of wins, a runner-up and three other top nine finishes.
A win or solo runner-up finish Sunday will give Goldberg the all-time Canadian Tour record for earnings in one season, eclipsing the $129,158 racked up by Trevor Dodds in 1996. Goldberg has this week and November's inaugural Desert Dunes Classic in California to earn just under $30,000.
"It's a little easier having that confidence and feeling you can win every time you step up to the tee," said Goldberg. "This is the biggest event of our year, so getting it done here would just be the icing on the cake. I really want to win that Order of Merit. It just shows you've had a very consistent year. I'll try to go out and get it done Sunday."
Even with a California event officially closing out the 2010 season later this year, his performance this week essentially salts away the Order of Merit title for Goldberg. Should he hold on for a triumph tomorrow, it will be his third victory in four events.
Hanson led by two late Saturday before bogeying the par-5 16th when he missed a tricky three-foot slider. An unimpressive 2010 docket doesn't really tell the whole story for Hanson, who has won several tournaments at both the amateur and professional level.
Like at the Jane Rogers Championship two weeks ago, when he put up a quadruple bogey eight on the 15th hole in the second round to miss the cut by one, Hanson has just found ways to shoot himself out of contention.
"It almost got to the point where it was comical," he said.
As much as he is trying not to think about what's at stake Sunday, Hanson knows he is just 18 holes away from knocking out the Canadian Tour's best.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Hanson added. "Aaron has been beating everyone up pretty good out here, so it should be fun to watch."
One thinks he'll be doing a little more than just watching Sunday.