UCLA ATHLETICS / 2015
Lorens Chan
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‘Iolani graduate Lorens Chan earned his first career win on the Mackenzie Tour with a two-stroke victory Sunday at the HFX Pro-Am in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Chan, a two-time Hawaii High School Athletic Association state champion, played his final 60 holes of the tournament without a bogey and turned in a final round of 5-under-par 67 to hold off former UCLA teammate Jake Knapp with a total of 24-under 264.
Chan, 25, had posted four top-10 finishes in six starts on the PGA’s Canadian tour this season. With the win, Chan moved up three spots to third on the Mackenzie Tour’s order of merit.
“Throughout the whole season I’ve been knocking on the door, but I’ve come up a little bit short and made a few mistakes on the weekends. That adds up and I finish a few strokes behind,” Chan said in a story on pgatour.com.
“Since Friday, I’ve been getting lots of texts encouraging me from friends and family. They said, ‘This is your week,’ so I kept telling myself that it was my time.”
Chan is the second Hawaii player to break through on the Mackenzie Tour this summer. Maui’s Alex Chiarella picked up his first win at the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open on June 23.
Chan entered the final round with a one-shot lead and opened the day with an eagle on Oakfield Golf and Country Club’s par-5 first hole. He posted consecutive birdies on the par-3 fifth and par-5 sixth holes then strung together 10 pars before another birdie at the par-5 17th. A par on the closing hole was enough to punctuate the win.
Moanalua graduate Brent Grant carded a 68 on Sunday and tied for 16th at 15 under. Chiarella tied for 40th at 10 under.