by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com
Photos: St. Thomas G&CC

Jonn Drewery of Kitchener (Westmount G&CC) captured his second Early Bird tournament victory today at St. Thomas Golf and Country Club with a round of 2-under 70. The four-time All-American at Columbus State University (1996-99) was the only golfer in the A flight field of 90 golfers who finished under par.

Former Western Mustangs standout Jackson Bowery and Gajan Sivabalasingham of Stouffville finished T2 at even-par 72.

A storm rolled through Union on Saturday when only half of the B flight and a handful of A flight competitors had teed off. Wet conditions saw the 78th edition of this tourney truncated to a single round.

Today, after a one-hour fog delay, Drewery went out at 35, in at 35, and recorded two birdies and one bogey on both the front and back nines at the historic Union club.

According to the Columbus State Cougars, “Drewery stood out in one of the most dominant eras in Cougar golf. Playing from 1996-99, Drewery was a member of the 1997 NCAA DII national championship team and nearly captured the individual national championship in 1999 finishing as the runner-up. The Cougars also took home a PBC title in 1998 while Drewery, himself, never finished worse than fifth at the premier conference event. He was named the 1996-97 NCAA DII National Freshman of the Year, in addition to taking home the conference’s honor, while also being selected to the All-PBC team in all four seasons. During his prep days, Drewery was the top amateur golfer in Ontario from 1996-98 and the number one ranked amateur in all of Canada in 1997.”

Amongst his accolades of late, Drewery captured Golf Ontario’s 2026 Men’s Division Champion of Champions.

Dean Weber captured the Early Bird B Flight today with a round of 2-over 74, two strokes better than Randy Minielly.

On May 11, St. Thomas G&CC hosted a U.S. Open qualifier – click here for that story. In fact, hosting that notable tournament in addition to the much-respected Early Bird tourney is simply par for the course at Union, according to head golf professional Jake Adams.

Jake Adams

“Golf course superintendent Wade Beaudoin and his crew do an excellent job keeping our club in fantastic condition. We are always ready for tournament conditions for Early Bird weekend, so preparing the course for the U.S. Open qualifier was no different. The only extra prep involved lowering the heights on the greens mowers a few days early,” Adams said.

The Early Bird traditionally only sees a few competitors break par. Adams called Union “a very tricky course – especially when the wind picks up. And the greens’ complexes have a lot of slope to them and make it difficult to score when you are not below the hole. It generally takes a calm day for scores to end up lower than 70.

“The Early Bird field was extremely strong again this year, with many of the top players from across Ontario playing in the event,” he said. “The majority of the amateurs who played in the U.S. Open qualifier also played in the Early Bird event.”

For a complete history of the Early Bird event, click here.