Meet the Calgarian who makes his PGA Tour debut this week at Canadian Open
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That's when Thomson is scheduled to launch his opening drive at the PGA Tour's 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto.
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It's a moment that the 22-year-old has been waiting for since September, when he earned this tournament exemption as winner of the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational, and something that was on his mind throughout his final NCAA season with the University of Michigan Wolverines.
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Going further back, it's a moment that he was envisioning as a youngster as he honed his skills on the fairways and greens at Calgary G&CC.
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'I'm just thrilled that it's already here,' Thomson said as he prepared for his PGA Tour debut. 'I'm probably more looking forward to it than anything. It's just going to be a great learning experience. I'm not scared of it in any way, but it's obviously a pretty big deal. Making my pro debut as a Canadian at the Canadian Open is super special and something I'll remember for the rest of my life.'
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Thomson will tee off Thursday at TPC Toronto as a relative unknown.
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He shredded the school record books at the University of Michigan, where he led his squad in scoring in each of his four seasons and put an exclamation point on his post-secondary career with a victory last month at one of the NCAA's regional championships. That was his fourth individual win at the collegiate level.
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'Obviously Hunter is a great player, you can tell that just by the statistics, but he's one of the most consistent players I've ever coached,' said Zach Barlow, who leads the Wolverines men's golf program. 'And that's not just on the course, that's in everyday life. It's the way he handles his business in the classroom. It's the way he goes about his business at practice. It just seems like he has a plan and he executes that plan daily and kind of stays in his zone, if you will.'
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This is now business for Thomson, who turned professional after NCAA nationals and already has signed to play PING clubs and wear Puma Golf apparel.
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He has secured status to compete as a regular this season on PGA Tour Americas, a stepping-stone circuit, but will first get a taste this week of life in the big leagues. The field for the 2025 RBC Canadian Open is headlined by Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg and homegrown stars such as Corey Conners and Nick Taylor.
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Canadian women defeat U.S. 42-10 in final home game before Rugby World Cup
OTTAWA – Canada scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to dispatch the United States 42-10 Friday in its final home game before heading to Europe for the Rugby World Cup later this month. The second-ranked Canadian women extended their winning streak against the 10th-ranked U.S. to 11 straight games, but it took time to subdue a determined American side in a physical, frenetic contest before an announced crowd of 11,453 at TD Place Stadium. Canada has one more World Cup tune-up on Aug. 9 against No. 5 Ireland in Dublin. The team is scheduled to fly from Toronto on Saturday. Canada, which finished fourth at the last World Cup in November 2022, opens World Cup play in England against No. 14 Fiji on Aug. 23 in York, then face No. 9 Wales on Aug. 30 in Manchester and No. 7 Scotland on Sept. 6 in Exeter. The U.S. will play in Group A at the World Cup, drawn with No. 1 England, No. 8 Australia and No. 15 Samoa. McKinley Hunt, Gabby Senft, Olivia DeMerchant, Florence Symonds and Mikiela Nelson scored tries for Canada, which was also awarded a penalty try. Sophie de Goede, in her first start since having knee surgery, kicked four conversions. Julia Schell added a conversion. Freda Tafuna scored the lone try for the U.S. McKenzie Hawkins booted a conversion and a penalty The Canadian women have won four straight, improving to 5-0-1 this year. They hold a 29-19 edge over the Americans in the all-time series, having won 11 in a row since a 20-18 loss in July 2019 in Chula Vista, Calif. Canada, missing some of its top players, won 26-14 the last time they met, May 2 in Pacific Four Series play in Kansas City. Canada led 14-10 after a fast-paced first half Friday that saw a yellow card shown to each team. The Canadian attack was blunted by handling errors, penalties and some resolute American defence. De Goede returned to the starting lineup, after making a 20-minute cameo off the bench July 12 in a 33-5 win over the 12th-ranked Springbok women in South Africa. That marked the first action for the 26-year-old from Victoria since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament on June 21, 2024, in a non-contact scrimmage against the U.S. on the final day of a Canada sevens camp. Normally a back-rower, de Goede partnered veteran Tyson Beukeboom in the second row with Laetitia Royer nursing an injury. The Americans went ahead in the second minute, retrieving the ball of their own kickoff and launching a multi-phase attack that ended with Tafuna bulling her way over from close range in the second minute for a converted try. De Goede was sent to the sin bin in the 12th minute for an illegal cleanout of American centre Alev Kelter at the breakdown, forcing Canada to play a woman short for 10 minutes. Already trailing 7-0, Canada avoided giving up points while down a player, however. Canada pulled even at 7-7 in the 27th minute on a penalty try awarded by Australia referee Ella Goldsmith after repeated U.S. infractions during a Canadian attack at the goal-line. American lock Hallie Taufoou was sent to the sin bin on the play. Down a player, the U.S. went ahead 10-7 in the 32nd minute on a Hawkins penalty with Canada called for a high tackle. Helped by a U.S. penalty, Canada went ahead on the stroke of halftime as Hunt touched down for a try that confirmed by the television match official. Canada conceded 11 penalties to the Americans' five in the first half. American wing Cheta Emba was sin-binned in the 42nd minute for a deliberate knock-down of a pass that snuffed out a promising Canadian attack. Canada kicked to touch on the ensuing penalty and Senft scored from the back of the maul from the lineout with the conversion upping the Canadian lead to 21-10. A de Goede try in the 59th minute was negated by an obstruction call against veteran flanker Karen Paquin. Canada got tries from DeMerchant in the 63rd minute, Symonds in the 65th and Nelson in the 75th as Canada's bench turned up the heat. The Americans were coming off a 31-24 win over Fiji on July 19 in Washington, D.C., snapping a seven-game losing streak. Canada is 15-5-1 since finishing fourth at the last World Cup. Four of the losses were to England, with the other to No. 3 New Zealand. Canada and New Zealand played to a 27-27 tie in May in Pacific Four Series play. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.
