HAMILTON, Ontario – The first time Michael Gligic played Hamilton Golf and Country Club was 2012, and his now-caddie David Markle was also in the field as a participant.

We don’t say what the final score was, though.

Times have changed and Gligic, a winner already on the Web.com Tour this year – and with a likely shot at earning his first PGA TOUR card for next season – is one of the top Canadians teeing it up this week at the RBC Canadian Open.

He’s in the field thanks to being the top golfer on the Web.com Tour’s season-long points list who played at least six tournaments on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada in 2018.

Gligic will have some big-time fan support this week since he’s from nearby Burlington, Ontario – about 15 minutes down the highway. He knows he has nearly half a year’s worth of Web.com Tour tournaments left, but he can’t help but keep one eye on the PGA TOUR prize.

The 29-year-old has been on a lengthy professional golf journey that saw him by-pass college in favour of turning professional at 18.

But this has been a breakthrough season for Gligic.

His win in Panama was just part of a very steady year so far. After more than a decade of playing professional golf, Gligic is showing he’s ready for an even bigger stage.

And it starts this week at the Canadian Open.

“Things are a little different. There’s definitely more media. There are more ticket requests,” he said with a laugh, “so a few things have changed. But once Thursday comes it’s game time. My head will be down and everything else doesn’t really matter for those few hours.”

Gligic’s Canadian Open appearance in 2012 was his debut on the PGA TOUR. He played the Canadian Open again in 2014, and then last year, too. He’s yet to find the weekend in his national open, but he said he’s done a better job of preparing for this kind of week – especially since he’s got full-time status on the PGA TOUR in his sights come Fall.

“I feel a lot more comfortable, being a lot more accomplished than I was in 2012,” he said.

Gligic is part of a robust Canadian contingent this week in Hamilton. In total, 25 of his countrymen will be in the field. He says it’s impressive to see how Canadian golf is having a bit of a “crazy” moment right now.

He’s part of that group leading the charge and climbing leaderboards. But he’s also able to give his time back to the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada (he was the Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year in 2018) since he knows what kind of players that Tour is producing. He was just named as the Honorary Chair of the Osprey Valley Open.

“Tournaments like the Osprey Valley Open played a huge part in helping me get to this stage of my career. It’s awesome to have the Mackenzie Tour playing this close to home for me and Toronto, and I’m happy to play a part in helping the event out this year,” said Gligic.

But the Mackenzie Tour – at least being a player on it – is in Gligic’s rearview. The PGA TOUR is what he’s working towards now, and this week at the Canadian Open will be a good opportunity to test his mettle against some of the best in the world.

Four of the top-6 golfers on the Official World Golf Ranking (Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, and Dustin Johnson) are in the field, and Gligic said with a smile although he’d like to think he wouldn’t get “caught up in the moment,” if he was paired with them, he “probably would.”

It would, however, be a part of the learning he’s hoping to do this week, as he gets ready for next year.

“I’m going to have to play with those guys eventually, so it’d be nice to get paired with them and get the first one out of the way,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can this week so I can hopefully be better prepared come September.”

Gligic took last week off and will of course not be in the field for the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation this week. They’re the first two tournaments of the Web.com Tour season Gligic has missed. He said he’s looking forward to returning to a few courses in the back half of the season but particularly Pumpkin Ridge in Portland.

“If I can have Portland be next week, that would be awesome,” he said with a laugh. “The golf course is phenomenal; it’s probably a favourite amongst the pros. But getting a PGA TOUR card given to me there would be pretty special.”

For now Gligic doesn’t yet have that PGA TOUR card. But this week he’ll be getting a PGA TOUR experience.

With a big-time fan following this week, plus with his eyes on finally making the leap to the TOUR, Gligic is hopeful for a great, confidence-building week – just minutes from his hometown.

“I felt like a little kid out there; I was star-struck a little bit,” admitted Gligic of his time in 2012. “Now I feel like I’m in a better spot, so hopefully we’ll have a good week.”