Follows up 63 on Wednesday with a 68 to hold six-shot lead;
Jack Hall leads Super Senior division after third round
NEW MINAS, N.S. – After leading Team Ontario to victory and setting a new tournament course record, Don Martone did not let up on Thursday, shooting a 2-under 68 to take a six-shot lead into the final round at the 2025 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO at KenWo Golf Club in New Minas, N.S.
Martone of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. got off to a solid start opening with four straight pars followed by back-to-back birdies on holes no. 5 and 6 before running into some trouble on no. 7 where he recorded a double bogey.
“I watched my playing partner five putt I think, so it was a scary hole then I bogeyed eight but birdied three in a row coming in, so I was pretty happy I kept it together,” said Martone of his round.
Martone’s back nine got things on track with three straight birdies on holes 11 through 13 to get back under par for the day. Martone hit a good wedge shot into no. 11 to make birdie, on 12 he drained a 25-foot putt for birdie and came inches away from a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th.
He closed the round with five straight pars to card a 2-under 68 and maintain his lead atop the leaderboard. Martone said he has received a ton of support from friends back home at Crimson Ridge Golf Club.
“They’re blowing up social…I think I had like 60 text messages by the time I completed the round, and I haven’t even looked at my phone yet today but it’s full right now guaranteed,” he said.
Trailing Martone is first round co-leader Dwight Reinhart of Ottawa, Ont. Reinhart shot a 4-under 66 on Thursday to move up to 2-under for the championship, alone in second. Martone will be paired with Reinhart for Friday’s final round.
“Playing with him, so you kind of look him in the eye and I kind of like that but it’s not going to change. Today I didn’t look at the leaderboard all day and just wanted to keep it in front of me and stay out of trouble and take your chances when you can,” said Martone.
“If you get a good number, you can attack some of these flags, if not you just play to the centre of the green and try to get a two-putt. We’ll see what happens tomorrow,” he added.
Todd Doss of Mandeville, La., and 2024 runner-up Jack Hall of Savannah, Ga. are tied for third at 1-over while a pair of past champions, Gene Elliott of Norwalk, Iowa (2017, 2019) and Rusty Strawn of Eatonton, Ga. (2022) are tied for fifth with Bryan Hoops of Tempe, Az. And Carlos Aranda of Springfield, Va. at 3-over.
Hall leads the Super Senior division by five shots over Lars Melander of Burlington, Ont. James Varnam of Edmonton, Alta. is third at 7-over with Jean-Guy Garnier of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que. and David Schultz of Calgary, Alta. are tied for fourth at 8-over.
The champion will receive exemptions into the 2026 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, 2026 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, 2026 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship (plus a 10-year exemption, if eligible) and the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
The national championship was established in 1962 for golfers aged 55-and-over and includes a Super Senior division for golfers 65-and-over that was introduced in 1995. The national championship consists of 72 holes of stroke-play with a cut to the low 70 plus ties and at least five Super Seniors after 36 holes. The Super Senior Championship is contested concurrently over the four rounds of the championship.
For the leaderboard following the third round of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
