Hnatiuk enjoyed one of his best seasons of professional golf 21 years ago

Submitted by Sean Grassie

The Selkirk native tied for third at the 2000 B.C. (Broome County) Open in New York and two weeks later tied for sixth at The International in Colorado. The tournaments represented two of his six career top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Hnatiuk won more than $2.4 million on the tour from 1997-2005.

Another highlight for Hnatiuk was playing in the 2000 World Cup of Golf in Argentina. Each of the 24 countries that took part were represented by teams of two golfers, with Tiger Woods and David Duval teaming up to win the title for the United States. Canada, which tied for 10^th, was represented by the duo of Hnatiuk and 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir.

Hnatiuk was named the 2000 Manitoba Male Athlete of the Year by the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

His journey to the PGA Tour began at the Selkirk Golf & Country Club. A street adjacent to the club was renamed Glen Hnatiuk Drive in 2015.

“The junior program there was phenomenal,” said Hnatiuk, who lived two blocks away from the club and started golfing at the age of nine. “We had a ton of kids.” 

A skilled hockey player growing up, Hnatiuk helped the Selkirk Fishermen win the 1983 Keystone Cup as junior B champions of Western Canada.

In 1986, he won the Manitoba men’s amateur golf title at age 21. 

“That was huge for me,” said Hnatiuk, who played on the University of Southern Mississippi golf team. “At the time I was in college, so it was kind of a confidence booster when I went back to play there.” 

He was named Manitoba Amateur Golfer of the Year in 1987.

Hnatiuk won four titles on the Nike Tour, including a victory at the 1996 Carolina Classic where he went into the last round trailing by five shots before shooting a 64.

By placing in the top 15 on the Nike Tour money list in 1997, he earned his PGA Tour card for the first time. Hnatiuk had previously been unsuccessful at PGA Tour qualifying school five times.

“I had status every year on the Nike Tour at the time from winning out there, so I always had a place to play during that whole time that I was failing to get my card,” he said. “I made it to the finals a lot and I missed by a shot or two a couple of times. The tour school thing was brutal. It was hard.” 

Hnatiuk was inducted into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.