TORONTO—The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced December 28 it will hold 2022 Qualifying Tournaments at seven separate sites over a six-week period, beginning in mid-February and concluding in late-April. While the global pandemic made it difficult for PGA TOUR Canada to conduct its season as it had since its 2013 inception, the Tour did play a series of eight tournaments for players living in Canada this past summer on top of a set of four events it held in 2020. The 2022 campaign will be the first full season in two years that features a complete complement of members.

Registration for the tournaments begins January 4, 2022 at noon EST. Players can access the registration site here.

“It is so exciting to look forward to next season and everything that is in place for a very successful 2022,” said Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Executive Director Scott Pritchard. “In years past, we’ve been fortunate to have so many players interested in qualifying to compete on PGA TOUR Canada. We anticipate the demand will be similar to what we have experienced in the past as players know the caliber of competition PGA TOUR Canada offers.

“We look forward,” Pritchard continued, “to hosting players at each of these seven outstanding courses as they begin on their paths to reaching the PGA TOUR.”

Six of the Qualifying Tournaments will be in the United States, with one in Canada. The qualifiers begin with two in Florida (Weston and Howey-in-the-Hills). The Howey-in-the-Hills tournament will be held simultaneously with the event in Dothan, Alabama. Following those three tournaments, the Tour moves west in April for qualifiers in Arizona (Litchfield Park), California (San Jacinto) and Washington (DuPont) before playing its final qualifier in Canada at a familiar site, Crowne Isle Resort and Golf Club, in Courtenay, British Columbia.

The seven, 72-hole, no-cut Qualifying Tournaments will all be Tuesday-to-Friday events and take place on the following dates and locations:

“What’s heartening is we are familiar with each one of these venues, and they are all high-quality golf facilities that have either hosted previous PGA TOUR Canada qualifiers or other PGA TOUR International Tour qualifiers,” Pritchard added.

A year ago, Colombia’s Camilo Aguado earned PGA TOUR Canada status and ended up playing on the Forme Tour after capturing medalist honors at The Club at Weston Hills’ Qualifying Tournament.

Mission Inn Resort and Club’s El Campeon Course is a well-known site for both Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Qualifying Tournaments. It has previously hosted five PGA TOUR Canada qualifiers, with Luis Gagne (2021), Isaiah Salinda (2020), John Coultas (2019), Dawson Armstrong (2018) and Jake Knapp (2017) emerging as medalists.

The RTJ Golf Trail at Highland Oaks is familiar with PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournaments, twice a host venue. Previous medalists are Keenan Huskey (2021) and Cameron Young (2020)—Young a rookie on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR.

Jeffrey Kang was the medalist earlier this year, in March, when he won the Qualifying Tournament at Soboba Springs Golf Course in San Jacinto, California, the first time the course served as host. Arizona’s iconic Wigwam was where amateur Clay Feagler was the medalist just a few weeks before his Pepperdine team won the NCAA Championship. The Home Course in the Tacoma suburb of DuPont also was a first-timer, in June, with Canadian Callum Davison the medalist. Davison holds 2022 PGA TOUR Canada status via his Points List win on the series of Canada-based events this past summer.

The Qualifying Tournament season concludes at Crowne Isle Resort and Golf Club, a six-time PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament host. Previous medalists were Andrew McCain (2019), Jake Shuman (2018), Horacio León (2017), Aaron Wise (2016), Eric Onesi (2015) and David Bradshaw (2014).

“We will be following the sun early in the year then make our way to the warm West Coast of Canada for the final qualifier—at Crowne Isle—in advance of the start of our regular season schedule,” Pritchard continued. “What I like about this schedule is the variety of the courses where we will be holding tournaments and the unique challenges they will present to the players.”

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada will announce its complete regular season schedule in early 2022. Players who qualify for PGA TOUR Canada and then finish in the top five on the Points List earn Korn Ferry Tour status for the following year.

CALGARY, Alta. –  Jared du Toit came up clutch, winning the ATB Financial Classic by one shot over fellow Calgarian, Wes Heffernan. Playing in the second-to-last group of the day, du Toit collected three birdies on the back nine, including a 20-footer on No. 18, to hold off Heffernan who also made a birdie on the last. 

“If you win by four or five (shots), it probably feels good, but it feels good in a different way,” said du Toit of his winning putt. “When you make a nice one, it’s a thrill for sure, and being in Calgary and having people cheer me on this week, it meant a lot for sure.” 

It was du Toit’s first start on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule this season after struggling to a 66th-place finish on the Forme Tour. 

“It’s hard to win anywhere,” said du Toit. “When you’re beating 100-plus guys at the end of the week, you have to feel pretty good about your game. For me, doing that this week, I’m feeling even more confident heading into future weeks.” 

It was another tough-luck finish for Heffernan, who also finished in second place in the 2017 event. Playing in the last group of the day, he got a pretty good idea that he needed an eagle finish to force a playoff.

“We were on the 18th tee, and my caddie said, ‘We haven’t heard a roar yet,’” said Heffernan of the noise that would signify a du Toit birdie. “Then I teed my ball up, got ready to hit and all of sudden we heard the roar. At that point we knew (du Toit’s putt) was to get to 11-under.”

Despite another heartbreaking finish, Heffernan also birdied No. 18, with a big put off his own, eliciting another roar from the partisan gallery. 

“When I finished second four years ago, I made a similar putt from the other direction,” said Heffernan. “So, I had some pretty good vibes over that one, and it was just one of those (putts) that went in, which was nice. A great way to finish.”

A third Calgarian, Mitchell Fox, rocketed up the leaderboard on Sunday with the round of the day. His 6-under 65, left him in a third-place tie (9-under), with Australian, Will Barnett, who now makes his home in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Sudarshan Yellamaraju rounded out the top five, finishing at 8-under. 

Next year’s ATB Financial Classic will take place in Edmonton as the event rotates between the two cities.

CALEDON, Ontario —Noah Steele birdied five of the first eight holes Sunday, cruising to a six-stroke win over fellow amateur Etienne Papineau at the Osprey Valley Open.

The Golf Canada National Amateur team member recorded a final round of 66 (5-under) on the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, finishing the tournament at 23-under.

“It has not sunk in yet,” said the 23-year-old from Kingston. “I’m super, super thankful to be in the position that I’m in, and I was able to really enjoy the week and enjoy the day. I was able to smile out there and enjoy it and play good golf, which was great.”

It’s not often an amateur wins a professional tournament, and not surprisingly, Steele ranks his performance this week as a career highlight.

Fellow National Amateur Team member Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richilieu, Quebec also showed he was not out of place playing with the pros. The 24-year-old started the day with an eagle on No. 1 before recording four birdies, finishing alone in second place at 17-under.

“I played really solid all week long,” said Papineau. “I tried to minimize my mistakes all week, and it worked.”

Playing in the final group for the last two rounds, it was also the first time the two friends had played together in a competitive tournament.

“It was definitely great to be part of this group,” said Papineau. “Watching Noah play the last two rounds was unbelievable. I think he made two bogeys in the last two rounds, so it was really good to watch.

“Playing the last two days was a lot of fun,” added Steele. “He’s playing really well, and he’s going to (Prince Edward Island) next week, so he’s got lots of stuff to look forward to.”

Next up for the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada is the Prince Edward Island Open at Dundarave Golf Club, with a quick turnaround, the opening round set for Wednesday.

TORONTO—The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada will return to action in 2021 with a set of eight tournaments available for players based in Canada. The PGA TOUR made the announcement June 10. 

A year after the global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season, and with restrictions still in place at the Canada-U.S. border, the Mackenzie Tour is giving competitive opportunities to players already in Canada through this eight-event schedule that begins in July and runs to October. 

The season begins in late-July, with the Mackenzie Investments Open at Club de Golf Le Blainvillier in the city of Blainville just outside of Montreal on July 26-August 1. Following a two- week break, the Tour begins a seven-tournament-in-seven-week stretch, beginning August 16- 22 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley for the Osprey Valley Open. Next is a two-week stay in Prince Edward Island for a pair of tournaments at two of the island’s finest golf courses. First up is the Prince Edward Island Open (August 23-29) at Dundarave Golf Club followed by the Brudenell River Classic (August 30-September 5) at Brudenell River Golf Course. 

Players will then travel west for a tournament to be announced at a later date and will be played the week of September 6-12, followed by Calgary’s ATB Financial Classic (September 13- 19) at Country Hills Golf Club, both long-time Tour partners. The season concludes with a pair of tournaments in British Columbia, the GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club (September 20-26) followed by the DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist at Uplands Golf Club (September 27-October 3). 

The Mackenzie Tour and tournament organizers continue to monitor issues surrounding the global pandemic, and they have worked with local and provincial health authorities and will continue to do so leading up to the tournaments. Approvals to return to competition still need to happen across the country, but organizers remain encouraged that the tournaments will be able to take place based on the vaccine rollout. 

Even with the compacted schedule and the number of events played in consecutive weeks caused by continued pandemic issues, Pritchard sees this year’s set of tournaments and their place on the schedule as a good thing. 

In 2020, the PGA TOUR conducted a four-tournament grouping of tournaments for players in Canada. What the Tour conducted last summer will serve as a model in 2021. 

“What I’m most excited about is that these players will have opportunities to compete at PGA TOUR-sanctioned events, the competitions taking place at quality golf courses and the Tour offering some compelling season-ending incentive for these players,” Pritchard added. 

The top player at the conclusion of the season will earn full status on the 2022 Mackenzie Tour, while players finishing No. 2 through 5 on the Points List will receive conditional 2022 Mackenzie Tour status, which will gain them entry into the first set of events before the reshuffle. Finishers six through 10 will each earn a sponsor exemption into a 2022 Mackenzie Tour event. 

Tour officials will continue to monitor the travel restrictions in place and adapt accordingly should policies change before or during the season. 

TORONTO—The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada will return to action in 2021 with a set of eight tournaments available for players based in Canada. The PGA TOUR made the announcement June 10. 

A year after the global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season, and with restrictions still in place at the Canada-U.S. border, the Mackenzie Tour is giving competitive opportunities to players already in Canada through this eight-event schedule that begins in July and runs to October. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to make this announcement. We always knew we would have PGA TOUR-affiliated golf in Canada in 2021, so it’s nice to finally make it official with the announcement of these eight tournaments,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “We are appreciative to all of our partners, the golf courses where we’re playing, the communities that will host us for the week and Mackenzie Investments, which has been such a significant partner for so many years.” 

The season begins in late-July, with the Mackenzie Investments Open at Club de Golf Le Blainvillier in the city of Blainville just outside of Montreal on July 26-August 1. Following a two- week break, the Tour begins a seven-tournament-in-seven-week stretch, beginning August 16- 22 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley for the Osprey Valley Open. Next is a two-week stay in Prince Edward Island for a pair of tournaments at two of the island’s finest golf courses. First up is the Prince Edward Island Open (August 23-29) at Dundarave Golf Club followed by the Brudenell River Classic (August 30-September 5) at Brudenell River Golf Course. 

Players will then travel west for a tournament to be announced at a later date and will be played the week of September 6-12, followed by Calgary’s ATB Financial Classic (September 13- 19) at Country Hills Golf Club, both long-time Tour partners. The season concludes with a pair of tournaments in British Columbia, the GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club (September 20-26) followed by the DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist at Uplands Golf Club (September 27-October 3). 

The Mackenzie Tour and tournament organizers continue to monitor issues surrounding the global pandemic, and they have worked with local and provincial health authorities and will continue to do so leading up to the tournaments. Approvals to return to competition still need to happen across the country, but organizers remain encouraged that the tournaments will be able to take place based on the vaccine rollout. 

Even with the compacted schedule and the number of events played in consecutive weeks caused by continued pandemic issues, Pritchard sees this year’s set of tournaments and their place on the schedule as a good thing. 

“We believe there is a good pacing to our schedule, and the players will get in a lot of golf this summer in successive weeks. With the limited amount of competitive golf available over the last year, we know the players are anxious to get started and will embrace these events played at high-quality golf courses in the summer and into the fall,” Pritchard added. 

In 2020, the PGA TOUR conducted a four-tournament grouping of tournaments for players in Canada. What the Tour conducted last summer will serve as a model in 2021. 

“What I’m most excited about is that these players will have opportunities to compete at PGA TOUR-sanctioned events, the competitions taking place at quality golf courses and the Tour offering some compelling season-ending incentive for these players,” Pritchard added. 

The top player at the conclusion of the season will earn full status on the 2022 Mackenzie Tour, while players finishing No. 2 through 5 on the Points List will receive conditional 2022 Mackenzie Tour status, which will gain them entry into the first set of events before the reshuffle. Finishers six through 10 will each earn a sponsor exemption into a 2022 Mackenzie Tour event. 

Tour officials will continue to monitor the travel restrictions in place and adapt accordingly should policies change before or during the season.