(Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) – PGA TOUR Canada’s second season will include 12 $150,000 events in 2014, with the race for Web.com Tour status for The Five going coast-to-coast from May to September.
The season will begin with the PC Financial Open, a new event May 26th to June 1st at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver and conclude at the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial September 8th to 15th at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club in London, Ont.
“Thanks to the tremendous support of our sponsors and the great work of our host organizations, we’ve been able to grow our schedule and develop an exciting presence of strong, established events and exciting new tournaments from coast-to-coast,” said PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to building upon our successful first season in 2013 and making the 2014 season even bigger and better.”
After kicking off the season with PGA TOUR Canada’s first event in Vancouver, the Tour will head to Victoria, B.C. for the 32nd playing of the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, June 2nd to 8th at Uplands Golf Club. Following an off week, the Tour will resume at the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON, June 16th through 22nd at Fort McMurray Golf Club in Fort McMurray, Alta.
The SIGA Dakota Dunes Open presented by SaskTel will mark the first of three events in as many weeks, returning to Dakota Dunes Golf Links outside Saskatoon, June 30th to July 6th, followed by The Players Cup, July 7th through 13th at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Winnipeg, and the inaugural Thunder Bay Golf Classic July 14th to 20th at Whitewater Golf Club in Thunder Bay, Ont., after which the top three players on the PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit will earn exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR.
The season will resume when the ATB Financial Classic moves to a new date, taking place July 28th through August 3rd at Sirocco Golf Club in Calgary. Players will then compete at the inaugural Forces and Families Open, a new event supporting the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families, August 4th through 10th at Hylands Golf Club in Ottawa.
The 2014 season will make an exciting run to the finish with four events in four weeks, starting with The Great Waterway Classic at Loyalist Golf and Country Club just outside of Kingston, Ont. August 18th through 24th, followed by The Wildfire Invitational presented by PC Financial August 25th to 31st outside Peterborough, Ont., where the top 128 players on the Order of Merit will compete in a unique pro-am format. The Tour will then head east for the Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial September 1st through 7th at The Lakes Golf Club outside Sydney, N.S.
The 2014 season will conclude by returning to Sunningdale Golf and Country Club in London, Ont. for the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial, taking place September 8th through 14th and concluding the race for The Five.
To view PGA TOUR Canada’s full 2014 schedule, click here.
(Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra, FL) – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying School will take place at three separate sites next spring, heading to Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, California April 7-11, the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Reunion Resort and Club in Kissimmee, Florida April 14-18 and Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, British Columbia May 5-9.
Players will have an opportunity to qualify at one of the three sites, with fields of 132 players maximum. The top 18 players at each site will earn exempt status for 2014, with players finishing 19th through 40th plus ties earning conditional status.
“With these three qualifying sites, the access and opportunity for players to earn status on PGA TOUR Canada has greatly increased,” said PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday. “These qualifying tournaments should be extremely competitive and will enhance the level of competition in our second season. We look forward to seeing the next generation of players to make an impact on this Tour.”
Oak Valley, a 7,003-yard layout designed by Lee Schmidt, has hosted qualifying school for the PGA TOUR and will host the first week of qualifying April 7-11, while the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Reunion Resort and Club, a Salamander Resort, is a 6,916-yard Jack Nicklaus design and will host qualifying the following week in Kissimmee, just outside Orlando.
The spring’s final qualifying tournament will take place at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, British Columbia, part of a two-year deal that will see PGA TOUR Canada qualifying take place at Crown Isle in 2014 and at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, British Columbia in 2015. Crown Isle, a 7,025-yard Graham Cooke design, is located just minutes from Comox Valley Airport.
The application to enter PGA TOUR Canada qualifying will be posted to PGATOUR.com/Canada in the new year.
The full 2014 PGA TOUR Canada schedule will be announced at a future date.
Quebec’s Max Gilbert made a clutch 20-foot birdie on the 17th hole on Sunday to win PGA Tour Canada’s Tour Championship, but it was Mackenzie Hughes who prevailed to top the Order of Merit and win a spot on the Web.com Tour next year.
“It is not the way I wanted to finish off, but I got where I wanted to by the end of the year,” says Hughes from Dundas, Ont. “Overall it has been a great season. It is incredible to see all the great players and all the Canadians I managed to come ahead of.”
With $52,114.29, Hughes, a two-time Canadian Amateur winner in his rookie year on PGA Tour Canada, finished nearly $10,000 ahead of second-place Riley Wheeldon, who was the only player in the Top 5 on the Order of Merit to play the weekend at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club. Wheeldon finished T24 after shooting even par on day when light rain fell on a calm golf course to hold his spot on the money list. The Top 5 on the Order of Merit gained status on next year’s Web.com Tour, while the next five players received conditional status.
The only movement came from American Mark Hubbard who knocked PGA Tour Canada veteran Joe Panzeri out of the Top 5. Hubbard finished third on the Order of Merit, with Hugo Leon and Wil Collins rounding out the list.
PGA Tour Canada President Jeff Monday said the potential for volatility in the final tournament was the tour’s goal.
“We wanted a lot to be on the line where there’s a lot of pressure on the guys that are playing,” said Monday. “You look at the potential for changes in the Top 5, or the Top 10 and the opportunity was there.”
Gilbert, 23, from Saint-Georges, didn’t shake up the top of the money list, but he did turn some heads with his strong play. Largely unknown heading into the tournament, though he did play in the 2011 U.S. Amateur, Gilbert made a single cut in three tournaments this year, finishing T22 at the Players Cup in Winnipeg after Monday qualifying. That was good enough to gain him a spot in the Tour Championship and Gilbert took full advantage of the opportunity.
He came into the final round one shot off the lead held by Trevor Murphy, a former Web.com Tour player who shot an impressive 4-under on the day. But that wasn’t good enough to keep pace with Gilbert, who came into the final hole with a one-shot lead. When Murphy hit his approach below the hole on 18, Gilbert said he was prepared for a possible playoff. However, Murphy’s 16-foot putt slid by, and Gilbert’s two putt was good enough to finish at 6-under par for the day and cement his victory. The win gives him an exemption into the second stage of Web.com Tour qualifying school and full status on PGA Tour Canada.
But Gilbert, whose father Noel caddied for him during the tournament, wasn’t resting after his win. The pair were preparing to pile into their car and make the long drive back to Saint-Georges.
“We’re going to hit the road,” he said.
Asked if maybe he could use his newfound winnings to stay in London and unwind after his success, Gilbert paused momentarily.
“Well maybe,” he said.
