The rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes deeply worried about the state of men’s professional golf.

Hughes tweeted about his concerns in early December, hours after world No. 1 Jon Rahm announced that he was leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Although Rahm’s departure moved Hughes up to No. 50 on the PGA Tour’s rankings and into the circuit’s US$20 million signature events, he still felt that men’s golf was in “a sad place.”

The 33-year-old from Dundas, Ont., expanded on those thoughts this week ahead of The Sentry, the first tournament of the 2024 PGA Tour season, an event he only qualified for because of Rahm’s defection. He said that it feels like 2019 was the peak of men’s golf and the PGA-LIV rivalry has put the focus on money and potentially alienated fans.

“Our economic model was sustainable. The LIV threat came along and all of a sudden we started to double the purses, and we’re asking sponsors to double their investment, and we’re giving them the same product,” said Hughes at a news conference from the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. “Fans also, I think, are left wondering, ‘Do guys even love playing golf anymore? Or are they all just concerned about money?’

“All these guys going to LIV have made it pretty clear that it’s all about money. I mean, growing the game, but also money. So, to me, that’s disappointing.”

The PGA Tour introduced big money “signature events” last year to entice golfers to stay with the circuit. Hughes said that model is not sustainable because it means tournament sponsors have to double their financial undertaking without the product changing in any significant way.

“It would be silly for me not to play in these events, they are great opportunities, but, I just don’t think it’s right,” said Hughes, who is a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council along with Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. “Again, we have the same product that we had in 2019, yet we want this increased investment, not just increased, but increased in a big way.”

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced on June 6, two days before the RBC Canadian Open teed off, that the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — which owns LIV Golf — had agreed to a merger. The details of that agreement were supposed to be finalized by Sunday, but that deadline came and went with no update except that negotiations had been extended.

“(Fans) don’t know where certain guys are playing and there’s spats between the LIV and the PGA Tour, and it’s not unified in any way, shape, or form,” said Hughes. “There’s negotiations going on that are unclear, they have been dragged on for a long time.”

Hughes said on Tuesday that he felt compelled to speak up because he thinks the whole process could alienate viewers.

“The fan just wants to watch golf,” said Hughes. “I think you watch sports for an escape from other nonsense, but I think golf has brought a lot of nonsense onto its plate, and now you don’t get just golf, you get a lot of other stuff going on. It’s a bit of a circus.”

Hughes and Conners are joined at the Sentry this week by Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as well as Adam Hadwin and reigning Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor, both of whom are from Abbotsford, B.C.

Taylor, who will be making his third appearance at The Sentry, said he took most of December off to spend Christmas back home in Canada. 

“I’m going to be as prepared as I possibly can be, but I’ve probably played my best at times with low expectations,” said Taylor. “I’m trying to win this week, but knowing it’s the first event of the year there’s going to be a little bit of rust, I’m sure, for a lot of people. 

“I’ve been here since the 29th, I played nine every day, so that’s going to help me kind of ease into the tournament. It’s always a treat to be here, I don’t care how many times you come.”

Nick Taylor’s putter flip after winning the RBC Canadian Open was the exclamation point on arguably the best year in Canadian golf history.

Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt to end a four-hole playoff with England’s Tommy Fleetwood at the Canadian national men’s championship on June 11, the first time a Canadian had won the title in 69 years. But Canada’s success on the course went beyond that, with Canadians winning at every level of the professional game including four wins on the PGA Tour and one on the LPGA Tour.

“I think the state of Canadian pro golf, especially on the PGA Tour, has never been better,” said Taylor, the first Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher did it in 1954. “Our goal, as players, with Golf Canada is to keep that number growing of Tour members.

“The more players that we can get out here, obviously, it gives us a greater chance of winning more and more.”

Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., joined Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as winners on the PGA Tour in the 2022-23 season. It was the most wins by Canadians in a single PGA Tour campaign to date.

“The camaraderie is great,” said Taylor, whose victory at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club was the fourth win by a Canadian in the season. “I feel like we play a lot of practice rounds together, houses often have dinners together, so we all rally together.

“I think we push each other to be better and I think that’s why we’ve continued to get better and reach new heights.”

Conners, who won the Valero Texas Open for a second time on April 2, said that winning is the best feeling you can have in professional golf.

“That was definitely a highlight for me,” said Conners. “I think another highlight, and something that I’m always very proud of, was making it to Eastlake — the Tour Championship — and being in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup rankings and having a chance to win the FedEx Cup. 

“Looking back on the year as a whole I would have liked to improve on some things, but making it there is a nice bonus because it means you had a great year.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on Jan. 22 for her 13th victory on the LPGA Tour, the most of any professional player in Canadian golf history regardless of gender.

“It was a little bit up and down year for me,” said Henderson, assessing her 2023. “But it was nice to try to defend my title at the Evian Championship with a runner-up finish this year, it was really fun to be back in contention. 

“Then same kind of thing to be in our Tour Championship in November, it’s always a big goal when you start the season is to be in contention to try to win that, that big money and the race, the CME Globe in November.”

Canadian success wasn’t limited to the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, however.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., both won on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour to earn full-time PGA Tour status in 2024. That means there will be eight Canadians on tour with Silverman and Sloan joining Taylor, Conners, Hughes, Svensson, Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp won an Epson Tour event and had five top-10 results on the second-tier tour, not missing a cut in 14 tournaments played. She also won Canada’s second-ever golf medal at the Pan American Games, winning bronze in Santiago, Chile. 

Sharp once again earned LPGA Tour status through final qualifying, as did Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. They’ll join Henderson and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., on the LPGA Tour in the new year.

Two more Canadians won on the PGA Tour Canada, a feeder circuit for the Korn Ferry Tour, with Etienne Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald each claiming a victory. Papineau finished fourth on the season-long points list to earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., won on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, another third-tier circuit in the PGA Tour system. Calgary’s Stephen Ames won a remarkable four times on the Champions Tour.

On the amateur side, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. earned the 109th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. won the 118th Canadian Men’s Amateur, marking only the third time both tournaments were won by Canadians in the same year since 2011. Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., became the first Canadian to make the cut at the Augusta Women’s National Amateur.

With the Paris Olympics coming in July and the Presidents Cup returning to Royal Montreal Golf Club in September, Taylor expects 2024 to be an even bigger year for Canadian golf.

“Those two are at the top of the list of things I want to be involved in, participate in, this coming year,” he said.

Three Canadians have earned 2024 Korn Ferry Tour membership following the final round of the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry on Monday in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont. finished T14 at 4-under. Étienne Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. finished T38 at 1-under, and Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. finished T45 at even par. They will join fellow Canadian Wil Bateman on the Korn Ferry Tour to start the 2024 season.

Yellamaraju recorded rounds of 71-69-68-68-276 to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for next season after successfully making his way through both second stage and final stage of Q-School.

Papineau previously earned 2024 Korn Ferry Tour membership by finishing fourth overall in the 2023 Fortinet Cup standings on the PGA TOUR Canada (now PGA TOUR Americas). Papineau’s T38 finish at Q-School with rounds of 74-67-68-70-279 improves his Korn Ferry Tour status for the coming season.

Creighton also previously earned his 2024 membership by finishing second on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica (now PGA TOUR Americas) season point rankings. Creighton shot rounds of 70-68-72-70-280 to finish inside the cut line of players who are awarded Korn Ferry Tour cards through Q-school and improve his status for 2024 as well.

Three other Canadians were competing in Ponte Vedra at final stage including, Stuart Macdonald who finished at 7-over, Thomas Giroux at 9-over and Jared Du Toit at 10-over. They will have conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2024.

Harrison Endycott of Australia finished atop the leaderboard at 15-under, Americans Trace Cowe (11-under) and Brian Hale Jr. (9-under) finished second and third, while Raul Pereda of Mexico and Hayden Springer of the United States finished tied for fourth at 8-under to earn their 2024 PGA TOUR cards.

The top five players and ties earned their full status for 2024 on the PGA TOUR. The next 40 finishers and ties earned exempt status through multiple reshuffles of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season, with the first 25 finishers and ties being subject to the third reshuffle (12 guaranteed starts), and any remaining finishers within the category being subject to the second reshuffle (eight guaranteed starts).

This marked the first time since 2012 that PGA TOUR cards were awarded during the Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School. The field of 168-players played two rounds at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course and two rounds at Sawgrass Country Club. The final round was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed due to heavy rain in northern Florida.

The PGA Tour has notified Jon Rahm he has been suspended for signing with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, a formality that is more about the benefits to the players Rahm leaves behind.

Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes and China’s Carl Yuan are the immediate beneficiaries of Rahm’s decision to sign with the rival league.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in a memo to players Monday afternoon said Rahm’s suspension “due to his association with a series of unauthorized tournaments” removes his name from the FedEx Cup eligibility points list.

That means Hughes goes from No. 51 to No. 50, and now is eligible for all seven of the $20 million signature events in 2024. It also means Yuan, who was signed up for Q-school this week, moves up one spot to No. 125 and has a full PGA Tour card for next year.

The tour last year distinguished between the FedEx Cup standings and a separate list related to eligibility for the postseason and for status. The distinction was so players defecting to LIV would not have a negative impact on those who stayed behind.

Among those who benefited last year were Rickie Fowler, who got into the postseason because of all the players who left for LIV; and Jimmy Walker and Rory Sabbatini, who moved up on the career money list and were able to use one-time exemptions to keep full status.

This year, Hughes narrowly missed out on the top 50. He kept his 51st position through the fall, which only would have guaranteed him spots in the first two $20 million events. Now the Canadian can count on the likes of the Wells Fargo Championship in his home residence of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Alex Smalley goes to the No. 60 spot and now is assured of two $20 million events. The changes also affect Paul Haley, who moves to No. 150 and now has at least conditional status.

And it could effect Sahith Theegala. He finished No. 31 to narrowly miss the Tour Championship. He moves up to No. 30, which could make him exempt for the U.S. Open. This year, the U.S. Open recognized the top 30 who were eligible.

The movements were allowed because the new season has not started. If more PGA Tour players leave for LIV before the end of the year, that could lead to more changes.

Social media had been buzzing about the possibility of Tony Finau — he and Rahm are close friends — also leaving for LIV. Finau took to Instagram on Monday night that recapped his year and said he was “looking forward to playing my 10th season on the PGA Tour.”

“See y’all in Maui!” he concluded, adding the hash tag, “imnotleaving.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tony Finau (@tonyfinaugolf)

Monahan also said in the memo that the policy board and management recently met with a group of players upset that signature events will offer disproportionately more FedEx Cup points than the other events, leading to concerns it will be difficult for players outside the top 50 to fairly compete.

Monahan said the board will review how the new system is working in June and evaluate whether changes are in order for 2025.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners are a perfect 1-0 when paired together on the golf course. They’re ready to improve their decade-old record this week.

Henderson and Conners were teammates on Golf Canada’s junior national and both represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but they rarely see each other as professionals on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.

They haven’t been paired together since 2013, when they won the Copa de las Americas along with fellow Canadians Albin Choi and Augusta James.

That all changes when they tee it up together Thursday, at a new event featuring players from the world’s top men’s and women’s golf tours.

“I’ve always admired her swing and the smile she always has on her face,” said Conners on Wednesday in a joint news conference with Henderson. “We go way back. We haven’t crossed paths, unfortunately, that much over the last few years.”

The Grant Thornton Invitational, a new tournament on the pro golf calendar, sees players from the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour pair up in a season-ending event. Prize money will be evenly divided between the two genders at the 16-team field at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

Henderson and Conners hope to learn from each other on the course and maintain their unblemished record as a pairing.

“I’m really excited to watch the men play, watch Corey play, see how he goes about it,” said Henderson, who added they have already begun strategizing. “I think that it’s pretty cool to have a partner and somebody that is as brilliant as Corey is to talk that through.”

Neither Conners or Henderson had turned professional when Team Canada won the Copa de las Americas by one stroke at the TPC Blue Monster Course at Doral Golf Resort & Spa Miami 10 years ago. Conners, Henderson, Choi and James finished with a four-day total of 25-over par 1,177 to best Mexico (1,178) by a shot and the United States (1,179) by two.

A lot has changed since then.

Conners, from Listowel, Ont., has won twice on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2015 and is the second highest ranked Canadian on this year’s FedEx Cup standings.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., has put together an even more impressive resume, winning 13 times on the LPGA Tour including two majors since turning pro in 2014. She has the most pro wins in the history of Canadian golf.

“Ever since they announced the format of this event, I tried to try to throw my name in and partner up with Brooke,” said Conners. “I think it was similar from from her side, so it’s really exciting to be here together representing Canada. 

“Obviously, I’ve got a pretty solid partner so I’m looking forward to having some fun this week.”

Henderson think she can learn a lot from Conners, one of the best ballstrikers on the PGA Tour.

“I always enjoy watching my playing partners just regularly out on tour, when they’re practising, when they’re warming up, and also when I’m playing with them,” said Henderson. “You just always try to keep an eye out and see what I can learn and what I can pick up on and maybe how I can improve.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., the highest ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour, will also play at the event. He will partner with China’s Ruoning Yin.
Henderson and Conners agreed that the Grant Thornton could help grow the sport of golf in North America.

“It’s a really cool opportunity for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour to do something together,” said Conners. “Hopefully this leads to some more collaboration and possibly some more events together.”

The road to The 152^nd Open Championship will stop in Canada once again, as the 2024 RBC Canadian Open contested May 30 to June 2 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. will be among 16 events in 11 countries to make up The Open Qualifying Series for 2024.

The 2024 RBC Canadian Open will offer up three qualifying places to the leading three players, not already exempt, who make the cut at the 113^th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship.

The race to qualify for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon gets under way this week with three places on offer through the Joburg Open in South Africa.

The Joburg Open is the first event in The Open Qualifying Series for 2024 which offers golfers around the world opportunities to book their place in golf’s original championship.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “The race to qualify for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon is now under way and offers golfers all over the world a range of opportunities to secure a coveted place in the Championship.

“We look forward to seeing the drama unfold in the coming months as golfers emerge from tour events or Final Qualifying to book their place at Royal Troon next year.”

The ISPS HANDA Australian Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour and being played at The Lakes and The Australian from 30 November – 3 December, will offer three places.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the RBC Canadian Open and the John Deere Classic will offer golfers on the PGA Tour opportunities to qualify.

On the DP World Tour, places will be awarded at the KLM Open, Italian Open and Genesis Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour.

Three events in Asia will be added to The Open Qualifying Series after the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and KPGA Korean Tour have announced their schedules for 2024.

Final Qualifying events will be held at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire on 2 July with a minimum of 16 places available. This will follow 14 Regional Qualifying events taking place on 24 June. Fulford and Bearwood Lakes have been added to the list of venues hosting Regional Qualifying.

Where any golfer who earns a qualifying place through an Open Qualifying Series event before the closing date for entries then becomes exempt under one or more other categories, that qualifying place will be awarded to the next best placed non-exempt golfer at that qualifying event.

The R&A will confirm the exemptions for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon early in the new year.

The 152^nd Open will be played at Royal Troon from 18-21 July 2024.

The Open Qualifying Series will offer the following qualification places in The 152^nd Open:
 

NB. Three events in Asia will also be added to the Open Qualifying Series after the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and KPGA Korean Tour have announced their schedules for 2024.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Ludvig Aberg added to his astonishing second half of the year when he closed with a second straight 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour title to go along with a European tour victory and a winning debut in the Ryder Cup.

And to think the 24-year-old Swede was still at Texas Tech six months ago.

“Beyond my dreams,” Aberg said. “It’s been six months I’ll never forget.”

Not only did he win the final event of the PGA Tour season, he did it in record fashion. His final birdie allowed Aberg to tie the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour, matching the 253 of Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open.

His 61-61 finish set the tour record for lowest closing 36 holes, beating by one the mark shared by Matt Jones at Kapalua in 2022 and Patrick Rodgers at Sea Island in 2019.

“I think the sky’s the limit,” said Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., who gave Aberg a spirited battle with a 63 and couldn’t keep up. “He’s got the whole package. Got a good demeanor, doesn’t get too up or down. I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of him for the next few years.”

61-61 weekend for the win?

Pretty good, Ludvig Åberg. pic.twitter.com/2GZAlCp3FI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 19, 2023

Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a stellar final round of 62 to finish tied for fifth at 19 under. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., (69) tied for 44th at 11 under.

Aberg seized control with three straight birdies, one of them when he fearlessly drove over the marsh on the 407-yard fifth hole to 30 feet, and then held off Hughes, a hard-luck victim. Hughes shot 60-63 on the weekend and finished four shots behind.

Even after making his only bogey of the week, on the 12th hole of the Seaside course at Sea Island, Aberg answered every challenge.

He was two shots ahead when Hughes hit a nifty pitch to tap-in range for birdie on the 15th. Aberg was in the middle of a deep bunker with a tight pin and splashed that out to 4 feet for a matching birdie.

He all but clinched it with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, and for good measure he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the end to put his name in the record book.

Aberg gave a brief, sweeping fist pump when the last birdie putt fell, a rare display of emotion. He said he considers being in contention a privilege, and he looks the part with a sweet smile and a killer instinct.

“This is what you dream of as a kid,” Aberg said. “This is the sport I love and am going to love for a long time. If you told me this a couple of months ago, I would not believe you. To be in this position, I need to pinch myself in the arm.”

It was the shot on the par-4 fifth, which bends hard to the right around the marsh, that stuck with Hughes.

“He’s kind of the modern-day player. I mean, No. 5 is probably the prime example of that,” Hughes said. “I’m playing left of that bunker and he flies it on the green and two-putts for birdie. So super impressive shot to not only hit it long but to hit that straight.”

Aberg was assured of a PGA Tour card for 2024 as the No. 1 player from the PGA Tour University ranking after his senior year at Texas Tech. 

In the 14 tournaments he played since June — three on the European tour — he won on the PGA Tour and had three other top 10s, including a playoff loss. He didn’t finish worse than a tie for 10th on the European tour, winning the European Masters in Switzerland to all but seal his spot on the Ryder Cup team.

Aberg and Viktor Hovland teamed at Marco Simone for a 9-and-7 foursomes win over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, a Ryder Cup record for margin of victory.

The victory at Sea Island moves him to No. 32 in the world. He earned a spot at the Masters, along with a spot at Kapalua in The Sentry to start the year. He also would appear to be a shoo-in for PGA Tour rookie of the year. The other top candidate, Eric Cole, played in the final group with Aberg and shot 67 to tie for third with Tyler Duncan (65).

“When he was playing as well as he was, it’s going to be hard to catch him,” Cole said.

Aberg finished at 29-under 253, breaking by seven shots the tournament record since it moved to two courses, the par-72 Plantation and the par-70 Seaside.

Ryan Moore picked up a substantial consolation prize. He birdied the 17th and closed with a 65 to tie for eighth, easily enough for him to finish in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup and keep his full card for 2024. He said the nerves were “close to what I felt trying to win a golf tournament coming down the stretch.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas schedule, which features 16 tournaments spanning eight countries, beginning in March and concluding in September with the Fortinet Cup Championship. PGA TOUR Americas, which was introduced in April 2023, is the merger of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada into a singular Tour.

“We are thrilled to announce the schedule for the inaugural PGA TOUR Americas season in 2024,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin, who also oversees PGA TOUR Americas. “We are extremely grateful for our partners in their support of our members, our tournaments and our communities, and I’m confident our 16-event schedule will prepare our members for the next step in their professional golf journey.”

Fortinet is expanding its relationship with the PGA TOUR and sponsoring the season-long points race for PGA TOUR Americas, which will be referred to as the Fortinet Cup Standings. The top 10 players from the final 2024 Fortinet Cup Standings will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2025 season, as well as a share of a $100,000 USD bonus pool, with the No. 1 player earning $25,000 USD. In addition to the $100,000 USD bonus, players will compete for $3.6 Million USD in prize money across the 16 events ($225,000 USD purse for all 16 events).

The 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season opens with the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico, at PGA Riviera Maya from March 21-24, which moves from its previous position at the end of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season to become the season-opening event.

Following a two-week break, the Tour will resume with the 69th Brazil Open at Rio Olympic Golf Course, which will mark the first time since 2017 a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event will be held at the course which famously hosted the 2016 Olympics. Over the subsequent three weeks, PGA TOUR Americas will travel to Santiago del Estero, Argentina, for the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational presentado por Zurich (April 18-21), followed by the Diners Club Peru Open at Lima’s Los Inkas Golf Club (April 25-28), and the KIA Open at Quito Tenis y Golf Club in Quito, Ecuador (May 2-5).

The Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia (May 16-19) will mark the conclusion of the six-event Latin America Swing, at which time the top 60 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access into the 10-event North America Swing. Additionally, the No. 1 and No. 2 finishers from the Fortinet Cup Standings at the conclusion of the Latin America Swing will earn conditional membership for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, though those players can improve their status through the season-long standings.

During the four-week break between the Latin America and North America swings, PGA TOUR Americas will host six Qualifying Tournaments throughout North America, allowing players opportunities to earn access into the final 10 events of the PGA TOUR Americas season. Also taking place during the midseason break, players who finish Nos. 6-25 in the final 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn access to the North America Swing, which will see fields increase from 144 to 156 until the Fortinet Cup Championship.

The North America Swing, which features nine events in Canada and one in the United States, opens June 20-23 with The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, at the Uplands Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia, immediately followed by a trip east to Strathcona County, near Edmonton, Alberta, for the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golf Course.

Following a one-week break in play, PGA TOUR Americas resumes with the inaugural playing of the Explore NB Open, which will be played at Mactaquac Golf Course in New Brunswick from July 11-14. This marks the first time PGA TOUR-sanctioned golf will be contested in the province of New Brunswick. The Tour then heads to the province of Quebec, for the Quebec Open at Golf Chateau-Bromont (July 18-21), followed by back-to-back weeks in Ontario with the Commissionaires Ottawa Open at Eagle Creek Golf Club and the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club.

The season resumes after an off week with the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open presented by Brandt (Aug. 15-18) in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, immediately followed by the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open at the Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg (Aug. 22-25).

The season’s penultimate event – the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens – will be contested in Brainerd, Minnesota from Aug. 29-Sept. 1. At the conclusion of the CRMC Championship, the top 120 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access to the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship at TPC Toronto’s newly renovated North course, where the top 10 players on the final Fortinet Cup Standings will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership.

2024 PGA TOUR Americas Schedule

Montréal – The Presidents Cup and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) announced that the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup will feature Canada’s Graham DeLaet and the United States’ Charley Hoffman as captains of the International and U.S. Teams, respectively, when the event is contested on the Blue Course at Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Montréal, Québec, Canada on Monday, Sept. 23 and Tuesday, Sept. 24. The 2024 Presidents Cup will tee off two days later at The Royal Montréal Golf Club.

The Junior Presidents Cup is a two-day, team match-play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top junior boys 19 years old and younger – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – that takes place just days before the start of the biennial Presidents Cup. The Junior Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European juniors a unique playing opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.

“In what has quickly become a beloved tradition of Presidents Cup week, we are honored to once again partner with the AJGA to contest the Junior Presidents Cup and set the stage for what will be another exciting competition at nearby Royal Montréal for the Presidents Cup,” said 2024 Presidents Cup Executive Director Ryan Hart. “As we’ve seen with each playing, the Junior Presidents Cup is a preview of the talent that will one day take the spotlight in the main event, and we’re grateful to the prestigious Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac for opening their doors to this unique competition.”

The teams will compete in six Four-ball and Foursomes matches on Monday, Sept. 23, followed by 12 Singles matches on Tuesday, Sept. 24. 

“Partnering with the Presidents Cup and the PGA TOUR to bring the Junior Presidents Cup to Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Montréal, is a remarkable opportunity to showcase these junior golfers to the world,” said AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin. “Having two captains who are so involved with the Presidents Cup as well as AJGA alumni is a dream come true and we are excited for this event to help us further our mission of developing golf’s next generation.”

DeLaet, a proud Canadian who represented his country at the 2013 Presidents Cup, put on a show in front of the crowds at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, earning a 3-1-1 record. He opened with a victory in the first match of the event, partnering with Jason Day to defeat Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker, 1-up, in Four-ball. 

But DeLaet’s indelible moment at the Presidents Cup came on Saturday morning, when he holed a bunker shot at the 18^th hole for birdie to claim a 2-up victory against Jordan Spieth and Steve Stricker. The next day, DeLaet defeated Spieth in Singles, 1-up.

Three years later, DeLaet represented Canada again, this time in golf’s return to the Olympics at the 2016 Games in Rio. 

Off the course, DeLaet and his wife, Ruby, started the Graham and Ruby DeLaet Foundation to provide support for children and junior golfers in his home province of Saskatchewan. During his own junior golf days, DeLaet played in the 1999 AJGA Lucent Western Canadian Jr.

“It was a total honor to get the call, and I was honestly taken aback at the opportunity, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to see these kids make memories for a lifetime in a city as special as Montréal,” DeLaet said. “A lot of these kids on both teams will end up playing on the PGA TOUR at some point in time, so I’m looking forward to getting them together to have fun and hopefully play their best golf.”

Hoffman, a Rancho Santa Fe, California native, has competed on the PGA TOUR since 2006 and owns four career victories and nine runner-up finishes. Known for his consistency and longevity, Hoffman advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs in 15 consecutive seasons from 2007-2021.

In 2017, Hoffman qualified for the United States Team at the Presidents Cup, where he compiled a 1-2-0 record in his debut at Liberty National Golf Club, highlighted by a dominant 6-and-5 victory in Four-ball over Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri.

As a junior golfer, Hoffman competed in 13 AJGA events, including a victory at the 1994 PING Phoenix Junior Championship. He also went on to win the California high school state championship in 1994 and 1995, becoming the first two-time winner at the time. 

“My first reaction was complete honor that I was even considered,” Hoffman said. “The relationships that are formed through these AJGA team events are special, and to represent your country on top of that is second to none. This experience will no doubt prepare them for future Presidents Cups, but at the end of the day my job is to make sure they have fun and enjoy the experience.”

Founded in 1917, Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac is considered as one of Canada’s most prestigious clubs, with both of their courses – the Green and Blue – being named among the Top 100 golf courses in Canada. The Junior Presidents Cup will be played on the Blue Course, which was redesigned in 2013 by 2024 International Presidents Cup Captain Mike Weir and Ian Andrew.

“We are very excited to host this event,” said Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac President of the Board, Christian Leblanc. “For us it is very important to help the juniors from Canada see what a great club this is and to help develop junior golf not just in Canada, but around the world. The club and the members are very excited to show what Laval sur-le-Lac is all about.”

The U.S. Team defeated the International Team by a score of 13-11 in the third edition of the Junior Presidents Cup in 2022 at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a Notah Begay III-led U.S. Team mounted an improbable comeback in Singles against South Africa’s Tim Clark and the International Team.

Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac

Junior Presidents Cup Eligibility

Teams will consist of the top 24 junior boys from the United States and around the world, excluding Europe, split up into teams of 12. Participants for both teams must be at least 12 years old by the start of the tournament and must have not reached their 19th birthday or have yet graduated high school as of January 1, 2024*.

Additionally, participants must be amateurs who have not yet started college and are not members of a competitive collegiate golf program in order to be eligible to play in the Junior Presidents Cup.

*Players graduating in the final four months (Sept. – Dec.) of the year will be considered part of the following year’s graduating class.

U.S. Team Selection / Eligibility Criteria

• On August 8, 2024, the leading 10 qualified players based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings will be selected along with the 11th player, who will be selected by the U.S. Team Captain.
• The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of September 5, 2024, who is not otherwise qualified.
• In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) list at that time.
• For the August 8, 2024, selection date, the 52-week rankings window will include ranked events with an end date of August 8, 2023 – August 5, 2024, while the September 5, 2024, selection date 52-week rankings window will include ranked events with an end date of September 5, 2023 – September 2, 2024.
• Each U.S. Team participant must also be a citizen of the United States and must be a current AJGA member in good standing.

International Team Selection / Eligibility Criteria

• On August 8, 2024, the leading 10 qualified players based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) will be selected along with the 11th player, who will be selected by the International Team Captain.
• The host country is guaranteed at least one spot on the International Team. If no players from the host country are ranked as part of the leading 10 qualified players, the 10th spot will go to the top-ranked qualified player from the host country.
• The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player on the WAGR® list as of September 5, 2024, who is not otherwise qualified.
• In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the most recent previous World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) revision.
• Each International Team participant must be a citizen of an eligible international Presidents Cup country (excludes European Ryder Cup countries).
• To be eligible to appear on the International Team standings, players MUST have their birthdate on file with WAGR®. Once a WAGR® Ranking is established, submit the WAGR® Player Submission Form.

The 2024 Presidents Cup will be held at The Royal Montréal Golf Club, September 24-29. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com. 

Canadians Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith both finished near the top of the leaderboard at the Shriners Children’s Open and are resting this week as they consider what to do next.

Hadwin finished second at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, one shot behind eventual winner Tom Kim of South Korea. Pendrith was in a group tied for third, a shot back of his fellow Canadian. 

“It was a good week. I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” said Hadwin, who had last played in a PGA Tour event on Aug. 20 at the BMW Championship. “I hadn’t played since the playoff event in Chicago, about seven weeks ago, so it was nice to play. 

“I was really ready to compete. I was missing the competition of things.”

Pendrith hadn’t played for a month, missing the cut at the Fortinet Championship in mid-September. The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., returned to Canada to see family before heading to Las Vegas for the Shriners Children’s Open.

“Kind of a blur, but I took the red eye home Sunday night from Vegas and got here about noon on Monday,” said Pendrith from his residence in Florida. “It’s nice to be home. We haven’t been here in probably five weeks.”

Hadwin and Pendrith’s stop-and-start schedule is partly thanks to the PGA Tour’s new calendar, as the top men’s golf tour in the world transitions to a regular season that starts in January instead of straddling two years.

Hadwin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., said that because he’s 45th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, he might not play again in 2023.

“I’m going to probably speak with some of those statisticians and analysts and see whether or not I may be able to maintain my top 50 ranking without playing,” said Hadwin, who wants to finish the year within the top 50 to qualify for the 2024 Masters. “I know that sometimes, depending on how the points shake out, you’re better off not playing than playing.”

Hadwin said that he would consider his options and possibly play in one of November’s tournaments. Pendrith, on the other hand, said he intends to keep playing, likely at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Nov. 2, Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Nov. 9, and the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga., on Nov. 16.

“A win now has the same perks as a win in the regular season. I can still play my way into the elevated events at the start of the year with some good finishes in the next three weeks,” said Pendrith, who earned a PGA Tour card for next season with his tie for third on Sunday. “There’s still lots to play for. 

“I feel like my game’s good right now and my body feels good. Why not play is kind of what I’m thinking.”

Regardless of whether or not they play in November, both Canadians are looking forward to a six-week break through December and into January. They said they want to spend time with their young families.

“I do like the idea of having three, four months to work on a few things, maybe add a few pounds, work on getting faster and stronger and all those sorts of things without having golf matter,” said Hadwin, who will also participate in some fundraising events for the Hadwin Family Foundation during his break. “It’s nice to be able to work without chasing FedEx points or wanting to get the year off started on a good note.”

Pendrith said he’s eager to spend time in his new house in Florida. He has also got into the wine business, launching the Taylor Pendrith Wine Collection through Pillitteri Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

“I’ve liked wine for a number of years and we thought it’d be a cool thing to get this going,” said Pendrith. “I was there two weeks ago to taste it for the first time, which was really cool. Got a tour of the whole place and saw where the wine was made and it’s pretty neat.

“I think it’s great that it’s a Canadian winery, and they’ve won tons of awards for their wines.”