Reed On The Greens, by Jeffrey Reed
August 14, 2015
Highland Will Host Highly-Successful Freedom 55 Financial Championship
Photos by Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf
Highland CC Photo courtesy Highland CC
The countdown is on for the PGA Tour Canada’s season-ending tournament, the newly-named Freedom 55 Financial Championship, September 14-20 at London’s Highland Country Club. All stakeholders, except for Mother Nature – who surely will not be dictated to when it comes to her decisions – have done their due diligence in their attempt to boost the image of this event.
But will it be enough?
After two years at London’s Sunningdale Golf and Country Club – two championship events which were hammered by horrific weather – the Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada Freedom 55 Financial Championship (that’s more than just a mouthful) moves to south central London. On paper, it has all the makings of a much better tournament than what Sunningdale hosted. That’s no knock against Sunningdale – the club did the best with what it had to work with.
But ever since Highland was named as the tourney’s new home in early December of last year, renewed optimism has surrounded the event. An initial three-year agreement with title sponsor Freedom 55 Financial would see the event contested at Highland through the 2017 season. Sunningdale, Golf Canada and PGA Tour Canada all decided to end that club’s hosting duties before a third option year.
In late-April, Freedom 55 Financial gave this event, the tour and the city a much needed shot in the arm. The tourney is now known as the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, and it has been extended through 2020. The purse increases from $150,000 to $200,000. In addition, Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year money increases to $25,000 from $10,000, and Canadian Player of the Week prize money jumps to $2,500 from $1,500.
The 12th and final event on the Mackenzie Tour schedule will see the culmination of the race for Web.com Tour status at Highland. The top 60 players on the Order of Merit will be eligible. The top five players on the Order of Merit earn Web.com Tour status for the following season, with players finishing in spots 6th through 10th earning an exemption into the final stage, and players finishing 11th through 20th into the second stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School.
Also, late last month, Thames Valley Children’s Centre was named as the tournament’s official charitable beneficiary, and will receive 55 per cent of ticket sales.
In addition, it was announced that kids 17 and under will be admitted free (visit the tournament website http://freedom55financialchampionship.com to print a ticket).
It appears, then, that all the pieces are in place that would ensure a highly-successful tournament. Even PGA Tour Canada President Jeff Monday is beaming from ear to ear.
“I think we really came to appreciate what London has to offer,” said Monday. “This is a great place to have our flagship event. It’s a darn good sports town.
“I think what we want to work on is how we better engage the community, and build awareness of the event to attract more people. Not just sponsorship, but really to make it become part of … the social fabric of the community. So every September people say, ‘OK, this is the week they’re going to crown champions, and those champions, in time, could be out there playing on the PGA Tour.’”
How low the golfers go at the par-70, 6,644-yard tidy track remains to be seen, but do expect low scores – and that’s not a bad thing.
“I think we’re going to surprise some people,” said Highland’s director of golf Mike Silver. “Our greens are very small targets. Granted, we won’t get crazy with the pins, because if you get up to 12 (on the stimpmeter) there will be spots on the greens where you can’t put.
“The rough will be 4-inches-plus. We’ll have good length rough around the greens – and they will be firm,” Silver said. “If we get them hard and fast, that will play a big factor in the scoring. If you give some of the best players in the world soft conditions and no wind, they will destroy any golf course.”
Tournament organizers have high hopes for galleries – 1,000 on Thursday and Friday, and 2,000 on both Saturday and Sunday. School field trips are planned – that’s a smart move.
But here’s the kicker. It’s nearly impossible to market the stars of tomorrow to the casual golf fan – and even to many diehard golfers, who want to see marquee names. That isn’t going to happen here.
Knowledgeable golf fans know how good these players are, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to attend the tournament. London is a tough sell, as we saw last year at the CP Women’s Open at London Hunt and Country Club.
But this year at Highland, everything else – minus guaranteed good weather – is in place. Kudos to all involved – they’ve done their homework. Whether it’s enough to see a much-improved week-long event, only time will tell.
But it says here, with good weather, Highland will hold its head high after hosting a hugely successful golf tournament. I’ve likened holding this event at Highland to attending a ballgame at the friendly confines of Fenway Park. There’s great potential here to create an amazing tournament atmosphere.
And that’s good news for the city, PGA Tour Canada, Golf Canada, Freedom 55 Financial, Thames Valley Children’s Centre, and the future of this great game: junior golfers.
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