Reed On The Greens: Tyson Tour History Important To Canadian Golf

Reed On The Greens June 30, 2026
Junior Tyson Tour Important Part Of Canadian Golf History
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

File Photo (above): Youngsters tee off at the 2012 Les Thomas Memorial Tournament at Fanshawe Golf Course. Photo by Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com.

I was only 18 years old – the same age as many of the Junior Boys competitors – when I covered my first Junior Tyson Tour event in 1980. I don’t remember who I interviewed in 1980 for a story aired on AM 1410 CKSL. Father Time took its toll on that radio station, too, when it went silent in 2016.

I do, however, remember interviewing 2003 Masters Tournament champion Mike Weir when he won the Tyson Tour’s Les Thomas Memorial Tournament in 1986 and again in ’87. As the story goes, while hundreds of youngsters dined on hot dogs and Coke at Fanshawe Golf Club post-round, Weir was all alone on the practice green honing his skills. I was witness to that event. We all know how that story unfolded.

This year marks the 59th season for the Tyson Tour (est. 1968) – Canada’s oldest junior golf tour, and an important part of Canadian golf history. It was founded as a not-for-profit organization operated by local PGA of Canada professionals. Former London Free Press sports writer, Bev Tyrrell, established the Tyson Tour as, the Tysons Tour. It borrows its name from the Ty in Tyrrell, and the son part from Bev’s twin boys, Tim and Tom.

File photo: Ben Hudson with Fanshawe GC head pro Rob Vincent after capturing Tyson Tour’s 2024 Les Thomas tournament. Photo: Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com.

A decade later, in 1978, Tyrrell left London for a sports writing post with The Winnipeg Free Press. In 1972, when Fred Kern was hired as Thames Valley Golf Course’s head golf professional, he began to play a big role in assisting Tyrrell with Tysons Tour operations. Kern would be the Tour’s convenor from 1978 until 2009, two years after his retirement from the City of London municipal golf system.

“I was awed by the beautiful setting,” quipped Kern upon his first visit to Thames Valley GC. “I thought, what a perfect setting to introduce new golfers to the game.” Mike Olizarevitch, a Fanshawe Golf Course employee for 49 years – head pro for 39 years – called Kern “an excellent teacher who thoroughly enjoyed working with junior golfers and overseeing the Junior Tyson Tour.”

Both Olizarevitch (2011) and Kern (2012) captured the prestigious LondonOntarioGolf.com Heart Award, Southwestern Ontario’s preeminent golf award – read their biographies here.

Tyrrell started the Tour in order to provide local junior golfers with tournament competition – a stage where they could measure their improvement. In its early days, the Tour consisted of a four-event season with the winner decided by stroke average, compared to today’s point system. Over parts of seven decades, the Tour has presented junior golfers with hundreds of bursaries used towards their education and associated costs.

Harold Kewley was the Tour’s inaugural champion during the four-event loop staged at East Park Golf Gardens, Strathroy Country Club, Fanshawe Golf Course and Thames Valley Golf Course. This year, the Tour offers nine regular-season stops – including the two-day Les Thomas tourney – plus the season-ending championship invitational at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club on August 18.

Former long-time Thames Valley GC head pro and Junior Tyson Tour convenor Fred Kern with his 2012 LondonOntarioGolf.com Heart Award. Photo: LondonOntarioGolf.com.

Launched in 1981, the Les Thomas event honours the former Golf Ontario director and commissioner of London’s Public Utilities Commission who died that year. Thomas was passionate about developing junior golfers. After all, his son, Ian, who played out of London Hunt and Country Club and competed on the Tyson Tour, was the Canadian Junior Boys champion in 1965 and Ontario Junior Boys champ in ’67.

Golf Ontario named Les its Honorary President in 1977. After his death in ‘81, Les’s wife, Doreen, continued to support the Tyson Tour as an avid fan in the gallery – including at Weir’s wins in 1986 and ’87.

Dan Quinn, who enjoyed a 14-year NHL career, captured the inaugural Les Thomas championship. Later, former City golf director Bill Fox Sr. oversaw a change for the Les Thomas event, which had operated under a match play format. Fox envisioned a championship – without age brackets – over six rounds, including a 36-hole qualifier and four rounds of match play. His reasoning? To offer a better stage for the Tyson Tour’s more elite golfers looking to impress U.S. college recruiters and coaches.

Today, Les Thomas stroke play competition combines scores from two rounds – at Fanshawe on August 10, then Thames Valley on August 11.

This year’s competition is already underway, with the May 23 stop at Innerkip Highlands Golf Club and yesterday’s St. Thomas Golf and Country Club tourney. The next event goes July 6 at West Haven Golf and Country Club.

For a complete schedule plus leaderboards, visit juniortysontour.com.

And for my comprehensive story on the history of the Junior Tyson Tour, click here.

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Award-winning golf writer, photographer and broadcaster Jeffrey Reed has covered the game for a local and national audience since 1980. Over the years, his byline has appeared in every major Canadian golf publication, including SCORE Golf for whom he wrote much of the Ontario section for parts of two decades. Reed is author of, The Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years of Canadian Golf 1918-2018, now housed in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum library. Contact him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.