Reed On The Greens, by Jeffrey Reed
June 26, 2014
The 2013 Tour Championship of Canada at London’s Sunningdale Golf and Country Club provided a thrilling ending to the inaugural season of PGA Tour Canada. But the Tour and Golf Canada, uniquely twinned in running this event, hope for more when the tournament returns to Sunningdale September 8-14 for the second year of a three-year term.
Max Gilbert of St. Georges, Quebec won the charter event, title sponsored by Freedom 55 Financial, with a final-round 66 for a one-shot victory over Scottsdale, Arizona’s Trevor Murphy.
In addition, five players earned Web.com Tour cards for 2014. Dundas, Ontario’s Mackenzie Hughes finished atop the Order of Merit with $52,000 in earnings and earned fully exempt status on the Web.com Tour.
On the fairways and greens, this was an exciting tournament, and a big coup for London. Of course, Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. The Wednesday pro-am started out as one of the hottest days of the summer, only to see a storm blow through which Golf Canada’s managing director of professional championships, Bill Paul, described as “something out of the Wizard of Oz.”
Golf Canada’s director of professional championships, Bill Paul (left), and PGA Tour Canada President Jeff Monday huddle at Tuesday’s media day for the Tour Championship of Canada.
Photo: Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com
A number of area clubs chipped in around the clock to get the course ready for Thursday’s action during the coldest day of the summer.
But even during the nicer days of this event, the galleries were small. It’s an issue both Golf Canada and PGA Tour Canada say they have tackled head-on this time around.
For one, the field has been lowered to 60 from 132 – a number far too high for a championship event. The purse remains at $150,000 with winner’s share $27,000, and again five players will earn full exemption on the Web.com Tour.
London is a tough town to crack in terms of putting butts in the seats – and people in the gallery. Yet even though there’s a bigger circus coming to town August 18-24 when the LPGA Tour’s CP Women’s Open visits London Hunt and Country Club, Paul said everyone can expect a better Tour Championship of Canada come September.
“Certainly with bringing the LPGA – the CP Women’s Open – to London Hunt, I think we started (marketing the Tour Championship) a lot earlier. We wanted to challenge ourselves,” said Paul.
“We got out in the community earlier. We were part of the (Rogers) Sports (Celebrity) Dinner (and Auction February 3). We were part of the Memorial Cup. We were at the (London) Golf Show (and Sale at Western Fair District February 14-15),” Paul said.
“We just needed to get off the ground earlier,” said Paul of marketing initiatives, “and right now we are certainly well ahead of the game from where we were last year.”
PGA Tour Canada President Jeff Monday said, “The best thing about getting year one under your belt is you have a foundation on which to build year two … and make it bigger and better.” He added, “Having 60 players (instead of 132) in competition for those five spots enhances the story line.”
Traditionally, only two teams are heavily supported by fan attendance in this city: the Knights, and the Western Mustangs football squad. And since we hosted the 2001 Canada Summer Games, the Forest City has earned a well-deserved reputation for staging and supporting big-time events.
The Tour Championship of Canada is a big-time event. Let’s hope the gallery reflects this in September.
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