Nationwide Tour to Visit Alberta, Canada in August
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:46:42
The Calgary Classic will be contested the week of Aug. 25-31 at The Links at GlenEagles in Cochrane, Alberta. The 7,019-yard, par-72 course was voted Canada's third-best new course in 1999 by Golf Digest magazine. The tournament will offer a purse of $450,000 (U.S.) with the winner taking home $81,000.
Local company Leap Sports will serve as the host organization for the tournament and has a three-year contract with the PGA TOUR to conduct the event in Calgary.
The Calgary Classic will become the Nationwide Tour's second stop in Canada, joining the Samsung Canadian PGA Championship, held annually in the Toronto area.
Calgary has never hosted the Nationwide Tour before, but it twice has played host to the AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship on the Champions Tour. Don January won the event in 1983 at Earl Grey Golf Club and Brian Barnes won the title in 1998 at Glencoe Golf & Country Club.
""The Nationwide Tour has enjoyed success in Canada, and we anticipate having another great event in Calgary,"" said Bill Calfee, chief of operations for the Nationwide Tour. ""Calgary is a great city, and we could not be more pleased to add a tournament in the western region of Canada to our schedule.""
As is the case with all Nationwide Tour events, local charities will benefit from the proceeds. In the Tour's first 13 years, more than $25 million (U.S.) has been raised for local charitable concerns.
""We are so excited to be bringing one of the top Tour's in the world to our market,"" said Pat McDonnell, general chairman for the Calgary Classic. ""The caliber of play on the Nationwide Tour virtually mirrors that of the PGA TOUR, and we know that local fans will enjoy this high level of competition.""
The Nationwide Tour consists of 30 events crossing North America as well as Australia and New Zealand. The 2003 season will see the Tour play for more than $14 million and the top 20 players on the final money will earn positions on the PGA TOUR for 2004.
To date, former Nationwide Tour players have won 123 events on the PGA TOUR, including 21 in 2002. Alumni have won eight major championships and at least one former player has finished in the top 10 in 324 of the last 325 PGA TOUR events.
Nationwide, one of the largest insurance and financial services organizations in the world, signed a five-year contract to become the umbrella sponsor for the Tour beginning in 2003.
The 2003 Nationwide Tour season will begin the week of Feb. 24-March 2 at the Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia and conclude Oct. 27-Nov. 2 at the Nationwide Tour Championship in Prattville, Ala.
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