No Canadian Stop Planned For 2003 Champions Tour
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:46:46
The RCGA has operated a Canadian stop on the Champions Tour (formerly Senior PGA Tour) since 1996. The contract with the event's most recent sponsor, AT&T Canada, expired at the end of the 2002 season and a replacement has yet to be found.
"While we are still pursuing a number of opportunities, I can confirm that at this time there is no Canadian stop scheduled for the 2003 Champions Tour," said Richard Desrochers, RCGA Chief Operating Officer. "Our search has been hampered by the U.S. exchange rate which makes the cost of such sporting events much more expensive in Canada. Even though we have not been able to secure a title sponsor for the coming year, we are exploring several avenues that look promising for the 2004 season."
The Champions Tour is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Since its inception in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour with just two events and purses totaling $250,000 (US), it has grown to more than 30 official events offering $57.9 million (US) in prize money.
2003 Champions Tour Schedule
Jan. 20-26 -- Conagra Foods Skins Game, Wailea Resort, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii (Hale Irwin)
Jan. 27-Feb. 2 -- MasterCard Championship, Hualalai GC, Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii (Tom Kite)
Feb. 3-9 -- x-Royal Caribbean Golf Classic, Crandon Park GC, Key Biscayne, Fla. (John Jacobs)
Feb. 10-16 -- The ACE Group Classic, TwinEagles GC, Naples, Fla. (Hale Irwin)
Feb. 17-23 -- Verizon Classic, TPC of Tampa Bay, Lutz, Fla. (Doug Tewell)
March 3-9 -- The BosqueReal Championship, BosqueReal CCCol. Lomas Altas, Mexico (Bruce Lietzke)
March 10-16 -- SBC Classic, Valencia CC, Valencia, Calif. (Tom Kite)
March 17-23 -- x-Toshiba Senior Classic, Newport Beach (Calif.) CC (Hale Irwin)
April 14-20 -- Emerald Coast Classic, The Moors GC, Milton, Fla. (Dave Eichelberger)
April 21-27 -- Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, Westin Savannah (Ga.) Harbor Golf Resort & Spa (Doug Tewell)
April 28-4 -- x-Bruno's Memorial Classic, Greystone G&CC, Birmingham, Ala. (Sammy Rachels)
May 5-11 -- Kinko's Classic of Austin, The Hills CC, Austin, Texas,
May 12-18 -- Bayer Advantage Invitational, The National GC of Kansas City
May 19-25 -- Columbus Southern Open, Green Island CC, Columbus, Ga.
May 26-June 1 -- x-Music City Championship at Gaylord Opryland, Springhouse GC, Nashville, Ten..
June 2-8 -- Senior PGA Championship, Aronimink GC, Newtown Square, Pa. (Fuzzy Zoeller)
June 16-22 -- x-Farmers Charity Classic, Egypt Valley CC, Ada, Mich. (Jay Sigel)
June 23-29 -- U.S. Senior Open, Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio, (Don Pooley)
June 30-July 6 -- x-Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn, Rock Barn G&CC, Conover, N.C.
July 7-13 -- Ford Champions Players Championship, TPC of Michigan, Dearborn, Mich. (Stewart Ginn)
July 21-27 -- Senior British Open, The Ailsa Course at the Westin Turnberry Resort, Scotland
July 28-Aug. 3 -- x-FleetBoston Classic, Nashawtuc CC, Concord, Mass. (Bob Gilder)
Aug. 4-10 -- 3M Championship, TPC of the Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn. (Hale Irwin)
Aug. 18-24 -- Allianz Championship, Glen Oaks CC, West Des Moines, Iowa (Bob Gilder)
Aug. 25-31 -- Tradition, The Reserve Vineyards & GC, Aloha, Ore. (Jim Thorpe)
Sept. 1-7 -- x-Kroger Classic, TPC at River's Bend, Maineville, Ohio (Bob Gilder)
Sept. 8-14 -- Constellation Energy Classic, TBD, Baltimore
Sept. 15-21 -- x-SAS Championship, Prestonwood CC, Cary, N.C. (Bruce Lietzke)
Sept. 22-28 -- x-Long Island Classic, TBD, Long Island, N.Y. (Hubert Green)
Oct. 6-12 -- Turtle Bay Championship, Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort, Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii (Hale Irwin)
Oct. 13-19 -- x-SBC Championship, Oak Hills CC, San Antonio (Dana Quigley)
Oct. 20-26 -- x-Champions Tour Championship, TBD, TBD (Fuzzy Zoeller)
Note: x-Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions event
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