Mackenzie Tour announces four tournaments for pro golfers residing in Canada

TORONTO — The Mackenzie Tour announced on Friday it will hold a series of four tournaments for professional golfers residing in Canada.

The official Mackenzie Tour season was cancelled along with the PGA Tour China and PGA Tour Latinoamerica schedules because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Players are eager to compete and keep their game sharp and we were eager to keep the Mackenzie Tour relevant during this unprecedented time,” said Scott Pritchard, executive director of the Mackenzie Tour. “When this opportunity started to look like a reality it became more important for us to make it happen.”

The tournaments announced Friday are set for Langford, B.C., and Caledon, Ont., in August and September and will be held under the direction of the Mackenzie Tour and its staff.

Dubbed the Canada Life Series, it will feature two 54-hole events at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community in Langford on Vancouver Island (Aug. 10-12 and Aug. 17-19) and two more at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (Sept. 2-4 and Sept. 9-11).

Fields will consist of Canadian professionals and elite amateurs, as well as Mackenzie Tour members, regardless of citizenship, who are already in Canada. Officials anticipate field sizes between 90 and 120 players, with purses set at $50,000 per event.

The winner of the series will earn an exemption for the 2021 RBC Canadian Open.

“For many Canadians, (the Canadians Open is) in some cases a lifelong dream,” said Pritchard. “If you talk to the Nick Taylors of the world and Adam Hadwin and all the regular Canadian PGA Tour players, they often say the Canadian Open is like a major to them.”

The winner will also receive conditional status on the Mackenzie Tour next year and six starts. Finishers Nos. 2-5 will also earn conditional status and two starts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2020.

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John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press