The PGA Championship of Canada Celebrates 100th Anniversary
The PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf celebrates its 100th anniversary this June in Calgary.
The top 64 players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC will vie for the P.D. Ross Trophy and a share of the $100,000 purse, June 18-22 on the Talons Course at Country Hills Golf Club.
Defending champion Vincent Dumouchel of La Prairie (Clue de Golf) looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since the famed George Knudson in 1976-77.
“Winning what I think is the biggest golf championship in Canada was very special to me,” Dumouchel said of his win at Cottonwood Golf & Country Club in 2011. “Having your name on the same trophy as players like Moe Norman, Stan Leonard, Arnold Palmer, George Knudson and Lee Trevino is unbelievable.”
In addition to Knudson winning five championship titles, Norman (2), Bob Panasik (2), Wilf Homenuik (2), Al Balding (4), Bill Kerr (2), Gordon Brydson (2), Stanley Horne (3), Willie Lamb (5), James Johnstone (2), Percy Barrett (2) and David Black (3) have all won multiple times. However, Leonard—a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame—holds the record for most PGA Championship of Canada wins with eight.
As was the case in 2011, this year’s championship will be contested as a match play event with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the five rounds to the final championship match.
“The championship will once again be contested as a match play event and if last year was any indication, the matches will be extremely exciting,” said PGA of Canada CEO, Gary Bernard. “The old cliché is, ‘anything can happen in match play’ and I think that will ring true once again this year at Country Hills.”
At more than 7,200 yards, the Thomas McBroom redesigned Talons Course at Country Hills is bound to challenge the PGA of Canada’s best players.
“You probably won’t see players winning holes out here by making a ton of birdies,” said Country Hills’ Head Professional, Brett Burgeson. “Strategically, the golf course will provide guys with a lot of options.”
Burgeson said the McBroom redesign, which was completed in 2010, saw every tee box and bunker on the course altered.
“Before the bunkers were pretty boring but now they are a lot flashier, a more in your face style,” he said. “The bunkers have really brought out the beauty in the landscape here and totally changed the look at the golf course.”
Burgeson will be pulling double-duties championship week, both as the host professional, but also as a competitor. The 40-year-old ranks No. 4 on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC and looks to improve upon his quarterfinal finish from a year ago.
Another player looking to make a statement at Country Hills this June is last year’s runner-up and 2011 Mike Weir Player of the Year, Brian McCann.
“I’ve had a lot of second place finishes over the course of my career and everyone loses more than they win, so I guess you could say I’m a pretty good loser,” McCann said of his playoff loss to Dumouchel in 2011. “But, this year I’m coming as the No. 1-ranked player, so I’ve got something to prove.”
McCann will have a little extra incentive to play well and advance through the brackets. The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada will earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ont., which will be played July 23-29.
“As if the pressure of playing in a match play event, that just happens to be a National Championship, wasn’t enough,” Bernard says. “Now you toss in a potential exemption into the RBC Canadian Open and things get even more thrilling.”
The event will get underway with the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am, an annual charity event in support of prostate cancer research. The first Pro-Am was held in Toronto in 2010 and has now expanded to Calgary. This one-day tournament will help to increase the profile of our partnership and work with Prostate Cancer Canada. As a partner of both the PGA of Canada and Mr. Lube Canada, Prostate Cancer Canada helps to battle this disease by building awareness and generating funds for research.
Amateurs looking to take part in the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am can register online through the PGA of Canada’s website.
PGA of Canada members who are ranked in the top 64 will receive their invitations to participate in the 2012 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf this March.
The first PGA Championship of Canada was contested in 1912 at Mississaugua Golf & Country Club. The championship was not held 1915-18; 1943; and 2006-2010.
The top 64 players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC will vie for the P.D. Ross Trophy and a share of the $100,000 purse, June 18-22 on the Talons Course at Country Hills Golf Club.
Defending champion Vincent Dumouchel of La Prairie (Clue de Golf) looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since the famed George Knudson in 1976-77.
“Winning what I think is the biggest golf championship in Canada was very special to me,” Dumouchel said of his win at Cottonwood Golf & Country Club in 2011. “Having your name on the same trophy as players like Moe Norman, Stan Leonard, Arnold Palmer, George Knudson and Lee Trevino is unbelievable.”
In addition to Knudson winning five championship titles, Norman (2), Bob Panasik (2), Wilf Homenuik (2), Al Balding (4), Bill Kerr (2), Gordon Brydson (2), Stanley Horne (3), Willie Lamb (5), James Johnstone (2), Percy Barrett (2) and David Black (3) have all won multiple times. However, Leonard—a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame—holds the record for most PGA Championship of Canada wins with eight.
As was the case in 2011, this year’s championship will be contested as a match play event with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the five rounds to the final championship match.
“The championship will once again be contested as a match play event and if last year was any indication, the matches will be extremely exciting,” said PGA of Canada CEO, Gary Bernard. “The old cliché is, ‘anything can happen in match play’ and I think that will ring true once again this year at Country Hills.”
At more than 7,200 yards, the Thomas McBroom redesigned Talons Course at Country Hills is bound to challenge the PGA of Canada’s best players.
“You probably won’t see players winning holes out here by making a ton of birdies,” said Country Hills’ Head Professional, Brett Burgeson. “Strategically, the golf course will provide guys with a lot of options.”
Burgeson said the McBroom redesign, which was completed in 2010, saw every tee box and bunker on the course altered.
“Before the bunkers were pretty boring but now they are a lot flashier, a more in your face style,” he said. “The bunkers have really brought out the beauty in the landscape here and totally changed the look at the golf course.”
Burgeson will be pulling double-duties championship week, both as the host professional, but also as a competitor. The 40-year-old ranks No. 4 on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC and looks to improve upon his quarterfinal finish from a year ago.
Another player looking to make a statement at Country Hills this June is last year’s runner-up and 2011 Mike Weir Player of the Year, Brian McCann.
“I’ve had a lot of second place finishes over the course of my career and everyone loses more than they win, so I guess you could say I’m a pretty good loser,” McCann said of his playoff loss to Dumouchel in 2011. “But, this year I’m coming as the No. 1-ranked player, so I’ve got something to prove.”
McCann will have a little extra incentive to play well and advance through the brackets. The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada will earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ont., which will be played July 23-29.
“As if the pressure of playing in a match play event, that just happens to be a National Championship, wasn’t enough,” Bernard says. “Now you toss in a potential exemption into the RBC Canadian Open and things get even more thrilling.”
The event will get underway with the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am, an annual charity event in support of prostate cancer research. The first Pro-Am was held in Toronto in 2010 and has now expanded to Calgary. This one-day tournament will help to increase the profile of our partnership and work with Prostate Cancer Canada. As a partner of both the PGA of Canada and Mr. Lube Canada, Prostate Cancer Canada helps to battle this disease by building awareness and generating funds for research.
Amateurs looking to take part in the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am can register online through the PGA of Canada’s website.
PGA of Canada members who are ranked in the top 64 will receive their invitations to participate in the 2012 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf this March.
The first PGA Championship of Canada was contested in 1912 at Mississaugua Golf & Country Club. The championship was not held 1915-18; 1943; and 2006-2010.