Golf Canada is pleased to announce its competition schedule including host clubs and dates for the 2016 championship season.
A total of 24 professional and amateur championships, as well as qualifying events into Canada’s two National Open Championships – the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open – will be conducted in 2016.
“Each year, nearly 3,000 talented Canadian and international golfers come together at many of Canada’s premier golf facilities in the spirit of competition and camaraderie to challenge for a Canadian national golf championship,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “It is Golf Canada’s privilege to conduct these championships in partnership with our host venues, committed sponsors and thousands of dedicated volunteers from coast to coast. We are proud that these championships are providing athletes with an opportunity for meaningful competition and the chance to add their names to Canada’s storied golf history.”
Golf Canada’s complete 2016 championship schedule as well as registration information can be found here.
Championship Notes:
Golf Canada’s championship season kicks off with the CN Future Links Pacific Championship, May 13-15, at The Dunes at Kamloops Golf Club in Kamloops, B.C. The event is the first in a series of six regional junior competitions presented by CN that in 2016 will see tournament fields expanded to include 120 players – 87 boys and 33 girls.
The 14th playing of the Canadian University/College Championship will be conducted from May 31 to June 3 at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, B.C. The championship will be the first of eight national amateur competitions being contested in 2016.
Beginning in late July, Atlantic Canada will host a trio of competitions: the 103rd Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship (Ken-Wo Golf Club in New Minas, N.S.), as well as the 78th Canadian Junior Boys (Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L.) and 62nd Junior Girls Championships (The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S.).
The 2016 edition of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship will return to its roots for its 112th playing. The Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Que. – which staged the competition’s first playing in 1895 – will host the world’s third oldest amateur championship from August 8-11 alongside co-host Eagle Creek Golf Club located in Dunrobin, Ont. This will mark the first occasion on which one of Canada’s national amateur championships will be played concurrently in two provinces.
A two-stage qualifying procedure for the 2016 RBC Canadian Open will feature a trio of regional qualifying competitions in British Columbia (Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria on May 30), Ontario (DiamondBack Golf Club in Richmond Hill on June 6) and Quebec (Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu in Sainte-Julie on June 6). The final qualifying event will be held at Heron Point Golf Links in Ancaster, Ont., on July 18.
For the 28th time in the 107-year history of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship, Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., will play host to the RBC Canadian Open from July 18-24. In 2015, Australian Jason Day was crowned champion, edging out Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn, who held the 54-hole head before finishing third.
On Saturday, July 16, prior to the start of the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey will also open its fairways to junior competitors for the 8th annual CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event.
Late August will see the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur and Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championships hosted at Golf Château-Bromont in Bromont, Que., and Wolf Creek Golf Resort in Ponoka, Alta., respectively.
The 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, set for August 22-28 at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club in Priddis, Alta., will be conducted the week following golf’s return to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Three-time winner and defending champion Lydia Ko will lead the stars of the LPGA Tour back to the Calgary area as Priddis Greens plays host to the championship for the third time (1999 and 2009). The tournament’s Monday Qualifier will take place at The Hamptons Golf Club in Calgary on August 22.
Golf Canada has also confirmed that the Canadian Women’s Tour events will not be played in 2016 and that the Tour has been put on an indeterminate hiatus due to a lack of title or presenting sponsor. The player exemptions into the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open that have traditionally been awarded via the Tour will be reallocated by Golf Canada at a later date. The champion of the PGA Women’s Championship of Canada will continue to earn an exemption into Canada’s premier LPGA event.
Grand Niagara Golf Club in Niagara Falls, Ont., will host the 54th Canadian Men’s Senior Championship from September 6-9 with the addition of a Sunday Qualifier this season. The minimum age of eligibility for the Super Senior division has been lowered from 70 to 65.
The Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru National Event will take to Burlington Golf & Country Club in Burlington, Ont., on September 12. The one day event is a celebration of the success of all Golf Fore the Cure events held nationwide during the 2016 season. To date, the program’s fundraising efforts have totaled more than $5.4 million towards breast cancer research.
Highland Country Club in London, Ont., will set the stage for the 2016 Freedom 55 Financial Championship from September 12-18. Golf Canada is proud to serve as the organizing body for the season-ending event on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada.
As the National Sports Federation and governing body of golf in Canada, Golf Canada conducts the country’s premier amateur and professional golf championships as part of its mandate to promote the sport and aid in the development of the nation’s world-class talent.