New PGA Tour Americas has plenty of Canadian stops
Published
It may not be PGA Tour Canada or the Canadian Tour in name, but there is still a healthy schedule of Canadian stops on the newly named PGA Tour Americas.
The new tour, which brings together PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, has 16 events in eight countries beginning in March and running though until the Fortinet Cup Championship in September. That final stop will be played at TPC Osprey Valley, north of Toronto.
There will be nine events held in Canada, ranging from Victoria, B.C., to Mactaquac, N.B. The latter event will be the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament has been played in New Brunswick.
The circuit will also visit Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and the United States.
"We are thrilled to announce the schedule for the inaugural PGA TOUR Americas season in 2024," said Korn Ferry Tour president Alex Baldwin, who also oversees PGA TOUR Americas, in a release. "We are extremely grateful for our partners in their support of our members, our tournaments and our communities, and I'm confident our 16-event schedule will prepare our members for the next step in their professional golf journey."
There will be a season-long points championship to be known as the Fortinet Cup Standings. The top-10 finishers on that list will earn Korn Ferry status for the following season and share in a $100,000 (U.S.) bonus pool.
Overall, the golfers will compete for $3.6 million with $225,000 up for grabs at each stop.
Fortinet, a cybersecurity company that backed the former PGA Tour Canada for the last two seasons, is extending its sponsorship into a third year with its relationship with the new tour.
PGA Tour Canada started in 2012 when the PGA Tour took over the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, better known as just the Canadian Tour. That circuit had its roots in the Peter Jackson Tour which began in 1970 and crossed Canada with a series of provincial open championships.
Notable players who played on the Canadian circuits include Al Balding, George Knudson, Dave Barr, Dan Halldorson, Mike Weir, Ian Leggatt and Richard Zokol. International players such as Steve Stricker, Stuart Appleby, Chris DiMarco, Michael Campbell, and Todd Hamilton also played north of the border.
In more recent years, Canadians Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor graduated from the PGA Tour Canada.
The tour gets underway March 21-24 at the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico.