Ottawa golf fans have another reason to get excited

The calendar has turned to August, a wet month of July is behind us, and the golf season is about to shift into high gear.

While local golfers will be taking part in the annual club championships held across the region this month, there will also be no shortage of good golf to watch in the final two weeks of this month in the Ottawa area.

At Hylands Golf Club, organizers of the fourth-annual National Capital Open to Support Our Troops, a regular stop on the MacKenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, announced plans Tuesday for the event, which will be held Aug. 1420 at the 6,852-yard layout.

Of course, the month will be capped off by the CP Women’s Open Aug. 21-27 at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

Though the National Capital Open has charged for tickets before, the admission will be free this year and there will be opportunities at Hylands to make a donation to Soldier On, a Canadian Forces program that supports members and veterans to help them overcome physical or mental health illness or injury through physical activity.

“We’ve charged for tickets in the past but we decided with all the things going on this summer (with Canada’s 150th birthday) we want people to come and enjoy the golf,” said Peter Atkinson, tournament director of the National Capital Open.

“There will be an opportunity for people to make a donation to the Soldier On program around the course and in the parking lot, but we’re not going to charge anyone who wants to come and watch the tournament.

“We just want people to come out and enjoy the good golf that we’re going to put on at this tournament.”

The National Capital Open to Support Our Troops has become a staple on the local calendar since the MacKenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada returned to the Ottawa area in 2013. The Hylands layout has stood up to the test of players using the MacKenzie Tour as a stepping stone to hopefully becoming regulars on the PGA Tour.

Last year, American Brock MacKenzie, who finished with a four-round total of 15-under, won in a three-man playoff, beating out Spain’s Samuel Del Val and Canadian Adam Cornelson in extra holes. MacKenzie won’t be back to defend his title — he suffered a significant back injury at the first event of the year in the Bahamas and hasn’t played since.

“This is a great event for the club,” Hylands president Gilles Sansterre said. “We have a bit of a hidden gem here and I certainly want as many people as we can (get) to walk the course and say what a great course it is.

“This is one of the nicest golf clubs in the city and it’s a great track.”

Sansterre said Hylands has received good feedback from players in the event.

“Minus-15 to minus-20 is a good score. It’s not embarrassing us, of course, and it’s a challenging course for them,” Sansterre said. “This year, the greens will be a little faster for them than they have (been) in the past. We’ve done a lot of work on them and Mother Nature has helped as well. This is the best I’ve seen it. The feedback we’re getting is the players really enjoy playing here.”

Atkinson noted fans in attendance will see some excellent golf.

“These are the kids who hit it just like the players on the PGA Tour. The MacKenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada is the best route for the young, aspiring golfer to make it to the PGA Tour,” Atkinson said. “If they win here, they get on the Web.com Tour and then they can make the jump (to the PGA Tour).

“We want people to come out and enjoy it because they’re going to see great golf from some great young (players). They hit the ball a ton.”