Hamilton a sure thing for 2019 Canadian Open
And — the Open could have a new June date on the PGA calendar
AMID ALL THE CONFUSION and guesswork around the ripple effect of reshuffling golf’s Major tournament schedule, one projection has emerged as, if not a certainty, then 99 per cent probable.
The 2019 Canadian Open will be held at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster.
All parties involved emphasize that no formal deal has yet been signed, and that there will be no announcement yet. But expect one soon, according to many indicators.
Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum told TSN’s golf guru Bob Weeks three months ago that a site strategy for the two or three Opens following this year’s event at Oakville’s Glen Abbey, would likely be made public in about 90 days. We’re at 90 and counting and there’s really been no noise — loud or otherwise — about anywhere but Ancaster.
And earlier this week, Hamilton native Damien Cox, writing for Sportsnet.ca, stated that not only is it known inside the golf industry that the 2019 Open would be played in Hamilton — celebrating the centennial of the 1919 Open played here — but that, in the wake of the PGA Championship taking up a new date in May, our national Open could end up with a far more advantageous date by 2019.
That article also appeared on the PGA Tour mobile website, and some other Canadian golf writers have advanced roughly the same thinking.
Burlington’s Bill Paul, who is chief championships officer for Golf Canada, told The Spectator, from the Tournament Players Championship in Florida, that there is as yet no deal for, nor an official announcement of,
Hamilton as the 2019 site, let alone a change in date.
But he’s been working with both the golf course and the city (through Tourism Hamilton). Tourism manager Carrie Brooks-Joiner told The Spectator: “There has been no confirmation” of tournament dates.
Peter Holt, general manager and COO of Hamilton G&CC, also said that no agreement between the club and Golf Canada has been signed.
In February, club members voted to allow its executive to enter discussions with Golf Canada, the PGA Tour, and title sponsor RBC — a major player in North American pro golf — to have both the 2019 and 2023 Opens there.
What’s recalibrated and compounded everything about 2019, though, is the shifting of the PGA Championship from its relatively also-ran date in August to mid-May, replacing the TPC, which will in turn be moved to March, starting next year.
The TPC, the most prestigious event outside the Big Four, will essentially preview and kick off the Majors season: the Masters in April; the PGA in May; the U.S. Open in June; and The (British) Open Championship in July.
That shift, and uncertainty concerning other PGA tournaments, might result in a superior date for the Canadian Open, as early as next year. Or, it might not.
Since 2007, the Canadian Open has been situated in the last week of July, right after The Open Championship. That has made it difficult — and expensive — for Paul and his team to convince many top players to immediately fly back across the Atlantic to tee off here. Accordingly, the quality and depth of the Canadian Open field has often suffered. Tiger Woods, whose second event as a pro was the 1996 Open at Glen Abbey, has not returned since 2001 at Royal Montreal. Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, and other big names have routinely bypassed the Canadian Open.
But the advantageous first weekend in June — one week before the U.S. Open when even the best players are usually looking for a good tuneup — is likely to open for next year and beyond. The St. Jude Classic, holding that slot for 11 years, has become a World Golf Championship event and is probably moving into August.
Golf Canada would love that vacant spot, but there are other tournaments in the mix too, including one, dormant this year, sponsored by the Tiger Woods Foundation, which would move from Washington, D.C., to Detroit or Minneapolis.
There are some other tournaments that could be also impacted by sponsorship and other issues. So the 2019 tour schedule, originally slated to be released at the TPC this week, will likely not be. Too many moving parts are still in play. But even if they don’t land in the pre-U. S. Open week, there could be opportunities for Golf Canada to score a more enticing date for the national championship.
“I’ll be honest,” Paul told The Spectator. “I don’t know where (the suggestion the Canadian Open will have a new, better date in 2019) is coming from. It’s all speculation.
“In our discussions with both the club and the city and with the title sponsors we’re moving forward as it being the same week.”
But they’re moving forward. Hard to draw any conclusion other than that the city is only about 14 months away from its fourth Canadian Open in the last 16 years.
The advantageous first weekend in June, one week before the U.S. Open when players are usually looking for a good tune-up, is likely to open for next year and beyond.