RCGA ANNOUNCES 2005 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
- Amalgamation with CLGA adds three new championships to 2005 calendar -
Oakville, Ont. The Royal Canadian Golf Association is pleased to announce the championship schedule for the upcoming 2005 season. In all, the RCGA will conduct 22 championships in 2005 including six regional BMO Financial Group Future Links Junior Championships, 10 national Amateur Competitions, four BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Tour Championships, the BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Open and the Bell Canadian Open.
The RCGA championship schedule will now include three additional womens national amateur championships as part of the associations recent merger with the former Canadian Ladies Golf Association. The new events to be conducted by the RCGA include the Royale National Junior Girls Championship, the Royale National Womens Amateur Championship and the Royale National Womens Senior Championship.
The RCGA is very excited to be entering the 2005 championship season fully amalgamated with our partners at the CLGA, said Rick Desrochers, RCGA Managing Director of Championships. Coming off a tremendous year in 2004, we begin the next chapter of our storied history looking forward to shaping golfs future as one united national governing body.
The amalgamation between the former CLGA and the RCGA became official on January 15, 2005 when the board of governors for both associations signed the merger agreement. With the amalgamation, the RCGA will revamp its organizational structure to now feature a Womens Division.
Newly elected James J.A. Halliday of Victoria becomes the first president of the newly formed Royal Canadian Golf Association.
The following is the complete 2005 RCGA Championship schedule:
March 31 - April 3 BMO Financial Group Future Links Pacific Championship Richmond Country Club Richmond, British Columbia
May 8 10 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Tour Cordova Bay Golf Course Victoria, British Columbia (purse $25,000 CDN)
June 5-8 BMO Financial Group Future Links Prairie Championship Moon Lake Golf & Country Club Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
June 6-10 Canadian University / College Championship Duncan Meadows Golf & Country Club Duncan, British Columbia
June 19 - 21 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Tour Club de golf Rivermead Gatineau, Quebec (purse $25,000 CDN)
June 20-24 Canadian Club Champions Championship Crimson Ridge Golf Club Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
TBD Bell Canadian Open Regional Qualifier TBD / British Columbia
July 4-7 BMO Financial Group Future Links Ontario Championship Bay of Quinte Golf Club Belleville, Ontario
July 4-10 Canadian Senior Match Play Championship Hecla Golf Course Hecla Island, Manitoba
July 10-13 BMO Financial Group Future Links Quebec Championship Club de golf d`Asbestos Asbestos, Quebec
July 11 BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Open Qualifier Glen Arbour Golf Club Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 11-17 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Open Glen Arbour Golf Club Halifax, Nova Scotia (purse $1.3 million US)
July 18-21 BMO Financial Group Future Links Western Championship Grande Prairie Golf & Country Club Grande Prairie, Alberta
July 25-28 BMO Financial Group Future Links Atlantic Championship Fairmont Algonquin Golf Course St. Andrews, New Brunswick
TBD Bell Canadian Open Regional Qualifier TBD / Ontario
August 1-4 Royale National Junior Girls Championship Arbutus Ridge Golf & Country Club Cobble Hill, British Columbia
TBD Bell Canadian Open Regional Qualifier TBD / Quebec
August 7-11 Canadian Junior Boys Championship Craigowan Golf & Country Club Woodstock, Ontario
August 8-12 Royale Cup National Women`s Amateur Championship Squamish Valley Golf & Country Club Squamish, British Columbia
August 12-19 Canadian Men`s Amateur Championship Bell Bay Golf Club Baddeck, Nova Scotia
August 21-23 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Tour Redtail Landing Golf Club Edmonton, Alberta (purse $35,000 CDN)
August 22-25 Royale National Women`s Senior Championship Cottonwood Golf & Country Club DeWinton, Alberta
August 22-28 Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship Belvedere Golf & Country Club Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
September 5 Bell Canadian Open Qualifier TBD / British Columbia
September 5-11 Bell Canadian Open Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club Vancouver, British Columbia (purse $4.9 million US)
September 11 - 14 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Tour Championship Peterborough Golf & Country Club Peterborough, Ontario (purse $50,000 CDN)
Sept. 19-22 Canadian Men`s Senior Championship Le Club de golf Milby Inc. Lennoxville, Quebec
2005 RCGA Championship Fast Facts:
* When the LPGA Tour descends on Halifaxs Glen Arbour Golf Course for the BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Open, it will mark the return of major professional golf to the east coast for the first time in 66 years.
* The 2005 BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Tour features five events with a total purse of $170,000, including two qualifiers for the 2005 BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Open, the Canadian PGA Womens Championship and the season-ending $50,000 Tour Championship.
* The RCGA has created the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Award for the top finisher on the BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Tour Order of Merit. The 2005 Womens Tour will also feature a $5,000 Order of Merit purse for the top finishers upon conclusion of the Tour Championship.
* The 2005 BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Tour will offer six exemptions into the BMO Financial Group Canadian Womens Open, Canadas only LPGA Tour event.
* The 2005 Bell Canadian Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club marks the first time in over forty years that Canadas national open golf championship has been held in Western Canada.
* 2005 marks the sixth year the RCGA has conducted the BMO Financial Group Future Links Championships. Since the inception of the regional championships in 2000, over 2,400 top juniors have competed through Canadas premiere national junior golf development program.
The Royal Canadian Golf Association is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing close to 400,000 members nationwide. In addition to providing core services such as the Rules of Golf, handicapping, support of turfgrass and environmental research, and BMO Financial Group Future Links, Canada`s national junior golf program, the RCGA also conducts Canada`s most prestigious golf championships. The Bell Canadian Open and BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while six regional junior championships, 10 national amateur championships and the BMO Financial Group Canadian Women`s Tour showcase the best of Canadian golf. For more information please visit www.rcga.org.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Dan Pino Senior Communications Coordinator Phone: 905-849-9700 ext. 406 Cell: 416-434-5525 E-mail: rcga%23org|dpino
