The DCBank Victoria Open presented by the Times Colonist will move from spring to fall, the latest date the annual pro golf tournament has been held since its inception in 1981.
The 2021 tournament, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at Uplands, will end the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada season. It will feature an all-Canadian 132-player field. The event was originally scheduled for June 3-6 at Uplands before the Tour moved its season from its usual May start to a start in mid-July due to the pandemic.
The Tour said permission has not yet been granted to play from B.C. health authorities but that it feels confident it will be coming based on the vaccine rollout timeline.
“Our team has been working hard to secure the event, and we are confident we can deliver a great experience to Victoria in a safe and responsible manner,” said Bruce Hallsor, chair of the tournament’s board of directors, in a statement.
Keith Dagg, a key member of the tournament organizing committee, said he hopes by then a gallery will be allowed to follow the golfers around the course.
“We have lots of wonderful Canadian golfers,” he said.
The 2020 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada was cancelled amid the pandemic, but an abbreviated four tournament season was salvaged, including two tournaments at Bear Mountain.
The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada leads to the Korn Ferry Tour, which is the entry portal to the PGA Tour. The former Canadian Tour became the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada in 2013 and its alumni over the past eight years includes 41 PGA Tour players and 232 Korn Ferry Tour players. The latest example is Paul Barjon, defending champion of the Victoria tournament from 2019 at Uplands, who won the Huntsville Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour this month and looks to be on course to earn his PGA Tour card for 2021-22. Doc Redman, who was second to Barjon in Victoria in 2019, is now on the PGA Tour.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com