The decision to move the RBC Canadian Open to earlier in the summer has led to a cascading series of events down the line in which the Bayview Place DC Bank Open has been shifted to an earlier slot in the season.
The new Canadian Open date on the PGA Tour, in the first week of June, put it in direct conflict with the usual annual dates for the Victoria stop on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada. So Victoria organizers have bumped their 37th annual tournament back to May 27 to June 2 in 2019 at Uplands. The Canadian Open goes June 6-9 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
“We felt it was better for our tournament because we didn’t want to go head-to-head with the Canadian Open,” said Keith Dagg, director of the Victoria event.
“We felt a lot of people would have stayed home to watch the Canadian Open on TV. Especially because it has now been moved to one week before the U.S. Open and so the Canadian Open field is going to be stellar and full of top golfers [who will use it as a springboard into the U.S. Open].”
Many top golfers bypassed the Canadian Open in its previous time slot in July because it came right after the British Open and many of them were exhausted from the cross-Atlantic travel.
“This is a good move for us, said Dagg.
There were a lot of moving parts to make it happen, however, including having organizers agreeing to change the dates for the Vancouver stop on the Mackenzie Tour. It also moves back and will again precede the tournament at Uplands.
Meanwhile, it was also announced the Bayview Place Performance Tour, managed by Jason Geisbrecht, will return for a third season, beginning Sunday. The top-three players, and top club pro, at the end of the 15-week Performance Tour will earn exemptions into the Bayview Place DC Bank Open.
A new event was also announced. The $30,000 Bayview Place Westcoast Open from May 13-15 at Gorge Vale will offer $5,000 to the winner and a berth in the Bayview Place DC Bank Open two weeks later at Uplands.
The events leading up to the Canadian PGA Tour stop are important in their own right, said Ken Mariash, owner of Bayview Place and main funder of the Bayview Place DC Bank Open.
“I have a focus on mental health and addictions, and part of prevention is in keeping kids busy,” said Mariash, a former freestyle wrestler, and later martial arts performer, who competed internationally.
“All sports, including getting on the golf course, help do that. It keeps you mentally and physically healthy and happy. That’s why we do the Performance Tour.”
Victoria teaching pro, and former touring pro, Eric Wang was among the qualifiers last year for the Bayview Place DC Bank Open out of the Performance Tour.
“The Performance Tour engages golfers from around the Island and young golfers get more experience by playing in it,” he said.
