Tag: PGA Tour Americas

Arctic temps made it tough for firefighters to extinguish clubhouse fire at this PGA Tour Americas venue

The fire occurred at one of just three Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses in Canada.

The clubhouse at the site of the PGA Tour Americas’ ATB Classic went up in flames recently, and firefighters were contending with temperatures of 40 below while battling the blaze.

The Northern Bear Golf Course in Sherwood Park, Alberta — one of just three Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses in Canada — has a deal to host the PGA Tour Americas event through 2025. But the iconic clubhouse at the course, which sits about 40 minutes from downtown Edmonton, caught fire on Saturday morning.

Neighbors saw the structure billowing smoke and called the authorities, who sent numerous emergency vehicles to the scene. But with temps dipping so low and gusts making the wind chill even lower, crews had trouble on-site with frozen pump ports and lines, according to Dana Terry, deputy chief of operations for Strathcona County’s emergency services department.

The course is one of the longest on the PGA Tour Americas schedule and is known for tree-lined fairways, five lakes and huge greens. This year’s ATB Classic is scheduled for June 27-30.

There were no injuries, but the building is a total loss with just the skeletal remains standing in the Alberta cold for the foreseeable future. Temperatures in the region are not expected to get above zero Fahrenheit until Friday.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2135423816791016&t=2

A message on the club’s Facebook page gave thanks to the crews that fought the fire in such difficult conditions.

“We are all devastated about the loss of our beautiful clubhouse. We are so grateful no one was at the clubhouse and there was no one injured. We want to thank the Strathcona fire department for their work in treacherous weather. Thank you to everyone for their well wishes and we vow to rebuild better than it was before,” the post said.

https://www.facebook.com/northernbeargolf/posts/pfbid025DFAxieBfBhkYiV2Mr3wd2TCBer4FPHi1dMN7awsWHq7yFJUiBy4hW6LhTy2zfDl

PGA Tour University benefits expanding to reward five more players, D-II Player of the Year

PGA Tour University has been nothing short of successful, and the program is expanding its benefits to continue that momentum. 

PGA Tour University has been nothing short of successful, and the program is expanding its benefits to continue that momentum.

Five more Division-I collegiate golfers and the top player in Division II will be eligible to earn PGA Tour Americas membership through PGA Tour U starting in 2024, it was announced Tuesday.

Beginning with the Class of 2024, five more players – now 25 total – will earn performance benefits based on their finish in the PGA Tour U Ranking. Players who finish 11th-25th (previously 11th-20th) will earn exempt membership on PGA Tour Americas for the remainder of the current season, and they will be exempt into Second Stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Additionally, starting in 2024, a junior or senior who wins the D-II Jack Nicklaus Award (National Player of the Year) will earn the same benefits as players who finish 11th-25th in the PGA Tour U. Such player may accept his performance benefits upon the conclusion of his collegiate career, meaning a junior who wins the D-II Jack Nicklaus Award may accept his performance benefits after his senior season.

“As PGA Tour University continues to grow, the pipeline from collegiate golf to the PGA Tour gets stronger,” PGA Tour University executive director Brendan von Doehren said. “The best collegiate players have shown they are ready to compete against the best in the world, and these enhancements to PGA Tour University ensure that at least five more deserving players will start their careers as members of PGA Tour Americas each year.”

Last year, Ludvig Aberg became the first player to earn a PGA Tour card as a result of finishing first in the PGA Tour U rankings. He won the RSM Classic to conclude the FedEx Cup Fall last month.

Now, more players are going to have opportunities to earn their cards other ways.

PGA Tour Americas merges Latinoamerica and Canada tours, aims to create a more efficient, competitive pathway for players

Beginning in February 2024, the two third-level tours will merge under one umbrella.

Goodbye PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, hello PGA Tour Americas.

Beginning in February 2024, the two third-level tours will merge under one umbrella as the PGA Tour continues to grow and develop its product. The restructure will aim to create a more efficient and competitive pathway for players looking to take the next step in their professional golf careers.

PGA Tour Americas will hold 16 events across Latin America, Canada and the United States from February-September, with up to 15 Korn Ferry Tour cards available, as well as numerous exemptions to various stages of PGA Tour Q-School.

“As we build on the rich golf history across Latin America and Canada, we are thrilled about PGA Tour Americas and the role this tour will play in preparing players for the next step in their professional golf journey,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin.

So how will it all work?

Schedule

The full 2024 PGA Tour Americas schedule will be announced in September. Finalized details regarding eligibility, priority ranking, purses and points distribution will be announced closer to the inaugural event in February 2024. Here’s an outline:

  • The season begins in February with the Latin America Swing, which wraps in May.
  • Following that the PGA Tour Americas will host a mid-season Qualifying School and introduce a handful of PGA Tour University graduates.
  • The season will then continue with the North America Swing, where players will compete across Canada and the U.S. from June-September.

Eligibility for the Latin America Swing

Fields for the Latin America Swing (February-May 2024) will consist of 144 players. Those eligible to compete will include the top 60 players from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica points list from 2022-23 as well as the top 60 players on the PGA Tour Canada points list from 2023. Players can also qualify via the following routes (priority ranking to be announced):

  • 2023 PGA Tour Q-School
  • Latinoamerica Dev Series
  • Highest finisher on the 2023 APGA season-long points list who is a member of the APGA Player Development program

Eligibility for the North America Swing

The top 60 players from the Latin America Swing will continue on to compete in the North America Swing (June-September 2024), where the field will increase to 156 players. The top 50 from the PGA Tour Americas Q-School as well as Nos. 6-20 from PGA Tour University will also be eligible. Players can also qualify via the following routes (priority ranking to be announced):

  • Open qualifying and sponsor exemptions
  • Korn Ferry Tour
  • Additional finishers Latin America Swing / PGA Tour Americas Q-School

Performance benefits

The top 10 finishers on the season-long PGA Tour Americas points list will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership. Five conditional Korn Ferry Tour cards are available to the top two finishers in the Latin America Swing and the top three finishers from the North America Swing.

The top 10 finishers on the PGA Tour Americas points list, the top two from the Latin America Swing and the top three from in the North America Swing will all earn exemptions to the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

The following players will all earn exemptions to the Second Stage of PGA Tour Q-School:

  • Nos. 11–25 on the PGA Tour Americas points list
  • Nos. 3–10 from the Latin America Swing
  • Nos. 4–10 from the North America Swing.

All remaining PGA Tour Americas members will earn exemptions to the First Stage of Q-School.

Why it makes sense

The Latinoamerica and Canada tours were essentially doing the same thing on a different schedule from two tours it was supposed to be feeding, the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour.

Aside from streamlining a confusing pathway to the Tour, the merge will also put all three levels – PGA Tour Americas, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour – on the same operating schedule in a January–September/October window. From October–December, most PGA Tour players will compete in the fall series. Everyone else will enter Q-School to play for status and exemptions.

More benefits for solid play and an easier to understand system are improvements for both fans and the players. Time will only tell if this was the right move for the Tour, but in theory, it checks out.

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