The Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada never was able to play any of its 2020 season as complications at the Canada-U.S. border caused by COVID-19 prohibited the tour from playing its eighth season.
Even with that setback, the Mackenzie Tour is preparing for its return to competition in 2021, announcing Friday its qualifying tournaments that will fill out the membership roster for the upcoming season.
The Mackenzie Tour plans to open registration for its qualifying tournaments on January 18, with six qualifiers set for the U.S., and one in Courtenay, B.C., in late-April.
Players can register here.
Although the Canadian border is currently closed to non-essential travel, the tour will conduct qualifying tournaments now in order to prepare for the potential lifting of this restriction prior to the traditional late-May start to the season.
“We can only go forward with a 2021 season if we complete all our qualifying tournaments. Because the bulk of those are held in the U.S., where permitted, we will proceed with these tournaments in a safe and responsible manner,” said executive director Scott Pritchard.
“Once those tournaments are completed and we have a membership, we will be in a position to conduct a season when we are given the go-ahead from the various health authorities with which we are in discussion,” he said.
Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 season, the Mackenzie Tour held three qualifying tournaments. Those players’ memberships are still intact.
“We will absolutely honour the status of all the players who played in our qualifying tournaments in Texas, Florida and Alabama a year ago. Their statuses will carry over to this upcoming season, and we will see additional members join the ranks at our 2021 qualifying tournaments,” said Pritchard.
The first qualifying tournament will be February 23-26 at The Club at Weston Hills in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., suburb of Weston.
The following week, the tour moves northwest to Howey-in-the-Hills near Tampa and Mission Inn Resort and Club for the tournament set for March 2-5.
The following week, the tour returns to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Springs in Dothan, Ala., March 9-12.
After a one-week break, the fourth qualifying tournament takes place in San Jacinto, Calif., at Soboba Springs Golf Course, March 23-26.
The next week, March 30-April 2, the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Az., is the site. Between April 6-9, players will compete at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.
The last of the Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournaments is May 24-27 at Crown Isle Resort in Courtenay, B.C., if government restrictions are lifted. Each qualifying tournament is 72-hole medal play contested over four days.
The tour is planning to play its official season from late-May to mid-September and will announce specific dates and sites in the near future.
