Go pro through the Canadian Tour
The Canadian Tour acts as a stepping stone to golfers aiming for the PGA circuit
Canadian golfers dreaming of getting onto the PGA Tour can develop their game through the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.
But getting in isn't easy.
The CPGT Fall Qualifying School was recently held in Burlington, Ontario, at the Hidden Lakes Golf Course where Swedish native Tobias Rosendahl took the top spot.
Following up behind him was Matt Hoffman, a Canadian from Thornhill, Ontario, who held a two-stroke lead over the third place finisher, fellow Canadian Robbie Greenwell.
The CPGT, also known as the Canadian Tour, has rigorous standards and benchmarks players must meet in order to be eligible to qualify for the Tour tournament circuit, according to Bram Cotton, manager of marketing and communications for the organization.
For starters, golfers must prove they have a handicap of less than four, and they need to have two letters of recommendation from golf pros—either CPGA class A pros, USGA class A pros or current or former CPGT or PGA Tour members.
"We've had recommendations come in from past US Open winners and past Masters champions and things like that for young players they know," Cotton said.
The CPGT also asks for proof of scores from any pro or pro-amateur events played by prospective Tour players.
Once all the criteria is met, golfers can enter into qualifying rounds, called "Monday qualifiers" because they're usually held the Monday before tournaments.
Based on factors like tournament score results and cash winnings, players can move up and down a list that separates the exempt golfers—players who aren't required to qualify for tournaments, and non-exempt—players who aren't necessarily guaranteed a spot.
"So the key, for a young non-exempt player, is to get into as many events as they can, whether through Monday qualifying or finding a field that perhaps isn't as full and making the cut. It's all about how you play," said Cotton.
But finishing within the top 10 per cent in the qualifying school is a sure-fire way to gain exempt and non-exempt status on the Tour.
At a certain point in the season, there is a reshuffle in the priority list of exempt and non exempt golfers. Players will get a higher or lower status depending on their tournament results.
"The best way for players to gain status on the Canadian Tour is to go through our qualifying schools," Cotton said.
The Tour holds three qualifying schools over the year as well as 14 to 16 tournaments, depending on sponsorships, across Canada as well as in the U.S. and Latin America.
Canadian Tour alumni include Steve Stricker, Mike Wier, Jeff Quinney and Dan Haldersen to name a few, and former Canadian Tour members have gone on to the PGA to win major titles like the U.S. Open, the British Open and the Masters.
"We're a development tour and our goal is to develop players for the PGA Tour. We attract top prospects from around the world who come to Canada to play," said Cotton.