By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open announced for June 2018

Jan 30, 2018 | 12:21 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada officially announced on Wednesday that a new event known as the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open will be taking place at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort as part of a multi-year agreement starting in 2018.

The 156-player event with a $200,000 purse will take place June 18-24 as the fourth event of the 2018 schedule.

Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday says they’re thrilled to be adding the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open to the Mackenzie Tour schedule and are elated about the opportunity to play an event in Lethbridge.

“Lethbridge has everything we’re looking for in establishing new tournaments. It’s got a really good golf course, and a community that as we’ve learned while being here, tends to rally around events like this,” Monday said.

He says with a lot of enthusiasm around golf in the city, a solid volunteer base here, and a solid sponsorship base as well everything lined up to make this possible.

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“Now it’s incumbent on us to work with the local team and pull all those pieces together, but the pieces are clearly there to make this a very successful event,” he continued. “In our eyes a successful event has two things. First that it’s a good competition which is exciting and fun to watch for people in the community, and the other piece, more importantly, is having a lasting impact both through the economic side and the charitable side.”

Paradise Canyon, a 6,810-yard Bill Newis design, previously hosted the 2008 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which featured future PGA TOUR players Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Ben Silverman and Corey Conners in the field.

Paradise Canyon Owner and General Manager Ron Sakamoto says this is going to be a tremendous event for Lethbridge.

“We’ve been working on this for two years, and we’re all excited to see the PGA Tour Canada in our backyard. The players that will be coming to participate are incredible athletes, and while it’s great to watch on TV, it’s a whole different experience live,” Sakamoto said.
Sakamoto decided to waive the fees at the course for the week of the event, further contributing to its success.

“Everybody’s gotta chip in, right? The city did their part, and so did we. It’s pretty costly event, I mean there’s $200,000 that you have to pay the players. If you don’t work together, it’s not going to happen,” Sakamoto stated.

“I don’t know how many tickets they’re going to sell, but I know it’s going to be very reasonable,” Sakamoto continued. “That way the fans can come, young people can come, we just have to figure out how many people we can get down here.”

An event like the Mackenzie Tour coming to town will also have an indirect financial impact at places around Lethbridge.

“They say 150 players playing, but there’s 350 players that are going to come. Then they bring their caddies with them, their families as well, and that’s not even mentioning the tourists who are going to come to watch. I think Jeff [Monday] said every tournament sees between $3-$5 million in spinoff, so to be able to help do that is fantastic,” Sakamoto added.

Monday clarified the financials, saying they’ve had STEAM studies done, across a number of events that showed a range from 2.4-million to 4.2-million.

The Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open’s official charitable partner will be Lethbridge Family Services, the organization that helps improve the well-being and quality of life for individuals and families in Southwestern Alberta.

The event’s net proceeds will go towards helping families in need.

Organizers also said they’re going to be looking for between 250-300 volunteers for the week of the event.

Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman called the event another opportunity for Lethbridge to be showcased to the world.

“Anyone watching the tournament will get to see everything the city has to offer, and for any tourists visiting for the first time they’ll be able to see it first hand,” Spearman said.

“It’s going to bring a week of excitement, whether it’s the Pro-Am, the women’s tournament or the main tournament on the weekend,” he continued. “But the biggest thing will be the experience of having the golfers and people associated with the event out in the community, so we’re very exciting to promote the sport of golf in our city and to host this event.”

The City of Lethbridge approved $750,000 over three years in support of the event last year.

“We’re spending city money on this, and the idea behind it is when we spend taxpayer’s money we look for events where the beneficiaries of that indirect economic impact will be taxpayers. People who operate businesses, hotels, and restaurants are going to see a mini-boom during that week in June so I think everyone’s a winner,” Spearman stated.

There will be a qualifying system to get to the tour, and six sponsor exemptions will be offered as well, so local players from Southern Alberta will have the chance to compete.

Since anyone can qualify, Spearman was asked whether he’d throw his hat in the ring but jokingly responded that he would be a real long shot.

“The nice thing is that young up and coming golfers from Lethbridge and around Southern Alberta will have a chance to qualify for the tournament and compete, and that’s really what it’s all about,” Spearman added.

The full 2018 Mackenzie Tour schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Mackenzie Tour is a series of tournaments played across Canada each summer, where the stars of tomorrow get their start on the path to the PGA TOUR.