WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell says he has lost the motivation to play top-level golf and is quitting to concentrate on teaching.

The 46-year-old New Zealander, who won the Open at Pinehurst in 2005, told New Zealand’s Radio Sport on Saturday that retiring was a hard decision but “I have no complaints to walk away from the game that has given me such a wonderful life.”

Campbell lives in Malaga, Spain where he runs a golf academy and has plans to establish others in Asia and New Zealand. He told Radio Sport he hopes to play senior tournaments when he becomes eligible in four years’ time.

He said friends of the same age “are still out there competing … but right now I have got no motivation to play.”

Campbell won the U.S. Open during a breakout year in 2005 in which he also won the World Matchplay Championships at Wentworth.

He only made the open field through European sectional qualifying, needing a birdie on the last hole of the qualifying tournament to secure his place. Campbell started the last round four strokes behind defending champion Retief Goosen and shot 69 in his final round for an even-par total of 280, winning by two strokes from Tiger Woods.

He was only the second New Zealander to win a major after Bob Charles, who won the 1963 British Open.

“Obviously (winning the Open) 10 years ago was something special for me and for the country and for golf itself,” Campbell said. “I fulfilled one of my dreams to win a major and it was fantastic.

“But as everyone knows, it has been well documented, my career since then hasn’t been great. But if I walk away from the game right now I could be very proud of my achievements.”

Campbell said injuries had hampered his form and his recent divorce had caused him to reassess his priorities.

“It gave me time to reflect on my career and I decided to put golf on the backburner right now and just focus on other things,” he said. “I have had a wonderful, fabulous career over the last 20 years as a professional golfer.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Pete Brown, the first black player to win a PGA Tour event, died Friday. He was 80.

PGA Tour officials say Brown died in Augusta. Details on the cause of death weren’t immediately available.

Brown won the 1964 Waco Turner Open in Burneyville, Oklahoma, and the 1970 Andy Williams-San Diego Open.

A native of Port Gibson, Mississippi, Brown survived polio as a child and learned to play golf in Jackson, Mississippi, after first working as a caddie. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem called Brown a gentleman and a credit to the game.

Brown joined the tour in 1963, two years after Charlie Sifford broke the color barrier, and played until 1978.

IRVING, Texas – Lydia Ko sent her caddie up a pine tree behind the 14th green – and tumbled down the leaderboard Thursday in the North Texas Shootout.

Lydia Ko had a triple bogey after losing a ball in the tree and dropped three more strokes on the next two holes Thursday to put her career-long LPGA Tour cuts streak in jeopardy.

“I would never have imagined for it to be stuck up there,” Ko said.

Coming off a victory Sunday in California in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, Ko finished with a 4-over 75 to fall nine strokes behind leaders Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr and Sydnee Michaels.

On the par-4 14th, Ko’s second shot flew past the green and behind the tree. The top-ranked New Zealander tried to go over the tree coming back, but failed to clear it. She was given a penalty drop beneath the tree for an unplayable lie even though caddie Jason Hamilton was unable to identify the ball.

“You just get those days where things that you least expect happen,” Ko said. “It’s good to know my caddie is always there to do what’s best for me. I didn’t know he was that good climbing trees.”

Said Hamilton: “Not being able to see it from the ground, I felt I better get up there.”

The 18-year-old Ko followed the triple bogey with a double bogey after hitting into the water on the par-4 15th and lost another stroke with a bogey on the par-4 16th.

Ko was tied for 117th in the 144-player field that will be cut to the top 70 and ties after the second round and to the top 50 and ties after the third. She has made the 36-hole cuts in all 50 of her tour starts.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to pull off something amazing,” Ko said.

Ko said Wednesday that she will donate her earnings to the earthquake relief effort in Nepal. She has two LPGA Tour victories this year and leads the money list with $908,810.

The 54-year-old Inkster also shared the first-round lead last week in California and ended up tying for 15th. She won the last of her 31 tour titles in 2006.

“Hopefully, I can build on this,” Inkster said. “I’m not really looking forward to winning. I mean, as (Jack) Nicklaus said, `I’ve played good at first rounds and really haven’t played good my second rounds.'”

Kerr won the Kia Classic in late March for her 17th tour victory.

Kerr and Michaels each had only 24 putts.

“The greens are really good here,” Kerr said. “So, if you hit the greens, even if you have a little longer than you wanted with your shot, you have some opportunities. So, it was a good day for me.”

Fort Worth resident Angela Stanford was a stroke back at 67 along with Lexi Thompson, Natalie Gulbis, Maria Hernandez, Ryann O’Toole, Karine Icher, Sandra Gal, Gerina Piller, Wei-Ling Hsu and Alena Sharp.

Michelle Wie topped the group at 68.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis opened with a 69 in her home-state event.

After qualifying on Monday, Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson finished at -2. Rebecca Lee-Bentham carded a 4-over 75 on the day while fellow Canadians Sue Kim and Jennifer Kirby opened at +5.

The Canadian golf community has spoken and the team at Golf Canada has listened. Golf enthusiasts, fans, players and members have wanted a more interactive and intuitive online experience and that appetite for change has resulted in the evolution of Golf Canada’s website – golfcanada.ca.

The change offers enhanced accessibility within a responsively-designed, mobile-friendly interface which adapts to display in a manner tailored to your viewing device – be it your desktop, tablet or smart phone.

The re-envisioned golfcanada.ca being launched today is just one aspect of a larger project taking place across all Golf Canada digital touch points. Earlier this spring, we launched a completely redesigned Golf Canada mobile app to help members track their Official Golf Canada Handicap Factor^®. The new app – available for free on iOS and Android devices – offers a new user-friendly interface that makes posting scores and tracking game statistics easier.

The new golfcanada.ca presents a sleek and clean interface while maintaining many of our audience-favourite features from the previous site, including:

• in-depth information and resources to service Golf Canada members and member clubs
• up-to-date results from various professional tours and amateur events
• the latest news from around the golfing world
• insights into Canadian golf from experts and industry leaders
• information on Canada’s national golf teams and the rising stars of Canadian golf
• all the happenings from Canada’s national amateur championships, as well as the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

One goal of the redesign was to bring content and functions most often sought by our visitors to the forefront. A detailed analysis of site analytics helped identify these items and guided the design decisions in developing the new interface. Buttons to post scores, verify handicap factors and look up courses have been placed front and centre to allow members to quickly access these key resources. Before entering the details of their rounds, members will need to login – which can be done through the Post a Score button or via the Login button, which remains situated in the top right corner.

After logging in, members will find a new personalized Members area which contains detailed records of their past performances and their most recent statistics.

On the homepage, a quick scroll down reveals a revamped News interface which now houses information from across the golf landscape, all available at a glance. From blogs to features; golf insider insights to national team updates; quick words from the road to all the latest in equipment – everything you need to know about the game will be available in a single area.

All results – professional tours, events with Team Canada athletes and national amateur championships – will still be readily available on the main page. Scrolling down past the news will bring you to the results area.

Members of Canada’s national amateur, development and young pro squads will be featured in a random rotation to allow users to meet the newest additions to Team Canada and to easily find information about the athletes they already know.

A comprehensive menu can be accessed through a dropdown interface in the top left corner. For ease of reference, a full site map is available at the bottom of the page.

It has been said that a website is never done and this holds true for the new golfcanada.ca. While the look and feel will remain, we will continue to review and revise as we stay up–to-date with the changing needs of Canada’s golfing community. One feature we will be launching shortly is a completely revamped Course Lookup tool that will display detailed information on courses and clubs across the country, powered by Golf Canada’s comprehensive CRM database.

We are excited to launch our new website and we want to hear from you! Please let us know what you think of the new golfcanada.ca and we’ll continue to build the site together.

You can contact us via:

Email: members@golfcanada.ca
Phone: 1-800-263-0009 ext. 399
Twitter: @thegolfcanada
Facebook: facebook.com/thegolfcanada

SAN FRANCISCO – Masters champion Jordan Spieth had to play good golf for an easy time Wednesday in the Match Play Championship. Rory McIlroy made only one birdie and had an even easier time against Jason Dufner.

Unlike last year, it only meant that they were off to a good start in a tournament that won’t have any clarity until players start packing their bags.

Spieth made seven birdies, including a 7-iron to 4 feet on the par-3 13th for some breathing room, and closed out Mikko Ilonen on the 16th hole at TPC Harding Park. McIlroy made birdie on the opening hole and let Dufner do the rest, which was not much at all. The former PGA champion made five bogeys and lost on the 14th hole.

“Match play, you just need to beat the person that’s in front of you, and I did that today,” McIlroy said. “Now move on tomorrow.”

As usual, plenty of big names lost early.

Defending champion Jason Day struggled off the tee and lost to Charley Hoffman. Justin Rose lost to Mark Leishman. Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker lost in extra holes. Matt Kuchar lost when Ben Martin made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole and they matched pars on the 18th.

Instead of going home, they have some hope.

The format this year is 16 four-man groups in round-robin play, with the winner of each group advancing to the round of 16 on the weekend. Even without single elimination, one aspect of this World Golf Championship hasn’t changed. There was plenty of agitation.

“Nobody wants to lose,” Kuchar said. “I can assure you of that.”

Kuchar never trailed in his match, and they were all square going to the long par-3 17th. Martin hit a hybrid into a cool breeze from about 235 yards that rolled toward the hole and swirled around the cup before dropping for an ace.

“I’d say under the circumstances, that’s probably the best shot I’ve ever hit,” Martin said.

He tried to keep his emotions guarded, knowing there was still a par 5 to play. Kuchar missed a 5-foot birdie putt that would have extended the match.

The 32 losers still had two more matches, but Thursday’s round became even more critical. It’s possible they can be eliminated Thursday. It’s possible their Friday match will be meaningless. And yet all of them can still advance, although they will need some help.

“A lot has to work out now,” Kuchar said.

Day never trailed over the final 53 holes when he won the single-elimination version last year in Arizona. The Australian fell behind with a bogey on the fourth hole against Hoffman, and this time he never caught up. And now, he has some catching up to do.

“Obviously, I need to go out there and win the next two,” Day said. “And whatever happens, happens. If I sneak through, I sneak through. If not, then it’s my own fault for losing. It’s a different format, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes the next couple of days.”

Spieth played as though nothing had changed from a year ago. He told caddie Michael Greller not to check the painted dots on the greens that would indicate the pin positions for the Thursday rounds.

“I wanted us to look at it like it was win or go home,” Spieth said. “I think I did see him checking on a couple of them. But I wanted that to be our mindset. There’s going to be a lot of 2-1 scenarios in each group, so it’s best not to worry about anything else.”

Spieth had few worries on a mild day of sunshine. He took only eight putts through six holes and building a quick lead. Ilonen holed a bunker shot on the par-3 ninth, and then rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 11 to get to within one shot. Momentum was on his side.

Spieth hit wedge just over a bunker to 4 feet for birdie, and then his 7-iron had just enough to finish pin-high next to the hole at the back of the 13th green.

“I played solid,” Spieth said. “I think I made six birdies and a bogey? I’d take that the rest of the week.”

Rose, coming off a victory Sunday in New Orleans, still wasn’t sure what to think about the new format.

“Maybe I’d rather go home,” he said. “I don’t feel very hopeful right now, but I have a shot. So I guess that’s a good thing.”

In other matches:

– Hunter Mahan, one of five past champions in the field, had the shortest day in his 7-and-6 win over Stephen Gallacher of Scotland.

– Adam Scott had a birdie on the first hole and not another one the rest of the way. Francesco Molinari, who got into the field when Tim Clark chose not to play because of injury, beat Scott on the 14th hole.

– Only four of 19 holes were halved between Walker and Gary Woodland. Walker sent it to extra holes with a birdie on the 18th, only for Woodland to win with a birdie on the next hole, the par-5 first.

IRVING, Texas – Lydia Ko is donating her earnings this week in the LPGA Tour’s North Texas Shootout to the earthquake relief effort in Nepal.

“We had a big one in New Zealand, too, a couple years ago, and it affected a lot of people,” Ko said Wednesday “Natural disasters you can’t do much about. Sometimes it’s hard to be prepared for it, so I thought, `Those people there, nice people and very innocent.’ So, I wanted to give this tournament’s earnings and donate it to them.”

The 18-year-old Ko, ranked No. 1 in the world, successfully defended her title Sunday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in California and leads the tour’s money list with $908,810. The winner this week will earn $195,000 from the $1.3 million purse.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson is off to a great start since turning pro a few months ago.

The 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., is coming off a third-place finish at her second LPGA Tour event this season and will be brimming with confidence at this week’s stop in Irving, Tex. Henderson said Wednesday she’s feeling really good about her game and is excited about her future at this level.

“I think the possibilities are endless,” Henderson said on a conference call. “I just have to go out there, everything is meant to happen for a reason. Hopefully good things will happen.”

Henderson earned US$132,721 for her result at last week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. She opened the season in early February by finishing tied for 33rd at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Next up is an appearance at this week’s $1.3-million Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club. She won a playoff Tuesday to secure the second qualifying spot.

“This year is a learning experience year for me,” Henderson said. “It’s my first year as a pro and I’m sort of on a mixture of tours.

“So when I have the an opportunity to play an LPGA event, I definitely want to take advantage of it and play the best that I can.”

Henderson already has sponsor’s exemptions to participate in the May 29-31 Shop-Rite LPGA Classic and the June 4-7 Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ont.

She hopes to use the maximum six exemptions she’s allowed this season and also qualify for other tournaments through the summer. Playing for Canada at this summer’s Pan Am Games in Toronto is also a possibility.

It has been a hectic start to the season, but Henderson is used to the grind.

“I think travelling as an amateur on the international stage the last couple of years has really prepared me for this year because it has been a ton of travel,” Henderson said. “Playing not on one tour in particular, but travelling around LPGA, Symetra and mini-tour stuff, I’ve been trying to take advantage of as many opportunities to play as I can and to play well when I do get those opportunities.

“Like I say, it has been a ton of travel but I’m really enjoying it and I don’t regret my decision (to turn pro) one bit.”

Henderson, who won three times on the Canadian Women’s Tour as an amateur and was a runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, has already gained valuable experience in the early going this season. Playing in the final group at a pro event will only serve her well going forward, even if she came just short of her first LPGA Tour victory.

“Playing on Saturday, I was very, very comfortable, which I felt was a really good thing,” she said. “I didn’t have many nerves. I was really focused and ready to go. Sunday was a little bit different. I was a little more nervous and a couple shots just weren’t what I was really looking for.

“But I think feeling the way I did Saturday is a really good sign for future final groups and (playing) on the weekend.”

With two new courses opening this summer, as well as, the returns of the popular Web.com Tour Nova Scotia Open and the RBC Canada Cup to Halifax and the captivating PGA Tour Canada Cape Breton Celtic Classic, Nova Scotia seems like the perfect destination to tee up a golf vacation – and let’s not forget to raise a toast to Fortress Rum, which is now being aged in oak barrels at the Fortress of Louisbourg!

We probably could have waited until this summer for a family golf vacation to Canada’s East Coast, but as we packed the Toyota Highlander to the roof with three sets of golf clubs, baseball gloves, a football and bathing suits last August – Jenifer, Jacob and I knew our 12-night family escape would feel like a whirlwind adventure.

Our first stop was a friend’s home 15 minutes outside Fredericton and that’s where the golfing adventure began. Not sure why we had never played golf in a provincial park, but that’s where we headed – to Mactaquac Provincial Park Golf Course – a wonderful, par-72 from the blue tees, forested routing that stretches to 7,030 yards. We chose the whites at 6,430 yards. Surrounded by Mother Nature, the 18-hole layout is truly a beautiful walk in the park. Surprisingly, it was one of the top-two conditioned courses we played throughout the journey and for rates under $50 (depending on the time of day), the value is excellent. I’ll go back to try and break 80 after posting an 85 in that first encounter. The course, you’ll also want to play when passing through Fredericton is Kingswood, which has its own 7,000-yard routing designed by Graham Cooke, as well as, an award-winning nine-hole, par-3 course that’s entertaining for all – especially kids learning the game and don’t forget to drop by the 80,000 square-foot family entertainment center.

Our next stop took us to Fundy National Park Golf Course – a Stanley Thompson creation that has been on my bucket list for a couple of decades after playing his natural wonders at national parks in Banff, Jasper and Cape Breton. I know, it’s just nine holes, the yardage signs are in metres (and yards) and Parks Canada has paid little attention to it over the years, but for less than $20, Fundy National remains a gem and truly a special place for anyone who appreciates Thompson’s legacy across Canada; every hole is unique. It’s only 3,069 yards from the tips, but nearly a year later, I can still walk through all 41 shots I took that sunny morning. The original clubhouse overlooking nine green is padlocked shut, the bunkers are on the neglected side and the greens are shrinking, but the views from the tees are stunning and you can only wonder what would have been if they had let Thompson build the second nine he had designed. Away from the golf course, the park is filled with natural wonders and magnificent hiking trails, the highest tide changes in the world and an enlightening Dark Sky Preserve with millions of stars visible to the naked eye.

For our last round of golf in New Brunswick, we headed off to the four-diamond Algonquin Resort at St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea for two awesome nights following its $50 million renovation. With 125 years of history behind it, The Algonquin is easily one of the country’s signature hotels and its hospitable ambiance is magical. Whether taking a complimentary bike for a stroll into town and down to the local wharf to see the community of fishing boats, dropping by the local farmer’s market, enjoying an evening campfire with loaner guitars, building sand castles at the beach at Katy’s Cove overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay or sliding down the indoor pool slide – the Algonquin is a delightful destination unto itself.

Its neighbouring golf course – that goes by the same name – is a solid Tom McBroom design with some strong holes alongside the bay, but its fairway conditioning left something to be desired last summer; hopefully it will make a strong comeback for 2015 because it is worthy of a visit even at the full price of $85.

From New Brunswick, we popped across the Bay of Fundy to Digby, Nova Scotia for the second half of our journey via a foggy ferry ride. Digby is a quaint seaside town known as the home for giant scallops and another Thompson design at Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa. We didn’t stay at the resort because it was sold out, but there are a couple of smaller establishments in town that will do the trick for a night or two. For a course that measures less than 6,300 yards, the Pines has all the highlights of an original Thompson masterpiece with naturally rolling fairways, great views off the tees (especially on the par-3s), some wonderfully intricate greenside bunkering and a remarkable – and perhaps reachable – 278-yard par-4 that plays uphill to a green that’s protected by a bunker in the shape of a question mark. The only question is, are you willing to go for it? It is $73 full rate, but two can play with cart at twilight for $88 and that’s a steal.

From Digby, we headed to the South Shore for a couple of nights at White Point Beach Resort, which dates back to 1928 with a rugged nine-hole layout designed by none other than Donald Ross. It’s a struggling community golf course at its heart and remains partnered with the resort, although they don’t get a ton of tourist traffic – which is too bad. It’s a wonderful, timeless layout bordering the ocean and overlooking the one-kilometer white beach that leads to the resort’s main lodge – it really does feel like time has stood still for decades as you gaze out towards the Atlantic Ocean.

The iconic and historic resort that had been recently renewed after a major fire gutted the main lodge in 2011, reminded us of the cozy, comfort of Tigh Na Mara Seaside Spa Resort on Vancouver Island. Recreation is the name of the game here; although quite a few patrons donned wet suits to go surfing in the frigid waters, we regrettably passed on that. We opted for kayaking, the swimming pool, a games room and some awesome seafood in the main restaurant.

For our final round, we headed up to Bridgewater, an inland community not too far from historic towns like Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg, where the Bluenose II makes port. Here we found Osprey Ridge Golf Club, another intriguing Graham Cooke that seems to fly under the radar for some reason, but not sure why. While it would be a heck of a walk, especially on the back nine, what you’ll remember is a solid 6,600-yard course that is very playable from four sets of tees. There’s water on more than half the holes, lots of bunkers and the two finishing holes for each nine climb steadily uphill back to the clubhouse. For $32 to $53 dollars depending on the time of day, it was easily the best conditioned and best valued course we played!

As we drove through Halifax and started to the return journey, we made a brief stop at The Links of Brunello for a quick peak at the new Tom McBroom design that’s opening on June 15, 2015 and it looked amazing. The other new course opening in July is Cabot Cliffs, the sister course to Cabot Links. Both courses have captured the fancy of golfers around the world as the little town of Inverness is transformed into a mini Bandon Dunes. They are certainly the talk of Canadian golf and are about to take the world stage – it’s hard to imagine a better one-two punch!

A little quick math tells me I have now played 15 courses in Nova Scotia, eight in New Brunswick and another 10 on Prince Edward Island, but with two more now on my bucket list, it’s going to be difficult to resist the temptation of returning once again this summer for some great golf and a taste of that Fortress Rum.

Websites worth checking out:

• www.algonquinresort.com 
• www.cabotlinks.com
• www.digbypines.ca
• www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/FortressRum
• www.golfnb.ca
• www.golfnovascotia.com
• www.mactaquacgolfcourse.com/mactaquac-golf/
• www.novascotiaopen.com/
• www.ospreyridge.ca
• www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nb/fundy/activ/ete-summer/golf.aspx
• www.thelinksatbrunello.com
• www.whitepoint.com

IRVING, TX – Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson had little time to reflect on her third place finish at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic – a result that had Canadian golf fans glued to their television sets reeling with pride from coast-to-coast.

Just a few hours after recording her career best finish on the LPGA Tour, the Smiths Falls, Ont., native was on a plane leaving San Francisco, headed to Texas so she could attempt to “Monday qualify” for this week’s Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC.

“Yeah, it was a little bit crazy,” Henderson said. “We went straight to the airport Sunday night, and didn’t have a flight. We got one and it was delayed until 4 a.m., so we spent most of the night in the airport. We arrived here (at the golf course) just before 10 a.m. ‑ actually probably around 9 a.m. in the morning – and Brian, my caddie, went out and looked at the course a little bit, and I got some rest, and then was ready to play at 2 p.m.”

Despite the less than ideal travel arrangements, Henderson was 1-under thru 13 holes when her Monday qualifying round was suspended due to inclement weather at Las Colinas Country Club.

Henderson finished her round Tuesday at 1-under 70 to head into a four-person playoff. She sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the second hole to take the final qualifying spot.

“On the first playoff hole I gave myself a good look at birdie, was probably 15 feet straight up the hill,” she descibed. “I saw a little more break in it than it was, and then I was lucky. On the second playoff hole I was a foot away from where I was the previous time, so I knew the break a lot better and was able to make it.”

When asked about the wealth of encouragement she has received from her home country, Henderson reflected pensively on the state of golf in Canada. “The support back home is amazing. I think Canadian golf has been waiting for something. Mike Weir has definitely been a headliner, and there’s been a lot of other great players like Graham DeLaet and David Hearn and Brad Fritsch that have come up on the men’s side, and then of course Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, and a few other young pros that are starting to make their way onto the Tour now.

“But I think over the last couple years, the amateur teams have been playing really well. Last year, Corey Conners and I, we were both finalists in the U.S. Amateur, and that had only happened once before, and it was pretty cool. I think the interest in Canada is continuing to grow, and I think golf in Canada is growing pretty rapidly.”

Henderson will join fellow Canadians Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Alena Sharp, Jennifer Kirby and Sue Kim in the North Texas Shootout field.

Freedom 55 Financial’s impact on Canadian golf will expand in 2015 and beyond. In conjunction with their growing support for the game, the season-ending event on PGA TOUR Canada will have a new name and greater profile along with enhanced awards for the top Canadian players on TOUR.

The culminating event, where players will once again race for position on the Order of Merit to finish in The Five and chase for Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year, will now be known as the Freedom 55 Financial Championship with its $200,000 purse becoming the highest on TOUR. The extension will see the tournament – which is conducted in partnership with host organization Golf Canada – remain as the exciting capstone of the PGA TOUR Canada season through the 2020 season.

Freedom 55 Financial will enhance their support of Canada’s top young players by boosting prize money for Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year to $25,000 from $10,000, and increasing Canadian Player of the Week prize money to $2,500 from $1,500.

“The goals and dreams of Canadians are important to our organization,” says Mike Cunneen, Senior Vice-President, Freedom 55 Financial/Wealth & Estate Planning Group. “With events and partnerships like these, we can continue to inspire freedom, confidence and optimism for the future in so many young athletes.”

“Freedom 55 Financial has been a tremendous partner for the TOUR. This expansion of this partnership is indicative of their commitment and will enable us to further build the stature of the event, grow its impact in the community and provide an even greater opportunity for our players to achieve their dreams of making it to the PGA TOUR,” said PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday.

Last year’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship saw an exciting conclusion to the 2014 season, where Vancouver, British Columbia’s Ryan Williams took home his first PGA TOUR Canada win to also capture Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year honours.

“PGA TOUR Canada plays an important role in developing and showcasing this country’s best players and Freedom 55 Financial has been a driving force behind the TOUR’s success,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “The city of London has proven to be a terrific sports community and an ideal host for the TOUR’s marquee championship.”