GolfBC Group, Mackenzie Tour Agree to Multi-Year Extension of GolfBC Championship
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-06-18
By MACKENZIE TOUR
KELOWNA, British Columbia The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced that GolfBC Group has extended its title sponsorship of the GolfBC Championship. The tournament unveiled the multi-year agreement immediately after Jake Knapp won the fourth edition of the tournament, held at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club.
“We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement with the GolfBC Group to continue the GolfBC Championship here at Gallagher’s Canyon and we can’t thank the GolfBC Group enough for their continued support of golf in Canada,” said Scott Pritchard, Vice President of the Mackenzie Tour. “This event has quickly become one of the premier events on the Mackenzie Tour and we have been very impressed by the growth of the event in the community, in particular the $600,000 that has been raised for local charities in the Okanagan.”
Current Web.com Tour player Dan McCarthy won the inaugural event in 2016, one of his historic four wins on the Mackenzie Tour that season. Robby Shelton, who currently leads the Web.com Tour points list, won the following year. George Cunningham captured the 2018 GolfBC Championship, ensuring his promotion to the Web.com Tour, where he is currently ranked No. 35 in the points race.
“We are excited to extend GolfBC's commitment to host such a prestigious event in the Okanagan,” said Andy Hedley, Vice President of Golf Operations for GolfBC Group.
“Philanthropy is a large focus for our companies, and we are proud that with the support of GolfBC's charitable arm, the Chan Family Foundation, the GolfBC Championship has grown to be one of the most charitable events on the Mackenzie Tour," added Hedley.
Since 2016, the GolfBC Championship and the Chan Family Foundation have helped raise funds for the BC Cancer Foundation, where $500,000 of the $600,000 total has been directed. A portion of those funds were used this year to purchase a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner for the Okanagan Valley. It will be housed at BC Cancer – Kelowna, where construction is underway.
VMC Sports and Entertainment Corp., which acts as the host organization for the GolfBC Championship, will continue in that role under the leadership of Tournament Director Hugh Vassos.
“On behalf of the 300 volunteers who help to pull off this fantastic event on the Mackenzie Tour, we would like to thank GolfBC Group for agreeing to continue as the title sponsor,” said Vassos. “Everyone involved with the tournament has worked extremely hard to pull off what we think is the highlight of the summer in Kelowna. GolfBC Group’s continued support of the event will help us to keep elevating the stature of this tournament in the Okanagan Valley.”
The GolfBC Championship, the third stop on the BC Golf Swing, will be played again in June 2020, with exact dates set to be released when the Mackenzie Tour unveils its 2020 schedule at a later date.