The Champions Tour returns to Canada for the first time since 2002 with an event in Montreal at Laval sur le Lac, according to multiple sources. The event will be put on by Synchro Sports, sources say, the Montreal sports events agency that runs the Canadian Tour’s Montreal Open. The firm has been aggressive in its promotion of the Canadian Tour event, including bringing in Jean Van de Velde a few years back, as well as John Daly and Hank Haney in recent years. The event was considered one of the stronger on the Canadian Tour.
Sources say the event will run in early July at Montreal’s presigious Laval sur le Lac club, which has recently been rumored as a potential host site for the Canadian Open. Regulars on the Champions Tour include Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara, Ben Crenshaw and newbies like Fred Couples. A formal announcement had been expected, but will likely come next week, sources say. Lots of government cash in this one, I’m hearing, likely all provincial cash. I wonder how having Couples in town qualifies as a cultural event….
The question is whether anyone cares. Quebec has been a big supporter of pro tournaments when they are played in the province, but the senior tour in Canada died without much fuss, and the RCGA had little interest in trying to relaunch the event. This latest incarnation of the senior tour in Canada is being done without the RCGA, as far as I can tell. And can anyone honestly say they’ve watched an entire senior Champions Tour event in recent years? I know I can’t.
This also explains why the Montreal event disappeared from the Canadian Tour’s schedule. Anyone notice the Canadian Tour still hasn’t announced courses for seven of its events?
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
Why the hate for Couples. Have never seen you post anything positive about him.
Laval sur le Lac…… nope, that fell through a while back. Give ClubLink a call. This event will be a huge success.
I have no feeling about Fred Couples….
Robert . . . . Do you think the Gretzky event at Georgian Bay/Lora Bay for the Nationwide Tour will last longer than it’s original three-year contract . . . . I’m guess this is the last year for it . . . . . the RCGA also doesn’t have anything to do with that . . . minor league events like Champions Tour and Nationwide are hard sells and Canadian Tour is even further down the food chain.
The Champions Tour is certainly a far more appealing product than it was 10 years ago with numerous big names joining the Tour…and may be a great fit for a market like Montreal…just waiting to hear more about this interesting story….
Judging from the number of errors in this breaking story (which Mario Brisebois in Montreal actually broke today), RT’s sources might want to find a new line of work. Laval sur le Lac? These sources have apparently been out of the loop for months now.
The organizers have confirmed the event through e-mail (not that they intended to, but that’s what they’ve done). If it isn’t Laval, I’d be betting on Illesmere, but sources said Laval.
I can’t find Brisebois’ article or reference to this — Sylvain, can you point it out to me?
The date seems right — nothing on the schedule for the Champions TOur at that point.
Illesmere…… nope and it aint Val des Lacs.