From August 18 to 24, some of the next wave of PGA Tour stars – including defending champ Byron Scott of the U.S. – will converge on the venerable and city-owned Lakeview Golf Club for the second annual Jane Rogers Championship of Mississauga with a purse of $125,000.
Last year’s inaugural event ended in style, with California’s Scott carding a sizzling final day 63 to claim the $20,000 winner’s share, holding off a late charge by Oshawa’s Derek Gillespie.
An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 fans passed through the gates, and some $36,000 was raised for the event charities, the Trillium Health Centre Oncology Clinic, and the Colectoral Cancer Association of Canada. (The event is named after the late Jane Rogers, a Mississauga woman who raised money for the Trillium cancer clinic, while battling cancer herself. The tournament coordinator, the local Landmark Sport Group, donates all event management services and net proceeds raised to these two causes).
“Given the amount of time we had to put it together, I think we had a great number,” says Landmark’s Scott Rogers, son of Jane Rogers. “We only had two full months, after we got CPGT approval to host the event. It was a great event.”
Year two presents a fresh set of challenges, with the attendance goal set at 5,000 to 10,000 people. To that end, Landmark will be doing some “aggressive” advertising, starting three weeks beforehand, on Rogers Sportsnet, the Fan 590, and in The Mississauga News.
“We just want to see a good crowd – for the community, the golf course, and the overall health of the event,” says tournament director George Sourlis. “It’s difficult selling an event in the GTA – we’re the only GTA event on the Canadian Tour schedule. It’s hard to compete against the Canadian Open (a PGA Tour event returning to Glen Abbey, in Oakville, on July 21).”
This year they’re presenting Junior clinics, to help build up the awareness. On June 30, they did them at Mississauga’s BraeBen Golf Course, and Brampton Golf Club (hosted, respectively, by young touring pros Richard Scott (Canadian Tour), and David Hearn (Nationwide).
“It went well. As the tournament coordinators, it’s important to give back to the community and grow junior golf,” Sourlis says. “It was nice to see the junior kids out and so excited about golf. The pros signed autographs and hit some cool shots.”
A “great kickoff” and key fundraising component of this tourney is the Pro-Am, which goes on Tuesday, August 19. The entry fee is $2,500 per team of three, with the foursome rounded out by a pro. Participants will be treated to a day of world-class golf, lunch and dinner, plus gifts and prizes, and a silent auction benefitting the two charities.
According to Sourlis, by mid-July they had only five teams left to sign up.
“It’s a day we take very seriously, if we’re going to charge $2,500,” he relates.
“We do a very good job. There’s some very cool gifts for players, and at the end of the day cool prizes to win.”
Long regarded as one of the finest public courses in the country, Lakeview itself is a significant drawing card – a two-time host of the Canadian Open.
While it’s short by today’s tour standards, the par 70, 6,400-yard course’s cut was a respectable +3, and the winner finished at 16 under.
Said Elliott Kerr, president of Landmark Sports, and founder of the event:
“Believe me, Lakeview held up to all of these talented players. You see all of these 7,000-yard courses, and the winner is 20 under. It was world-class in every way.”
Rogers says the players “liked the overall change” of playing this parkland-style course – particularly the par 4, 454-yard 18th hole where the tee blocks are set way back and elevated, forcing them to work their drives around a row of trees.
“The guys on the tour love that hole,” he says. “It’s one of the toughest finishing holes they’ve played, without a doubt. It’s not a rollover hole.”
Then there’s rich history at Lakeview which played host to the Canadian Opens in 1923 and 1934, the last one won by the legendary Tommy Armour against a field including Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Lakeview also hosted the first Ontario Amateur in 1923.
Another factor in this tournament’s favour is Landmark’s reputation for hosting successful sporting events – most notably the annual Mississauga Marathon, which has developed into the GTA’s largest running event.
They currently stage the Jane Rogers Championship, the Mississauga Marathon, and the Labour Day Oakville Half Marathon. In the past they’ve done events like the Elvis Stojko Tour of Champions, the Fan Fest for the NHL All Star Game, and countless corporate golf events (like the Canadian Airlines corporate golf championships).
“What’s funny is, we represent athletes, so people tend to overlook we’re an events management company,” Sourlis says. “We’ve been putting on events for 20 years.”
Tournament chair Kerr says they “set the bar pretty high” for the inaugural tournament, but made it work with the help of sponsors, volunteers, the Lakeview grounds crew, and the City of Mississauga. He aims to make this the most desired tournament to watch on the Canadian tour.
“Our greatest challenge in year two is spreading the word about an event that any golf fan in any city would love to attend,” he added.
Rogers suggests, the quality of golf is not far off from the PGA Tour. Homebrews like Mike Weir, Dave Barr, Dan Halldorson and Ian Leggatt have starred on the Canadian Tour and used it as a stepping stone to getting their PGA Tour card.
In an unprecedented format, admission to the Jane Rogers Championship is free for students, children and seniors and just $10 a day for adults.
