A new major professional golf event has been announced by The Canadian Tour (www.cantour.com) for eastern Ontario commencing in 2012. The Great Waterway Classic is the name of the newly created golf tournament which will be part of the Canadian Professional Men’s Golf Tour, and it is the first professional golf tournament to be held outside of the National Capital region in eastern Ontario. It will have a four-year rotation at golf courses throughout eastern Ontario from 2012 to 2015.

PHOTO CREDIT - Evolution Golf

Cornwall - April 11, 2012 - A new major professional golf event has been announced by The Canadian Tour (www.cantour.com) for eastern Ontario commencing in 2012. The Great Waterway Classic (www.thegreatwaterwayclassic.ca) is the name of the newly created golf tournament which will be part of the Canadian Professional Men’s Golf Tour, and it is the first professional golf tournament to be held outside of the National Capital region in eastern Ontario. It will have a four-year rotation at golf courses throughout eastern Ontario from 2012 to 2015.

Commencing in 2012, the first tournament will be held at the Smuggler's Glen Golf Course (www.smugglersglen.com) in Gananoque, Ontario from September 3rd to 9th.

In 2013, the Upper Canada Golf Course (www.uppercanadagolf.com) in Morrisburg, Ontario will play host to the event, a course that has received a 4-star rating by Fodor’s Golf Digest’s Places to Play. The Upper Canada Golf Course was constructed in the 1960s, and has a reputation of being one of eastern Ontario’s elite golfing facilities. Two photographs accompany this article, the first is the sign at the entrance to the Upper Canada Golf Course, and at the end of the article is a view of the Upper Canada Golf Course from a distance across a waterway.

The 2014 tournament will be hosted by the Loyalist Country Golf Club (www.loyalistcc.com) in Bath, Ontario; and finally the 2015 event will be held at the Black Bear Ridge Golf Course (www.blackbearridge.ca) in Belleville, Ontario.

The Canadian Tour has partnered with the Regional Tourism Organization #9 known as the Great Waterway Region and Evolution Golf & Events Management Incorporated to bring the Canadian Tour to the eastern Ontario region beginning in September 2012.

Smuggler’s Glen will host the inaugural tournament this year, which will accommodate 156 players competing over 72 holes of stroke play for a purse of $150,000. Smuggler's Glen is a par 71 - 6,600 yard layout designed by Kingston native Boyd Barr.

The Great Waterway Classic Golf Tournament will be the last domestic Canadian Tour event of the season, and will include many of the top ranked professional golfers on the Canadian Tour.

The principle charity for The Great Waterway Classic will be the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. The UHKF will benefit from a full-field Charity Pro-Am that will be played at Smuggler's Glen on Tuesday, September 4th. The organizers of The Great Waterway Classic have also pledged to donate half of the gate receipts for the four days of the Canadian Tour event to this charity. Tickets for the tournament can be purchased online by visiting the GWC website: www.thegreatwaterwayclassic.ca.

Tournament management for the Great Waterway Classic will be provided by Evolution Golf & Event Management, a full-service event management company based in Brockville, Ontario. Evolution Golf was founded by Martin Noe, CEO; and David Dargie, Director of Tournament Development to bring a series of Canadian Tour events to eastern Ontario.

For more information about The Great Waterway Classic please call or email:
David P. Dargie david@evolutiongolf.net
Director of Tournament Development - Evolution Golf and Event Management Inc.
Office Telephone: 1-855-317-7500

“Chase The Dream” Qualifying Tournaments:
Evolution Golf is also offering local players an opportunity to qualify for The Great Waterway Classic through a series of "Chase the Dream" events in which the low four scores from each event will qualify those golfers to play in a final round at Smuggler's Glen on August 26th. The first three golfers in that late August competition will then be fully exempted for The Great Waterway Classic. Upper Canada Golf Course will host the first in the series of "Chase the Dream" events on Sunday, June 3rd. Spectators are welcome.

Evolution Golf and Event Management Incorporated will be coming to area courses from April 10 to 19 to sign up players for the company's Chase the Dream qualifying tournaments.

The dates for these events are:
-April 10 at eQuinelle Golf Club.
- April 11 at Loyalist Country Club.
- April 16 at Smuggler's Glen.
- April 17 at Brockville Country Club.
-April 19 at Upper Canada Golf Course.
NOTE: All of the events will be held between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The top four finishers in this series of Chase the Dream events, which will be held across eastern Ontario and northern New York State, will win the right to play for three exemptions into The Great Waterway Classic scheduled for Smuggler's Glen Golf Course from September 3 to 9.

The Great Waterway Classic tournament director David Dargie, Evolution Golf CEO Martin Noe, and Chase the Dream Director Oliver Noe will be at these courses to register players for the tournament, do interviews for their own website (www.thegreatwaterwayclassic.ca), and explain more about the Canadian Tour event that is being sponsored by The Great Waterway Ontario Tourism Region.

There will be an opportunity for anyone in attendance to register his or her name in the Stay and Play contest that will be drawn at the final Chase the Dream event at Smuggler's Glen.

One lucky entrant will win a great prize package that includes two nights of accommodations for the winner and two friends at the Glen House Resort, VIP tickets to the weekend rounds of The Great Waterway Classic, an invitation to the Champion's Dinner on September 9, and a round of golf at Smuggler's Glen with the Canadian Rookie of the Year.

The tournament committee of The Great Waterway Classic is also inviting anyone who wishes to volunteer or caddy during the September 3 to 9 Canadian Tour event to attend one of these Chase the Dream registration events.

“These Chase the Dream registration evenings are a great opportunity for local golfers to learn more about the inaugural Great Waterway Classic,” said David Dargie. “We will also be able to talk with those players who want to play with the pros and enter the Chase the Dream qualifying tournaments, as well as register volunteers and caddies for the September tournament.”

For more details: www.thegreatwaterwayclassic.ca.
For tournament ticket information: www.executivegolf.ca.

Sign at the entrance to Upper Canada Golf Course - Photo Credit: Calvin Hanson

A view of the Upper Canada Golf Course from a distance across a waterway - Photo Credit: Calvin Hanson