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The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e s d a y S e p te m b e r 3, 2003 - B1 Next year's 100th anniversary is at Glen Abbey By Norm Nelson BEAVER SPO R TS EDITOR Barrie Erskine · O akville Beaver M ike W eir, cau g h t in actio n a t the 1999 Bell C a n a d ia n O p en a t G len Abbey, is b ack fo r his 12th stra ig h t O pen (13 in to tal) an d h e 's getting better. G len A bbey h as h ad his n u m b er m ost years, only m aking the cut one out o f 10 tim es (in his last ap p e a ra n ce th e re in 2000 w here he finished 70th). B ut he was 34th at Royal M o n treal in 2001 and 22nd last y e a r a t A ngus G len. It's interesting to find out who finds the Bell Canadian Open interesting. Canadians do because it's our venerable long running national championship. No doubt, we will watch it on CTV in great numbers, espe cially if Mike Weir or another Canadian can contend. As usual, the local fans find it interesting, and will again flock to Canada's only PGA Tour stop which is under way all this week at nearby Royal Hamilton Golf Club in Ancaster. As of our press deadline, the four-day tournament only had single day tickets remaining for Thursday's opening round with Friday through Sunday's rounds sold out. Oakville residents find it interesting, because of its long and continuing association with our town. And, in fact, that association will continue next year when the 2004 Bell Canadian Open will celebrate its 100th anniversary at its old home at the Glen Abbey Golf Course, September 6 - 12. Glen Abbey was more or less the permanent home from 1977 through to 2000, hosting it in 22 of those 24 years. Then, however, in a policy shift, the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) sold Glen Abbey to ClubLink and decided to take the Bell Canadian Open on the road again. It was at Royal Montreal in 2001 and at Angus Glen in 2002. The future schedule has a trip out west to Vancouver in 2005, back to Quebec for 2006 and back to Angus Glen in Markham for 2007. But to paraphrase MacArthur, to Glen Abbey it will return. Part of the deal of ClubLink taking over Glen Abbey is that the Bell Canadian Open would be returned to its Glen Abbey home a minimum of six times in a two decade period, with three of those appearances now spo ken for (99,00 and 04). In the meantime. Glen Abbey is still home to the RCGA national headquarters along with Canada's Golf Hall of Fame. And the course is still operat ed by ClubLink as Canada's pre mier pay-as-you-play public golf course, with duffers still able to try and emulate Tiger Woods' shot of the year on the 18th hole at the 2000 Bell Canadian Open. The interest of the actual PGA Tour professionals them selves in the Bell Canadian Open has varied considerably over the years. Being the third longest run ning national championship in the world, the history is rich, and it was at one time consid ered the fifth major. Just about all the great golfers that have ever played the game, have played the Canadian Open. A growing trend, at this point, however, is that not enough of the great golfers are showing up in any given year. And this year is such a year. Luckily, for the RCGA, Mike Weir is coming back as he always does. Only this year, he is really canying star power, with three wins this year, includ ing the celebrated Masters. He's been top-five all year. But the only other golfer in the top 15 to join him is third ranked Vijay Singh. Then there's only one other top-20 golfer in the field -- Fred Funk at 16. Charles Howell is at 22. Of the top 50 golfers, only 17 are on hand. There seems to be a spike of interest for those fighting to be top-30 which carries with it an invite to the season ending PGA Tour championship featuring the top 30 players. In the 10 posi tions from 25 through to 34, only three are missing, includ ing, unfortunately. Phil Mickelson (29). Not surprisingly, the absolute peak of interest among PGA Tour professionals centers around next year's cut-off line of 125 for fully exempt Tour cards. In the 28 positions from 116 through to 143, only five are unaccounted for. CANADELv) On Sale Now! ( ) ( ? / / < r< f a r / / . //( ? < /< ' SOLID W O O D (jfm c e o f · Style · Size · Finish · B a r Stools · Counter Stools · Bars Women's H eavenly Bodies LPGA............ · Tables · Chairs · Buffet & Hutches · Corner Cabinets · Servers FREE Lazy Susan with Every Set Purchased * Prices include C?ST ------------------- - { ( / n i t e c / c 7 7 /? ie (9 n /i/ ------------------ Ashit'orfh....... Adidas......... Arrow.......... A d id a s ............ Greg Norman ... Ashworth ......... Hflggar.............. N ik e ............. i PGA T o u r..... Gear for Sport W hile Q u a n titi e s Last In-stock items onty- J ^ > iv is s D n ta iio ls J ltd . M onday - Friday: Saturday: Sunday: 217 Lakeshore Rd. E. (905) 844-3530 Downtown Oakville for 50 years www.swissinteriors.com Oakville Town Centre (905) 338-9210 9am - 9 p m 9am - 6pm 11am - 5 pm