The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Waterioo Region finally makes the map [ Fira( things first. Golf fans from Waterloo Region, take a wellâ€"earned bow and pat on the back for your outâ€" standing effort at last week‘s Samsung Canadian PGA championship tournament at the Whistle Bear golf club near Cambridge. Not only did spectator attendance far_ exceed expectations for the four playing days â€" Thursday to Sunday â€" but tourney offiâ€" cials from both the Canadian and U.S. PGA | were absolutely delighted with the volunteer aspect of the event and the mt *r calibre of the § course. @ Golfing fans i o from Waterloo % Region _ gave ‘-m freely of their BILL time and effort JoI to look after the thousands of details that go into running a successful professional golf tournament. In my five or six days on the scene, 1 saw friends and golf fanatics from Kitchener, Waterioo, Cambridge and as far away as Brantford, Woodstock and Mississauga either enjoying the skills disâ€" played by members of the Nationwide Tour or helping make it the best golf week in this part of the country for more than a decade. Now having said that, here‘s my question. Why hasn‘t the Nationwide Tour â€" the little brother so to speak of the major U.S. PGA Tour â€" or even the Canadian Tour 1 know the mindset that effects some golf big shots and that is nothing can function in a tournament way outside of Hogtown. Well, there‘s no question Toronto has more than its share of golf fans, but apparâ€" ently the last couple of years of the CPGA shootout at the Diamondback golf course near Toronto }{ } wasn'[_ drawing much interest. taken a look at Waterloo Region as a site for one of their events before now? tw ._} However. KIP" with the Open “S being played at the Hamilton Golf Club last year in the former town of Ancaster, why didn‘t the Nationwide event attract more fans? 1 don‘t have an answer for that, but consider this. With the Canadian Open continuing to have venues from coast to coast â€" B.C. next year and Quebec the year after that â€" the days of Toronto being the focal point of pro golf in Ontario may well be over. So. h@w did Waterloo Region finally land a bigâ€" time golf event? That‘s not a hard question. It was all about the vision, hope and work of the ownership team at Whistle Bear, headed by In some respects that will make sense because the Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in QOakville is the big daddy of Ontario events most summers. Emilio Cabral who has been the focal point and spokesman for the three partners. 1 didn‘t know Cabral way back in 1981 when the only other CPGA championship was played in Waterloo Region at the wonderful old, classic Westmount golf course perched on the borâ€" der of Kitchener and Waterâ€" loo. I‘m willing to take a wild guess that Emilio, a hardâ€" working immigrant from the Azores and in his early 205 at the time, didn‘t know the first thing about this game of "hit the ball and chase it." However, _ after an involvement at the Grand Valley and Savannah Links courses in different parts of Cambridge, Emilio has become a golf nut, not only playing but dreaming about being part of a bigâ€"time event at the partners‘ pride and joy, the fourâ€"yearâ€"old Whistle Bear layout located in North Dumfries. 1 will admit 1 was surâ€" prised that winner Charles Warren from South Carolina scorched the tough, 7,300â€" yard layout to the tune of 19 under, but that was seven shots better than secondâ€" place sharing Doug Barron and Dave Christensen. Their There‘s no question it was the leadership of people like Cabral and director of golf, Brad Matthews, that convinced the Nationwide officials that the Bear would be an ideal location for the CPGA title hunt. 12â€"under performances over four days was more like what I expected the final numbers might be on the Bear, which wasn‘t being played from the champiâ€" onship tips. As for the 2004 CPGA title hunt comparing to ‘81 at Westmount, you can‘t. Then called the Labatt‘s Internaâ€" tional, the Westmount field included the King, Arnold Palmer, reigning U.S. Open champion Dave Graham, eventual winner Ray Floyd and Canadian stars like Murray (Moe) Norman and Jim Nelford. * Bill (Skip) Johns retired from fullâ€"time sportswriting in 2002. He can now be reached by eâ€"mail at: skipâ€" schips@golden.net. I don‘t think it‘s any great secret that Palmer, Floyd and Graham all received appearance money to play in the event. something that‘s not allowed on the U.S. PGA Tour. What 1 think a lot of golf fans did discover after watching the action at Whisâ€" the Bear last week comes right from their television commercial. It might be the secondary pro tour, but these guys can play. However, back then the CPGA was not part of the U.S. PGA‘s rule book, and Labatt‘s was happy to ante up some extra cash to get big names to help raise the stature of the tourney. you Infiniti Dealerchnp tm« details nc TMATTED TTAME LEASE OPPER o ko Taxes. licencs. PPSA or BPMRR regictration and insurance are ertral MSBP hy ime 2004 28 Sedan (AATT,24 AAOO| is $29 Abn Destination ent detivery tares and incurance are axtce Dnalershipe are hee io t incividial grlces. Sn ynie Infini Dealerthin fo: mace intarmation: i Avarahie n rrain option pachages . See D THME LEASE OATER nc the 1008 6 15 Sede Ii Th 34 MA i: avaccahie through Infinn Pn (al hecins only Pryments tw trade in of $9.200 ptus frst manthly payment due at teave inceptson !-r-t‘.w-“ Total lease nbligation changes $1.250 4 i # 1 90% 7).000 im aliwan;». additional klometros at $0 15 $6 10;im if aranged at lagse inc It only looks like you took out a second mortgage. ‘â€"â€"fl;;l'nâ€"fl;;d‘mâ€"'â€"_' The G35 Sedan. Power. Style. Performance. | ~ham Have it all. Featuring: *« 260â€"HP 3.5â€"litre DOHC | $ 339 | V6 engine * 5â€"speed automatic transmission | mdudwmmmmMMW\::‘::'W k with manual shift mode * Breakthrough »ith neseturlly dentst" | _ zeroâ€"lift front aerodynamics to maximize your connection with the road *« 17â€"inch aluminum alloy wheels *« Vehicle Dynamic Control « Traction Control System * Xenon headlights « Leather appointed seating surfaces with heated front seats « Bose®‘ â€"powered 200â€"watt 7â€"speaker audio system with 6â€"disc inâ€"dash CD changer __ * Available stateâ€"of â€"theâ€"art Infiniti DVD Navigation System! c% The Infiniti G35 Sedan. Guest Drive one today. _ Infiniti.ca | 1 N F LN L TL Serving i/ou for 25 Years 805 Woodlawn Road, Guelph, ON Phone: (519) 822 9200 www.guelphinfinitinissan.com * info@guelphinfinitinissan.com THE TILLEY HAT * Guaranteed for Life Not to Wear Out * Insured Against Loss * Floats * Repels Rain « 4â€"Page Owner‘s Manual * Crushable & Packable * Secret Pocket e in the Crown & Titley & Royal Robbine Clothing, Suttles & Seawinds, Austratian Qutback Cotiection Head?Toe Upstairs in River Works, St. Jacobs 664â€"28662 Guelph Infiniti ahse thoough Infinin Finamcial Secvic nc only. Pryments are §219/mth Ins 16 maoths 1A c n i $21 404 which mc UPF 59+ Cutimeny