On a lilting and near-perfect spring Monday afternoon at Uplands Golf Club, the horizon looked clear in the distance.
Keith Dagg hopes it stays that way, both literally and figuratively. The director of the 26th annual Times Colonist Open, the first stop in Canada on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, held a wide-ranging media conference yesterday addressing several issues regarding the 2009 event scheduled for June 4-7 at Uplands. The board is trying to overcome the death of hard-working tournament manager Denis Racine in January. On the positive news side, it was announced over the winter the prize purse was boosted by $50,000 to $200,000 and that Jim Rutledge of Victoria, currently 98th on the Nationwide Tour money rankings, has guaranteed he will play in his hometown pro event. The Canadian Tour is mainly for young pro golfers looking to work their way up. The likes of Steve Stricker, Craig Parry, Mike Weir, D.A. Points, Stuart Appleby, Kirk Triplett, Chris DiMarco, Scott Dunlap and Scott McCarron have done just that as Canadian Tour alumni have won 95 PGA Tour titles and more than $360 million. But those payoffs are years off for these rising young golfers. Having veteran Rutledge on hand is a sure-fire way to attract large galleries.