Canadian Open to Glen Abbey in 2009 Also

Ian Hutchinson at the Toronto Sun brings Canadian fans up to date on the status of the Open up there for next year. Glen Abbey, which was slated to host the event in 2008, has also been named as host of the 2009 event. This has a number of Canadians in a stir, apparently, because the Abbey hosting twice in a row throws off the preferred notion of a rotation of Canadian courses to host their national championship. He opines, though, that this really should not be the biggest worry of Canadian golf fans:

A nice as it would be to follow the leads of the British Open and U.S. Open, a regular rotation is fantasy at this point, for a few reasons. There are few courses in Canada with the infrastructure to host an Open and very few willing to disrupt their businesses every few years to prepare for the national championship.

However, the main reason that a regular rotation can't be promised right now is that the title sponsor will play a major role in where the Open will be played. Until it has that precious commodity, there is no way the RCGA can promise where it will be held beyond the immediate future.

The reality of the situation, as Hutchinson points out, is that title sponsorship will have a huge say in where this great championship is played. Franklin Templeton stepped up to the plate as presenting sponsor, but not as title. This is a problem for the Canadian Open - hurt by its date after the British Open. It has a tough time attracting a solid field and a solid sponsor. The tournament is in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has largely told the Open to suck it up and deal with it. It's a scary reality for Canadian golf to face, but professional golf tournaments now face such high demands for purses and sponsorship that operating without corporate involvement seems nearly impossible. Hopefully the Canucks will get some heavy, good Canadian-based sponsorship on board for a long time to come. A Canadian influence on the national golf championship would probably be the best way to ensure an Open...and one with a rotation at that.