Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Pre-Tournament Notes
Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship
Bear Mountain Golf Resort (Mountain Course) | Victoria, B.C. | September 19-25, 2016
Media Contact
Chris Richards – PGA TOUR Manager, Communications
chrisrichards@pgatourhq.com
678-644-4258
Quick Facts
Par 71 / 6,881 yards
Jack and Steve Nicklaus co-design (2003)
$2,500,000 purse (Winner’s Share: $375,000)
Golf Channel will televise all three rounds live from 3-6 p.m. PDT
Quick Links
- Tournament Website
- First-Round Tee Times
- Charles Schwab Cup Money List
- PGA TOUR Champions: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Field Overview (as of 9/20/16)
- 56 PGA TOUR winners with 294 total career victories
- 45 PGA TOUR Champions winners with 201 total career victories
- 16 players with a PGA TOUR Champions major victory; 13 with a PGA TOUR major
- 25 of the top-36 players on the Charles Schwab Cup Money List
- 4 Canadians in the field: Stephen Ames, Jim Rutledge, Rod Spittle, Murray Poje (Tuesday qualifier)
Tournament History
The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship was played from 2012-2014 at Kapolei Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii. Bear Mountain Resort will host the tournament for the first time.
2014 Champion – Paul Goydos (66-63-68 – 197 / -19)
Paul Goydos used birdies on Nos. 14-17 to earn a one-stroke victory over Fred Funk and Scott Dunlap. Goydos finished with a tournament record 19-under-par 197 for his first career PGA TOUR Champions win in his fifth start. It was his second pro win in Hawaii, as he also won the 2007 Sony Open on the PGA TOUR.
2013 Champion – Mark Wiebe (64-69-72 – 205 / -11)
Mark Wiebe holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of regulation to get into a playoff with Corey Pavin. He then defeated him with a 20-foot par putt on the second extra hole.
2012 Champion – Willie Wood (68-68-66 – 202 / -14)
Willie Wood birdied the last two holes to edge Bill Glasson by one stroke for his second victory of the 2012 season. Wood, five strokes back at the start on Sunday, made six birdies in the final round at Kapolei Golf Club, the last two coming off a chip to five feet at the par-5 17th hole and then a 20-footer at the 18th.
Tournament Storylines
Winners of PGA TOUR Champions Events in Canada: The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will be the 22nd PGA TOUR Champions event in Canada. This week’s field includes eight players with PGA TOUR Champions victories in Canada.
Shaw Charity Classic
2016 Carlos Franco Canyon Meadows G&CC (Calgary, Alberta)
2015 Jeff Maggert Canyon Meadows G&CC (Calgary, Alberta)
2013 Rocco Mediate Canyon Meadows G&CC (Calgary, Alberta)
Quebec / Montreal Championship
2014 Wes Short, Jr. La Tempete GC (Quebec City, Quebec)
2013 Esteban Toledo Richelieu Valley GC – Rouville (Sainte-Julie, Quebec)
2012 Mark Calcavecchia Richelieu Valley GC – Vercheres (Sainte-Julie, Quebec)
2011 John Cook Club de Golf Fontainebleau (Blainville, Quebec)
2010 Larry Mize Club de Golf Fontainebleau (Blainville, Quebec)
Winners of PGA TOUR Events in Canada: This week’s field also includes seven players with PGA TOUR wins in Canada. Mark Calcavecchia and John Cook are the only two players in the field with wins in Canada on both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
RBC Canadian Open
2005 Mark Calcavecchia Shaughnessy G&CC (Vancouver, British Columbia)
2004 Vijay Singh Glen Abbey GC (Oakville, Ontario)
2001 Scott Verplank Royal Montreal GC – Blue (Montreal, Quebec)
1995 Mark O’Meara Glen Abbey GC (Oakville, Ontario)
1993 David Frost Glen Abbey GC (Oakville, Ontario)
1983 John Cook Glen Abbey GC (Oakville, Ontario)
1980 Bob Gilder Royal Montreal GC – Blue (Montreal, Quebec)
Greater Vancouver Open
1997 Mark Calcavecchia Northview G&CC (Surrey, British Columbia)
Local Connections: Mike Grob will compete at Bear Mountain in search of his second victory in British Columbia, as he won the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada event in Victoria in 2006. In fact, Grob has six career victories on the Mackenzie Tour and tops the Tour’s all-time money list.
Victoria native Jim Rutledge has served as the Mackenzie Tour event's Honorary Chairman since 2014, and he is also scheduled to compete in his hometown event this week.
Five World Golf Hall of Famers to Compete
- Tom Kite – Has competed in 12 tournaments this year; currently 93rd on the money list
- Bernhard Langer – Four victories and 14 top 10s this year; currently 1st on the money list
- Colin Montgomerie – Six top 10s this year; currently 13th on the money list
- Mark O’Meara – Two top 10s this year; one of seven players in the field with a PGA TOUR victory in Canada; currently 39th on the money list
- Vijay Singh – Has competed in five tournaments this year; one of seven players in the field with a PGA TOUR victory in Canada; currently 78th on the money list
Winning Ways: In 2016, 15 players have been victorious on PGA TOUR Champions, and 11 of those players will compete this week.
- Woody Austin (3 wins)
- Paul Broadhurst (2 wins)
- Joe Durant
- Carlos Franco
- Paul Goydos
- Miguel Angel Jimenez
- Bernhard Langer (4 wins)
- Scott McCarron
- Esteban Toledo
- Kirk Triplett
- Duffy Waldorf
Langer’s Great Season Continues: Bernhard Langer finished T2 for the second straight tournament last week at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, and he’s finished in the top-two in three consecutive tournaments. He won the Boeing Classic in a three-man playoff, and three weeks ago he fell two strokes short of Carlos Franco at the Shaw Charity Classic.
With three regular season events remaining, Langer extended his lead on the Charles Schwab Cup Money List to $1,094,977. He has 14 top-10 finishes in 17 starts this season.
Jimenez Always Near the Top: Miguel Angel Jimenez has played eight tournaments in 2016, the fewest among the top 20 players on the money list. He has made the most of his opportunities, as he has seven straight top-four finishes, including a win at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic presented by C Spire in April. Currently third on the money list, his last start came at the U.S. Senior Open in August, where he tied for second.
Jockeying for Position: With three events remaining until the first event in the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, players are setting their sights on a top-36 finish on the money list because after the second playoff event, 36 players will qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Last week at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Paul Broadhurst won his second tournament of the season and moved to No. 23 on the money list. Greg Kraft finished T7, and he moved from No. 73 to No. 63 on the money list, which would give him a spot in the 72-player field at the first Charles Schwab Cup playoff event, the PowerShares QQQ Championship.
Outside Looking In: With just three tournaments before the start of the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, this week’s field includes 45 players who are currently outside the top 72 on the money list. John Huston is currently 72nd with $158,736, and he is not competing at Bear Mountain. Five players in the field and “on the bubble” this week include:
73. Neal Lancaster – $4,483 behind 72nd
75. John Riegger – $15,702 behind 72nd
76. John Inman – $16,686 behind 72nd
78. Vijay Singh – $31,398 behind 72nd
79. Brian Henninger – $36,133 behind 72nd
2016 PGA TOUR Champions – Season Overview
This year marks the 37th anniversary of PGA TOUR Champions and the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship is the 21st event on the 2016 schedule. The last of 26 official events on the schedule is the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, November 7-13, at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The primary purpose of PGA TOUR Champions is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for players age 50 and older, to protect the integrity of the game and to help grow the reach of the game in the United States and around the world.
The 2016 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs: The SAS Championship marks the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Champions regular season, and the leading 72 players on the money list will advance to the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. “Wildcard Weekend” at the SAS Championship allows for one player who finishes in the top 10, but finishes outside the top 72 on the season-long money list, to qualify for the Playoffs.
- October 24-30 | PowerShares QQQ Championship (Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, California)
- October 31-November 6 | Dominion Charity Classic (The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia)
- November 7-13 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship (Desert Mountain Club – Cochise, Scottsdale, Arizona)
At the start of the playoffs, each player’s money total will become the equivalent number of points (e.g. $330,000 equals 330,000 points). During the first two playoff events, each dollar earned is worth two points, and those points will be added to a player’s regular season point total. After the Powershares QQQ Championship, the top 54 players will advance, and after the Dominion Charity Classic, the top 36 players will qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Points will be reset for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, similar to the reset in the FedExCup Playoffs before the TOUR Championship. Any of the top-five players will win the Charles Schwab Cup with a victory in the season finale, and all 36 players are mathematically capable of winning the Charles Schwab Cup, depending on his performance and the results of the rest of the field.
Tour Welcomes Several New Faces in 2016: A number of new faces began to dot PGA TOUR Champions tournament fields this year as a number of long-time PGA TOUR performers turned 50.
- Craig Parry (January 12) | Best finish: T29, Mississippi Gulf Resort
- Bob Estes (February 2)
- Jose Maria Olazabal (February 5)
- John Daly (April 28) | Best finish: T11, Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
- Michael Bradley (July 17) | Best finish: T23, Boeing Classic
- Billy Mayfair (August 6) | Best finish: T2, U.S. Senior Open
- Tim Petrovic (August 16) | Best finish: T18, Boeing Classic
Later in the year, Jerry Kelly turns 50 on November 23 and will be eligible starting in 2017. Other notable players who turn 50 early in 2017 are David Toms (January 4) and Steve Stricker (February 23).