Port Dover ON - ​ Sebastian Szirmak of Toronto ON wins the rain shortened Southern Ontario Open at Port Dover Golf Club in Port Dover ON by 1 shot over Austin Ryan of Waterloo ON.

This was the 9th playing of the Southern Ontario Open and each edition produced a different winner until this year. After the unfortunate decision to cancel the final round due to unplayable course conditions caused by heavy rainfall overnight. Szirmak became the first two-time winner of the Championship.  His previous victory was in 2018.

Szirmak got in the clubhouse after 36 holes with rounds of 64-66 to post 12 under par on the par 71 layout and take the clubhouse lead. While Austin Ryan made a 15 foot birdie putt on his 36th hole to post rounds of 67-64. 

Amateur Cam Kellett of London ON continued his strong play recently when he opened the Championship with a tidy 64 on a very windy day. He would follow it up with a hard fought 68 to post 10 under par. Sitting tied with Kellett after 36 holes was veteran tour professional Derek Gillespie of Oshawa ON who was paired with Szirmak Thursday and Friday. Gillespie's 2nd round 63 was tied for low round of the day.

Hamilton ON – The Great Lakes Tour (GLT) is excited to announce GolfZoogle as a new long-term presenting partner of the Tour.  The new three-year relationship is designed to allow both parties to utilize resources for combined growth within the golf industry while staying true to the collective vision of growing the game of golf across Canada.
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GolfZoogle was first introduced in 2016 and offered touchscreen technology and interactive solutions to the golf industry.  Recently, the business came under a new progressive ownership and was quickly introduced to the Great Lakes Tour to assist in re-marketing the brand and image.

Victoriaville QC – The Sani-Marc/Desjardins Canada Cup presented by City of Victoriaville (CCSM-D) organizing committee is pleased to announce an alliance of Canadian professional golf tours that will assist in filling the field for their exclusive event August 12-15, 2021.
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The alliance of tours will include the East Coast Pro Tour (ECPT) in Quebec, Vancouver Golf Tour (VGT) in British Columbia and Great Lakes Tour (GLT) in Ontario.  The three tours will receive exemptions to be allocated to their tour members via their respective order of merit standings and major events on their schedules...

By: Garry McKay

Hamilton ON - As the Great Lakes Tour enters its 20th season it continues to grow and evolve.

One thing that will never change, however, is the Tour’s fundamental philosophy, which is to help aspiring professionals and amateurs develop their game and to get ready for the next level. That’s the shared philosophy of co-owners Jim Kenesky and Colin Murray.

Current PGA Tour player Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ontario, turned pro while he was still a teenager and had played practically no high-level amateur golf.
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He personifies what the Great Lakes Tour is all about.

Hamilton ON - The Great Lakes Tour (GLT) is pleased to welcome award winning Canadian golf writer and long-time Hamilton Spectator sports columnist Garry McKay for their 20th Anniversary season.  The GLT is also pleased to become associate members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC).

Garry McKay will bring his award winning writing style, legendary voice and experience to the media relations of the GLT for this historic season.  The GLT, based in Hamilton ON, will be targeting key stories throughout the 2021 season that highlight the history, the partners, the players (past and present) and accomplishments during the 20th Anniversary season.  These stories from McKay along with tournament results, post tournament wrap-ups and partner spotlights will all come together in a booklet/ebook showcasing the GLT season and their 20 year history.

Hamilton ON – Now entering its 20th year in operation, the Great Lakes Golf Tour (GLT) is pleased to announce that it has become a member group within Golf Canada & Golf Ontario. They will be the first professional golf tour to have its individual members join Golf Canada’s member community.

Recently, Golf Canada introduced new benefits and a very impressive upgrade to its Mobile App that will further assist a golfer’s ability to track improvement, while also providing a rich set of tools to engage with the game of golf across the country.  

​Hamilton ON
GREAT LAKES TOUR SEASON UPDATE

With the current State of Emergency in the Province of Ontario and Regional restrictions being put in place, the Great Lakes Tour has decided to cancel all scheduled events through July 31.  This includes the Collingwood Classic July 2-3, Southern Ontario Open July 16-18 and the Seaforth Country Classic July 31 – Aug 1.

We have been following the lead and consulting with other major golf organizations and professionals across the country and feel that operating while a global pandemic and state of emergency exists we cannot guarantee 100% safety without sufficient testing of our players and staff prior to each event.  Our main focus is the safety of all players, the GLT staff,  golf course staff, club members and the communities we visit.  It is also a concern that many of our players are employed or have instructional programs at golf facilities across Ontario and feel without 100% safety at an event or within the communities that we visit, we are not in the position to take the risk of any possible outcomes that may exist.

The GLT staff is working on a plan to operate a set of events later in the summer, and this will only happen if the current situation continues to improve and the government officials ease COVID-19 restrictions and regulations in our province.  We will send communication when a plan or schedule is finalized.

Until then, please enjoy the game responsibly and when the time comes where we can operate safely, the GLT will be there.  2021 will mark the 20th year of operation for the Tour and we are continuing to work on relationships to ensure that 2021 is the greatest year in GLT history.

Great Lakes Tour
Jim Kenesky – President
Colin Murray – Tournament Director 

COVID-19 CRISIS: 2020 SEASON PLANS

The Directors of the Great Lakes Golf Tour (GLT) have made the decision to postpone the 2020 season until further notice.  

GLT Directors are assessing all aspects of the Tour operation and are preparing for any outcome that transpires.  It is their hope that when competitive golf is set to return safely, the GLT will have a schedule in place to ensure that professional and elite amateur golfers in Ontario have a place to play and continue their development.

The GLT is closely watching the decisions from all local and provincial governments, golf associations, PGA Zones and similar tours in Canada.  The GLT will provide further updates on the schedule in the coming weeks as the situation evolves.

For now, we ask all golfers to remain at home and be safe.

Kindest Regards,
Great Lakes Tour

Hamilton ON - The Great Lakes Tour (GLT) is pleased to announce current PGA TOUR Professional Michael Gligic of Burlington ON as the first Lifetime Member in Tour history

Michael Gligic joined the GLT in 2006 as an amateur and would eventually turn professional in 2008 at the age of 18. In the 19 year history of the GLT, Gligic has held membership for 12 of those seasons before graduating to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019. After a strong campaign in 2019, which included a win at the Panama Championship, he gained membership to the PGA TOUR in 2019-2020 via the Korn Ferry Tour Top 25...

Victoriaville QC – A very strong field of professionals and elite amateurs will tee it up at Victoriaville GC next week for the $125,000 Sani-Marc/Desjardins Canada Cup presented by City of Victoriaville and Plombaction Group (CCSM-D).  The 72-hole championship will be contested from August 15-18 but early week festivities will begin August 13th.  Players will be representing cities from all across Canada, United States and even Bermuda. 

The CCSM-D will be an international event, however, most participants will be Canadian to ensure the event showcases the top playing and club professionals from Quebec and around the country.  This prestigious event is also Canada’s second largest purse event (Mackenzie Tour not included) behind the RBC Canadian Open.  The CCSM-D will offer a minimum purse at stake of $125,000 with $25,000 being awarded to the winner.  The field will be cut to 70 players and ties after 36 holes on Friday August 16.