A trio of Canadians, including Victoria鈥檚 Jim Rutledge, have committed to playing in the 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, set for Sept. 19-25 on the Mountain Course at Bear Mountain.
Rutledge, Stephen Ames and Rod Spittle will be among the field of 81 players for the PGA Tour Champions event that features a $2.5 million US purse, with $440,000 going to the winner.
鈥渟a国际传媒 is a golf-rich country that has consistently cheered for its own through the years at PGA Tour-sanctioned events,鈥� tournament director David Skitt said.
鈥淭he addition of these three players not only adds to the strength of our field, but also to the excitement heading into tournament week, as Canadian golf fans will have genuine passion in supporting Stephen Ames, Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge.鈥�
The trio joins a field that already includes World Golf Hall of Fame members Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle and Tom Kite, as well as PGA Tour Champions winners Rocco Mediate, Lee Janzen and Jesper Parnevik, plus fan favourite John Daly.
Rutledge鈥檚 addition comes as no surprise as he was expected to receive one of the tournament sponsors鈥� exemptions.
Ames was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but has dual citizenship and lives in Vancouver. Spittle is from St. Catharines, Ont.
Pro-ams will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday of tournament week with the 54-hole event to follow Friday through Sunday.
Volunteers can register by visiting the tournament website at pacificlinkschampionship.com and clicking on 鈥渞egister to volunteer鈥� on the left of the screen.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at selectyourtickets.com, with a weekly pass (Wednesday-Sunday including parking and program) at $99; a daily pass for Friday, Saturday or Sunday at $40; a pro-am daily pass Wednesday or Thursday at $25; or a Champions Club VIP pass for Friday through Sunday for $200.
