After getting $120,000 over the next three years from the City of Windsor, organizers of the MacKenzie Tour will go to county council next.
The tour is part of PGA Canada, and MacKenzie Tour vice president Scott Pritchard says it is a great way to see up and coming talent.
"It's kind of like your first job. We have 13 events nationwide. We start out in B.C. and work our way across the country," says Pritchard. "Since we started in 2013, we've had 20 players that have earned status on the PGA Tour, and we've got three winners that have come from Canada on the PGA Tour."
This year's event will be July 2 to 8, followed by events in July 2019 and July 2020 at the Ambassador Golf and Country Club.
Pritchard says 156 participants are signed up, with another 120 players expected to try out.
He says typically, the event creates between $2.5-million and $4.1-million in economic activity in host communities.
"The mandate for this particular event is to spend as much money locally in terms of all the operating costs associated with this event," he says. "Anything from tenting to signage, rebar, stakes, things like that."
Organizers also hope to raise $100,000 for the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
- With files from Mark Brown
