This is the 25th year for The Glencoe Digital Commerce Bank Invitational and by the time June rolls around it will have been almost 25 months since a stroke was made at one of the premier amateur golf events in the country. Last April during the first COVID-19 lockdown, tournament organizers made the tough decision to postpone the 2020 event.

“We decided we couldn’t really run the event; there were too many unknowns,”said Tournament Chair Dale Goehring. “We were going to be one of the first tournaments anywhere and the risk of COVID-19 spread during the event would have been a huge downside. We really wanted to run the best event possible and in retrospect the decision to postpone to 2021 was the right one.”

That decision was made even tougher considering the event had a brand new sponsor in Digital Commerce Bank and an exciting new women’s amateur and professional component to the tournament.

For the first 24 years, The Glencoe Invitational was a competition for top male amateurs in Canada, the United States and countries as far away as New Zealand. PGA Tour winners Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, and Adam Hadwin, along with the likes of former Presidents Cup member Graham DeLaet, have all graced the fairways of The Glencoe Forest course during the Invitational.

2019 Glencoe Invitational

Hughes and DeLaet are former champions along with homegrown Alberta standout Wes Heffernan and The Glencoe’s own Jared du Toit. The 2021 event which runs June 17-19 will finally see women compete in the event for the very first time.

“As an event and as a club we’ve been thinking about this for a number of years and how to do it,” said Goehring. “We think especially the women’s professional competition helps bring to market an event that fills a gap in our country. Hopefully we can be part of something that leads to more events for women who are elite amateurs and young professionals. That’s the goal. ”

This year’s tournament will see a field of 54 players comprised of 33 male amateurs, 15 female amateurs and 7 female professionals. Tee times will alternate between male and female groupings and compete on course at the same time during this three-round event that has no cut.

Event organizers are excited to see the calibre of professional women who will come to play in the event. The 7 players will battle for a purse of $25,000 that will see the winner receive $15,000 while the runner-up earns $7,000 and third place $3,000.

Dale Goehring says current COVID restrictions will limit the women’s professional event to only Canadian competitors this year but hopes to attract women from across North America in years to come.

“Maybe it will attract some players who think playing in a field of 14 for a first-place prize of $15,000 is a pretty good opportunity compared to a full-field event. We feel in the future the purse will attract female pros from both Canada and the United States.”