The eyes of the golf world are on British Columbia this weekend, as Bear Mountain Resort on Vancouver Island hosts the PGA TOUR Champions 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship!
The tournament is being broadcast internationally by the Golf Channel to 145 Million households in 206 countries and will showcase British Columbia as an international golf tourism destination to a potential 330 million viewers worldwide!
World Golf Hall of Fame members, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ian Woosman and Mark O’Meara are on site for the 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, as well as Paul Goydos defending his 2014 title, and British Columbia’s own Jim Rutledge and Murray Poje! The tournament features a US$2.5 million purse, with 81 players competing for a winner’s share of $375,000.
Significant investment has been made by the owners of Bear Mountain Resort, Ecoasis Developments to bring this event to British Columbia, along with a $90,000 investment from the Province of British Columbia through the Tourism Events Program, and $40,000 in sponsorship from Tourism Victoria.
Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour - “This event is a great opportunity to showcase British Columbia as a world-class sporting event and tourist destination. Events like the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship help drive the economy in B.C. by attracting visitors to the tournament, and inspiring future visitors to B.C. when they view the tournament on the Golf Channel. Tourism is a critical sector in a diverse and growing economy and events like this are part of the reason for the outstanding results we have had in the last several years.”
Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development – “I am thrilled to be able to showcase our world-class amenities through hosting major international sporting events like the Pacific Links Championship. Hosting the PGA TOUR Champions event at Bear Mountain Resort will attract more recognition to our province and bring positive economic benefits to the host region.”
Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa offers two outstanding courses that combined represent the only 36-hole Nicklaus Design golf experience in Canada. The Mountain Course, a Jack and Steve Nicklaus Co-Design, features impressive landscape and dramatic terrain that lead to breathtaking 180-degree views of nearby Victoria, the Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. The course, a par 71 playing at 6,925 yards, sets atop a 1,100-foot mountain and has been assigned a slope rating of 142 from the back tees. The 18-hole, par 71 Nicklaus Design Valley Course, a spectacular golf setting that is nestled in a pristine natural 102 acres of mature forests, measures just under 7,000 yards. Surrounded by 3,000 acres of parks and hiking trails, Bear Mountain is one of the few golf courses in North America that offers an authentic natural setting so close to a capital city. More than a resort and an incredible community, Bear Mountain is also home to Golf Canada's National Development team, the high-performance training centre of Canada’s National Mountain Bike team, and construction recently commenced on Canada’s largest indoor/outdoor clay court tennis facility supported by Tennis Canada and Tennis BC. The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa rounds out the amenities offering guests a luxurious getaway with outstanding fine dining options, the award-winning Sante Spa, and the Bear Mountain Golf Academy.
Bear Mountain Resort anchors the Vancouver Island Golf Trail. The Trail is a 250 kilometre (155 mile) golf trail of Pacific paradise from Victoria to Campbell River, awaiting golfers on Vancouver Island, British Columbia that includes 13 destination golf courses designed by renowned architects Jack and Steve Nicklaus, Les Furber, Graham Cooke and Bill Robinson - making for "plenty of gold medal-worthy golf" according to GOLF Magazine. Golf is already big business in British Columbia, contributing $2.08 Billion toward British Columbia’s GDP in 2014 and employing over 44,000 people*; by hosting signature events such as the PGA TOUR Champions Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship it's about to get even bigger!
*NAGA May 2014, Economic Impact of Golf in Canada, SNG Solutions, Inc.
