The PGA Tour “is considering taking over the struggling Canadian Tour,” and it “could be in American hands by this fall,” according to Jeff Brooke of GOLF CANADA. If the purchase takes place, the Canadian Tour “would be renamed the PGA Tour of Canada and gain not only financial stability but the clout of one of the world’s most powerful (and richest) sports brands.” The PGA Tour gave an "operating loan" of C$700,000 to the Canadian Tour last year and has "deepened the relationship this year by offering assistance in sponsor and tournament development." A takeover "wouldn’t be so much about rescuing the Canadian Tour ... as it would be about the PGA Tour finding a new source of players and another route for them to rise through the golf ranks.” Graduates from the PGA Tour’s Q-school now enter the second-tier Web.com Tour, and the Canadian Tour "could become a third tier, with the best performers advancing to the Web.com.” The Canadian Tour “could also dovetail with the PGA Tour’s new LatinoAmerica Tour, another third-tier circuit." Players could "compete in Latin America in the spring and fall and in Canada during the summer” (GOLFCANADA.ca, 8/26).
