No more Ottawa Citizen

[nokids]

I emailed the Citizen organizers from last year to ask which courses would be in the mix in 2012 and got this:

"The Ottawa Citizen is no longer facilitating the golf championship. The future status is up in the air at the moment as there is some outside interest in keeping it going. Stay tuned for further information. "

Awwwww

[jvincent]

Well that would suck.

[jeffc]

that does suck. Even though I don't play in it i think it is great for golf in this city. Is there not a big company in town that could step up and save this thing? It can't cost that much to run.

[Break68]

Wow that is bad news.

[nokids]

Where am I going to get my competitive golf in now? All I'm left with is OVGA events, Golftown amateur series, intersectionals, my club championship, TGN-OG Ryder Cup, Greensmere Survivor Challenge, and home n home games against DenisO; This sucks!

[mjf]

! If it's true, I guess I'll need to find another event to plan my season around.

It's too bad. It was a well-run tournament.

[John]

Damn, i was planning on talking about entering it again and then sissing out!

[XTOUR]

Sad to hear. Enjoyed following the event and hoping to play someday in it. Is the Smugglers event in May a good event to play?

[mjf]

Is the Smugglers event in May a good event to play?

From what I've heard, it's supposed to be good. Unfortunately, it's a pretty limited field. I wonder if they'll consider expanding it if, indeed, the Citizen tournament is dead.

[bNeill]

Get into the Golf Quebec stuff. I have 30+ tournament rounds already planned this year and all of them have solid fields fields.

Spring Open Qualifier
Spring Open
Canadian University Championships (Victoria, BC)
OVGA Match Play
Alexander of Tunis
Duke of Kent
Quebec Amateur
Canadian Amateur
OVGA City & Districts
OVGA Field Day
OVGA Men’s 4-Ball (maybe)
Men’s 4-Ball
Player’s Championship
Match Play Festival
OVGA Tournament of Champions

Plus 4 University tournaments in the fall which have yet to be named and I'll go down to give the US Am qualifier a shot.

I know some people were fans of the Citizen, but I never really considered it a real golf tournament.

[mjf]

I know some people were fans of the Citizen, but I never really considered it a real golf tournament.

What is it that made it not "a real golf tournament" to you? It was a well-run event and, it seems to me that the same 'usual suspects' were near the top of the leaderboard at the Citizen as many of the events you've listed...

[bNeill]

What is it that made it not "a real golf tournament" to you? It was a well-run event and, it seems to me that the same 'usual suspects' were near the top of the leaderboard at the Citizen as many of the events you've listed...

The rounds were months apart and most (not all) of the best players around don't bother showing up.

[jvincent]

But most of the tournaments in your list are one day events and have extremely limited fields.

Given the 4-round setup of the Citizen it had to be split. That being said, last year the rounds were pretty close together.

[bNeill]

But most of the tournaments in your list are one day events and have extremely limited fields.

Given the 4-round setup of the Citizen it had to be split. That being said, last year the rounds were pretty close together.

Spring Open Qualifier (1)
Spring Open (1)
Canadian University Championships (Victoria, BC) (4 rounds+practice)
OVGA Match Play (3)
Alexander of Tunis (2 plus practice)
Duke of Kent (2 plus practice)
Quebec Amateur (4 plus practice)
Canadian Amateur (4 plus 2 practice)
OVGA City & Districts (3)
OVGA Field Day (1)
OVGA Men’s 4-Ball (maybe) (1)
Men’s 4-Ball (1)
Player’s Championship (2 plus practice)
Match Play Festival (3)
OVGA Tournament of Champions (1)

Most are full field events and the differential requirements for some aren't very strict. This was more a suggestion to nokids as I know he's been working hard on his game and probably would want to get to this level eventually.

[Ginker]

I know its not in Ottawa guys but the Flagstick Shootout at Smugglers is the premier event in my book. Played the end of May over two days. This year the winner gets entry into the Canadian Tour Event being held at Smugglers in September.

[jvincent]

The Shootout looks like a good event.

[nokids]

The Shootout looks like a good event.

If you're looking for a roommate ...

[BC MIST]

Any speculation as to why the tournament has died? Have the number of entrants fallen significantly in the last few years? Other reasons.

It would be a shame to see its demise as it provided better players who are not members a a club, a chance to compete on good quality golf courses, and judging by the comments here over time, it was a well run tournament.

[Sakuraba]

Some corporate sponsor (calling Golf Town) should pick it up.

[1972Apex]

Not sure of the exact reason for the demise of the tournament, but I would suspect the overall health of the newspaper industry has something to do with it. All newspapers, including The Citizen are faced right now with making major expense cutbacks due to lower advertising revenue. I know in speaking to a few friends who work at The Citizen that there have been several major internal cutbacks.
My thinking is the expense of hosting this event far exceeded any publicity benefits it may have provided and most newspapers just cannot afford those types of frills at the moment.

[mjf]

Any speculation as to why the tournament has died? Have the number of entrants fallen significantly in the last few years? Other reasons.

When I first tried to enter the tournament 6 or 7 years ago I didn't make it in because they had too many entrants and my handicap at the time was just under the 8.0 cutoff. For the last couple of years though, it seems that they've had trouble getting a full 144 player field. I think there were ~140 in 2011 and they were taking entries right up to the end.

I know that they lost Buick as a sponsor a few years ago. Flagstick has been a sponsor... maybe, with the Flagstick Shootout gaining stature they've dropped their support of the Citizen? That's pure speculation on my part.

I suppose it's also possible that the Ottawa Citizen itself is pulling the plug. It's not a great time to be in the newspaper business.

I don't see Golf Town stepping up since they've already got their own "Golf Town National Amateur Series".

[nokids]

I don't see Golf Town stepping up since they've already got their own "Golf Town National Amateur Series".

I think GT should have more of their Amateur series events in the Ottawa area. Last year I think they only had 1 event @ Eagle Creek.

[Gropper]

I asked a few questions about this and have been told that Flagstick in no way have pulled there support for the this tournament and will continue to support it. Hopefully we will be hearing soon what will happen. Looks like there might be some changes but good chance it will be back. fingers crossed!

[mjf]

I asked a few questions about this and have been told that Flagstick in no way have pulled there support for the this tournament and will continue to support it. Hopefully we will be hearing soon what will happen. Looks like there might be some changes but good chance it will be back. fingers crossed!

I was thinking about my Flagstick speculation after I made the post. I should likely have looked for a tin-foil hat emoticon to add to the end of that sentence. It really wouldn't make any sense for them not to support a local golf event since they're in the business of reporting on local golf events!

Good to hear that maybe it really isn't gone.

[OutOfTheRough]

I think GT should have more of their Amateur series events in the Ottawa area. Last year I think they only had 1 event @ Eagle Creek.

GolfTown amateur series should have the schedule up soon. Hopefully they will add a couple more events in the Ottawa area.

I also emailed Doug at Smugglers about the Shootout. He said the top 10 in each flight from last year will get and invite and the remaining 42 spots will be handed out via an application process. They are going to be maxed at 72 people for this event. They are trying to attract the best players possible and this could probably be due to the Canadian Tour exemption they are handing out. Final details should be out within the next week or so. Get your resumes ready !!!

[Gropper]

http://www.flagstick.com/teeshots/?p=5042

Small update from the guys at Flsgstick

[Gropper]

I am hoping to get back into Smugglers/flagstick shootout, but its gonna be harder this year. Great event on a great course

[DIbit]

two thumbs up for the Flagstick Shootout at Smuggs... Well run with Doug, and the great guys at Flagstick and of course the officials. If I had a choice between the 2, I would def. pick the shootout. I am sure the field at the Shootout will be the largest ever in all 3 divisions.

[marcf]

The Flagstick Shootout is moving towards an elite Amatuer invitational event. This will change the way the field is comprised, in all of the classes, but the committee will definately be putting thought to the field once entries close.

Great event, first class operation. Doug, Scott, Jeff and the Smugglers team of volunteers and staff take really good care of the players for the weekend. Oh, I almost forgot, the Prime Rib is pretty damn good after round 1 as well.

Looking forward to returning this spring. I would encourage everyone to apply to play. Those who have played it know that it may be the best annual event played in East of Kingston.

[Grouchy]

I would be surprised if they don't find a way. Remember, it's not like the OC was running this, they were just the sponsor. There's still a whole group of guys who want to put this on. At worst they'll have to get more than 1 sponsor, as they perhaps hinted to with "Ottawa Citizen has indicated that they will no longer be the sole sponsor of the tournament". [my bold]

Tough to beat a sponsor with built in publicity help, though. Maybe one of the local radio or TV stations could step in. That'd be nice, obviously.