Field set for first event of North America Swing, The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The field has been announced for The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, the first tournament of the North America Swing, and the seventh event in the inaugural season of PGA TOUR Americas. The 10-event North America Swing, comprised of nine events in Canada and one in the United States, opens June 20-23, at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The season-long race for the Fortinet Cup will continue as the top 10 players will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership at the end of the season.

The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist will feature players from 21 countries, including 15 Canadians and 18 Hispanic players. Fifty-four of the top 60 players who earned exempt membership for Segment II from the Latin America Swing are set to be in the field, including five of the six tournament winners this season.

In addition to the top 60 players from Segment I, the second half of the season introduces two new sets of exempt players: finishers 6-25 from the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking and 54 players via the six mid-season Q-School sites (finishers 1-9 from each site) contested in May and June. Thirteen conditional members will also be in field and look to improve their status, as finishers 10-25 at each Q-School site and finishers 61-80 from the Latin America Swing earned conditional membership to the North America Swing.

Newcomers who are expected to make a run at the Fortinet Cup include recent spring graduates Neal Shipley (Ohio State), Thomas Ponder (Alabama), and John Marshall Butler (Auburn). Shipley will be making his professional debut in Victoria after competing in the U.S. Open as an amateur last week. A runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur earned the 23-year-old two major championship starts on TOUR this year: Masters Tournament and U.S. Open. Shipley earned low-amateur honors in each appearance, the first player to do so since Viktor Hovland in 2019.

Ponder, who earned medalist honors at the Ocala, Florida Q-School site in May to gain exempt status for the North America Swing, led a total of 12 amateurs in securing their first PGA TOUR-sanctioned memberships. Ponder played collegiate golf for five seasons at the University of Alabama, where he recorded 12 top-10s. Butler also advanced as an amateur from Q-School, as the Auburn graduate topped off his collegiate career with a NCAA Championship title last month.

The remaining eight spots in the 156-player field were filled by the open qualifier, which was finalized Monday evening, June 17, at Highland Pacific Golf Course.

The race for the Fortinet Cup continues, with five of the top six contenders being in this week’s field at The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist. Led by No. 1-ranked Matthew Anderson, the Canadian returns to his native country with a victory, two top-10s and a second TOUR start under his belt, as he competed in the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month. Following Anderson is No. 2-ranked Harry Hillier, who shot the first sub-60 round of PGA TOUR Americas on the way to his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned victory at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship, the final event of the Latin America Swing. Anderson and Hillier each earned conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2025 season by finishing in the top two positions of the Fortinet Cup in Segment I.

Following Anderson and Hillier, the season’s four other winners occupy the next four spots in the Fortinet Cup: No. 3 Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club), No. 4 Stuart Macdonald (Diners Club Peru Open), No. 5 Thomas Longbella (KIA Open), and No. 6 Clay Feagler (Bupa Championship at Tulum). Macdonald is the only winner not in this week’s field; he is set to return to action at next week’s ATB Classic.

The top 10 players in the season-long Fortinet Cup points list at the end of the season will earn exempt membership for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, in addition to the top three players of the North America Swing earning conditional status. Additionally, players who earn Korn Ferry Tour membership (up to 15) through the PGA TOUR Americas season will be guaranteed a spot in Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry for a chance to earn PGA TOUR membership.

Along with the season’s top contenders, finishers 11-25 on the season-long points list, finishers 3-10 from the Latin America Swing, and finishers 4-10 from the North America Swing will earn direct access to Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. All remaining members will be exempt into First Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, bypassing the pre-qualifying stage.

For more information about PGA TOUR Americas, follow on X (@PGATOURAmericas, @PGATAmericasESP) and Instagram (@pgatouramericas, @pgatouramericasesp), or online in English or Spanish.