The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist: Preview storylines, tournament facts, more

PGA TOUR Americas heads to The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist for the seventh of 16 events, and first of 10 events in the North America Swing. The winner receives 500 Fortinet Cup points, with a purse of $225,000 ($40,500 winner)

North America Swing membership additions

In addition to the top 60 players from Segment I earning exempt membership, 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.

This week, 13 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. Twenty-five players will be making their professional debuts this week at Uplands Golf Club.

Field summary (as of June 18, 2024)

156 players from 21 countries:

• 104 – United States
• 15 – Canada
• 10 – Argentina
• 4 – Mexico
• 2 – Australia, England, Denmark, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, China
• 1 – Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, Chile, France, Hong Kong, Czech Republic, Japan, Dominican Republic, Scotland

Players to watch

• Matthew Anderson (Canada) – Enters the North America Swing No. 1 in the Fortinet Cup; has been the top-ranked player in the standings since winning the 69th ECP Brazil Open
• Harry Hillier (New Zealand) – Currently No. 2 in the Fortinet Cup; recorded the first sub-60 round in PGA TOUR Americas history at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship, the final event of the Latin America Swing
• Willy Pumarol (Dominican Republic) - The lone Latin to earn exempt membership through Q-School for Segment II; earned an exemption into this year’s PGA TOUR Corales Puntacana Championship for the fifth time in his career (best finish: T65/2020)
• Joey Savoie (Canada) - One of 15 Canadians in the field; enters Segment II in the No. 27 position in the Fortinet Cup. Finished in solo fourth at the 2022 The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist
• Chris Korte (United States) – Finished tied for second at the 2023 The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist; currently No. 32 in the Fortinet Cup
• Thomas Ponder (United States) - 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
• Michael Brennan (United States) – Finished No. 12 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking and earned exempt membership into the North America Swing. Claimed eight individual titles in his four collegiate seasons at Wake Forest University
• Jeevan Sihota (Canada) – A Victoria, British Columbia native, Sihota appeared in all six events of the Latin America Swing, making three cuts. Sihota made his professional debut at the 2022 The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, where he finished T31
• José de Jesús Rodríguez (Mexico) – Currently No. 3 in the Fortinet Cup, Rodríguez is the highest-ranked Latin player in the field. Rodríguez won the Canadian Tour’s 2011 The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, and returns to Victoria for the first time since 2013
• Neal Shipley (United States) -Will be making his professional debut this week. Finished runner-up at the 2023 U.S. Amateur to earn exemptions into the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open; earned low-amateur honors in each appearance, the first player to do so since Viktor Hovland in 2019

Tournament history

The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist is celebrating 41 years at Uplands Golf Club, after being first introduced as a tournament in 1981. The event became PGA TOUR-sanctioned in 2013 and has since welcomed past participants who are current PGA TOUR members, such as British Columbia natives Adam Hadwin, Adam Svensson, Roger Sloan and Nick Taylor, as well as Jake Knapp, Graham DeLaet, Tony Finau and 2019 Champion Paul Barjon.

Since becoming a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, Uplands Golf Club has hosted The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist nine times (2013-19, 2022-23). This week’s field includes seven players who finished inside the top 10 at the PGA TOUR Canada event: Chris Korte (T2/2023), Joey Savoie (4th/2022), Sam Choi (T4/2023), Chris Francoeur (T4/2023), Travis Trace (T6/2019), Chase Sienkiewicz (T8/2023) and Chris Crisologo (T10/2022).

Fortinet Cup overview

The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist is the opening tournament of the North America Swing, and the seventh event of the season. The 10-event North America Swing is comprised of nine events in Canada and one in the United States. The 156-player field features 54 of the top 60 players who earned exempt membership for Segment II from the Latin America Swing, including five of the six tournament winners this season.

After the North America Swing’s ninth event (CRMC Championship presented by Gertens, Aug. 29-Sept. 1), the top 120 players in the Fortinet Cup will be exempt into the Fortinet Cup Championship (Sept. 5-8), the final event of the season. The season will conclude in Caledon, Ontario, at TPC Toronto with the top 10 players in the Fortinet Cup earning exempt membership into the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.

PGA TOUR Americas – 2024 season summary

Up to 15 Korn Ferry Tour cards are on the line during the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season – five conditional memberships will go to the top players from the Latin America (Matthew Anderson, Harry Hillier) and North America (top three players) Swings, and the top 10 players in the season-long Fortinet Cup points list will earn exempt membership.