P.E.I. to host PGA Tour Americas qualifiers this summer

Elite golfers hoping to play in the PGA Tour Americas will tee off on Prince Edward Island in June at the qualifying school tournament's only stop in Canada. 

Mill River Resort in western P.E.I. will host the Q-school tournament, in which players compete to earn a tour card that gives them access to the first official event of the year. 

"It's been close to 25 years since an event like this has been at Mill River, so it's pretty exciting," said Sean Joyce, director of golf operations for Mill River Resort and Eagles Glenn. 

It's a "pretty special opportunity to bring people to our part of the world," Joyce said. 

The PGA Tour Americas is a stepping stone on the way to the PGA Tour. Players who perform well in the PGA Tour Americas can advance to the Korn Ferry Tour, where they play to try to get up to the PGA Tour, Joyce said. 

"You've got a lot of very good players at all three levels," he said. "There's a lot of players that are one or two swings away from making it to the top level." 

Some players on the PGA Tour this season were playing in the PGA Tour Americas just a few years ago, he said. 

"Guaranteed there will be someone that's coming through Mill River that will be on the PGA Tour in the next couple of years." 

Who's competing?

The golfers competing in the tournament will be high-performance athletes that are very dedicated, said Joyce. 

A majority of players will be coming from college-level golf, including NCAA division 1 and division 2 athletes, he said. 

There may also be a few older golfers who are "chasing the dream," he said. 

"You won't get as many of them, but you do get a few that are still exceptionally talented that are trying to make one last run at it," Joyce said. "It's kind of neat to see those stories as well." 

While there will be some good scores throughout the week, Joyce said he thinks Mill River can handle the calibre of play and will be a fair test of golf. 

"It will be fun to take an afternoon — and I know some of our other staff are thinking the same thing —  just to go out to our favourite holes to see how they play it because it will be a completely different level." 

Mill River managers hope the tournament will attract visitors to the golf course and resort this year and in the future, Joyce said. 

"It's a great opportunity to showcase it and hopefully people will want to come experience it for themselves," he said. 

The tournament in June will be open to spectators from the general public, and Mill River will be taking applications for volunteers, Joyce said.