Events like the Waste Management Phoenix Open have changed the previously-sedate viewing habits of golf galleries. New tournament director Brad Norris-Jones said he envisions a more “youthful and energetic” atmosphere for the Island’s annual pro stop on the PGA Tour Americas from Sept. 18-21, which will now be known as the Times Colonist Victoria Open presented by Andrew Sheret Limited.

Norris-Jones said there will be freshly-introduced activations all over the UplandsGolf Club, including on the 18th hole.

“It’s not going to be the Waste Management,” he quipped, of the famously boisterous Super Bowl weekend PGA Tour stop in Scottsdale, Arizona. “But we want to bring youth and excitement to the event, where fans feel a part of the game … a bit of a party atmosphere,” said Norris-Jones, who has previously been involved in various capacities in local sports as executive vice-president of operations for Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League of soccer, GM of the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League of baseball and sales with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League.

Norris-Jones has taken over the running of the Victoria Open from Keith Dagg, the legendary co-founder of the event in 1981, and integrally involved since in its four decade-plus history. Dagg will now take on an emeritus role with the tournament.

“It has been an honour to lead this tournament and watch it evolve over the years,” said Dagg, who has seen future PGA Tour players go through the Victoria Open from Steve Stricker, Stuart Appleby, Scott McCarron and Kirk Triplett to Mike Weir, Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes and Tony Finau.

“It cost $50,000 to put on the first tournament in 1981 at Glen Meadows, which was won by Dave Barr. It’s a little different now and costs $700,000 to stage.

But I loved every minute of doing it.” The Times Colonist, meanwhile, will take over title sponsorship of the Victoria Open, a role it also previously held from 2004 to 2011, although the company has been heavily involved in sponsoring the tournament at many levels since the beginning.

“The Victoria Open has become an important event in Greater Victoria, and we will do what we can to ensure it continues for many more years,” said Dave Obee, editor and publisher of the Times Colonist. “We have always been strong supporters of the community, and the sponsorship of the Open allows us to make a difference here and to show the value this tournament brings.”

The Times Colonist Victoria Open will switch from its traditional June dates to September at Uplands. The 16-tournament 2025 PGA Tour Americas, which plays across eight nations, will provide its top 10 players this season 2026 cards into the Korn Ferry Tour, which is one step from the PGA Tour in the progolf ladder. The switch in dates for the Times Colonist Victoria Open makes it the penultimate tournament of the season and the race to earn those coveted Korn Ferry Tour cards will be hot and heavy by then.

“The switch to September is massive,” said Obee. “That is a more crucial time of the season and our fans will know all the top players by then.”Brian Youell, master superintendent of the Uplands course, said the move to a late- summer date will not affect how he prepares the course for the pro golfers: “It will be more about keeping the course healthy through the stress period. The rough won’t be as thick. But the course will still play fast.”

The 16 PGA Tour Americas tournaments each offer purses of $225,000 US for a total of $3.6-million US. The tournament winners will earn $40,000 US. An additional $100,000 US bonus pool will be shared among the top-10 players who earn their Korn Ferry cards, with $25,000 of that going the season champion.

PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica merged into a single entity to form PGA Tour Americas last year. The former Canadian Tour became PGA Tour Canada in 2013, with 65 PGA Tour Canada alumni having gone on to play on the PGA Tour over the past decade. The 2024 Victoria Open raised $604,000 for its charity, the Easter Seals Camp Shawnigan, and organizers hope to top that this year.

At the culmination of the Fortinet Cup Championship, 10 Korn Ferry Tour cards will be awarded to the top 10 players in the season-long points list. These players will earn membership for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season, taking them one step closer to their PGA TOUR dreams.

The 2024 Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist was highlighted by Fortinet Cup champion Johnny Keefer who secured his first top-five finish in his professional debut at Uplands Golf Club. Keefer went on to secure seven additional top-five showings, including a victory that solidified his No. 1 finish in the season-long points list and promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.

“It was an honor to kickstart my professional career in Victoria,” said Keefer. “Uplands Golf Club is a true test of golf on PGA TOUR Americas, and the overwhelming feelings of support and hospitality were plentiful and vastly appreciated. It was an unforgettable event, and an experience I will always reflect on as I begin my Korn Ferry Tour career.”

In addition to Keefer, past participants of The Victoria Open have included 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, and Tony Finau.”

PGA TOUR Americas Record History

Uplands, established in 1922, now has a new course record of 60 ( 29-31 ) set by Cody Blick of Alamo, California on Saturday June 10th, 2017, playing in the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open: an Event on the MacKenzie Tour PGA TOUR Canada.

Roger Sloan & Andrew Roque shot a nine under 61 (31-30) the lowest round in the 88 year history of uplands to take over the Course Record.

Sonny Skinner from Georgia shot a 62 (32-30) in the 1989 Victoria Open. This record wiped out the old record held by Canadian Legend Moe Norman who shot a 63 (34-29) in 1969.