Tee 2 Green with Barry Sharpe - - November 26/08

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Saskatchewan and Calgary, Alberta's Wes Heffernan will represent Canada at the World Cup of Golf in China this week. The competition begins Thursday with 28 nations competing in Fourball and Foursome completion on alternate days. This is the second consecutive season that Heffernan has represented his country at the prestigious competition. Last year, he partnered with Mike Weir and finished tied for 17th.

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Despite how some of the major international golf tours seem to be effected as a result of a declining economy in some markets the Canadian Tour has shown remarkable growth for the coming 2009 season with half a dozen purse increases and the addition of three new events on the Tour's international calendar. One of the new Tour sponsors front and center this week. Scotiabank is the lead sponsor of the US $160,000 Sport Frances Open.

Addressing a media conference in Chile Tuesday, Scotiabank's Country Head and General Manager James Callahan offered a reason for his company's involvement. "There are strong ties joining Chile and Canada, with Canada being one of the top investors here. Just this year, the Canadian investment represented half of all foreign investment in Chile and Scotiabank is among the top investors."

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Canadians entered in this week's CanTour event in Chile are: Stuart Anderson
Brian Benedictson, Kent Fukushima, Mitchell Gillis, Todd Halpen, Andrew Jensen, Matt Johnston, Mike Mezei, James Muir, Adam Speirs, Dale Vallely and Kris Wasylowich.

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Could this be the start of something bigger . . . like a crack in the wall of the PGA TOUR schedule? Tiger Woods and the Buick division of General Motors have parted company, saving Buick something like $7 million per season

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Meanwhile, Woods has officially announced that his first U.S. golf course design project will be at The Cliffs at High Carolina near Asheville, NC. Like the two other Tiger Woods Design projects underway -- Al Ruwaya in Dubai and Punta Brava in Ensenada, Mexico -- The Cliffs at High Carolina course is designed for players of all skill levels, measuring to a maximum of almost 7,500 yards with each hole played from one of six tee boxes. Special care and time have been taken by Woods and his design team to ensure that all 18 holes receive southern exposure of sunlight, resulting in year-round playability at 4,000 feet elevation. The High Carolina course is currently in the permitting stage and is expected to begin construction in 2009 with a grand opening planned for the fall of 2010. Properties offered in the grand opening release at High Carolina are priced starting in the $500,000s to more than $3 million.

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The PGA Senior Champions Tour will feature 29 events in 2009 with the richest tournaments, the JELD-WEN Tradition in August and the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship in September, offering $2.7 million each. The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in April and the U.S. Senior Open Championship in July come close at $2.6 million. The rest of the schedule runs between $1.6 and $2.5 million. Only six tournaments will receive TV coverage next season.