First PGA Tour Canada event in the U.S. is hosted in Brainerd
BRAINERD, Minn. -- It's essentially minor league baseball for professional golf. PGA Tour Canada is making its first appearance south of the border in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Cragun's Resort is hosting the CRMC Championship. Brainerd is the inaugural U.S. host.
"Brainerd is known for being a golf Mecca," said Jack Wawro the director of golf at Cragun's Legacy Courses. "We've always been, 'hey are we gonna have a PGA tournament here soon?' It's not that easy, obviously. But just bringing that to this area and watching everyone that's excited about golf already, come out and watch these guys play, it was kind of a no-brainer."
This is the first ever PGA Tour Canada event in the United States. So the question is: Why cross the border and why Minnesota?
"Minnesota is north of Canada in some respects," joked Scott Pritchard the Executive Director of PGA Tour Canada. "We had a mission or an objective to look at some border states that made sense for the cadence of our schedule."
Many of the players flew into Minneapolis before last week's tournament in Winnipeg. They drove there, then back down to Brainerd. There are at least six players with Minnesota ties in the field, including Thomas Lehman Jr.
"It's working very well with our schedule and we couldn't be more pleased to be in Minnesota," said Pritchard.
Originally planned for 2020, the pandemic delayed the debut. This is the first of a six-year deal to host the tournament at Cragun's.
"It's always good," said Florida resident Gavin Hall, who is in the top 10 on the leaderboard after two rounds. "Travel is a little bit easier. Everything is just a little bit easier. But at the same time it's a golf course and I'm happy to be competing with all of these guys."