Golf: The decline of the Canadian Open

It was often called "the fifth major."

Now it appears to be a fifth wheel.

Sadly, the Canadian Open golf championship has fallen out of favor in the past twenty years or so. In it's heyday in the '60s and '70s, the entry list and subsequent leaderboard was a who's who of the PGA Tour.

Jack Nicklaus tried for decades to win, he never did.

Tom Watson entered eight times, with his best finish a third in 1979 at the Abbey.

Watson was angry with what he felt was fan bias toward Lee Trevino after he triple bogeyed the third hole during the tense final round.

He vowed never to return.

Contrary to common belief, he did return in 1980 at Royal Montreal and 1981 at Glen Abbey where he finished twentieth.

Two time champion Bruce Lietzke, Hale Irwin, and Tom Kite were regulars, as was the usual Canadian contingent bent on "being the first Canadian to win since Pat Fletcher in 1954" as they were constantly reminded.

Tiger Woods, chasing the mythical Triple Crown, captured the 2000 Open in an exciting head to head battle with Grant Waite.

While familiar names Justin Leonard, Hal Sutton, and Davis Love competed, the field was dominated by journeymen Aaron Bengoechea, Doug Dunakey, and Paul Curry.

Anyone that makes it onto the PGA Tour is good, yet, the aforementioned Bengoechea made eight cuts in thirty tournaments that season.

He was able to play in Canada only because so many above him on the money list took the week off.

This year only three of the top 20 in the world bothered showing up--one being Canada's own Mike Weir.

There was a time when you didn't skip the Canadian Open and the title looked good on your resume.

Not anymore.

Back in 1986, Golf Magazine surveyed a large group of PGA Tour pros and asked them to list the most important tournaments to win. Naturally, the four majors came out on top.

Where did the Canadian Open finish? 15th!

A vote in 2002 would place it much lower since only four of the top 40 in the world rankings attended.

When Lee Trevino won the first Open at Glen Abbey in 1977 Jack Nicklaus, Tom Kite, and Ray Floyd were breathing down his neck.

When Dudley Hart won the rain-shortened event in 1996, such stalwarts as Scott Dunlap, Harry Taylor ("Qualifying school is something I do every fall") and Tom Byrum were giving chase.

Okay, David Duval and Tiger Woods were there but they were just starting their careers.

So what happened to the fifth major? Several things really.

In 1988, the nail was hammered into the coffin when the Canadian Open was moved from its typical June date to early or mid September.

The June spot was prime -- right between the United States and British Open's.

The Canadian Open on its own had a strong field, but between two majors it was ideal.

Lee Trevino won all three in 1971 over a span of 20 days and they made a special trophy for him.

He was even named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for that accomplishment.

Not to fault Tiger Woods, but his repeat of that feat in 2000 took three months with the September dates and the achievement drew scant interest outside Canada.

By September most of the top players are resting for the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, or play a couple of tournaments in Europe or Japan where they're paid just for showing up.

A few years ago Greg Norman played the European Tour's Swiss Open instead of Glen Abbey.

He missed the cut but took home $700,000 for two days work.

There are those that, having locked up their tour cards for next year, coast home by competing in the odd event and spend the majority of the autumn hunting and fishing.

The Canadian Open is often up against U.S. Open tennis.

Why watch Aaron Barber birdie the fifth when you can catch Agassi and the Williams' sisters destroy their foes?

Also, the NFL regular season begins in September and dominates the network schedule, pushing the Canadian Open further into the background.

The Canadian Open is now part of what is known as the "Fall Finish Presented by PriceWaterhouseCoopers."

With the Player of the Year Award up for grabs, we may see stronger fields at the later events this season, yet, the fall is usually the time when those struggling to keep their card make up most of the weekly (weakly?)field.

The Canadian Open used to be a notch below the majors for importance.

Today, it sits on par with the John Deere Classic, 84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania, and the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

Yes, those are the real names of PGA Tour events.

It took 20 years, but they realized the mistake of keeping the tournament at Glen Abbey.

The house that Jack built was anointed as the home of the Open in 1977 and until recently it was firmly planted there.

It quickly lost its prestige and came to be viewed as little more than another weekly tour stop.

The National went out of the championship with one Montreal reporter derisively calling it the Oakville Open.

The Royal Canadian Golf Association owned Glen Abbey and didn't have to pay rental fees for the week, so it was a cash cow.

With the sale to Clublink recently, that all changed.

Revenue is important, but that doesn't stop the United States Open from visiting Pebble Beach where a sell out is 20,000 daily.

For too long, such standouts as Donald Ross' Essex course near Windsor, Vancouver's Capilano, and Toronto's St. George's, have been ignored.

With the Open becoming national again, it's time to return to those courses.

Glen Abbey became too easy.

The design of the Abbey is typical of Nicklaus' early designs: generous landing areas with large, undulating greens.

Ken Green started the assault in 1988 with his 13-under winning score.

Since then the highest winning total at the Abbey is eight under, and the lowest is Tiger Woods twenty two under.

Before you say, "Well, that's Tiger Woods," consider that Grant Waite was twenty one under and a total of 68t players were at par or better.

What is this, the Bob Hope Classic?

Yeah, some test of golf Glen Abbey is.

In 1977, only 12 players fired par or better and in 1978 just two came home with those totals.

In recent years some, commentators still insist on calling it a monster.

A pushover comes to mind.

Byron Nelson said that in his day they didn't believe you could have power and accuracy, yet he noted that today's players are proving that it can be done.

Yes, the players are better now but Glen Abbey used to be a lot tougher.

From 1977 to 1983, the 16th at the Abbey played as a 466 yard, brutal par 4.

Take your 4 and get out of there with your dignity intact.

Hit it left and you were in the trees or valley and looking at double bogey.

When the pros showed up for the 1984 edition of the tournament, the 16th tee had been pushed back 50 yards and was now an easy par-5.

Hook it into the trees now and you can still manage birdie.

Several of the greens were flattened out to prevent ten foot comeback putts. T

The Masters and U.S. Open don't care that you have 10 feet for par after a six foot birdie attempt. Deal with it.

The 500 yard par five eighteenth is treated as a par four by today's pro.

Everyone goes for the green in two, even when the pin is bordering the lake.

Several players hit driver and a wedge onto the green.

A wedge for your second shot to a par 5?

The Canadian Open may never be considered a fifth major again.

Golf is so global now that many tournaments are seen as special besides the majors.

Although it also is played on too easy of a course, The Players Championship is a must play.

The Memorial, the glorified exhibitions known as the World Golf Championships, and even international events such as the venerable Australian Open are considered prestigious.

To gain back it's mantle as an important victory, the step of moving it around the nation has already been taken.

Narrow the fairways, grow the rough deeper, and speed up the greens on all host courses. It is a national championship, it should be difficult.

It won't happen for 2004, but whenever the Canadian Open comes around after that, there should be major course changes.

Turn the 16th back into a par four, this time making it 476 yards to account for increased distance among the players.

Par should be a good score again.

Move the tee up 10 yards at the 18th and turn it into a nightmarish par four.

Overall, par would now be a difficult 70, not an easy 72.

The last few holes coming down the stretch of any tournament, especially an important one should be demanding on the golfer physically and psychologically.

Imagine coming to the 16th with a one-shot lead on Sunday at the new Glen Abbey with three potential bogeys looming large.

The leader needs 12 quality shots to get in safely and win.

He survives the torturous 16th and arrives at Glen Abbey's bunker ridden 17th.

Still breathing after another par, he blasts a 300-yard drive at the 18th into the deep rough on the left side.

Our leader still has 190 yards over water with a breeze blowing left to right toward the lake.

The pin is sitting just twelve feet from a watery grave in its usual Sunday position.

Does he play for the middle of the narrow green or one of the three bunkers on the left?

The middle of the green leaves him with a tricky 50 footer, a three putt beckons.

The bunkers will stop a flyer out of the rough, but then he'd be looking at a delicate sand shot to a fast green sloping toward the water.

Will his second shot even travel that far?

Sounds a lot like a major championship.