Air Canada Championship (Greater Vancouver Open) Tournament
First played: 1996
Last played: 2002
When the tournament debuted, under the name Greater Vancouver Open, it was an opposite-field tournament: it took place the same week as the long-running World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club. But in its fourth year, with a new sponsor on board, the tournament was renamed the Air Canada Championship and given its own, dedicated week on the PGA Tour schedule.
In 1999, Mike Weir posted his first career win here. In so doing, he became the first Canadian golfer to win a PGA Tour event in Canada since Pat Fletcher won the 1954 Canadian Open.
There were no multiple champions in the event's short history. The record for largest margin of victory was seven strokes, established by Joel Edwards in what was Edwards' only win on the PGA Tour.
An all-time PGA Tour record was set in this tournament in its final year. In the second round, Stan Utley needed only six putts to finish his front nine. That is the tour record for fewest putts for nine holes.
Winners of the Greater Vancouver Open/Air Canada Championship
1996 — Guy Boros, 2721997 — Mark Calcavecchia, 265
1998 — Brandel Chamblee, 265
1999 — Mike Weir, 266
2000 — Rory Sabbatini, 268
2001 — Joel Edwards, 265
2002 — Gene Sauers, 269
Golf course: The host course, for all seven years of the event, was Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey, British Columbia, a city outside of Vancouver. The tournament was played on the club's Ridge Course.
