The 2020 edition of the Nick Taylor Charity Pro-Am is moving up the calendar, in keeping with these unprecedented times, and will be held in June for the first time.

The fourth annual event, co-hosted by PGA Tour standout Taylor and the University of the Fraser Valley golf program with presenting sponsor Algra Bros. Developments, will be staged on Friday, June 26 at Ledgeview Golf Club. 

The event traditionally runs in September, but with the PGA Tour schedule shuffled backward into the fall to work around the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor will be playing in high-profile tournaments stateside at that time of year. At present, he's back home in Abbotsford, opening a window to host his namesake charity tourney before his planned return to the PGA Tour in July.

The event is highly anticipated locally, and is moving towards another sell-out this year. As of Monday, June 15, there is still room for several additional teams; for more information, contact UFV golf coach Chris Bertram at Chris.Bertram@ufv.ca or click here to register.

"There's a lot of moving pieces," Bertram noted with a chuckle. "The dates we originally had scheduled for this now overlapped with the Tour Championship, so the odds of Nick being able to be back and self-quarantine and participate were low. Since Nick is here until the 28th, we thought we'd go ahead with this. It seems like we're in a good place right now in terms of safety in the sport of golf, and safety of all of our participants is top of mind."

As an outdoor sport where physical distancing is relatively easy to maintain, golf courses have been able to remain open in B.C. during the COVID-19 pandemic, with minor modifications. At Ledgeview, contact points have been decreased with bunker rakes and ball washers removed and a new pin/hole system so golfers no longer have to handle the pin. Carts are also sanitized after each use, among other COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

This year's Nick Taylor Charity Pro-Am will not have any large group gatherings, like the traditional post-round catered dinner, and the event has gone to staggered tee times this year rather than the usual shotgun start to prevent overcrowding.

Bertram expects that the fourth annual Nick Taylor tourney will take the event's combined fundraising total past the $500,000 mark. Dollars raised go to support the UFV golf program along with charities chosen by Taylor and his wife Andie. This year's selected charity is the UFV Food Bank, which addresses food insecurity amongst the UFV community.

Nick Taylor is in the midst of his sixth full season on the PGA Tour, and is a two-time winner on the world's top pro golf circuit, most recently winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February to secure an exemption into The Masters. He's currently 21st in the FedEx Cup season standings, 23rd on the PGA Tour money list, and 103rd in the world golf rankings. 

A graduate of Abbotsford's Yale Secondary and a University of Washington alum, Taylor has won his eponymous event twice in three years – including last year when he fired a 64 – and three times overall dating back to when it was known as the UFV Cascades Pro-Am. Other luminaries to have won the tournament include Adam Hadwin (2011, with a tourney-record 62) and James Lepp (2012).