This is the fourth year in a row with Samsung as title sponsor. Samsung signed on as title sponsor in 1998 when the event was held as part of the Canadian Tour in London, Ontario.

"Samsung has been proud to be associated with the CPGA Championship over the past 3 years," said Chris Cayley, Sales Manager of Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. "We look forward to continuing our association with the CPGA and look forward to working with the BUY.COM TOUR for the first time in 2001. This new association with the BUY.COM TOUR is an exciting announcement for Canadian golf and for Samsung."

The BUY.COM TOUR, which is owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, is entering its 12th year. The BUY.COM TOUR originated in 1990 as the Ben Hogan Tour. Nike took over title sponsorship of the TOUR in 1993 followed by BUY.COM in 2000.

"We are excited to be joining forces with the Canadian PGA and Samsung to bring this event to Canada," said Bill Calfee, Chief of Operations for the BUY.COM TOUR. "We are sure that this tournament will be a popular addition for golf fans in the Toronto area."

Total purse for the championship will more than quadruple to $450,000US with $81,000US to the winner. That's the largest ever for a Canadian PGA Championship. By comparison, the purse for last year's championship was $150,000 Canadian.

"Moving our championship onto the BUY.COM TOUR wouldn't be possible without the strong corporate support of an industry leader like Samsung Electronics," said David Colling, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian PGA.

"We're very pleased that Samsung will share in the excitement that has already started to build for the first-ever BUY.COM TOUR event in Canada."

First staged in 1912, the Canadian PGA Championship is the second oldest professional golf championship in Canada and boasts a legacy of legendary champions like Arnold Palmer, George Knudson, Lee Trevino, Al Balding and Raymond Floyd.

The 2001 BUY.COM TOUR schedule kicks off March 5-11 with the BUY.COM Florida Classic in Gainesville, Florida. The Tour's title sponsor, BUY.COM, is a leading internet superstore that includes 12 online specialty stores offering more than 950,000 products in a broad range of categories, including computer hardware and software, sporting goods and more.

For more information please contact Terry Dyni at the CPGA.