A major golf tournament is headed for the Maritimes.

The inaugural PGA Tour Canada series has chosen a course in Cape Breton as one of its nine stops on a coast-to-coast circuit.

The 2013 Cape Breton Celtic Classic will be held at The Lakes Golf Club in Ben Eoin.

PGA officials say the course came highly recommended.

“The one location that continued to come up with everyone we talked to was that the place you need to be was Cape Breton,” says PGA Tour Canada president Jeffrey Monday.

More than 150 top golfers will compete for a six-figure purse and coveted rankings to advance their pro careers.

The week-long tournament, which tees off on Labour Day, will be worth well over $1 million to the local economy. The tour`s director says spectators can expect to see great golf.

“These are incredibly talented professional golfers who make their living at this sport,” says tournament director Kevin Cameron.

Some more established Maritime links were passed over by the PGA tour in favour of The Lakes, which only opened four years ago. A local promoter of golf tourism calls it an important coup.

“To have a PGA Tour Canada inaugural event in Cape Breton is fantastic,” says Katherine MacDonald of Destination Cape Breton. “I think it only increases our reputation as a world-class golf destination.”

Local amateurs are anxious to be part of the tournament`s gallery to see how the pros play the course.

“It brings all these top players, for us regular members, it gives us an idea how the pros will play the course,” says F.X. MacNeil. “This is a lovely course and it will work out well for everybody.”

Organizers have committed to at least three years of annual visits for the PGA tournament, putting The Lakes firmly on the map of competitive golf.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Randy MacDonald