ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The NextGen Atlantic Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is set to begin at Antigonish Golf Club, July 12-14 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. 

Practice rounds are scheduled for July 11, before the official 54-hole tournament gets underway on July 12. Play is scheduled to wrap up on July 14. 

The top six (6) male competitors (not including ties) will earn a spot in the upcoming Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, August 7-10, at Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C. The top six (6) female golfers (including ties) will also earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, July 25-29, at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.  

The starting field will feature 63 players – 42 Junior Boys and 21 Junior Girls – vying for a spot in their respective Canadian Junior Championship later this summer. 

The NextGen Atlantic Championship is the last of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with JOURNIE Rewards. Most recently, Yasmine Qureshi and Cameron Pero were crowned champions at the NextGen Quebec Championship at Club de Golf Hemmingford in Hemmingford, Que. For the full schedule of 2022 NextGen Championships, click here. 

There are two additional NextGen Championships scheduled for the fall – the NextGen Fall Series East Championship in Hampton, N.B. and the NextGen Fall Series West Championship in Golden, B.C. 

For past results of the 2022 NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards: Pacific | Ontario | Western | Prairie | Quebec 

The Antigonish Golf Club opened in the mid 1920’s as a six-hole golf course and was originally laid out by its founding members. Soon later, an additional three holes were added to complete the nine-hole design in 1926. As the popularity of the sport grew, so did the golf course. In 1990, the 18-hole layout was achieved and this week it will test some of the best junior golfers in the Maritimes.  

Additional information about the 2022 NextGen Atlantic Championship can be found here.  

About the NextGen Championships series, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards 

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2022 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf.  

Mike McCoy and Terrill Samuel were crowned winners of the R&A Senior Amateur and Women’s Senior Amateur championships at Royal Dornoch.

With both championships played concurrently for the first time, McCoy was almost able to enjoy a lap of honour in the final round of the Senior Amateur.

Samuel, a member at Weston Golf Club in Toronto, handled the tough conditions at the renowned venue in the Scottish Highlands better than her competitors to join McCoy as Senior Women’s Amateur champion.

Samuel is just the third Canadian winner after Alison Murdoch in 2007 and Diane Williams in 1994. McCoy is the second consecutive Iowa golfer to lift the trophy, following close friend and fellow Des Moines native Gene Elliott. The 2021 champion was on hand to spray his next door neighbour with champagne when McCoy holed out on the 18^th green.

McCoy began the final round with a nine-shot lead, the only player in red figures on five-under-par. He extended his lead to 12 shots after just four holes and was never in any danger of being overtaken. He had the luxury of an eight-over 78 in strong cross winds to post a three-over 283 total and win by seven shots over fellow American Lee Porter.

“Up until the end I played some of the best golf of my life in this wind,” said McCoy. “My round yesterday (one-under 69) was one of the best of my life.

“I knew I had a big lead and I was maybe protecting it a bit today. I was patient all week, which was key. I probably lost a little bit on the back nine today but I just kept my chin up. I grinded hard at the start and when I made the turn after nine I knew I had a lot (of shots) to work with.”

The 59-year-old, who will lead next year’s Walker Cup team for the United States of America at St Andrews, credited Elliott for inspiring him to victory. 

He added, “After Gene won, I definitely made it a goal this year to win this championship. I thought if I worked hard maybe it would become my turn. I worked hard over the winter, played well this Spring and was in decent form before I got here. It’s a big honour to have won this championship on such a great course, in tough conditions against such a strong field.”

Samuel won the battle of attrition that was the women’s championship in the first year in which The R&A staged both the senior men’s and women’s championships together on the same course.

Joint 36-hole leader with Peru’s Anna Morales, Samuel struggled to a third round 85 in the strong winds that sent scores sky rocketing. However, the 61-year-old English-born Canadian never gave up. She returned a closing three-over 75 for a 22-over 309 total to defeat 2019 champion Lara Tennant by two shots. Emma Brown from England was third.

Samuel said, “It’s unbelievable to do win on this course, in such tough conditions. I played poorly on the front nine yesterday, but today I made a great start and that helped me mentally. It made me hang in there and I just battled hard over the back nine.

“This is my biggest win in golf because I was born in the UK. I was born in Twickenham and moved to Canada with my parents when I was two months old. I used to come over every year and spend time with my grandparents in Cornwall and play amateur events over here so it feels like a home win.

“I know Diane Williams, so to get my name on the trophy with hers and become the third Canadian winner is a huge honour.”

English philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously wrote that, without rules, the game of golf would be “nasty, brutish and short.”

(Or maybe he was referring to society without laws. Whatever. I spent more time on the golf course than in my philosophy class in university.)

One thing I am very clear about is that Mary Beth McKenna is Golf Canada’s Director of Amateur Championships and Rules. With so many new and returning golfers hitting the links these days, she wants to remind everyone that, without rules, the game would be … well, you know.

This doesn’t mean you have to commit the 200 or so pages of the Rules of Golf book to memory or familiarize yourself with the almost 600-page Official Guide to the Rules of Golf (formerly called “Decisions on the Rules of Golf”). We will leave that to the dedicated Rules referees who incessantly study both volumes to ensure that Rules situations in competitions are adjudicated correctly.

For the most part, all we as recreational golfers need to know are the basics. In fact, Rule 1 sums up a lot of what we must understand if we are to respect the game, our fellow golfers and the course.

The Modernized Rules include a new form of stroke-play called “Maximum Score” where a player or side’s score for a hole is capped at a maximum number of strokes set by the Committee.

Visit https://t.co/ChIGlGmh51 to learn more. pic.twitter.com/nkoy5wcbiY

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) October 29, 2020

It is titled “The Game, Player Conduct and the Rules.” The first two sentences go to the core of the sport: “Play the course as you find it and play the ball as it lies. Play by the Rules and in the spirit of the game.” A little later, players are advised to “play in the spirit of the game by acting with integrity …, showing consideration of others …, and taking good care of the course.”

And if you just want to bat the ball around with some friends, that may be all you need. But if you’re playing more competitively, then your knowledge of the Rules must expand proportionately.

McKenna says, at minimum, you must understand at least these three seminal Rules:

Rule 6 (Playing a Hole)

This Rule covers how to play a hole—such as the specific Rules for teeing off to start a hole, the requirement to use the same ball for an entire hole except when substitution is allowed, the order of play (which matters more in match play than stroke play) and completing a hole.

Rule 8 (Course Played as It is Found)

This Rule covers a central principle of the game: “play the course as you find it.” When the player’s ball comes to rest, he or she normally has to accept the conditions affecting the stroke and not improve them before playing the ball.

Rule 9 (Ball Played as It Lies; Ball at Rest Lifted or Moved)

This Rule covers a central principle of the game: “play the ball as it lies.” Even if you land in a fairway divot.

“In addition to these three Rules, understanding the definitions is critical to fully understanding the Rules,” says McKenna. The standard Rules book ($5), written in the third person, is available for purchase on the Golf Canada website as is the “Player’s Edition” ($4) which is an abridged, user-friendly set of the Rules with shorter sentences, commonly used phrases and diagrams. Written in the second person, this is intended to the primary publication for golfers.

No doubt the Player’s Edition would help us better comprehend what McKenna suggests are the three most misunderstood Rules of golf: 16, 17 and 18.

Rule 16: Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions

(Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Conditions, Embedded Ball. “Most golfers don’t grasp the concept of nearest point of complete relief and relief area,” McKenna says.

Rule 17: Penalty Areas.

This is a specific Rule for penalty areas which are bodies of water or other areas … where the ball is often lost or unable to be played. For one penalty stroke, players may use specific relief options to play a ball from outside the penalty area. “It is important to know the difference between what red and yellow markings mean as they provide different relief options,” she says.

Rule 18: Stroke-And-Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball.

This Rule covers taking relief under penalty of stroke and distance. When a ball is lost outside a penalty area or comes to rest out of bounds, the required progression of playing from the teeing area is broken; the player must resume that progression by playing again from where the previous stroke was made. It also covers how and when a provisional ball may be played to save time when the ball in play might have gone out of bounds or be lost outside a penalty area. McKenna points out that a local Rule may provide an alternative whereby, with a two-stroke penalty, the player may drop a ball “in a large area between the point where the ball is estimated to have come to rest or gone out of bounds and the edge of the fairway of the hole being played that is not nearer the hole.” But, she cautions, this local Rule must be implemented by the course to be in effect.

While most of us only hear about the Rules when there is a controversial situation on the PGA or LPGA tours, they exist for all golfers. Knowing them, even the basics, can save you strokes and help you better understand and appreciate the game and how it is to be properly played. Visit the Golf Canada website today to order your copy of the Player’s Edition of the Rules or view the Rules online. You can even sign up to take the free Online Rules Academy. If you have any questions about the Rules of Golf, you can Ask An Expert at dev-www.golfcanada.ca/ask-an-expert/.

Want to learn more? Here are 20 Rules you should know.

Knowing the Rules can save you strokes, even for the best players in the world.

HEMMINGFORD, Que. – Cameron Pero wasn’t driving four hours from his hometown of Bloomfield, Ont., to Hemmingford, Que., for any other reason but to win the NextGen Quebec Championship. And that he did.

The Team Ontario member had already secured his spot at the Canadian Junior Boys Championships later this summer with a T2 finish at the NextGen Ontario Championship and took his game one step further this week in Quebec, finishing atop the leaderboard.  

Pero joined Yasmine Qureshi – champion of the Junior Girls division – in the winner’s circle at Club de Golf Hemmingford on Thursday afternoon after each mounting comebacks of their own in the final round of the regional junior event south of Montreal.

Matthew Javier took a 36-hole two-stroke lead into day three of the 54-hole tournament, but the advantage was short lived when the final pairing set sail on Thursday. Momentum swung in Pero’s favour in the early stages of the round and after just four holes, he held the outright lead.

Javier, who earned a runner-up finish at the NextGen Prairie Championship earlier in June, got back on level terms with his counterpart with a birdie on no. 5 but that was as close as the Toronto, Ont. native would get. Pero regained full control of the lead with a birdie on no. 6 and after bogeys on no. 9 and no. 11, the Miami University commit steadied the ship en route to a final round one-under par 71.

The Picton Golf & Country Club member’s win in Quebec is his second career NextGen title after taking home the honours at the NextGen Fall Series East Championship in 2021.

Qureshi fired the low round of the week, a four-under 68 in the second round of the competition but still needed every one of her seven birdies on Wednesday to earn victory. The Ville de Québec native dug herself a deep hole with an opening round 10-over par 82, but climbed her way back to the surface in round two, and then leaped onto the podium with a final round 76 to win by one stroke over Shauna Liu (Maple, Ont.)

Qureshi, out of Club de golf de Lorette, trailed Keira Hou (Richmond Hill, Ont.) by three strokes when making the turn on Thursday but finished strong with an even-par 36 coming in, to capture the title. Hou, who lead or co-lead throughout the entire tournament, dropped four strokes on her final three holes and fell into third place.

Hou’s younger sister Katherine was also in the field in Hemmingford and posted a T7 finish to book her ticket to the Canadian Junior Girls Championship later this summer, alongside her sister Keira.

Click here for full results of the 2022 NextGen Quebec Championship.

Including Qureshi, the top eight players (including ties) in the Junior Girls division have earned exemptions into the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship taking place July 25-29 at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.

POS	NAME
1	Yasmine Qureshi (Québec, Que.)
2	Shauna Liu (Maple, Ont.)
3	Keira Hou (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
T4	Aryn Matthews (Little Britain, Ont.)
T4	Genevieve Jobin-Colgan (Québec, Que.)
6	Anne-Léa Lavoie (Québec, Que.)
T7	Morgan Best (Pointe-Claire, Que.)
T7	Katherine Hou (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
T7	Mackenzie Cloutier (Mirabel, Que.)

From the Junior Boys division, the top eight players have earned exemptions into the 2022 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, August 6-10, at Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops, British Columbia.

POS	NAME
1	Cameron Pero (Bloomfield, Ont.)
2	Matthew Javier (Toronto, Ont.)
3	Gavin Ives (Halifax, N.S.)
4	Justin Grimard (Deux-Montagnes, Que.)
T5	Anthony Jomphe (Chicoutimi, Que.)
T5	Guillaume Paquette (La Minerve, Que.)
T7	Antoine Jasmin (Blainville, Que.)
T7	Isaiah Ibit (Orleans, Ont.)

About the NextGen Championships series, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2022 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. 

HEMMINGFORD, Que. – The NextGen Quebec Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is set to begin at Club de Golf Hemmingford (Village Course) in Hemmingford, Que., June 28-30. 

Practice rounds are scheduled for June 27, before the official 54-hole tournament gets underway on June 28. Play is scheduled to wrap up on June 30.

The top eight (8) players in the Junior Boys division will earn a spot in the upcoming Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, August 7-10, at Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C. The top eight (8) players in the Junior Girls division will also earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, July 25-29, at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.

The starting field will feature 119 players – 90 Junior Boys and 29 Junior Girls – vying for a spot in their respective Canadian Junior Championship later this summer.

After 36 holes, the field will be reduced to the top 50 Junior Boys and top 20 Junior Girls, including ties.

The NextGen Quebec Championship is the fifth of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with JOURNIE Rewards. Most recently, Amy Seung Hyun Lee and Alex Swinnerton took home the honours in the rain shortened NextGen Prairie Championship at Quarry Oaks Golf Course in Steinbach, Man. For the full schedule of 2022 NextGen Championships, click here.

Club de Golf Hemmingford (Village Course) is a hidden gem, about an hour south of Montreal and a Rory McIlroy tee shot north of the United States border. In 1965, the property originally opened as a 9-hole golf course, before an additional nine were added to the track in 1967, but it wasn’t until 1968 that Hemmingford officially opened as an 18-hole establishment. Now, the club is home to 36 holes, including the 6,655-yard championship course that will challenge junior golfers at the NextGen Quebec Championship. players will require strategic excellence to manage their way through the Village Course and onto the podium in La Belle Province.

For past results of the 2022 NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards: Pacific | Ontario | Western | Prairie

Additional information about the 2022 NextGen Quebec Championship can be found here.

NOTABLES

Léonie Tavares (Mirabel, Que.)

When looking for Léonie Tavares on any leaderboard, don’t look past the top-five, because chances are you won’t find her. The 11-year-old phenom, who won’t graduate high school until 2028 (!), has already taken her golf game south of the border. Not only did she compete, but she was crowned champion of the Girls 9-12 division at the Ocala Open on the Florida Junior Tour with rounds of 72 and 69, respectively. Prior to that, at the mere age of 10, the rising star won the club championship at her home course of Glendale in Mirabel, Que.

Samuel Breton-Gagnon (Québec, Que.)

Samuel Breton-Gagnon was near perfect at Golf Château Bromont for the 2022 University/College National Championship at the end of May but fell just short in the final round. The 18-year-old carded rounds of back-to-back five-under 67, contributing to a T2 finish against the country’s elite collegiate golfers. The Quebec native was also part of the Champlain St Lawrence Lions team that captured the 2021 CCAA Golf National Championship, an event in which he also recorded an 8^th place finish in the individual competition. Breton-Gagnon has proved he can go low, and he’ll look to do so again in Hemmingford.

Anne-Léa Lavoie (Québec, Que.)

This Team Canada National Junior Squad member won just about everything there was to win in Quebec in 2021, including the Junior Girls Championship and the Junior Girls Match Play. Additionally, the 18-year-old registered at T8 finish at last year’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. Simply put, Lavoie knows her way to the top of the leaderboard, and she will bank on her winning experience at the NextGen Quebec Championship this week.

OTHER NOTABLES

• Alexandra Botsis
• Alicia Henault
• Andy Mac
• Antonia Ho
• Atlas Ibit
• Chad Huber
• Charly Pinel
• David Lafrenière
• Henry Dao
• Geneviève Jobin-Colgan
• Guillaume Paquette
• Jake Houston
• Yasmine Qureshi
• Zach Pageau

About the NextGen Championships series, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2022 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. 

STEINBACH, Man. – The NextGen Prairie Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards lands in Central Canada at Quarry Oak Golf Course in Steinbach, Man., June 10 – 12.

Practice rounds are scheduled for June 9, before the official 54-hole tournament gets underway on June 10. Play is scheduled to wrap up on June 12.

The top 6 male competitors will earn a spot in the upcoming Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, August 7-10, at Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C. The top 6 female golfers (including ties) will also earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, July 25-29, at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.

The starting field will feature 89 players – 67 Junior Boys and 22 Junior Girls – vying for a spot in their respective Canadian Junior Championship later this summer.

The NextGen Prairie Championship is the fourth of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with JOURNIE Rewards. Lucy Lin and Alex Zhang took home the honours in the latest NextGen Championship at Pine Hills Golf Club in Rocky Mountain House, Alta. For the full schedule of 2022 NextGen Championships, click here.

Quarry Oaks Golf Course, a 27-hole course located southeast of Winnipeg Man., will play host to the junior event. The Central Canadian club covers 440 acres and features three different nine-hole courses, each unique in their own way. The diversifying stylistic variety allows a challenge for intermediate golfers up to professionals and will test the best junior golfers of the Prairie provinces this week.

For past results of the 2022 NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards: Pacific | Ontario | Western

Additional information about the 2022 NextGen Prairie Championship can be found here.

NOTABLES

Ella Kozak (Yorkton, Sask.)

Ella Kozak continues to climb the ranks in Canadian junior golf and saw her name mixed in with some of the best Junior Girls in Canada at last year’s Golf Canada Junior Selection Camp. Prior to that, the Yorkton, Sask., native won the Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s Championship and will be vying for the NextGen Prairie Championship this week.

Ryan Blair (Winnipeg, Man.)

Ryan Blair will be in familiar territory at Quarry Oaks Golf Course this week. Blair is less than a week removed from a semi-final performance at the Steinbach, Man. track at last week’s 2022 Manitoba Match Play Championship and will be looking for a repeat performance at the stroke play event June 10-12.

Clara Peake (Binscarth, Man.)

The reigning 2021 Manitoba Junior Women’s Provincial Champion headlines the Junior Girls field at Quarry Oaks this week. Peake’s rise to the top of Manitoba junior golf came after just three years from her picking up a golf club. The Binscarth, Man., native will look to continue building on an impressive resume at the NextGen Prairie Championship.

Hunter Kutcher (Regina, Sask.)

Kutcher was crowned champion of the 2021 Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Provincial Championship and will be taking his talents to the neighbouring province of Manitoba for a shot at the NextGen Prairie Championship.  

OTHER NOTABLES

• Addison Kartush
• Jack Taylor
• Noah Fiks
• Jack Moro
• Alex Swinnerton
• Carter Timmerman
• Darien Herlick
• Max Regier
• Autumn Neiszner

About the NextGen Championships series, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2022 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. 

Rocky Mountain House, Alta. – As the old saying goes, ‘age is just a number.’ Lucy Lin and Alex Zhang proved that theory right at the 2022 NextGen Western Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards.

Lin, 12, and Zhang, 13, showed maturity beyond their years – and then some – at Pine Hills Golf Club in Rocky Mountain House, Alta. They certainly were not the oldest in the starting field of 93 players but this week they proved to be the best, winning their respective divisions at the junior event.

Lin, a Vancouver, B.C. native, lead wire-to-wire in the Junior Girls division, shooting even-par or better in each of the three rounds to secure a two-stroke victory over Eileen Park – yet another youngster who proved her talents out west.

“I had a lot of fun, [gained] a lot of experienced, learned a lot and played quite well,’ said Lin.

Lin, the second youngest player in the field in the Junior Girls divisions, welcomed the challenge of competing against girls up to the age of 19, and says she was just trying to play her own game, hit every shot well and learn from the experience.

The west-coast prodigy is now turning her focus to a U.S. Junior Girl Qualifier and says her main goal for this season is to qualify for that event.

Park, the runner-up in the Junior Girls division and youngest competitor in the field, put her talent on display in Alberta and showed why her potential is amongst the highest of junior girl golfers in Canada.

“I don’t have any fears. I’ve played with these girls for a few years now, so I am kind of used to it,” said Park. “It’s actually pretty fun to play with the older girls now. There’s a little more challenge [though] because they hit it further than me.”

The 12-year-old says she is trying to hit more “bombs” and throw more “darts” to make up for the gap in distance from the older girls. It’s safe to say she did her fair share of dart throwing this week, finishing 2-under par for the tournament.

Shifting gears, Park says she hopes to win the U19 Provincial Championship and “maybe” the Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship.

In the Junior Boys divisions, Zhang mounted an improbable comeback in the final round, firing a 1-under 72 for a two-stroke victory over Charlie Gillepsie. The 13-year-old showed that no moment was too big for him in a field where many of his competitors had more experience under their belt.

“I wasn’t scared at all, but I viewed it as a good challenge for me and a good test of golf,” said Zhang. “It was really great for experience to see how they managed emotions and their shots.”

“I knew my game was feeling pretty good going into today. I knew I had to play my own game, not think about the score and who’s leading, and I would have a good chance of winning,” said the Richmond, B.C. native.

Click here for full results of the 2022 NextGen Western Championship.

Including Lin, the top six players in the Junior Girls division have earned exemptions into the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship taking place July 25-29 at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.

POS	NAME
1	Lucy Lin (Vancouver, B.C.)
2	Eileen Park (Red Deer, Alta.)
3	Sydney Bisgrove (Calgary, Alta.)
4	Carys Code (Calgary, Alta.)
5	Tessa Ion (Calgary, Alta.)
6	Belle Brezovski (St. Albert, Alta.)

From the Junior Boys division, the top six players have earned exemptions into the 2022 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, August 6-10, at Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops, British Columbia. Tyler Kidd knocked off Cole Bergheim in a playoff to secure the final spot at Nationals.

POS	NAME
1	Alex Zhang (Richmond, B.C.)
2	Charlie Gillepsie (Calgary, Alta.)
3	Christian Flick (Heritage Pointe, Alta.)
T4	Kyle Fisher (Leduc, Alta.)
T4	Tate Bruggeman (Edmonton, Alta.)
T6	Tyler Kidd (Buck Lake, Alta.)

About the NextGen Championships series, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2022 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. 

Bromont, Que. – The University of British Columbia’s golf team did it again, completing the four-division sweep at the 2022 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO and cementing their status as a dynasty in Canadian collegiate golf.

The T-Birds won the women’s team division for the fifth time in a row, and fifteenth time in the 18-year history of the event, while the men’s earned their seventh banner since the inaugural event in 2003. Aidan Schumer and Sonja Tang were crowned champions of the men’s and women’s individual events, respectively.

“We’ve probably been through as many hard times as good times […] It’s just been an incredible year – I’m very proud of them,” said head coach Chris MacDonald. “Everyone at this tournament works hard; they’re willing to put the extra time in [and] I think there’s a certain level of internal chemistry,” he said of the bond between the men’s and women’s teams.

The Thunderbirds women’s 98 stroke triumph sets the record for the largest margin of victory since 2004 and caps off a perfect season of 12 tournament wins is as many events played. The team of Sonja Tang, Élizabeth Labbé, Shania Remandaban and Grace Bell finished off a wire-to-wire win with a final round 3-over par 219.

“We work really hard, everyone here pushes each other on and off the course and it’s just really nice to have one last win in Canada,” said Tang, the 2022 Canadian University/College Women’s Individual Champion.

On the men’s side, team captain Ethan De Graaf, Aiden Schumer, Mackenzie Bickell, Russell Howlett and Dylan MacDonald combined for a tournament score of 7-under par 1145 for an eight-stroke victory over the Université de Laval Rouge et Or (1-over par 1153). The University of Victoria Vikes rounded out the top three at a total of 8-over par 1160.

Despite trailing by four strokes entering the final round, Tang pulled off the comeback, one even she didn’t think was possible.

“I still can’t believe it; I was back by four, I didn’t really think I had a chance but I just kept my head down and played,” she said. “I think I played pretty decent today.”

Decent is an understatement to Tang’s performance. After a one hour and 50-minute weather delay interrupted her final round, the Vancouver B.C., native headed back onto the course and withstood the howling wind conditions enroute to a final round 1-under par 71, to win by three strokes over her teammate Labbé. Remandaban and Bell rounded out the all-UBC top four.

Schumer held a one stroke lead entering the final round but dropped into a tie for the lead with Jacob Armstrong – one of the three second place finishers, along with Samuel Breton Gagnon and Alexis Leray – midway through his round. The Columbus, Ohio, native stepped on the gas late in his round to escape the pack and earn the title of 2022 Canadian University/College Men’s Individual Champion.

“I did have an idea [of the leaderboard] somewhat. I don’t think it was the worse thing in world. I knew the guys were struggling a little bit on the back nine, so I really felt a push to do something for not just myself, but for the guys,” he said. “I had those two birdies on five and six, that really just got me going and I put myself in a good place to comfortably come down the stretch and take it.”

For the 19-year-old, the win is no drop in the bucket.

“I am very privileged to be in this spot and I really have to enjoy it no matter what,” said Schumer. “I had to keep it in perspective, and I just focused on what I’ve been practicing my whole life.”

Schumer, who last won a tournament three years ago at the Ohio High School State Championship, says this was the biggest win in his young career as a golfer, but was quick to note that it was more than just a personal achievement.

“It’s hard to process right now, it still hasn’t fully sunken in [but] this is for the guys, this is for UBC,” he said.

Schumer’s tournament score of 277 matched the second lowest 72-hole score in tournament history, matching Lee French (2007), Scott Secord (2014) and Daniel Campbell (2018) who previously accomplished the feat.

Click here for more information including the leaderboard, final round pairings and course information.

Top-5 Women’s – Individual

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Sonja Tang	76, 67, 74, 71	E
2	Élizabeth Labbé	68, 73, 72, 78	+3
3	Shania Remandaban	81, 69, 72, 74	+8
4	Grace Bell	69, 79, 79, 74	+13
5	Sasha Laoun	82, 77, 74, 71	+16

Top-5 Men’s – Individual 

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Aidan Schumer	67, 71, 68, 71	-11
T2	Jacob Armstrong	69, 72, 69, 69	-9
T2	Samuel Breton Gagnon	67, 67, 73, 72	-9
T2	Alexis Leray	70, 69, 68, 72	-9
5	John Morrow	73, 69, 70, 70	-6

Top-5 Women’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	213, 209, 218, 219	-5
2	University of the Fraser Valley	246, 233, 239, 239	+93
3	University of British Columbia – Okanagan	239, 238, 240, 243	+96
4	Université de Montréal	245, 247, 245, 233	+105
5	Western University	245, 247, 245, 233	+106

Top-5 Men’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	283, 285, 284, 293	-7
2	Université Laval	287, 292, 279, 295	+1
3	University of Victoria	299, 279, 286, 296	+8
4	University of the Fraser Valley	290, 297, 286, 297	+18
5	Champlain St-Lawrence	288, 300, 291, 301	+28

Bromont, Que. – It was a rainy morning, but the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds continued to shine in the third round of the 2022 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO at Golf Château Bromont.

On Saturday afternoon, the Thunderbirds will attempt the four-division sweep, looking to become only the second group in the history of the event to do so, and first since 2016. As it stands, UBC leads in the men’s and women’s team divisions, while Thunderbirds Élizabeth Labbé and Aidan Schumer sit atop the individual standings.

The T-Birds women’s team built on their notable lead in round three, which now stands at 77 strokes, just nine shy of breaking the record for the largest margin of victory in any of the team divisions at the event since 2004. That year, the Thunderbirds won by 135 shots.

The men in blue and gold stayed steady in round three shooting a combined 4-under 284, but it was the team in red and gold from Université Laval who made the biggest splash on moving day, combining for a 9-under 279.

Alexis Leray, who has flown under the radar all week, piloted his Laval team with a 4-under 68, and re-entered the conversation in the men’s individual competition. The 2021 RSEQ Champions will, however, need to make up at least six more shots on the T-Birds in the final round for any hope of a national championship.

Schumer, who finished birdie-birdie on holes No. 17 and 18 to take the outright lead, holds a one-shot advantage over Leray and Samuel Breton Gagnon (Champlain St-Lawrence) ahead of the final round.

“It’s just like with running; if you run more, you’re going to get faster. You’re to get better at anything you train, including your mind,” said Schumer on visualizing winning a national championship. “I definitely enjoy being in this position and regardless of the outcome, it’s been a really good week with the guys. Hopefully I can put together one more good round.”

Labbé stretched her lead to four strokes in the women’s individual competition with an even-par 72. Round three was a rollercoaster ride for the Lévis, Que., native, who made three bogeys out of the gate, but negated the slow start with five birdies coming in.

“I’ve been having a little more trouble settling into my last two rounds, so I’ve just been trying to be patient,” said Labbé. “Obviously the pins today were a little bit trickier and a little bit harder to reach, so I just stayed patient and I knew it would balance out.”

The Thunderbird, who has lead wire-to-wire thus far, says she feels more and more comfortable playing with the lead and for now, is simply focusing on what she can control: her own game.

As for scoreboard watching tomorrow, there won’t be any for Labbé – “I’m just going to do my thing and hope for the best,” she said.

Sonja Tang is four back of her teammate entering the final, while Shania Remandaban and Grace Bell round out the all-UBC top four in the women’s individual division.

A heavy rainfall early Friday morning delayed the start of the third round. With all hands on deck, the grounds crew took the necessary actions and the course was deemed playable at 9:30 a.m.

“Patrice Fredette and his team did an outstanding job of providing playing conditions worthy of a Canadian Championship,” said Martin Ducharme, general manager of Golf Château Bromont. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t contribute to the start of the third round, but the grounds crew did the necessary work, and I would say a miracle to get the course back in shape.”

As a result of the morning delay, the gas tank on daylight ran dry and forced a stoppage to round three at 8:31 p.m. due to darkness. Play resumed at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning and wrapped up at 8:15 a.m.

A quick turnaround is in the works as the final round is scheduled to tee off at 10:00 a.m.

Click here for more information including the leaderboard, final round pairings and course information.

Top-5 Women’s – Individual

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Élizabeth Labbé	68, 73, 72	-3
2	Sonja Tang	76, 67, 74	+1
3	Shania Remandaban	81, 69, 72	+6
4	Grace Bell	69, 79, 79	+11
5	Florence Leduc	82,70, 77	+13

Top-5 Men’s – Individual 

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Aidan Schumer	67, 71, 68	-10
T2	Samuel Breton Gagnon	67, 67, 73	-9
T2	Alexis Leray	70, 69, 68	-9
4	Jacob Armstrong	69, 72, 69	-6
T5	John Morrow	73, 69, 70	-4

Top-5 Women’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	213, 209, 218	-8
2	University of British Columbia – Okanagan	239, 238, 240	+69
3	University of the Fraser Valley	246, 233, 239	+70
4	University of Victoria	253, 237, 240	+87
5	Western University	245, 247, 245	+89

Top-5 Men’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	283, 285, 284	-12
2	Université Laval	299, 279, 279	-6
3	University of Victoria	287, 292, 286	E
4	University of the Fraser Valley	290, 297, 286	+9
5	Champlain St-Lawrence	288, 300, 291	+15

Bromont, Que. – The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds improved their leads in the men’s and women’s divisions in the second round at the 2022 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO.

“We brought four really good women here and there are five left at home that also could have won this event […] so [as a team] we are not here without those girls,” said Shania Remandaban on UBC’s depth on the women’s side.

On the backs of Sonja Tang’s 5-under 67 and Remandaban’s 3-under 69, UBC strengthened their grip on the women’s team division and head into the third round with a 55-stroke lead.

The men’s team also cemented their lead atop their division with a trio of 1-under par performances from Aidan Schumer, Ethan DeGraaf and Dylan MacDonald, and an even par showing for Mackenzie Bickell.

“I think resilience is number one; our coach is always trying to get us to play smart and keep grinding,” says Aidan Schumer on the strength of UBC’s men’s golf team.

The University of Victoria Vikes men’s team carded the low round of the day, shooting a collective 9-under in the team competition to jump six spots on the leaderboard into second place. Each of the five players were under par on the day: Zachary Ryujin (-4), John Morrow (-3), Aidan Craig Steele (-1), Marlon Neto-Bradley (-1) and Robin Canlan (-1).

Despite a stellar effort to etch his way back into the competition, Morrow says the best is yet to come from him and knows he’ll have to go low over the next two days to be in contention for the individual title.

“I was able to keep it respectable yesterday, but I still don’t feel like I am controlling the golf ball very well,” said Morrow. “I’m going to have to play solid, hit a lot of greens and make some putts.”

Samuel Breton Gagnon and Élizabeth Labbé continued to pace the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

Breton Gagnon recorded a 5-under 67 for the second time in as many rounds and holds a four-stroke lead halfway through the competition. The 18-year-old’s 10-under is the lowest 36-hole score in the event since Scott Secord’s 11-under in 2014.

Labbé’s 1-over par 73 brought her to 3-under on the tournament – two strokes ahead of Tang in second place. Grace Bell and Remandaban, also Thunderbirds, hold the third and fourth place spots, respectively.

The highlight of the day came from Remandaban at the 133-yard, par-3 11^th hole. The 2019 runner-up fired her tee shot at a blind front-right hole location and knew it was good, but didn’t know how good. She would find out soon enough just how good it was.

“I didn’t see it go in, but my playing partners’ parents said, ‘Nice shot!’ and I said, ‘Thanks!’ then they said, ‘No, it’s a really nice shot – it’s in!’” she laughed. “I didn’t know at all, so it was a nice surprise picking it up.”

Thomas DeMarco (University of Windsor) recorded six birdies on the day and sits in a tie for second place with UBC’s Schumer. Alexis Leray (Université Laval) is alone in fourth at 5-under after a 69 in round two.

After the third round, the field will be cut to the low ten (10) Male teams and the low six (6) Female teams, including any team within 15 shots of the lead.  Individuals within 10 shots of third place, including any player within the top 10, will also make the cut.

Click here for more information including the leaderboard, third round pairings and course information.

Top-5 Women’s – Individual

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Élizabeth Labbé	68, 73	-3
2	Sonja Tang	76, 67	-1
T3	Grace Bell	69, 79	+4
T3	Shania Remandaban	81, 69	+6
5	Florence Leduc	82,70	+8

Top-5 Men’s – Individual 

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	Samuel Breton Gagnon	67, 67	-10
2	Aidan Schumer	67, 71	-6
T3	Thomas DeMarco	70, 68	-6
T3	Alexis Leray	70, 69	-5
T5	Jacob Armstrong	69, 72	-3

Top-5 Women’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	213, 209	-10
2	University of British Columbia – Okanagan	239, 238	+45
3	University of the Fraser Valley	246, 233	+47
4	Université Laval	253, 237	+58
5	Western University	245, 247	+60

Top-5 Men’s – Team

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL
1	University of British Columbia	283, 285	-8
2	University of Victoria	299, 279	+2
3	Université Laval	287, 292	+3
4	University of the Fraser Valley	290, 297	+11
5	Champlain St-Lawrence	288, 300	+12