Over 130 of Canada’s top young golfers will be in Ottawa from Aug. 1 – 4 for the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club.

The impressive, international field is led by the Team Canada Development Squad, with 12 of Canada’s top-50 golfers in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) in the draw. At No. 244, New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori the highest ranked golfer in the field in the WAGR.

A Thomas McBroom design, Camelot Golf and Country Club celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016 and was ranked 63rd in ScoreGolf’s Top 100 courses list that same year.

“We’re thrilled to be hosting the strong, international field at Camelot in the nation’s capital in a year that is special for our country,” said Greg Richardson, General Manager at Camelot Golf and Country Club. “The golf course is in tremendous shape and we look forward to showcasing its beauty as well as the great city of Ottawa.”

McBroom’s signature weaving of the local landscape into the course layout is evident in the natural beauty of Camelot. The course meanders through meadows and heavily wooded parkland, combining traditional and links style course features.

“Camelot Golf and Country Club is the perfect host for our national Junior Girls Championship,” said Tournament Director Adam Cinel. “It’s unique style and signature holes will provide a great challenge for the best junior golfers in Canada as they chase a national championship right in Canada’s capital.”

All four members of Team Canada’s Development Squad will be chasing the title in Ottawa: Mary Parsons (Delta, B.C.), Chloe Currie (Mississauga, Ont.), Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.), and Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.).

Currie is the defending champion in the Canadian Juvenile Girls division, which awards the title to the lowest scoring competitor under the age of 16.

Team Canada’s Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) is the reigning champion. Ko’s 5-under-par 283 at The Links at Penn Hills in 2016, put her four strokes ahead of Currie.

A practice round will be conducted on July 31 prior to the championship’s opening round on Aug. 1. Following the first two rounds of play, the field will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties with the top ten juvenile’s and ties included in the final round.

A tie for the championship will be decided by a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following the conclusion of play.

The 2017 Canadian Junior Girls’ champion will receive an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver, B.C.

The Canadian Junior Girls Championship has a long list of distinguished past champions including Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and major champion Sandra Post, and current LPGA superstar and 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Brooke Henderson.

Two-time defending team champions from B.C. will look to make it three in a row in the inter-provincial team competition, which takes place over the course of the first two rounds.

In rounds one and two the best two scores of the three golfers from each provincial team count towards the team’s score. The lowest aggregate score over rounds one and two determines the champion. British Columbia won the 2016 title with a two-day score of 290.

Additional information about the tournament, including the full field and tee-times is available here.

NOTABLES

Chloe Currie, Mississauga, Ont.
The 17-year-old is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad and is the defending champion in the Juvenile division of this event. She finished 5th at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship, was T5 at the 2017 Ontario Women’s Amateur. Currie will look to improve on her second-place finish in the main event in 2016. She is currently ranked No. 6 on the Future Links driven by Acura National Order of Merit.

Mary Parsons, Delta, B.C.
The 18-year-old Team Canada Development Squad rookie won her second consecutive Future Links driven by Acura Pacific Championship in 2017. She reached the round-of-32 at the 2017 Women’s Western Amateur Championship and finished T9 at the 2017 B.C. Women’s Amateur. In 2016 Parsons shared the 54-hole lead at this event finishing 3rd. She’s ranked No. 8 on the Future Links driven by Acura National Order of Merit.

Hannah Lee, Victoria, B.C.
The 17-year-old is in her second-year on the Development Squad. Lee finished 10th at the Future Links driven by Acura Pacific Championship and 9th at the prestigious 2017 Porter Cup. She finished 3rd at the 2017 B.C. Junior Girls Championship. Lee is ranked No. 9 on the Future Links driven by Acura National Order of Merit. Lee was T11 at this championship in 2016.

Monet Chun, Richmond Hill, Ont.
The 16-year-old Development Squad rookie won the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship and the 2017 Investors Group Junior Girls’ Spring Classic. Chun finished 9th at the 2017 Porter Cup in June. Chun was 8th at this event in 2016. She is ranked No. 1 on the Future Links driven by Acura National Order of Merit.

Céleste Dao, Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que.
The 16-year-old won the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Quebec Championship and finished T3 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship. Dao won the 2017 Quebec Women’s provincial Amateur Championship and won the 2017 Quebec Junior Girls Championship. Dao was T6 at this event in 2016. She is currently ranked No. 2 on the Future Links driven by Acura National Order of Merit.

Momoka Kobori, Rangoria, New Zealand
The 18-year-old was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the year in her inaugural season with Pepperdine University (NCAA Div I), recording two top-10 finishes and a season stroke average of 75.36. Before coming to the U.S., Kabori was a recipient of the Lydia Ko scholarship. In 2016 she was runner-up at the Australian Girls Amateur and won the Queensland Girls Amateur.

Alyssa DiMarcantonio, Maple, Ont.
The 14-year-old won the 2017 MJT Spring Invitational and was second at the 2017 Investor’s Group Junior Girls Spring Classic. DiMarcantonio finished in a tie for third at the Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship and was fourth at the 2017 Ontario Junior Girls’ Championship. She is currently ranked No. 7 on the Future Links, driven by Acura National Order of Merit.

FAST FACTS

A British Columbia golfer has won the individual event the last two years: Naomi Ko 2016 (Victoria, B.C.), 2015: Michelle Kim (Surrey B.C.).

Four-time LPGA winner and major champion Brooke Henderson, from nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., won this event in 2012 at River Spirit Golf Club in Calgary, Alta.

The lowest single-round score in the tournament’s history is a 66, Hannah Lee (2015), Elyse Archambault (2010), Karen England (1997), and Kristy Finlayson (1998).

British Columbia has won the inter-provincial team competition in back-to-back years.

Heather Kuzmich won four straight Canadian Junior Girls Championships from 1981-1984.

Four Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members are past champions of this event: Betty Stanhope-Cole (1956), Judy Darling Evans (1957), Gail Harvey (1958-60), and Sandra Post (1964-66).

Current LPGA golfer Alena Sharp was the 1999 Canadian Junior Girls Champion.

The 2017 Canadian Junior Girls champion will receive an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver, B.C.

ABOUT THE COURSE

6, 161  yards, Par 72

Thomas McBroom design.

The first 150 members of Camelot were designated the Ladies and Knights by the club.

Camelot Golf and Country Club was ranked 63rd in 2016 ScoreGolf top-100 courses list, the highest ranking for any course in Eastern Ontario.

Features towering pine trees and stunning views of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills.

For more information on the Canadian Junior Girls Championship click here.

It was a dramatic finish to the 2017 edition of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship. Wind and rain made for tough conditions at the Ponoka Golf Club as sixty of the province’s best amateur golfers vied for their spot into the national championship. 2015 champion Brett Hogan defeated Max Sekulic on the second playoff hole in a thriller finish.

Hogan got off to a hot start again as he started the day two shots off of Sekulic’s lead. “I got off to a great start. I knew Max was going come out and play well today. My goal was to play my own game and get some chances for birdie. On the front, I did a good job of keeping the ball below the hole”, said Hogan. He went out bogey-free in 32 strokes and after birdieing the tenth hole he had it to 16-under-par for the championship before conditions deteriorated. “On the back, I played decently solid but got a little shaky with the putter and the conditions got worse and a little tougher out there.”

Sekulic fought back hard and made an incredible 20-foot bomb for birdie on the final hole in front of the crowd. Hogan said, “I had a feeling he (Sekulic) was going to make it. He’s a great putter. I knew I was going to have to make mine and unfortunately, I lipped out my par putt. You’ve got to move on.” After 72 holes the pair were tied at 12-under-par and were headed to a sudden death playoff starting on the tenth hole.

Both players scrambled for par on the par 5 tenth and they headed back to the 18^th where it would all be settled. Hogan tugged his drive just left and had two trees blocking his second shot. “I had 95 yards and had to keep it pretty low. I’ve practiced shots like that before. Hitting different clubs from about a hundred yards and I actually had that shot earlier this week in the second round so I knew what to do. I just hit an eight iron from back in my stance and just hoped it would work out as well as it did.” His ball rolled to four feet and when Sekulic missed his birdie attempt, Hogan stepped up and made his second chance count.

Hogan becomes the 19^th person in the championship’s history to win the Alberta Amateur multiple times. He said after the round that “it means a lot… it meant a lot to get the first one and this probably means just as much or maybe even more. It’s not easy to win these things and this is definitely one of my favourite tournaments all year.”

Hogan, Sekulic and Graf form the Alberta Willingdon Cup team that will represent the province at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be conducted at The Toronto Golf Club & Islington Golf Club in Mississauga, ON, August 7-10^th. Hogan earns the final spot on the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Alberta Morse Cup Team.

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Team Canada’s Naomi Ko lost in 19 holes to Julianne Alvarez (Seattle, Wash.) ending an impressive run at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Women’s Amateur at Fairwood Golf and Country Club, in Renton, Wash.

The Victoria, B.C., native won hole No. 15 to take a one up lead, but lost hole No. 17 to put the match at all-square, before losing in extra holes.

Ko finished eighth in the stroke play qualifying at 8 over par (76-74). She def. Clare Dittemore (Roseburg, Ore.) 5 and 3 in the round-of-32 and Ziyi Wang (Stanford, Calif.) 4 and 2 in the round-of-16.

Ko recently finished T3 at the B.C. Women’s Amateur and finished 3rd at the Porter Cup in June.

The 5-year-team Canada veteran reached the finals of this event in 2016.

Development Squad’s Hannah Lee from Surrey, B.C., lost in the round-of-16 to Marianne Li (Bellevue, Wash.) in 19 holes.

Ko’s Amateur Squad teammate Jaclyn Lee lost in the round-of-16, falling 1-up to Gigi Stoll (Tigard, Ore.).

Click here for the match-play bracket.

Sekulic, Hogan and Graf have distanced themselves from the rest of the Men’s Am field

 

 

Moving day lived up to its name as several top contenders made their way up the leaderboard at the 2017 Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship. Clearer skies and a gentle breeze offered nearly ideal scoring conditions for the remaining 61 hopefuls. Notably, three players have separated themselves from the rest of the field heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Team Canada Development Squad member Max Sekulic held his own on day three. The 18-year-old shot a solid 68, that featured five birdies and a lone bogey. His lead was narrowed to two strokes after an extremely hot back-nine score of 29 from past champion Brett Hogan of the Glencoe G&CC. Sekulic will look to go wire-to-wire in tomorrow’s final round, just as Hogan did in his 2015 Alberta Amateur victory at the Edmonton Petroleum Club.

Hogan, the 2016 SVR Alberta Open champion, got off to a slow start today, going out in 37 strokes with no birdies. As he made the turn he knew he had to sharpen his focus. After the round, he said “I saw the boys behind me were doing pretty well and I knew I had to get something going. I started off well with an eagle on ten there where I made my putt from about twelve feet. I made some really good par saves on holes 11 and 12, and finally got it rolling. Number 14, made birdie. Eagled 16, then birdied 17 and 18.” Hogan’s third round score of 66 is the best of the championship and it was the kind of finish he needed to get into tomorrow’s last group and put some pressure on the leader.

Hogan knows the pressure of coming down the stretch trying to win a provincial championship and will draw on his experience in the final round. He said “I’m trying to play my own game. I can only control what I can do out there. If he (Sekulic) goes out there and has a great round, then good for him. But I’m going to give it all I have and see how it ends up.”

Sekulic and Hogan will be joined by Team Alberta U19 member Carter Graf in the final group. The youngster from the Red Deer G&CC impressed on day three by firing another five-under-par 67 to get to double digits at ten-under-par overall.

The top three finishers at the conclusion of the championship will form the Team Alberta Interprovincial Squad for the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be conducted at The Toronto Golf Club & Islington Golf Club in Mississauga, ON August 7-10^th. The champion will earn the final spot on the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Alberta Morse Cup Team.

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Development Squad’s Max Sekulic carded a 5-under-par 67 in the second round of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship to lead by four after 36 holes at Ponoka Community Golf Club, in Ponoka, Alta.

Sekulic started his round with an eagle on the par-5 1st hole and recorded three birdies, another eagle, and two bogeys to sit four shots clear of the field.

The Rycroft, Alta., native is coming off a win at the 2017 Alberta Junior Boys Championship. Sekulic, 18, was 12th at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship earlier this year.

He has committed to attend Grand Canyon University (NCAA Division I) in the fall.

Carter Graf from Red Deer, Alta., matched Sekulic’s 67 in round two to move to 5 under par for the championship and sit in a tie for second with Andrew Harrison (Camrose, Alta.) and Calgary’s Brett Hogan who recorded matching rounds of 69 in Wednesday’s second round.

Another Calgarian Logan Carver, is tied for fifth with Claresholm, Alta., native Jordan Gustman at 2 under par.

Sekulic’s Development Squad teammate Chandler MacDowell is T9 at 2 over par (71-73).

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Development Squad’s Max Sekulic carded an opening round 4-under-par 68 at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship to sit tied for the lead with Jordan Gustman after 18 holes at Ponoka Community Golf Club, in Ponoka, Alta.

Sekulic had an up-and-down day in Thursday’s first round recording five birdies, three bogeys, and an eagle to finish at 4 under par.

The Rycroft, Alta., native is coming off a win at the 2017 Alberta Junior Boys Championship. Sekulic, 18, was 12th at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship earlier this year.

Gustman, from Claresholm, Alta., was even par through 13 holes before birdies on four of his last five holes brought him even with Sekulic.

University of British Columbia Thunderbird teammates Andrew Harrison (Camrose, Alta.) and Logan Carver (Calgary, Alta.) are tied for third at 2-under par alongside Calgary’s Brett Hogan.

Sekulic’s Development Squad teammate Chandler MacDowell is T6 at 1 under par after an opening round 71.

MacDowell recently finished third at the 2017 Alberta Junior Boys Championship. He was fourth at the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Kathrine Chan learned Monday that boring is not always bad. A round of 18 straight pars that Chan called “boring” earned the 17-year-old Richmond resident a spot in next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in southern California.

Chan’s even-par round of 72 topped the field and earned her one of two spots that were up for grabs at a qualifier at Richmond Country Club. Delta’s Mary Parsons earned the other spot with a one-over 73.

“I think this is a first for me,” Chan said of her long string of pars. “I am pretty surprised with myself. I felt like I was scrambling all day for par. I made a lot of up and downs. It was a boring round, but I am happy with the result. The U.S. Amateur is a tournament I have always wanted to play in.”

Chan is heading into Grade 12 at J.N. Burnett  secondary in Richmond and hopes to play college golf. “I’m just going through that process,” she said. “It’s complicated and tough, but in the end it’s going to work out.” The U.S. Women’s Amateur goes Aug. 7-13 at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.

While Chan was churning out pars, Parsons birdied her final two holes to grab the second spot. “I knew even-par would be good,” Parsons said. “I was just trying to get as close to that as I could. I bore down the last four holes. I three-putted on 14, drained a really long putt on 15 and sunk a long putt from off the green on 17.”

The 17-year-old Parsons is a member of Golf Canada’s national development team. She got her season off to a good start with a win at the Future Links Pacific Championship at Chilliwack Golf Club in May, but her game hasn’t felt quite right of late.

@bc_golfer congratulates @maryyparsons for qualifying @USGA Women's Amateur. Good Luck Mary! pic.twitter.com/NHdOZLch3S

— BC Golf (@bc_golfer) July 17, 2017

“I played pretty well today,” she said. “I felt like I was back in my zone, something that I have been missing for a while. I had been kind of struggling on the course and mentally wasn’t in it. Today it felt like I was back to myself on the golf course.”

Her round on Monday created a dilemma of sorts for Parsons. She had been awarded a spot on British Columbia’s team to the Canada Summer Games next month in Winnipeg. That event conflicts with the U.S. Women’s Amateur, so Parsons had to forfeit her spot on the Summer Games team. It wasn’t an easy decision.

“I have mixed feelings,” She said. “I’m disappointed to be missing out on the Canada Summer Games, but I know going forward U.S. Am is a whole other thing to be excited about. They are different, one is a team event and one is individual. But they are both prestigious events.”

Parsons was happy to learn that her Canada Games team spot will be going to her good friend, Tiffany Kong of Vancouver. Parsons, who is off to begin her freshman year at the University of Indiana, now has a busy end to her summer.

She has the Canadian Women’s Amateur, the Canadian Junior Girls and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in succession. “Three big events and then I head to school right after,” Parsons said.

Seventeen players competed in Monday’s qualifier. Surrey’s Michelle Kim (74) and Phoebe Yue of West Vancouver (75) were awarded first and second alternate positions.

Debbie Pyne, managing director player, development for British Columbia Golf said Hannah Lee of Surrey and Alisha Lau of Richmond will join Kong on B.C’s Canada Summer Games team. The boys’ team, announced earlier this month, includes Nolan Thoroughgood and Keaton Gudz, both of Victoria, and Tristan Mandur of Mill Bay.

For the full Richmond Qualifier leaderboard click here.

Development Squad’s Chloe Currie carded a 3-over-par 75 in the final round of the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur finish T5 at 9 over par at Galt Country Club in Cambridge, Ont.

The Mississauga, Ont., had had three birdie, and six bogeys to finish 10 shots back Kesley Sear from Unionville, Ont., who won at 2 over par.

Sear carded a 2-over-par 70 in Friday’s final round, the lowest score of the day.

Madeline Marck-Sherk from Ridgeway, Ont., was second at 3 over par after a final round 71 (-1).

Another Mississauga resident Michelle Ruiz was third at 9 over par.

Currie, 17, is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad. She was T5 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship earlier this year.

Maple, Ont., native Alyssa DiMarcantonio was fourth 10 over par. Rounding out the top-five was Mitchell, Ont., native Courtney Tolton who was T5 with Currie at 12 over par.

Currie’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun is T32 at 27 over par – carding an 11 over par 83 in round three.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Development Squad’s Chloe Currie carded a 4-over-par 76 in round three of the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur to sit T5 at 9 over par through three rounds at Galt Country Club in Cambridge, Ont.

The Mississauga, Ont., had had one birdie, three bogeys,  and a double-bogey to shoot 76 for the second consecutive day and sit five shots back of Ridgeway, Ont., native Madeline Marck-Sherk and Kesley Sear from Unionville, Ont., who share the lead at 4 over par.

Marck-Sherk carded a 7-over-par 78 in round three, and Sear posted a 2-over-par 73, the lowest score of the day, in wet and tough conditions that led to play being suspended early on for a few hours.

Currie, 17, is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad. She was T5 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship earlier this year.

Mitchell, Ont., native Courtney Tolton is T3 at 8 over par alongside Victoria Zheng from Markham, Ont.

Rounding out the top-five is another Mississauga resident Michelle Ruiz who is tied for fifth with Currie at 9 over par.

Currie’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun is T22 at 18 over par – carding an 11 over par 83 in round three.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Mississauga, Ont., native Chloe Currie carded a 4-over-par 76 in the second round of the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur to sit T4 through 36 holes at Galt Country Club in Cambridge, Ont.

The 17-year-old had had a triple bogey on hole No. 3 but rebounded well with three birdies and four bogeys in the rest of her round to finish at 5 over par, seven shots back of leader Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ont.).

Marck-Sherk carded a 1-under-par 71 in round two – the only under par round of the day – to move into first place at 2 under par.

Currie, 17, is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad. She was T5 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship earlier this year.

Mitchell, Ont., native Courtney Tolton is in solo second at 2 over par after carding a 1-over-par 73 for the second consecutive round.

First round leader Kelsey Sear, from Unionville, Ont., is third at 3 over par after a second round 78 (+6).

Rounding out the top-five is another Mississauga resident Michelle Ruiz who is tied for fourth with Currie at 5 over par (75-74).

Currie’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun is T9 at 8 over par (71-80).

Click here for the full leaderboard.