Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
Team Canada came out strong in round one of the Women’s Western Golf Association (WWGA) Championship. Amateur Squad’s Jaclyn Lee and Development Squad’s Mary Parsons hold shares of fourth place at even par through 18 holes at River Grove Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.
Lee and Parsons carded opening rounds of 72 (E) on Monday to sit one stroke behind leaders Sophia Schubert (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Hannah Kim (Evanston, Ill.), and Emily White (Saline, Mich.) who are leading the way at 1 under par.
A sophomore at Ohio State University, Lee (Calgary, Alta.) helped the Buckeyes reach the match-play quarter-finals of the NCAA Championship this season, leading Ohio State with a season stroke average of 73.71.
Delta, B.C., native and Team Canada rookie Mary Parsons won the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship in May – successfully defending her 2016 title. The 18-year-old has committed to attend the University of Indiana in the fall.
Lee’s Amateur Squad teammates, Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.), are one stroke back of their compatriots sitting T7 at 1 over par (73).
Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain – the fourth member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad in Elmhurst this week – is T18 at 3 over par (75) along side Development Squad’s Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.). One stroke behind them is Maddie Szeryk’s 15-year-old sister Ellie who is T26.
Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Valerie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.) and Development Squad member Chloe Currie (Missisauga, Ont.) are T42 (+6).
After 36 holes the low-64 qualifiers will advance to the match-play portion of the tournament.
Click here for full scoring.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
After starting the final round in a tie for seventh Montreal, Que., native Joey Savoie finished T2 at 1-under par at the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y.
Savoie carded a 2-under par 67 in the fourth round at Monroe Golf Club to finish one stroke behind winner Derek Bard (New Hartford, N.Y).
A senior at Middle Tennessee University Savoie had a 72.1 stroke average this season with the Blue Raiders.
In a field that included 11 Canadians, Garret Rank (Elmira, Ont.) was the next highest on the leaderboard. Rank finished T12 at 4-over par after a final round 70 (+1). Rank was in a tie for fourth after 36 holes, but a 6-over par 75 in round three derailed his chances.
Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.) carded a 73 (+4) in the fourth round to finish T15 at 5-over par.
Team Canada Development Squad member A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) was T27 at 9-over par, alongside Luke Moser (Waterloo, Ont.).
Austin James (Bath, Ont.) from the Team Canada Amateur Squad was T57 at 16-over par. His teammate, Hugo Bernard (Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.) was T63 (+18)
Ewart’s Development Squad teammate Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.) was 75th at 22-over par.
For the full leaderboard click here.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
After entering Friday in a tie for first, Team Canada Amateur squad member Naomi Ko finished solo third at 1 under par at the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club, in Lewiston, N.Y.
The Victoria, B.C., product held a share of the 36-hole lead with Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Penn.) at 3 under par (71-70).
Ko had a difficult start to the final round, not making a par until hole No. 7. Three bogeys, a double bogey, and two birdies put her at 3 over par.
From then on Ko settled in and was 1 under par on her final 11 holes to card a 2-over-par 74. It would prove to be too late as the Philippines Lois Kaye Go was nearly flawless on Friday.
Kaye Go recorded eight birdies—including four straight on the back nine—to card a final-round 65 (-8) and sit at 8 at under for the championship, six shots clear of second place Waller.
Team Canada Development Squad teammates Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.) and Monet Chun (Richmond Hill Ont.) finished T9 at 3 over par, alongside St. Catharines Ont., native Kennedy Bodfield, and Alexandra Naumovski (Halton, Hills, Ont.).
Chun recorded her best score of the tournament Friday with an even par 72 while Lee carded a 1-over-par 73.
Kelsey Sear (Unionville, Ont.) finished T20 at 5 over par and one stroke back of her was Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple Ont.) finishing T22 at 6 over par.
Rounding out Canadians in the top-25 was Claire Hernandez (Palgrave, Ont.), who posted a final-round 70 (-2) to finish 25th at 9 over par.
Chloe Currie – the third member of the Development Squad in Lewiston – finished 57th after a final round 85.
For the full Porter Cup leaderboard click here.
Preferred lies and ideal conditions left Whistle Bear Golf Club in a prone position for Thursday’s opening round at the Manulife LPGA Classic. Canadians Alena Sharp and Brittany Marchand took full advantage.
Sharp eagled the par-5 12th hole en route to a 6-under 66 while Marchand opened with a 67. Both were within striking distance of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee, who shared the lead at 8-under 64.
“I knew I needed to shoot a low round,” Sharp said. “But you don’t really want to think about a score in your mind. The way I’m hitting it I knew I was going to have a lot of chances and I took advantage of the par fives. I was 5 under on those so that really helped me out.”
South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, Belgium’s Gonzalez Escall and China’s Shanshan Feng were one shot off the lead at 65.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had an uneven performance in the warm, sunny conditions. She was visibly frustrated after missing a few short birdie putts around the turn and finished with a 71.
“I hit a lot of really great shots and the putts just didn’t drop today,” Henderson said. “But hopefully I can switch things around tomorrow and everything will be good.”
Pettersen, meanwhile, recently lost her yardage book for the course and had to write notes from scratch this week. She trusted her eye and it paid off with six birdies over one eight-hole stretch.
“We woke up this morning to perfect conditions,” she said. “You can fire at pins and get to par fives, which is fun. I think it’s the best way to set up a golf course and get low scores.”
Sharp, from Hamilton, started on the back nine. She bogeyed her opening hole before recovering on the 12th, using a 6-iron to leave herself a 15-footer for eagle.
Sharp connected and followed it up with three birdies over her next four holes.
“I was on a nice run,” she said. “It was just easy. Felt really simple.”
Marchand, a Symetra Tour player entered as a sponsor’s invite, also had an early morning tee time. The Orangeville, Ont., native fired seven birdies over her round to go with a pair of bogeys.
She even had the clubhouse lead for a spell.
“I’ve shot 5 under before but never in an LPGA event, so it’s pretty cool,” Marchand said.
The course dried out a little as the round progressed. Warm temperatures were expected to continue through Sunday’s final round.
The 6,613-yard track is still recovering from an unusually wet and cool spring in the area. Players were allowed to lift, clean and replace balls on closely mowed fairway areas.
Those who kept drives long and tight could attack the soft greens.
“I just made a lot of key putts today and that kept me going,” Sharp said. “I made a lot of six- to 10-footers, which is what I’ve been working on. It’s nice to see the results coming early in the tournament.”
Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England and Emily Pedersen of Norway were tied with Sharp in sixth place at 66.
Joining Marchand at 67 were Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, South Korea’s In Gee Chun and Americans Angel Yin, Lexi Thompson and Lee Lopez. Defending champion Caroline Masson of Germany opened with a 70.
There are 10 other Canadians entered in the US$1.7-million event. They include Augusta James (70) of Orangeville, Calgary’s Jennifer Ha (72), Grace St. Germain (72) of Penticton, B.C., Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (74) of Sherbrooke, Que., Jaclyn Lee of Calgary (75), Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane (76), Jennifer Kirby (76) of Brantford, Ont., Vivian Tsui (76) of Markham, Ont., Maddie Szeryk (78) of London, Ont., and Samantha Richdale (79) of Kelowna, B.C.
For the full leaderboard click here.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
Team Canada Amateur Squad member Naomi Ko is tied for first after the second round of the Porter Cup at the Niagara Falls Country Club, in Lewiston, N.Y., sharing first with Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Penn.)
The Victoria, B.C., product started Thursday in a share of second after an opening-round 71 (-1).
Ko had an up-and-down front nine, recording three birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey to shoot an even-par 36. On the back nine she settled in recording two birdies and no bogeys to card a 2-under-par 70 on the day.
A sophomore at N.C. State, Ko’s best result of the season was a T1 finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Invitational at Rio Mar Country Club – River Course.
Alexandra Naumovski (Halton Hills, Ont.) is the next best Canadian sitting T4 at even par thanks to a 2-under par-70 in round two.
St. Catharines, Ont., native Kennedy Bodfield posted a tournament-low 5-under-par 67 to sit T7 at 2 over par alongside Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple, Ont.), Kelsey Sear (Unionville, Ont.) and Development Squad golfer Hannah Lee (Surrey B.C.), who carded a second-round 70 (-2).
Lee’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont) is T15 at 3 over par after a 1-over-par 73 in round two.
Chloe Currie – the third Development Squad golfer in Lewiston this week – was much better in round two, shooting a 2-over 74 (after a first round 80). She is T35 at 10 over par.
To view the full Porter Cup leaderboard click here.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
Garrett Rank, from Elmira, Ont., carded even-par 69 in Thursday’s second round at the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y to hold a share of fourth at 3 under par after 36 holes.
Rank started the day at the Monroe Golf Club with a share of second after an opening-round 66 (-3).
After back-to-back birdies on holes No. 11 and 12 the three-time defending Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion was 2 under par for the round before bogeys on 14 and 17 put him back to even par.
He is one stroke behind leaders Justin Tereshko (Jamestown, N.C.), Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.), and San Jose, Calif., native Shintaro Ban—who’s second round 63 (-6) was the lowest of the day.
The 28-year-old is coming off a semi-final appearance with partner Patrick Christovich at the U.S. Amateur Four Ball in Pinehurst, N.C. at the renowned Pinehurst No. 2 from May 27-31.
Fellow Canadians Joey Savoie, (Montreal, Que.), Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.), Maxwell Sear (Unionville, Ont.), and Blair Bursey (Gander, N.L.) are all T15 at 1 over par.
Team Canada Development Squad golfer A.J Ewart from Coquitlam, B.C., is T29 at 3 over par after a second-round 70 (+1).
Ewart’s Development Squad teammate Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.) carded a 1-over-par 70 in the second round to sit T41, one stroke ahead of Amateur Squad golfer Hugo Bernard (Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.), who posted a second-round 71 (+1) to sit T46 at 7 over par.
Bath, Ont., product Austin James — the second member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad in the field this week — shot a 3-over par 72 on Thursday to sit T57 (+8).
Click here for full scores.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
Team Canada Amateur Squad member Naomi Ko is in a tie for second after a 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, NY.
The Victoria, B.C., product is one stroke behind leader Madison Luitwieler from Katy, Tex.
After a 1-over-par 37 on the front nine Ko hit her stride after making the turn, dropping two birdies and carding a 2-under-par 34 on her second nine.
Ko recently wrapped up her sophomore year at North Carolina State where she competed in all 10 regular season rounds for the Wolfpack posting a season stroke average of 74.53.
In a field with 19 Canadians, Team Canada Development Squad golfer Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is the next highest Canadian sitting T12 at 2 over par along with Alexandra Naumovski from Halton Hills, Ont.
Markham, Ont., native Hailey McLaughlin is T19 at 3 over par.
One stroke back of McLaughlin sitting T24 are Canadians Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple, Ont.), Katherine Gravel-Coursol (Mirabel, QC.), Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ont.), Michelle Kim (Surrey B.C) and Development Squad golfer Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C).
The third Development Squad member in the field this week Chloe Currie, of Mississauga, Ont., is T45 (+8).
For the full Porter Cup leaderboard click here.
Austin Stanton / Golf Canada
Elmira, Ont., product Garrett Rank fired a 3-under-par 66 to hold a share of second place after the first round of the Monroe Invitational at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, N.Y.
Rank, the three-time defending Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion, recorded four birdies and one bogey on Wednesday to sit one stroke behind leader Tyler Strafaci of Davie, Fla.
The 28-year-old is coming off a strong semi-final appearance at the U.S. Amateur Four Ball from May 27-31 at the famed Pinehurst No. 2 course in Pinehurst, N.C. He’s slated to tee off his second round at 8:15 a.m.
The 72-hole Monroe Invitational has a large Canadian contingent with four golfers from the Team Canada Amateur and Development Squads in attendance, as well as other top Canadian amateurs.
Development Squad’s A.J Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C) is T21 at 2 over par after 18 holes.
Five other Canadians join Ewart at 2 over par: Joey Savoie, (Montreal, Que.), Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.), Maxwell Sear (Unionville, Ont.), Kevin Fawcett (Newmarket, Ont.), and Luke Moser (Waterloo, Ont.).
Team Canada Amateur Squad members Hugo Bernard (Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.) and Austin James (Bath, Ont.) are T57 at 5 over par alongside Development Squad golfer Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.).
To view the full Monroe Invitational leaderboard click here.
Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Corey Conners won medallist honours on Monday at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in Springfield, Ohio to book his ticket to the 2017 U.S. Open from June 12-18 at Erin Hills.
In a marathon day where golfers played 36 holes, the Listowel, Ont., product recorded a total of 12 birdies at Springfield Country Club to finish at 12 under par, three shots clear of runner-up Brian Stuard (Jackson, Mich.).
Conners went bogey free in the opening round, recording seven birdies alongside an eagle from 100 yards out on the par-4 14th en route to carding a course record 61 (-9).
During his second round of the day, Conners cooled down on the front nine going out at 1-under par. On the back nine, he birdied three of his last eight holes to card a 3-under-par 67.
The six-year Team Canada veteran is currently playing on the Web.com Tour where he is 32nd on the Order of Merit.
Conners’ best result of 2017 came at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, where he finished T5. He’s currently ranked 10th in scoring average on the Web.com Tour at 70.52.
Hugo Bernard – a member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad – missed out on one of 13 spots at the Columbus, Ohio, Qualifier by three strokes in a strong field that included major champions Stuart Cink, Keegan Bradley, and former world No. 1, Luke Donald.
Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) finished four strokes back of earning a spot at the Rockville, Md., Qualifier.
For the full Springfield Sectional leaderboard click here.
Another Team Canada golfer is heading to Texas A&M University. Langton, Ont., native Peyton Callens—a rookie on the Development Squad—has made a verbal commitment to join the Aggies in the fall of 2018.
London, Ont., resident Maddie Szeryk, a member of the Team Canada National Squad, just wrapped up her third year at Texas A&M where she established a new school record with a season stroke average of 71.24 and was named a First-Team All-American.
Callens, 17, considered offers from Kent State, and Arizona State – the home of another Team Canada National Squad member, Kimberley B. C.’s Jared Du Toit.
As a member of Team Ontario in 2016, Callens was a force to be reckoned with on the junior championship circuit. He won the Ontario Junior Boys Championship, the Future Links driven by Acura Prairie Championship, and the Golf Ontario Junior Boys Spring classic.
He also finished 2nd at the Ontario Juvenile Championship and recorded a T3 finish at the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
A member of Delhi Golf and Country Club, in Delhi, Ont., Callens currently attends Holy Trinity High School in Simcoe, Ont.
