OAKVILLE, Ont. – Jared du Toit didn’t know what to do with himself after signing his scorecard.
The amateur golfer from Kimberley, B.C., eagled the par-4 17th hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club then birdied 18 to tie for third in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. Americans Chesson Hadley and Kelly Kraft were also at 5-under 67, a shot behind co-leaders Luke List and Dustin Johnson.
Du Toit came down the steps of the scorekeepers trailer to calls from fans asking for his signature. Then a media relations person from the PGA Tour directed him to a waiting circle of reporters with microphones and cameras, all to the surprise of the Arizona State University player.
“It’s the first time I’ve had to sign autographs after a round, so that was awesome,” said a smiling du Toit. “It’s definitely in the top-three rounds I’ve played in my career, feeling wise.”
Du Toit, who was born in Calgary but moved to British Columbia as a child, hadn’t played at Glen Abbey before practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. He relied on the advice of his caddie, a local golf teacher. The 21-year-old member of Golf Canada’s amateur team is just going to keep things simple heading into Friday’s second round.
“I don’t tee off until 2:30 tomorrow, so I shouldn’t have no sleep as an excuse,” said du Toit. “Just come out here, keep doing what I’m doing.”
Amateur Garret Rank (69) of Elmira, Ont., who is a professional hockey referee, was the second lowest Canadian behind du Toit. Rank, who was paired with du Toit, made an eagle putt from the rough edge of the green on 18 to finish at 3 under.
“I was a little uptight at the beginning, but Jared was playing well and just kind of told myself, ‘hey, played a lot of golf with him and there’s birdies to be made,”’ said Rank. “Just stayed really patient and closed strong and was 4-under on the last four.”
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 72 to finish the first round at par, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 2-over 74. Adam Cornelson of Langley, B.C., Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford are tied at 3 over.
Olympian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., amateur Blair Hamilton of Burlington, Ont., and Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch all tied at 5-over 77, and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Branson Ferrier of Barrie, Ont., were grouped together at 6-over 78. Amateur Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., was 9-over 81 and Montreal’s Dave Levesque was 13-over 85.
ABILENE, Tex. – Development Squad member Kathrine Chan delivered a convincing nine-stroke victory on Thursday at the Bob Estes Junior. The Richmond, B.C., product carded a final-round 72 (E) to finish at 2-under-par at the Abilene Country Club en route to recording her first American Junior Golf Association win.
The 16-year-old Chan distanced herself from the field with a second-round, tournament-low 69 (-3), highlighted by seven birdies. The Team Canada rookie ended the 54-hole event with a cumulative score of 214 (73-69-72).
With the win, Chan hopes to improve on her current No. 17 standing in the CN Future Links Junior Order of Merit. She is slated to tee-it-up at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship from Aug. 2-5 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S.
Click here for full scoring.
NEW MINAS, N.S. – Ken-Wo Golf Club will host the world’s premier female amateur golfers from July 26-29 for the 103rd playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.
Thirteen of the Top-100 players on the World Amateur Golf Ranking will take part in the championship’s return to Ken-Wo, which previously hosted the tournament in 2002. World No. 17 Hye-Jin Choi of Paju-si, Korea will compete alongside No. 40 Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, Calif., No. 45 Hannah Green from Perth, Australia and No. 60 Maria Fassi of Pachuca, Mexico. Choi, Green and Fassi represented their countries at the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa with Choi collecting medallist honours in leading Korea to the team title.
Established in 1921, Ken-Wo is one of the oldest clubs in Nova Scotia. Its challenging layout developed by course designers Robbie Robinson, Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson boasts a rich golfing history which includes four previous national championships.
“We are thrilled to have the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship return to Ken-Wo and the province of Nova Scotia,” said Host Club Tournament Chair Rene MacKay. “The challenge and beauty of our course will bring out the best in this impressive field. We look forward to welcoming these players with all the care and hospitality of Ken-Wo and the East Coast.”
Montreal’s Lisa Meldrum won the second of her three consecutive Canadian Women’s Amateur titles 14 years ago at Ken-Wo. A new generation of Canadian and international amateurs will now look to continue their legacies by pursuing the Duchess of Connaught trophy.
“This tournament has proven to be a stepping stone for many amateurs working towards joining the professional ranks,” said Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “Eight of our past nine winners, including 2013 champion Brooke Henderson, have gone on to find success as professionals. We are very excited to write the next chapter of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Ken-Wo.”
The complete contingent of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad will be in attendance. World No. 37 and top-ranked Canadian amateur Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., will be joined by teammates Josée Doyon (St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que.), Naomi Ko (Victoria), Michelle Kim (Surrey, B.C.) and Jaclyn Lee (Calgary).
A final-round 4-under earned Szeryk a T6 result in last year’s competition at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. The 20-year-old – who claimed her first-career NCAA victory this year at the Florida State Match-Up – and Ko have qualified for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship from August 1-7 at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa.
Doyon is hoping to build upon a season in which she has already claimed victory at the 2016 Women’s Porter Cup and successfully defended her title at the 2016 NIVO Quebec Women’s Amateur Championship. Lee earned a wire-to-wire nine-stroke win at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship. Kim, a University of Idaho Vandal, posted five Top-10 results in nine tournaments to garner Freshman of the Year honours and a first-team all-Big Sky Conference selection.
Grace St-Germain of Orleans, Ont. – the newly crowned Ontario Women’s Amateur champion – and Chloe Currie from Mississauga, Ont., who is coming off a successful title defence at the Ontario Junior Girls Championship will compete in the competition. The pair will be joined by Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.), Tiffany Kong (Vancouver) and Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C.) to represent the entirety of Team Canada’s Development Squad.
Returning from last year’s Top-5 are Sarah Burnham of Maple Grove, Minn., and Peru’s Lucia Gutierrez; the pair will attempt to improve upon the T3 results they claimed in 2015.
A practice round will be conducted on July 25 prior to the championship’s opening round. Following the first two rounds of play, the field will be reduced to the low-70 and ties. An inter-provincial team championship will take place in conjunction with the first two rounds of play. Team Alberta comprised of Calgarians Jennifer Ha, Jaclyn Lee and Sabrine Garrison claimed the team title in 2015.
In addition to the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn exemptions into the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and two LPGA events: the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary from August 22-28 and the Manulife LPGA Classic at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont., from September 1-4.
For more Information on the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship including the full field, starting times and live scoring, click here.
Cle Elum, Wash. – Team Canada National Team member Naomi Ko won a three-way playoff to earn medalist honors and No. 1 seed after two rounds of stroke play qualifying at the Prospector Course at Suncadia in Cle Elum, Wash. at the 115th Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur; while Christina Proteau earned the No. 1 seed in the 15th Pacific Northwest Women’s Mid-Amateur
Both championships are conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA)
Three giants in the Women’s Amateur field tied at the top – Jisoo Keel, Princess Superal and Naomi Ko – with Ko winning the playoff for the No. 1 seed honors going into tomorrow’s match play format.
Ko, of Victoria, B.C., was named the 2014 PNGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year, and qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
Superal, of Sun City, Calif., won the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 2016 Hong Kong Ladies Amateur, and was medalist at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Pauline del Rosario) where she made it to the semifinals.
Keel, of Coquitlam, B.C., recently won the BC Women’s Amateur, and was twice named the PNGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year (2011, 2012).
Of her play today, Ko said, “It’s feels really good to play well, especially on this course. It was playing really tough, especially yesterday.”
The Women’s Amateur will begin its match-play competition tomorrow, July 21, which comprises 18-hole single-elimination match play for the low 32 players, with the final match being contested over 36 holes on July 23.
The Women’s Mid-Amateur field has been cut to the low 16 players who now advance to match play. Their 18-hole final match will also be held July 23.
For tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring for both championships, visit thepnga.org.
“It feels great (to earn medalist honors),” Proteau said. “That was my primary goal at the start of yesterday’s round. Yesterday was really challenging (because of the windy conditions) and I didn’t play my best, so today feels really good.” Proteau shot rounds of 77-70, with her second round being the only round under par of the entire Mid-Amateur field. She enters match play as the No. 1 seed.
Proteau is a three-time PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year (2012-2014).
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – Cameron Percy, Joey Garber, Corey Conners and Ben Taylor have all earned entry into the field for this week’s RBC Canadian Open through today’s Final Qualifying at DiamondBack Golf Club.
Cameron Percy of Australia and Michigan’s Joey Garber shot matching 5-under par 67s to share co-medallist honours. Percy will be making his 94th career PGA Tour start and his fourth at Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship. His best result came in 2015 at Glen Abbey Golf Club where he tied for 18th. Garber will be making his debut at the RBC Canadian Open.
England-born Ben Taylor finished T3 at 3-under-par alongside Ontarians Corey Conners of Listowel and Chris Hemmerich of Kitchener. Taylor would claim his exemption on the first playoff hole thanks to a birdie on the par-5 18th hole.
Conners, a member of Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad, edged Hemmerich to claim the final spot into the RBC Canadian Open on the second extra hole by making par on the par-5 No. 1.
Conners will be competing in the RBC Canadian Open for a fourth consecutive year.
“I’m really excited,” said Conners. “I’ve been playing really well all year and I really like where my game is at. The atmosphere of being a Canadian and playing at the RBC Canadian Open is really cool. You see young kids who want autographs and there are a lot of people cheering for you, so it’s a great feeling and something that I’m looking forward to experiencing again.”
Additional information regarding the 2016 RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifier can be found here.
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Edmond, Oklahoma’s Taylor Moore eagled the 18th hole on Saturday at Whitewater Golf Club to shoot a 6-under 66 and take the 54-hole lead at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, the sixth event of the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.
The 22-year old rolled in a 30-foot putt for eagle on the final hole to lead by one shot over Irvine, California’s Tain Lee and two over a group of three players headed to Sunday in Thunder Bay.
“Obviously that was nice to see that go in. I was just trying to lag it down the hill there and get another shot going into tomorrow, and it happened to fall in, so it was a bonus,” said Moore. “The wind started blowing on the back nine, and I just stayed steady throughout.”
Starting the day three strokes off the lead, the University of Arkansas graduate started slowly but caught fire with a 5-under 31 on the inward nine to reach 12-under, with four birdies complementing his eagle at the last.
“I got it going on those holes into the wind. I hit a few quality shots and had some putts drop,” said Moore.
Sunday’s fourth round will put plenty on the line for Moore, who needs at least a two-way tie for second to move inside the top three on the Order of Merit and earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open next week. Still, the rookie pro said he would try not to get caught up in the moment and continue with what has worked for him so far this week.
“I’m just going to try to take it one shot at a time and stick to my gameplan and add ‘em up at the end. At the end of the day, it’s just another golf tournament and I’ll try to hit some golf shots and make a few putts,” said Moore.
Lee, who began the day with a two-shot lead, managed a 70 to sit at 11-under, while Corey Conners, David Skinns and Cameron Peck were a shot further behind heading into Sunday.
Corey Conners is making his third start of the season and 12th of his Mackenzie Tour career. The Listowel, Ont., native sits third on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit this season with four Top-10s and no missed cuts in eight events. “I have a lot of confidence from playing well down there. I have a goal to keep getting myself in position and hopefully to win an event, and it’s great to have played well all year and know that I can trust my game,” said the 24-year-old.
The member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad is in his second season as a professional after a stellar amateur career that included a runner-up finish at the 2014 U.S. Amateur and a berth in the 2015 Masters Tournament. Conners played collegiate golf at Kent State, where he was twice named an NCAA All-American.
Conners finished third at the 2015 Staal Foundation open presented by Tbaytel, which earned him conditional status for the remainder of the season as one of the top three non-members on the Order of Merit through six events. Conners went on to finish 37th on the Order of Merit to retain exempt status for 2016.
Conners’ 64 matches the course and tournament record, which was shot four times in 2014-15 and earlier on Saturday by Long Beach, California’s Brett Lederer.
Team Canada National Amateur Squad alum Austin Connelly holds a share of sixth at 9-under. Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., and Montréal’s Max Gilbert are part of a five-way tie for 8th.
WINDSOR, Ont. — The final round of the 2016 Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship at Ambassador Golf Club hosted a crowded leaderboard as eight players remained within five strokes of the lead. Grace St-Germain of Team Canada’s Development Squad built up a four-stroke advantage through the final day of competition to emerge victorious.
The final group consisted of co-leaders Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ont.), Rachel Pollock (Guelph) and St-Germain (Ottawa), who followed by one stroke.
St-Germain opened with four birdies on the front nine en route to a 1-under 71 final round. The 17-year-old recorded two additional birdies on the final stretch to secure her 2-under 286 victory.
“It feels amazing to win the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship,” said St-Germain. “To have my name on this trophy with all of these great players is fantastic!”
St-Germain’s win did not come easily, as tough weather conditions and a challenging course were taxing on the final field of 53. “My putting was the strongest part of my game this week. Getting those birdies at the end of round three gave me a lot of confidence because I wasn’t playing very well. It gave me momentum coming into today.”
Richmond Hill’s Monet Chun remained even on the day for a share of second alongside Marck-Sherk at 2-over.
As a result of their Top-3 finishes, St-Germain and Chun will represent Ontario in the inter-provincial team competition at the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at the Ken-Wo Golf Club in New Minas, N.S., July 26-29. With some players electing not to participate in the event, Pollock has earned the third spot on Team Ontario’s roster. The 21-year-old finished the tournament tied for seventh at 5-over.
For full tournament information, including the final leaderboard, click here.
Through separate qualifying events, six Canadians have punched their tickets to the U.S. Men’s Amateur next month.
Amateur Squad member Eric Banks of Truro, N.S., was the latest Team Canada athlete to secure his spot—posting a 66-71 on Tuesday to finish as medalist at the Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth, Mass. His effort was matched by Joey Savoie of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., who bested the field at the Milford, Conn., event hosted at the Great River Golf Club. The Saint Leo freshman carded a 72-68 to earn medalist honours with a one-stroke advantage.
Team Canada’s Amateur Squad duo of Blair Hamilton and Hugo Bernard shared medalist honours on Monday in Hamilton, N.Y., to lock up the two available spots at the Seven Oaks Golf Course qualifying event.
The pair kept up a steady pace throughout the 36-hole stroke-play event, both carding totals of 139 (-5) to win the qualifier by one stroke. Bernard, a Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., product, made his push by going 3-under par on his final nine holes to secure his spot. Teammate and Burlington, Ont., native Hamilton’s final round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 5th hole, cancelling out a double-bogey just two holes prior.
Canada’s Josh Goheen of Greely, Ont., finished two-strokes off the pace at 3-under par to become the second alternate from the Seven Oaks GC event.
Also in New York, Maxwell Sear of Unionville, Ont. bested the field at the Mendon Golf Club on Monday with a 69-68 to close at 5-under par. The West Virginia Mountaineer sophomore birdied three of his first five holes to boost him towards the one-stroke victory.
Rounding out the quintet is Canadian Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers, B.C., won the Blaine, Wash., qualifying event last week.
All five Canucks will head to Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., from Aug. 15–21 to compete for the title, and one of two spots into The Masters in 2017. Canada’s Corey Conners (currently on the Young Pro Squad) finished as a finalist back in 2014, eventually going on to finish as top amateur at the 2015 Masters.
Click here for updated qualifier scoring.
CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – After every LPGA tournament this season Alena Sharp checked the world Rolex rankings with one thing on her mind: the Rio Olympics.
The Hamilton golfer finally qualified to represent Canada on Sunday after finishing the U.S. Women’s Open in a tie for 21st, putting her at 91st in the world and clinching her trip to Brazil for the Games.
“I’ve been watching (thee rankings) every week and knew that maybe a couple of weeks ago that it was probably mathematically impossible to not be on the team,” said Sharp, who will join world No. 2 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., as Canada’s women’s pairing. “Last night the rankings came out early and it was obviously done that I was the second Canadian.
“I figured it out on my own, but I kind of knew.”
The U.S. Women’s Open was the final tournament to determine who would qualify for next month’s Olympics. The top 15 players in the world rankings – including Henderson -are all eligible with a limit of four for any country. South Korea – which has five – is the only country with more than two players currently in the top 15. The rest of the 60-player field was determined by the world rankings with a limit of two players per country.
The 35-year-old Sharp, as the second highest ranked Canadian, guaranteed her trip to Rio with a career-best showing at a major event. She shot a 72 on Sunday to finish tied for 21st at 1-over.
“I think (the Olympics) is the top of my career thus far,” said Sharp, who flew from San Martin, Calif., to Toronto on a red-eye flight late Sunday night. “Being able to represent Canada in Rio is something that two years ago was kind of in the back of mind. I knew I had to play well to get ahead, and I did that last year.
“To be standing here on July 11, and the day’s finally here, to be on the team is an amazing thing.”
Sharp was in Cambridge as part of a media day for the LPGA’s Manulife Classic which she, Henderson, world No. 1 Lydia Ko and a full field of other pro golfers will compete in Aug. 31-Sept. 4. Sharp also participated in a charity challenge, taking shots across the Grand River, with each ball she hit on target earning the St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation $10,000. Along with three amateurs, Sharp earned the charity $103,000.
“It was a little pressure having people watch me, but I did well on the par-3s this week at the U.S. Open, so I’m like ‘oh, it’s just like a par 3’,” said Sharp, who used a nine iron to make the 135-yard shot from one side of the gorge to another.
Henderson and Sharp will have even more pressure on them in Rio.
Women’s golf was not an event in 1904, but George Lyon of Richmond Hill, Ont., won golf in the men’s individual at the St. Louis Olympics, with Americans winning the other individual medals and all three team medals.
“I know (Brooke’s) only thinking about one thing – the gold medal,” said Sharp. “I think it’s going to be good to play practice rounds together so we can get the course mapped out to win the tournament.
“She has a lot of positive energy. She’s 18, she’s fearless. Seeing that, you kind of feed off of it.”
The two-year qualification process for golf’s return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years has been completed with today’s publication of the final Olympic golf rankings.
Forty countries are included in the final rankings across the men’s and women’s competitions, which will be played at Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course between August 11 and 20.
The Olympic golf competitions, beginning with the men from August 11-14, followed by the women from August 17-20. A potential global audience of around 3.6 billion could watch golf’s return to the Games, representing the ultimate shop-window for the sport and having the capacity to reach a brand new audience, especially among the younger generation across all continents.
“After eight years of intense planning and preparation for golf’s historic return to the Olympic Games, the IGF is extremely excited finally to have reached this important milestone of identifying those players who are eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro,” said Peter Dawson, president of the IGF. “We are particularly gratified to see how many countries are represented among the men and women and anticipate compelling competitions for both on the outstanding golf course that Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott have created. It has taken a tremendous amount of work by a number of people to get to this stage, and we at the IGF are extremely grateful for the role each and every one of them has played in making this possible.”
Qualification began July 14, 2014 and concluded Sunday, July 10. The full list of qualifiers confirms the names of the 120 players – 60 male and 60 female – who are now eligible to be entered by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in accordance with the qualification criteria.
For Canada, those golfers are David Hearn and Graham Delaet on the men’s side and Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp on the women’s side.
The IGF will send confirmation of the quota places to the National Olympic Committees (NOC) no later than 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 12. The NOCs will then confirm use of allocated quota places to the IGF who, in turn, will reallocate all unused quota places before the Rio 2016 sport entries deadline of July 18.
The IGF will publish a further list of 60 names for both the men’s and women’s events on Monday, July 18, which will provide ratification of all the competitors who will comprise the respective fields at the Olympic Games.
The final rankings underline the diversity of the fields who will tee off in Olympic competition next month for the first time in over a century, with a total of 40 countries being represented across both the men’s and women’s events.
Additionally, every continent is represented in the rankings, affording golf a unique opportunity to grow the game in unexposed territories and to achieve greater visibility with the potential television audience during the Games in Rio.
Across the two individual competitions, Africa has eight eligible players; Asia 29; Australasia & Oceania eight; Europe 52; North America 11; South America 12.
Full information on the Qualifying System for the 2016 Olympic Games can be found here.
Click here to view the final Olympic men’s ranking
Click here to view the Final Olympic women’s ranking
