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Amateur Team Canada

Canada’s Banks advances to Argentine Amateur quarters

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – National Amateur Squad member Eric Banks has continued his hot play of late, advancing to the Argentine Amateur quarter-finals on Thursday at the Tortugas Country Club.

Banks, a University of Florida alumnus, defeated 12th seed Montenegro Jesus Dario of Argentina, 4&3, to punch his ticket to the quarter-finals. The win also came on the Truro, N.S., native’s 23rd birthday.

Banks has not taken his foot off the gas since helping Canada win the Tailhade Cup last week in Argentina. He tied for second in the stroke-play qualifying rounds at 4-under before going on to win his first match 6&5.

Banks will look to keep thing rolling against 13th-seeded Luca Cianchetti of Italy in Friday’s quarter-final match. The semi-final round will also commence Friday, with the 36-hole final set for Saturday.

Tony Gil, the second half of Canada’s winning duo at the Tailhade Cup, slipped in his opening match against Mexico’s Eduar Carrete Serratos, losing in 20 holes. The Vaughan, Ont., product finished T24 in stroke-play qualifying at 2-over par.

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Team Canada

Team Canada storms back to repeat as Tailhade Cup champions

Eric Banks and Tony Gill

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil defied the odds on Sunday at the Los Lagartos Country Club, climbing back from a three-stroke deficit to keep the Tailhade Cup in Canada for a second consecutive year.

The comeback was sparked by Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., who posted a 1-under 70 for the day’s lowest score—boosting Canada to a one-stroke victory over runner-ups Brazil and Australia. Collectively, the Canucks finished at 7-over (149-139-145).

Eric Banks, a 23-year-old Truro, N.S., product, put forth a solid effort all week, finishing at 1-over par overall (71-68-75) to share individual runner-up honours. Gil, 17, jumped up the individual leaderboard after Sunday’s final round to finish T14 at 6-over. Argentina’s Simaski Matias took home medalist honours, finishing as the only competitor under-par for the tournament at 1-under.

The win marks the second consecutive title for Canada—Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and dual-citizen Austin Connelly from Irving, Texas won the trophy in 2014 by a margin of 19 strokes.

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Team Canada

Team Canada holds fourth place after second round of Tailhade Cup

Eric Banks

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil continued their effort to defend Canada’s Tailhade Cup title on Saturday, carding a collective 3-under 139 to sit in fourth place heading into Sunday’s final round.

Overall, the Canucks sit at 4-over par and trail a trio of leading teams by three strokes—Australia, Brazil and host Argentina.

Truro, N.S., native and National Amateur Squad member Eric Banks shared the lowest round of the day with a 3-under 68, placing him in second place individually, two strokes back of Argentina’s Simaski Matias.

17-year-old Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., bounced back on Saturday’s second round at the Los Lagartos Country Club, shooting an even-par 71 to sit T33 individually.

The final round of rain-shortened event will commence Sunday.

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Team Canada

Canada’s Eric Banks and Tony Gil tied for seventh at Tailhade Cup

Eric Banks (Golf Canada/ Graig Abel)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil posted a 7-over 149 in Friday’s first round of action at the Tailhade Cup to sit in a tie for seventh.

After play was suspended on Thursday due to thunderstorms, Nova Scotia’s Banks led the Canadian pair with an opening even-par 71—good for the day’s third-best score overall. Gil, a 17-year-old Vaughan, Ont., native, struggled on the day with a 7-over par 78.

Collectively, the Australians hold the outright lead after Friday’s first round, carding a 1-over 143. They are closely followed by host Argentina, who sit two-back at 145.

The second round of action will resume tomorrow at the Los Lagartos Country Club, with the final round to commence on Sunday.

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Team Canada

Tony Gil and Eric Banks prepped to defend Canada’s Tailhade Cup title

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., and Eric Banks of Truro, N.S., are gearing up to compete in the Tailhade Cup from Nov. 12–15 at the Los Lagartos Country Club.

Banks and Gil make up one of 16 international two-man teams competing this week in the 72-hole stroke-play event. The Canadian duo will look to defend the title, won last year by Canada’s Corey Conners and Austin Connelly (who also took home medalist honours).

The pair will look to repeat for Canada’s second title in the event’s 20-year history. Gil, a member of the Development Squad, and Banks, a member of the National Amateur Squad, will tee-off at 8:50 a.m. (ART) and 9 a.m., respectively.

Upon completion of the Tailhade Cup, the Canadian duo will also tee-it-up the following week at the Argentina Amateur from Nov. 16–21.

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PGA TOUR Team Canada

Canadians set to compete in Stage II of Web.com Qualifying School

Mackenzie Hughes
Mackenzie Hughes (Claus Andersen)

The second stage of Web.com Tour qualifying school kicks off Tuesday at separate sites across the U.S. from Nov. 10–13 with 13 Canadians in the field. The week following, another 10 Canucks will tee-it-up at two separate events to complete stage II of qualifying.

In total, 23 Canadians will compete for spots in the final qualifying stage held from Dec. 10–13 at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Nov 10–13

Southern Hills Plantation Club, Brooksville, Fla.

Nov 10–13

The Clubs of Kingwood-Deerwood, Kingwood, Tex.

Nov 17–20

Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.

Nov 17–20

Plantation Preserve Golf Club, Plantation, Fla.

The number of players advancing from each site will be determined on a pro rata basis with approximately the same percentage of players from each site moving forward; the number will be announced during the second qualifying stage.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad members Albin Choi (Toronto) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) have already punched their tickets to the final stage, along with Kevin Spooner (Vancouver), Eugene Wong (Vancouver), Wilson Bateman (Edmonton) and Justin Shin (Pitt Meadows, B.C.). Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.)—also on the Young Pro Squad—earned status already by finishing inside the top-five on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada.

Consistent with all events on the Web.com Tour schedule, the finals will be contested over 72 holes.

All players who make it to the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament will earn at least conditional status on Tour in 2016.

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Team Canada

Bear Mountain Resort named as Golf Canada’s official training centre

Bear Mountain Resort (bearmountain.ca)

Victoria, B.C. – Golf Canada and Bear Mountain Resort have announced a four-year partnership in which Bear Mountain will become the official Canadian training centre for Team Canada’s National Squads.

Bear Mountain Resort, owned by Ecoasis Developments LLP, will provide athletes and coaches with year-round access to all onsite golf and resort facilities including the fitness facility and soon to be constructed premium golf training amenities. Located just outside Victoria, B.C., the west-coast resort is ideally positioned to provide optimal weather and training conditions for athletes from Team Canada’s Amateur, Development and Young Pro Squads.

In addition to the world-class facilities, Team Canada will have access to the award-winning 36-hole Nicklaus Design golf course, located on 836 acres of rolling hills with spectacular mountain vistas and views of British Columbia’s seaside capital city.

“We are very excited to begin this partnership with Bear Mountain and look forward to having our Team Canada players training at one of the best facilities in Canada,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “The facility is well-equipped to provide year-round support for our athletes, coaches and high performance training initiatives.”

While serving as the Canadian training centre for Golf Canada’s National Team program, Bear Mountain will also host two of Golf Canada’s championship events over the four-year period, while also serving as a potential host venue for a Golf Canada Foundation national fundraiser.

“We are very proud that our facilities and community have been recognized by Golf Canada and we are pleased to move forward as their partner and their first Canadian training facility,” said Dan Matthews, President and CEO of Ecoasis Developments LLP. “Supporting athlete development is one of our foundational aspirations at Bear Mountain. Our goal since day one has been to elevate the overall golf experience at Bear Mountain Resort and offer a quality of play that is among the best golf opportunities in the country. Golf Canada recognizes this commitment and we welcome them and their young performance athletes and coaches to train with us at Bear Mountain. “

The Canadian training centre will serve as a home for Team Canada’s training camps—primarily for Development Squad athletes during the shoulder season between October and March – including an upcoming training camp scheduled for February. Team Canada athletes will be hosted onsite at the Westin Bear Mountain Resort and Spa during visits and training camps.

Team Canada

PGA of Ontario announces 2015 award winners

Tristan Mullally (Golf Canada/ Tyler Costigan)

PICKERING, Ont. – The PGA of Ontario released their list of nine award recipients for the 2015 season on Wednesday. It has been a busy week for the association, who also recently announced their headquarters are moving from a plaza in Pickering to the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham.

Among this year’s nine award recipients was Team Canada’s Women’s Head Coach, Tristan Mullally.

“I am incredibly proud to receive this award from the PGA of Ontario,” said the Class “A” member. “In this game, you always work hard to do the best job you can and it’s really an honour to be recognized by your peers.”

Mullally, a CDC certified coach with the PGA of Canada, has been at the helm of Canada’s National Women’s program since 2011. Since joining Team Canada, Mullally’s role has expanded to include coaching athletes on both the Young Pro and Amateur Squad—which totalled seven athletes in 2015 (including LPGA Tour star Brooke Henderson).

The full list of PGA of Ontario award winners is below:

Team Canada

Canadian duo finishes T3 at Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup

Corey Conners (Minas Panagiotakis/ Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad members Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith teamed up this past weekend to finish in a tie for third at the second edition of the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup presented by Value, a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event.

Conners, a Listowel, Ont., product and Pendrith, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., carded a 255 (65-65-62-63) to finish at 29-under in the four-ball event hosted at the Club Campestre. In addition to being teammates with Team Canada, Conners and Pendrith have the experience of playing collegiate golf together for the Kent State Golden Flashes—further adding to the duo’s chemistry.

Out of 30 total teams representing 19 countries, Conners and Pendrith emerged as one of the top-three teams, tied with the Colombian pair of Rozo and Merizalde. Puerto Rico’s Fields and Figueroa placed second at 30-under, while the American duo of Kuchar and Hueber (replacement for injured Tiger Woods) finished first by a four-stroke margin.

The event is among the most prestigious tournaments in Latin America and boasts one of the highest purses in the region at $300,000 (USD).

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Amateur Team Canada

Golf Canada announces 2016 Team Canada

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the athletes who have been selected to represent Team Canada as part of the 2016 National Amateur Squad and Development Squad.

In all, ten athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including five players on the men’s team and five on the women’s. The National Development Squad, primarily a U19 program, will also feature 10 players (five men and five women).

Returning to the men’s Amateur Squad is 2015 Gary Cowan Award (low amateur at the RBC Canadian Open) winner Blair Hamilton, 22, of Burlington, Ont. Hamilton enters his senior year at the University of Houston on the heels of a strong junior year that included two collegiate victories and six other top-20 finishes. He finished T17 at the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur and currently boasts Canada’s top-amateur ranking at No. 104 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). This will be his second year on the Amateur Squad and his third in total with Team Canada (Development Squad in 2012).

Joining the team for his first official season is reining B.C. Amateur champion Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C. The 20-year-old currently sits as the team’s second-ranked amateur at No. 122 in the WAGR. He played his first two seasons at the University of Idaho before transferring to Arizona State this year for his junior season. During his time at Idaho, du Toit recorded eight top-10 finishes including a win at the Wyoming University Southern to go along with winning Freshman of the Year honours for the Western Athletic Conference.

After a two-year hiatus, Eric Banks of Truro, N.S., makes his return to Team Canada following a summer that featured top-25 finishes at the Northeast Amateur, Canadian Amateur and Monroe Invitational. Banks is also a former Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur champion (2011) and two-time Nova Scotia Junior Boys champion. He enters his fourth year with Team Canada after graduating from the University of Florida where he won the David Toms award—given to the collegiate golfer who most overcomes adversity. Banks, 22, recovered from successful open-heart surgery in June of 2012 that repaired a hole in his heart.

Also returning to Team Canada after a hiatus is Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native Hugo Bernard. The 20-year-old was runner-up at the 2015 Canadian Amateur and also earned top-five finishes provincially at the Alexander of Tunis, Duke of Kent and the Quebec Men’s Amateur. He captured the Quebec Men’s Amateur title in 2013 as well as the 2012 Quebec Junior Boys championship.

Rounding out the men’s team is Purdue University senior and Vancouver native Stuart Macdonald. The 20-year-old finished runner-up at the 2015 B.C. Amateur, tallied two top-10 finishes in his junior season and finished tied for 13th at the 2015 Canadian Amateur.

On the women’s side, the Amateur Squad is headlined by returning member and dual-citizen Maddie Szeryk who’s 2015 season includes a victory at the Ontario Women’s Amateur and T6 finish at the Canadian Women’s Amateur. In her freshman season at Texas A&M, Szeryk was named to the All-South Eastern Conference team in addition to winning Freshman of the Year honours for the conference thanks to nine top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments played. The 19-year old currently sits as Canada’s top-ranked female on the WAGR at No. 38.

Joining Team Canada is rookie Josée Doyon of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que. Doyon is coming off a remarkable season that featured a win at the Quebec Women’s Amateur in addition to three collegiate victories for the Kent State Golden Flashes. The 22-year-old’s junior season earned her Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year honours. Now in her senior year, Doyon currently sits at No. 61 on the WAGR.

Rounding out the women’s team are a trio of graduates from last season’s Development Squad including 18-year-old Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C., who enters her fourth year with Team Canada and first as a member of the N.C. State Wolfpack. In 2015 she finished fifth at the B.C. Women’s Amateur, tied for second at the Ontario Women’s Amateur, third at the Canadian Junior Girls and tied for 24th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee, 18, heads into her third year with Team Canada and her freshman season at Ohio State. The 18-year old finished tied for seventh at the B.C. Women’s Amateur, third at the Alberta Ladies Amateur and 16th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur. In 2014, Lee captured both the Alberta Ladies Amateur and Junior Girls titles.

Michelle Kim, an 18-year-old Surrey, B.C., native, moves up to the Amateur Squad after one season the Development Squad. Currently in her freshman year with University of Idaho, Kim won both the 2015 B.C. Women’s Amateur and Junior Girls, while adding a victory at the Canadian Junior Girls and a tie for 38th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur.

“This is always an exciting time of year as we welcome the next group of young men and women selected as members of Team Canada,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “Supporting, developing and nurturing Canada’s future stars remains to be at the core of our primary objectives. We are committed to investing in high performance talent through elite coaching, training, sport science and preparation.”

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2016 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

MEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

Complete National Amateur Squad bios can be found here.

As part of the National Amateur Team Program, Golf Canada also named the 19-and-under Development Squad that includes five female and five male athletes. The Development Squad is designed to help facilitate the continued development of Canada’s top young talents.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2016 Development Squad:

WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

MEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

Complete Development Squad player bios can be found here.

Golf Canada also announced the 2016 Team Canada coaching staff with Derek Ingram returning as Men’s Squad Head Coach, supported by Robert Ratcliffe who will also head up the Development Squad. On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally returns as Women’s Squad Head Coach and will receive support from Ann Carroll, who will oversee the Women’s Development Squad specifically. All coaches are all class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.

The athletes named to the 2016 National Amateur and Development Squads are a product of a circle of support that includes personal coaches, parents and high performance activities conducted by the respective provincial golf associations.

The 2016 Young Pro Squad team selection is expected mid-November.