Junior golf talent is discovered in mysterious ways. Sometimes by nature, other times by chance, even sometimes by luck. But occasionally, golfing talent is discovered systematically – the way PGA of Canada professionals and industry experts planned all along.
Enter 17-year-old Jaclyn Lee, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad under the direction of coach Ann Carroll.
Lee, a Calgary native, grew up playing the game with her sister, mother and father – making a natural foursome. Her interest in the game led her to Two Eagles golf course in Kelowna, B.C. where she became a junior member at the age of twelve, playing every day of the summer with her family.
As the practicing and playing continued, Lee’s talent was noticed by many locals around the golf club.
“It’s funny, actually, I was encouraged by one of the course marshals who saw me play. He advised me to pursue the game further and that kind of gave me the confidence to take my game to the next level.”
Not long after, Lee was participating in club championships and junior tour events.
Eventually, her talents were on display nationally at the 2013 CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge. That year, Lee was one of the top four scorers for girls aged 15-18 to be invited to the national event at the Canadian Women’s Open, held at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton.
As you may have guessed, Lee captured the CN Future Links National Skills Challenge title that year. With the win, she gained a new sense of confidence and was labelled a top golfing prospect.
“It was definitely a huge confidence booster for me,” said Lee. “The CN Future Links Jr. Skills Challenge was a great experience – the testing of all aspects of my game really put some pressure on my abilities and identified what I needed to work on.”
Then came the accolades.
In 2013, Lee went on to win the Alberta Jr. Girls and the CN Future Links Prairie Championship. In 2014, as a member of Team Canada, she successfully defended both of those titles while adding the Alberta Amateur title. She dominated the field at the CN Future Links Prairie Championship, winning by 13 strokes and breaking the course record (67) in the process.
Most recently, Lee placed second at the American Junior Golf Association’s JoS. A Bank/David Leadbetter Junior Championship in Ellicott City, Md.
As far as the future goes, Lee intends to continue following the competitive pathway. Her sights are set on moving up to the National Amateur Squad and potentially the Young Pro squad down the road.
“I would love to be able to make the National Team and work with Tristan (Mullally),” said the future Ohio State University student. “I really want to see how far I can take my talents and even having the Young Pro squad as a possibility down the road gives me something to work towards.”
Although the future is never fully clear, it certainly looks like a bright one for Canada’s Jaclyn Lee.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Jimmy Beck, Taylor Moore and British teenager Sam Horsfield shared the lead at 6-under-par after the first round of stroke play qualifying at the U.S. Amateur Championship on Monday.
Beck, from Columbus, Georgia, had a 65 on the Atlanta Athletic Club’s par-71 Highlands Course and Horsfield and Moore each shot 66 on the par-72 Riverside Course.
Lee McCoy of Clarkesville, Georgia, was one shot back after a 67 on Riverside. Tied for fifth at 4-under were Jonathan Garrick of Atherton, California, who shot 67 on Highlands, and Cameron Young of Scarsborough, New York, who had a 68 on Riverside.
The field of 312 players will be cut to 64 after Tuesday’s round. The format then switches to match play on Wednesday, leading up to the championship on Sunday.
Beck, a senior at Kennesaw State University, won the 2013 Georgia Amateur champion and finished second in the Georgia Open two weeks ago. He got off to a fast start Monday with birdies at Nos. 2 and 3 and finished with seven birdies and one bogey.
“I’ve been playing well coming into this and just to see putts fall, continue to fall and just hit it where you want to hit it, it’s a good feeling,” Beck said. “I was just really trying to have fun and end the summer right and what better way to do it than right here in Georgia.”
Moore, a junior at the University of Arkansas, also had seven birdies and one bogey.
“Shooting 66 puts me in a good spot,” Moore said. “I’ve got to stay aggressive, keep hitting greens and not let off the gas.”
Horsfield, 17, is playing in his second U.S. Amateur and has an impressive record in USGA events. He reached the semifinals at this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur and has made match play three times at the U.S. Public Links Championship.
“Hopefully I won’t have to worry about the cut,” Horsfield said after a round with six birdies and no bogeys. “Hopefully I can just go out there and play toward the center of the greens, don’t do anything stupid. I don’t have to fire at pins like I would if I was close to the cut line.”
The outcome was a surprise for McCoy, a junior at the University of Georgia, who was frustrated by his poor performance on the practice tee prior to the first round.
“I had probably the worst warmup session in my life this morning,” McCoy said. “Going to the first tee, I told my dad, `I’m hitting it sideways.’ I was hitting it so bad. I had a good swing thought on the first tee. Something kind of clicked and had a good tee ball and I kind of rolled from there, made a couple long putts I should have made.”
In danger of failing to advance to match play is world No. 1-ranked amateur Ollie Schniederjans of Powder Springs, Georgia. The Georgia Tech senior shot a 2-over 73 on Highlands and is tied for 106th. Second-ranked Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Alabama, is among 10 players tied for seventh at 3 under. Also in the group at 3 under are Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C.
The Highlands Course, which hosted the 1976 U.S. Open and three PGA Championships, played to an average of 74.6. The Riverside Course, site of the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open, played to an average of 74.9.
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur on Sunday, beating Canada’s Brooke Mackenzie Henderson 2 up in the 36-hole finale at Nassau Country Club.
The 16-year-old Gillman, from Austin, Texas, lost the 25th and 26th to fall 3 down. She won the short, par-4 27th with a birdie, cut it to 1 down with a birdie win on the par-4 30th and pulled even with another birdie win on the par-4 32nd.
Gillman took the lead with a birdie win on the par-5 33rd, matched the 16-year-old Henderson with pars on the 34th and 35th holes and took the par-4 18th with a birdie.
Gillman, coming off an 11-stroke victory last week in the Junior PGA Championship, is set to attend the University of Alabama in 2016.
Henderson failed in her bid to become the third Canadian winner in tournament history. Marlene Stewart accomplished the feat in 1956, and Cathy Sherk did it in 1978.
“I played well today, and I held the lead after the first 18,” said Henderson after her round. “I just didn’t play quite as well on the back 18 as I would have liked. Kristen played really well and she made a lot of putts when she needed to.”
The loss was emotional for Henderson, but the Team Canada member has a lot of reasons to smile after the strong finish.
“It’s been a great week, I really enjoyed it,” added Henderson. “I definitely will learn a lot from this and take away a lot from this week.”
Henderson will likely move to No. 1 in the World Women’s Amateur Rankings next week.
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Kristen Gillman and Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson won semifinal matches Saturday to advance to the 36-hole final in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Nassau Country Club.
The 16-year-old Gillman, Austin, Texas, beat 15-year-old Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, 4 and 3. Henderson, the 16-year-old Canadian who is No. 2 in the world amateur ranking, edged 16-year-old Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Arizona, 1 up.
“It feels awesome,” Gillman said. “Coming into this week that’s all you wanted. It feels great to accomplish that.
Gillman is coming off an 11-stroke victory last week in the Junior PGA Championship.
“It helped me a lot about all the momentum and just the confidence I had in my game,” Gillman said.
Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., is trying to become the third Canadian winner in tournament history, following Marlene Stewart in 1956 and Cathy Sherk in 1978.
“It’s amazing. I’m really excited to play tomorrow,” Henderson said. “As I said earlier, I still have a lot of work to do. It’s exciting to be in the final. Best finish previous to this week was round of 32, so it’s great to have a chance to win and contend for the title.
“Definitely going to play my game, be smart about decisions. Match play is really different from stroke play. You’ve got to be really careful and smart.”
Henderson overcame an early two-hole deficit. She took the lead with a birdie win on the par-4 14th and matched O’Sullivan with pars on the final four holes.
“She was playing really well,” Henderson said. “She’s a great player and she has a great future ahead of her. It was a lot of fun out there. I made a couple mistakes early that got me 2 down, but I was able to fight back, and that’s really key to learn how to do that.”
Henderson headed to semifinal of US Women’s Amateur
Brittany and Brooke Henderson (USGA)
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson remains red-hot, advancing to Saturday’s U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinals after beating UCLA’s Alison Lee 1 up at Nassau Country Club.
The 16-year-old Henderson Team Canada member who was low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open ended the match with a par halve on the par-4 18th. After Henderson won the par-3 16th with a par to take a 2-up lead, the 19-year-old Lee, from Valencia, California, cut it to one with a birdie win on the par-4 17th.
Henderson, from Smith Falls, Ont., is trying to become the third Canadian winner in tournament history, following Marlene Stewart in 1956 and Cathy Sherk in 1978.
Henderson, the no. 2 ranked female amateur in the world, will face 16-year-old Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Arizona, a 5-and-4 winner over 21-year-old former Pepperdine player Grace Na of Alameda, California.
Their semi-final match will begin at 10:00am EDT on Saturday, with the final match to be played on Sunday.
In the other semifinal, 16-year-old Kristen Gillman of Austin, Texas, will play 15-year-old Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California. Gillman rallied to beat 18-year-old Su-Hyun Oh of Australia in 20 holes, and Andrea Lee topped 14-year-old Eunjeong Seong of South Korea 2 and 1.
Henderson and James move on at U.S. Women’s Amateur
Brooke Henderson (USGA)
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Two Canadians won their matches Thursday morning at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, advancing to the afternoon Round of 16 at Nassau Country Club.
Sixteen-year-old Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. took down Ember Shuldt of Sterling, Ill. 4 & 3. The No. 2 ranked female amateur in the world will square off against Dylan Kim of Plano, Tex. Kim advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Canada’s Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. earlier in the day, 2 & 1.
Also advancing for Canada is the recently crowned Canadian Women’s Amateur champion, Augusta James. The Bath, Ont. native bested fellow Canadian, Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. 2-up. She will face 33rd seeded Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Ariz. at 1 pm EDT.
Brooke Henderson advances to U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinal
Brooke Henderson (USGA)
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson advanced to the U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinal by winning her match Thursday afternoon at Nassau Country Club.
Henderson, 16, was all square through seven holes, but eventually pulled ahead, defeating Dylan Kim of Piano, Tex., 3&2. The Smiths Falls, Ont. native will carry her momentum from a very successful summer season into Friday’s match. The world’s no. 2 ranked female amateur is set to take on Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif. at 12:55 EDT.
Fellow Canadian and Team Canada teammate, Augusta James, fell in a nail-biting, 20-hole match to Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Ariz. James, of Bath, Ont., is coming off a win at the Canadian Women’s Amateur last week and will surely be looking forward to some rest after another strong performance at Nassau.
GLEN COVE, N.Y. -Four of the five Canadians who qualified for match play at the 2014 US Women’s Amateur at Nassau Country Club advanced to the round of 32 Wednesday.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. continues her dominant play, beating Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, Calif. 7 & 5 to advance. Henderson, who recently finished as low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open, now faces Ember Schuldt, Sterling, Ill. in her upcoming match.
In an all Canadian match-up, newly crowned Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Augusta James of Bath, Ont. will face Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. Thursday after defeating Sarah Burnham of Maple Grove, Minn.2-up. Tong made easy work of Ashley Burk of Boynton Beach, Fla. winning 5&4.
Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. overtook China’s Yunjie Zhang 2-up and now faces Plano, Texas’ Dylan Kim.
The lone Canadian to fall Wednesday was Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. She lost 2& 1 to Portland Rosen of Sugar Land, Texas.
In other notable match-ups, Lakareber Abe beat qualifying medalist Bethany Wu 6 and 4 Wednesday. The 18-year-old Abe, an Alabama recruit from Angleton, Texas, is trying to become the first black female individual champion in U.S. Golf Association history.
“It was just smooth sailing,” said Abe, second last year in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I didn’t get too up or too down. Just kind of steady the whole time.”
The 17-year-old Wu, from Diamond Bar, California, became the first top seed to fall in the first round since co-medalist Jihee Kim in 2011.
“I wasn’t hitting it solid,” Wu said. “After I lost the third hole, it kind of got in my head. I tried to come back so quickly, and it just didn’t work out. Overall, just a terrible day.”
Defending champion Emma Talley, the 20-year-old University of Alabama player from Princeton, Kentucky, edged Jiyoon Jang of Rancho Mirage, California, in 19 holes. Talley set up a second-round match with Princess Mary Superal, the 17-year-old Filipino player who won the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month.
Superal beat Raegan Bremer of Anaheim, California, 3 and 1.
Corey Conners leads heading into final round of Canadian Amateur
Corey Conners (Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)
Winnipeg – Corey Conners sits in the driver’s seat one-stroke in front of the field heading into the final round of the 110th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
The Listowel, Ont. native opened his third round by firing a 3-under 32 front-nine, but closed with four bogeys over his final six holes to finish with a 2-under 68. His 8-under 204 total leaves him one-stroke clear of New Mexico’s Sam Saunders.
“I’m happy with my score, just kind of disappointed with all the bogeys,” Conners said. “I’ll try to smooth things out a little bit, I don’t know I just kind of got out of my rhythm towards the end, got a little antsy or excited.”
Now leading the way, the Team Canada member will face a familiar challenge on Thursday over the final 18 holes at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club. The 22-year-old has finished no worse than third in his last three attempts at the national amateur championship title.
“I came here with the mindset that it’s my time to win and I’m just trying to do my thing out here and see what happens,” he continued. “It would definitely be nice, still another round to be played but I’ll give it my best.”
Playing alongside Conners, Saunders carded a 1-over 71 Wednesday. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native finished at 7-under 205 and cut Conners’ lead to a single stroke after his birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on the par-4 18th hole.
“That was really big. On the tee I knew I needed to play that hole well and not make a bogey because I had just bogeyed the previous two holes,” Saunders said. “It was really important for me to play a good hole and I got lucky, I sort of hit in there as close as I think you can on that one and made a great putt.”
Brian Bullington of Frankfort, Ill. finished with a 1-under 69 to grab solo third at 6-under 206. Bullington currently sits one stroke ahead of Team Canada’s Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. and New Zealand’s James Beale who share fourth spot at 5-under.
Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online here.
Five Canadians advance to match play at US Women’s Amateur
(USGA)
GLEN COVE, N.Y. -Five Canadians are headed to match play at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson was the leading Canadian. The 16-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native who was the low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open, had a 71 to tie for 12th at 2 over.
Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. was 4 over and tied for 21st; while Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City, Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. and Augusta James all tied for 46th at 6 over.
Bethany Wu shot a 2-under 68 on Tuesday to top the 64 match-play qualifiers.
Wu, the 17-year-old Diamond Bar, California, player who has committed to play at UCLA, finished stroke play at 3-under 137 at Nassau Country Club.
“Going to the back nine, I was thinking, `Don’t make any mistakes,'” said Wu, the runner-up last week in the Junior PGA Championship and a quarterfinalist two weeks ago in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. “(Earning medalist honors is) good for me because I’ve beat really top players here through stroke play.”
Australia’s Su-Hyun Oh, the first-round leader, was a shot back along with Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California. Oh had a 72, and Lee shot 69.
Princess Mary Superal, the 17-year-old Filipino player who won the U.S. Girls’ Junior, was another stroke back after a 73.
Defending champion Emma Talley, the 20-year-old University of Alabama player from Princeton, Kentucky, tied for 46th at 6 over. She followed her opening 76 with a 70.
“I knew that today was a big day,” said Talley, who made the winning putt for United States in June in the Curtis Cup. “I got 1 over at one point, and I knew I just needed to stick with my game.”
