OAKVILLE, ONT. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of the 18 athletes, male and female, who have been selected to represent Team Canada as part of the 2020 National Amateur and Junior Squads.
Nine athletes will compete for Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad, consisting of five players on the men’s squad and four on the women’s squad.
Team Canada’s 2020 Squad members have competed and achieved impressive results at regional, national and international competitions, including medals at the Pan-Am Games, NCAA Tournament wins and victories at prestigious amateur competitions.
“Golf Canada is thrilled to welcome an outstanding roster of elite athletes to represent Team Canada in 2020—they are truly deserving as evidenced by their strong performances this past season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer.
“The athletes selected represent a mix of returning team members as well as talented up and coming athletes who have come through provincial or regional high-performance programs. Each of them will be fantastic ambassadors representing Canada on the global golf stage.”
The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2020 Amateur Squad:
Men’s Amateur Squad
Étienne Papineau | St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué. – Club de golf Pinegrove
Cougar Collins | Caledon, Ont. – TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley
Sam Meek | Peterborough, Ont. – Public Player
Brendan MacDougall* | Calgary, Alta. – Glencoe Golf and Country Club
Noah Steele | Kingston, Ont. – Cataraqui Golf and Country Club
Women’s Amateur Squad
Brigitte Thibault* | Rosemère, Qué. – Club de golf de Rosemère
Mary Parsons | Delta, BC – Mayfair Lakes Golf Club
Sarah-Ève Rhéaume | Québec, Qué. – Club de golf Royal Québec
Noémie Paré | Victoriaville, Qué. – Club de golf de Victoriaville
Click here to read full player bios.
The National Junior Squad—a U19 program—also features nine athletes (four women and five men).
From February through early June, the nine-member Junior Squad will practice out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria—the third year that the program has provided centralized training, accommodation and education for athletes during the second semester of their high school year. Team members will be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition.
The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2020 Junior Squad:
Junior Boys Squad
Laurent Desmarchais* | Longueuil, Qué. – Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu
Jace Minni | Delta, BC – Beach Grove Golf Club
JP Parr | St-Célestin, Qué. – Club de golf Ki-8-eb Golf
Bennett Ruby | Waterloo, Ont. – Westmount Golf and Country Club
Malik Dao | Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Qué. – Summerlea Golf and Country Club
Junior Girls Squad
Emily Zhu* | Richmond Hill, Ont. – National Pines Golf Club
Angela Arora | Surrey, BC – Beach Grove Golf Club
Angel (Mu Chen) Lin | Surrey, BC – Morgan Creek Golf Club
Monet Chun* | Richmond Hill, Ont. – Summit Golf Club
*Denotes 2019 National Team returning members
Click here to read full player bios.
Team Canada Coaching Staff Announced
Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2020 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.
On the men’s side, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man. returns as Men’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C. will lead the Junior Boy’s Squad.
On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont., returns as Women’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Matt Wilson, from Newmarket, Ont., will oversee the Junior Girls’ Squads.
Wilson, who doubles as Golf Canada’s director of next generation performance, will resume leadership of the Junior Squad centralized program at Bear Mountain, alongside Ratcliffe.
The Men’s and Women’s Amateur Squads will each be adding an assistant coach to support the high-performance needs of the program and athletes. Candidates will be chosen in January.
“Derek and Tristan have had tremendous success with Team Canada athletes and the evolution of our national team program will see Robert and Matt continue in their significant role of leading the centralized training program at Bear Mountain,” added Thompson. “We look forward to expanding our roster of coaches and building on the success of Team Canada to help more of our elite level golfers realize their fullest potential.”
Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe and Wilson are all Class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.
Golf Canada expects to announce the selection of the 2020 Team Canada Young Pro Squad in December.
MARKHAM, Ont. —The world’s best young female golfers took over Markham’s Angus Glen Golf Club on Tuesday as the 2019 World Junior Girls Championship got underway on one of the GTA’s favourite tracks.
Under the watchful eyes of several NCAA golf coaches that have made the journey north, Round one was clearly a high-scoring affair since only three competitors managed to navigate the challenging South Course under par: Thailand’s Yosita Khawnuna, Yin Xiaowen of China and Ye Won Lee of Korea, who all share the individual lead at one under par after rounds of 71.
Khawnuna was in the lead for a large portion of the day before stumbling near the end of her round with a bogey at 17 and a double bogey at 18which erased the three-shot lead she had built after a terrific birdie on the par-5 hole No. 16.
It was an equally tight contest in the team competition as the top three squads are only separated by two shots, with Korea paving the way on an aggregate score of minus -1 (143), followed closely by Thailand at even par (144) and England in third at plus +1 (145).
Team Thailand, headlined by 2018 World Junior Girls champion Atthaya Thitikul who went one over on the day (73), is looking to build on its success after claiming bronze last year in Ottawa. The third member of the team, Kan Bunnabodee concluded with a 73 as well to sit T8.
In a post-match interview, Thitikul, Bunnabodee and Khawnuna agreed that many challenges await on this golf course. The Thai team looks forward to having another go at it tomorrow: “We need to just let go and tomorrow will be better. Today is over and we just need to go and practise the things that we need to do (better). Just stick to the game plan and we will be better,” said Bunnabodee, speaking on behalf of the squad.
As the organizing federation, Canada can delegate two squads to the Championship.
Canada 1, which comprises Brooke Rivers (Brampton, Ont.), Euna Han (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.) sit in a tie for 9th with Scotland. Canada 2, which includes Lauren Kim and Angela Arora of Surrey, B.C., with Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.), trails behind at T13 with Spain and Wales. Rivers was the low Canadian today with a 2-over-par 74, which leaves her only three shots shy of the lead.
Team Canada is looking for its first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.
The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an “A” ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its sixth edition.
Play resumes at 8 AM on Wednesday. Full results and tournament information can be found here.
Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the sixth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.
John Chidley-Hill/ Canadian Press
Coming off a three-year break from elite competition, Rebecca Lee-Bentham is finding ways to keep golf interesting.
She’ll be the only woman in the field when the Mackenzie Investments Open tees off at Montreal’s Elm Ridge Country Club’s North Course on Thursday. It’s not the first time that Lee-Bentham has played against an elite male field, so the Golf Journalists Association of Canada’s 2013 female professional of the year knows what challenges the rain-soaked course will present.
“I’m getting no rolls so it’s all in my carry and I don’t carry the ball very far,” said Lee-Bentham. “It’s hard because we’re playing the same tees. We’re playing at 7,000 yards and I usually play at, I think 6,600 is the average in the LPGA. So when you add all that it is difficult because I’m hitting a lot longer clubs to the holes.”
Lee-Bentham has excelled against men before. She was on the men’s golf team at Toronto’s Northview Heights Secondary School with Albin Choi, Richard Jung and Daniel Kim, all of them now on pro tours. Lee-Bentham proudly notes that she won the regional high school championship while at Northview Heights.
The 27-year-old from Markham, Ont., also finished 10th at the Bermuda Grey Goose World Par 3 Championships in May, holding a first-round lead against a predominantly male field that included PGA Tour-winner Chip Beck, among others.
“Whenever I go out for a fun game it’s 95 per cent men,” said Lee-Bentham. “I’m always surrounded by them anyway. Yes it’s different because the Mackenzie Investment Open is a different environment where they’re all tour pros but I’m trying to focus more on playing the golf course rather than focus on how long they’re hitting it past me.”
Choi has total confidence in Lee-Bentham, who he believes has the skills to surprise people.
“I think she’s going to do a lot better than what people think,” said Choi. “The toughest part about playing in a men’s event is obviously just the yardage, the golf course is longer.
“But she’s going to just be hitting some longer clubs into the greens. She’s going to do a lot better than people expect.”
This year has been a welcome return to competition for Lee-Bentham, who retired as a player in 2016. She had been working as a golf coach and spending more time with her family and, in her own words, growing as a person. This season she has decided to play occasionally in elite competitions.
“My perspective on golf changed. Just seeing golf as a small part of life, it’s not everything,” said Lee-Bentham. “Before it was all of nothing. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I really cared about my performance and results. I put that in front of happiness.”
The Mackenzie Investments Open is the penultimate stop on the third-tier Canadian golf tour. The Mackenzie Tour’s season wraps up next week at the Canada Life Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.
VICTORIA, B.C. – New Zealand swept all four of its afternoon singles matches Wednesday to take the lead after the opening day of the Astor Trophy at Royal Colwood Golf Club.
All four of those wins came over Canada after the two countries had split their two morning foursomes matches.
Five four-woman teams — Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Great Britain & Ireland — have gathered for the round-robin match play event that has been held every four years since 1959. All of the countries will face each other once during the five-day competition.
On Wednesday, South Africa played Australia, while Canada faced New Zealand. Great Britain & Ireland had the day off.
Ameilia Garvey put the first win of the afternoon on the board for New Zealand when she beat Naomié Paré of Victoriaville, Que. 4&3. Carmen Lim followed with a 3&2 win over Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C. Wenyung Keh beat Brooke Rivers of Brampton, Ont. 4&2 and Julianne Alvarez defeated Emily Zhu of Richmond Hill, Ont. 2&1.
The afternoon sweep clinched New Zealand’s win over Canada and gave the Kiwis one point for the team win on the day. Australia and South Africa split their six matches and each earned half a point for their teams. Canada was blanked.
New Zealand coach Jay Carter was delighted with his team’s opening-day results.
“They played nicely,” Carter said. “We have a strong team. Ameilia was runner-up at the British Amateur last month, Wenyung and Julianne both won the NCAA in college and Carmen is on the way up. She is only 15.”
“We played good, it was a solid day,” added Keh, a recent University of Washington graduate who won both of her matches Wednesday. “We’re happy with our results today. This is a course that is demanding off the tee. Once you are in the rough it is hard to stop the ball on these greens. Having good course management around here is important and our team did that very well today.”
The weather was perfect and scoring conditions were ideal Wednesday.
Canada won its only match of the day when Paré and Rivers won 2&1 over Lim and Garvey. The Canadians were steady, winning despite the fact they didn’t make a birdie in the match.
“They missed a few putts and were off line on one tee shot that cost them a hole,” Paré said. “I think we just played solid.”
“We were just very consistent throughout the round,” added Rivers. “The greens make it very difficult to get close to the pin and pars are a great score out here.”
Foursomes (or alternate shot as it’s known) is a format that is relatively new to both Paré and Rivers.
“Actually, it was a lot of fun,” said Paré, who is entering her senior year at Barry University in south Florida. “I haven’t played a lot of this format in the past. Brooke and I met a couple of days ago and our games really fit and we got along great. We just had a lot of fun today.”
Parsons and Zhu lost their foursomes match 2&1 to Alvarez and Keh despite the fact they combined for two birdies and an eagle.
“It was kind of a back-and-forth match, but we still played really well,” Parsons said.
The Astor Trophy began as the Commonwealth Trophy and was first held at The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland in 1959. The name was changed to the Astor Trophy in 2007 to allow Irish players to compete on a Great Britain & Ireland team.
Australia won the event when it was last contested in 2015 at the Grange Golf Club in southern Australia. Canada has won the Astor Trophy on two occasions, in 1987 and 1979.
New Zealand gets the day off Thursday, when Canada meets Australia and Great Britain & Ireland face South Africa.
VANCOUVER – Chris Crislogo of Richmond, B.C., will play his first tournament as a professional at the Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies Vancouver Open from August 28 to September 1 at Fraserview Golf Club in Vancouver.
A member of the Team Canada National Amateur Squad for the past two years, the 23-year-old enjoyed a successful amateur career. He is a two-time winner of the South American Amateur, claiming the title in 2018 and 2019.
Crisologo captured the Gary Cowan Award as the low amateur at the 2018 RBC Canadian Open, finishing in a tie for 45th.
Crisologo also competed as a member of the Simon Fraser University golf team, winning individual titles at six tournaments between 2015 and 2018.
The Vancouver Open is part of the Vancouver Golf Tour. Canadian PGA TOUR professional Adam Hadwin has won the tournament three times, most recently in 2016.
Joining Team Canada for her rookie campaign is Brigitte Thibault of Rosemère, Que. Thibault enters her first year with the national squad after collecting three top-10 finishes as a member of the Fresno State Bulldogs, including a runner-up finish at the UNLV Collegiate Showdown. She added top-10 results at the Women’s Western, North & South and Quebec Amateur. She finished runner-up at the Quebec Junior Girls in 2017.
She competed in the inaugural Augusta Women’s Amateur in 2019 and went on to win a bronze medal for Canada at the Pan Am Games through the mixed team event.
HARTLAND, N.B. – Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., withstood a strong push from the field, going wire-to-wire to defend his title and win the 81st Canadian Junior Boys Championship held at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club in Hartland, N.B.
Vandette carded a final round of 1-under-par 71 to finish the championship at 14 under, winning by a single stroke over Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. The 18-year-old tied the lowest round ever at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship when he shot 62 in the opening round. Although the field closed the gap as the week wore on, the Team Canada National Junior Squad member emerged victorious.
“It was a long week, especially after such a good first round,” said Vandette. “I ran out of gas a bit at the end, but managed to get it done. I’m really excited and proud of myself for holding on to the lead there.”
Vandette birdied the par-5 18th to clinch the championship. His second shot from the fairway landed within 15 feet of the pin, where Vandette then two-putted to secure the title.
“You can’t see the green at all [from the fairway], so I was just aiming at someone in the crowd there,” added Vandette. “I let it drift toward the left part of the green. I overdrew it a bit, but it held on and stayed on the fringe.”
Vandette briefly trailed McKinlay on the back nine, but retook the lead with a birdie on the par-4 16th hole. McKinlay bogeyed the hole, giving Vandette a one-stroke lead he would not relinquish.
“I wasn’t putting well all day – I actually three-putted No. 15,” said Vandette. “On No. 16, I managed to hit it close enough to not have to worry about my putt. I wasn’t focusing on what Brady was doing, but he just ended up with a bad break.”
With the victory, Vandette becomes the first back-to-back champion since Mitch Sutton won in 2008 and 2009.
As the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys individual champion, Vandette earns an exemption into the 2020 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, held at The Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary from August 3-6, 2020.
Despite trailing by ten shots after the first round, McKinlay made a charge in the final round by carding a 4-under-par 68. The 18-year-old shot even-par in the opening round, but rebounded with rounds of 70 and 65 in rounds two and three to finish runner-up.
“I was a little bit disappointed with the first two days,” said McKinlay. “The last two days were picture-perfect almost, I just needed a couple of more shots. To keep going lower and lower up until the last day and then to do 4 under today was really good.”
The second-place finish caps a series of strong performances for McKinlay, who finished tied for second at the Future Links, driven by Acura Western Championship, third at the Alberta Junior Championship and made the cut at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
Carter Graf of Sylvan Lake, Alta., finished third at 11 under by posting a final round of 2 under 70.
The 16-and-under Juvenile division was decided in a playoff. Both Tommy McKenzie (Calgary) and Luke DelGobbo (Fonthill, Ont.) finished 72 holes at 8 under. DelGobbo, 16, won the title with a par on the second playoff hole.
Full scoring can be found here.
HARTLAND, N.B. – When the fog cleared, Christopher Vandette (Beaconsfield, Que.) continued to lead heading into the final round of the 81st Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club.
Vandette had his lead shrink to two strokes during Wednesday’s third round. He began the day with three birdies on his first six holes, but two straight bogeys on holes No. 16 and No. 17 made for a round of even-par 72.
“I was in a good rhythm at the start and putts were falling,” said Vandette. “At the end, I think I made a couple of dumb decisions, just like yesterday. That’s what cost me the most shots.”
The 18-year-old is looking to become the first champion to defend his title since Mitch Sutton (London, Ont.) did so in 2009.
“The city of Hartland and these people really care about this week and they’re showing it,” added Vandette. “A lot of people are showing up and it’s actually a lot of fun. They’re proud to host and us as players are fortunate to have a town who cares about it.”
Vandette’s Team Canada National Junior Squad teammate, Jeevan Sihota (Victoria) continued to play consistent golf, firing a round of 4 under, and is now sitting at 11 under for the tournament. Sihota birdied four of his first five holes and played even-par golf the rest of the way. He has only three bogeys through the first 54 holes of the competition and is two back of Vandette.
“It was a pretty good overall day,” said Sihota. “I missed quite a few short putts today, which hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to hole those. I’m driving it really well – if you’re in the fairway here, it’s hard to make bogey from 60 yards.”
Sihota, 15, is leading the 16-and-under Juvenile division by four strokes over Tommy McKenzie (Calgary). All three of Sihota’s rounds have been in the 60s.
Vandette, Sihota and Carter Graf made up the final group of the third round. Graf shot even-par and is in a tie for third at 9 under, four back of Vandette.
Brady McKinlay shot a 7-under-par 65 on Wednesday, tied for the low score of the third round with Ethan de Graaf (Edmonton, Alta.). McKinlay, a Lacombe, Alta. product, was bogey-free while making back-to-back birdies on holes No. 14 and No. 15. McKinlay is tied with Graf for third at 9 under.
The shot of the day belonged to Nicolas-Guy Landry of Calgary. Landry made a hole-in-one on the 163-yard 17th – his first career ace.
The start of the third round was delayed by an hour following a fog delay. Tee times for the final round will begin at 9 a.m.
In addition to the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2020 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
Full scoring can be found here.
LIMA, Peru – Sunday marked a historic moment in Canadian golf, with Team Canada taking home the bronze medal in the mixed team event—the first-ever medal for Canada at the Pan Am Games.
The mixed team event consists of the lowest female score and the lowest male score of each round combined. Canada closed at 16 under par, good for a collective score of 552 – eight strokes back of the winning American team. Paraguay captured the silver medal with a score of 549.
Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C., shot a final-round 70 (-1) at the Country Club Villa to finish fifth place individually at 2 over par (68-73-75-70). Teammate Brigitte Thibault of Rosemère, Que., closed with a 4-over-par 75 to finish in a tie for 9th, totalling 6 over par for the tournament (74-73-68-75). American Emilia Miglaccio was the gold medalist with a total score of 8 under.
“I think all four of us grinded out every shot to kind of get to where we are,” said Parsons, who was just one stroke back of silver heading into the 18th hole. “We knew coming down the stretch we had to keep pushing because it wasn’t going to be over until it’s over.”
On the men’s side, Austin Connelly of Lake Doucette, N.S., paced the Canadians with 3-under effort in Sunday’s final round, finishing at 11 under overall with sole possession of sixth place. Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que., carded a 2-over 73, bringing his total to 10 over par. Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti emerged from a playoff to capture the gold medal.
“They are all on this team for a reason,” said coach Tristan Mullally. “They have all been a part of our national team program at some point — my job is to help them prepare for this course with logistics, photographs, advance questions with the greens staff. It’s an amazing golf course for the site – it’s a unique course with some real quality holes.”
2019 marks the second playing of golf at the Pan American Games, and is the largest sporting event ever held in Peru. Golf made its debut at the 2015 Games in Toronto after the sport was added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The 2023 Pan American Games will be played from Oct. 22 – Nov. 5 in Santiago, Chile.
Click here for full scoring.
