VICTORIA, B.C. –Team Canada’s Development Squad bounced back from a disappointing opening round with a team score of 3-over par Tuesday in rainy conditions at Victoria Golf Club.
Tony Gil, a Vaughan, Ont. native, led the Canadian contingent by firing a 1-under 71 – sharing the low round of the day honours with Mexico’s Alvaro Ortiz.
Gil, 15, carded six birdies on the day – a welcoming sign after struggling yesterday with a 10-over 80.
Calgary’s Matt Williams came in with a 1-over 71. He currently leads all Canadian at 4-over par (73-71) and sits tied for third individually.
Étienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué., recorded a 3-over 73 – the third and final contribution to Canada’s overall score on the day.
Collectively, Canada sits in second place with an 11-stroke cushion over third place Trinidad & Tobago. They trail first place Mexico by 10.
The third and final round begins Wednesday. The top two teams earn entry into the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan this June.
For the full leaderboard, click here.
VICTORIA, B.C. – The boys of Team Canada’s Development Squad sit tied for second with Trinidad & Tobago after Monday’s first round of the World Junior Boy’s Qualifier at Victoria Golf Club.
Calgary’s Matt Williams and Étienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. were the leading Canadians on the day. They both carded 3-over-par 73s, while teammate Carter Simon of Sutton, Ont. contributed a 5-over 75.
Collectively, the Canadian contingent sits at 11-over par – Tony Gil’s score was the highest on the day and therefore not calculated towards the overall total.
Mexico has a 10 stroke lead, with all three of their players sitting in the top five. Jorge Villar is 1-under, Alvaro Ortiz is at even par and Luis Gerardo Garza is 2-over. As a team, the Mexicans sit at 1-over par.
Trinidad & Tobago was led by WanJoo Le, who fired a 1-over 71 to help his team stay locked with Canada.
The second of three rounds goes Tuesday. The top two teams earn entry into the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan this June.
For the full leaderboard, click here.
VICTORIA, B.C. – Team Canada will be sending four boys from the Development Squad to compete in the World Junior Team Qualifier from Apr. 7-9 at the Victoria Golf Club.
Competing against Canada in the 54-hole stroke play event are teams from Mexico as well as Trinidad & Tobago. All teams will be vying for two available slots, given to those with the lowest total aggregate scores. Each day, teams will submit their three lowest individual scores to be counted towards their overall total.
Representing Canada are juniors Matt Williams (Calgary), Tony Gil (Vaughan, Ont.), Carter Simon (Sutton, Ont.) and Étienne Papineau (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.). The boys are fresh off some stiff competition at the Azalea Invitational last week in Charleston, S.C., where they matched up against some of the world’s top amateurs in preparation for the qualifier.
The winning teams will earn a ticket to play in the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan this June. Each team will send four players, accompanied by one coach and one captain.
Live scoring of the qualifying event can be found here.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion Brooke Henderson is a little less starstruck as she prepares for her second career appearance at an LPGA Tour major event.
The 16-year-old student from Smith Falls, Ont., says she has more tour experience now than when she competed at the 2013 Women’s U.S. Open, where she made the cut but finished tied for 59th.
Her first major appearance came in just her second career tour event. Henderson will be a little more relaxed at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which begins Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club.
“This will be my fifth (tour event), so it’s just a lot more comfortable being around the big stars,” she said Wednesday on a conference call. “They know me a little bit better and call me by name, which is pretty cool.
“My nerves have calmed down a little bit and I know what to expect, where I was a little unsure in the beginning at the U.S. Open.”
Click here to listen to the entire conference call
The event comes with a US$300,000 first prize and $2-million total purse although as an amateur, that doesn’t matter to Henderson. She’s one of 10 amateurs invited to compete.
Henderson, the sixth-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, will be joined by 22-year-old pro Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto, the only other Canadian in the field.
Henderson has yet to finish high school but has already verbally committed to a scholarship at the University of Florida. She hopes to crack the top three in the world amateur rankings by the end of the summer.
Older sister Brittany will caddy for her at Mission Hills, as she did at the U.S. Open. Henderson credits her sister, who’s also a golfer, for being a role model.
“I grew up watching her play and wanted to be exactly like her,” she said. “I used to follow her around at tournaments … she knows my game very well.”
Henderson is also a member of Team Canada.
Several Canadian golf journalists took to Twitter during and following the teleconference, where they commended Henderson for her calm demeanor during the call… Among other things.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Team Canada’s Adam Svensson has continued his remarkably torrid play this season. The 20-year-old Barry University sophomore won the Buccaneer Invitational Tuesday by a margin of six strokes. Svensson separated himself from the field on Monday’s second round with a two eagle, 10-under 61 – a course record at Normandy Shores Golf Club.
Svensson’s round of 61 was also a Barry University school record – the previous was 64 set by Svensson earlier in the year.
“It was nice,” Svensson said of his second round 61. “I had no idea I was going to shoot 61. I was six-under after 15 holes and had two par 5s left. I eagled 16, parred 17 and on 18 my assistant coach came up to me and asked me where I was at and I said eight-under, but I told him I was trying to make birdie to get the course record. He said, ‘why not eagle’ and I hit it to 10 feet and made the eagle putt.”
The Surrey, B.C., native is currently ranked No. 44 in the World Amateur Rankings (WAGR). He is still carrying the momentum from winning last year’s Phil Mickelson award, given to the most outstanding freshman in Men’s Div II golf. He is also making a strong case to win this year’s Jack Nicklaus award as the top golfer in his division.
Svensson’s scoring record this season is a school record 1.77 strokes under par, earning him a nod from Barry University as the player of the week.
Collectively, the Barry Buccaneers won the event by 22 strokes over runner-up Johnson & Wales University. They were the only team to shoot under par for the tournament and also maintain the No.1 rank in Men’s Div II Golf.
Svensson and the Buccaneers resume action in a couple weeks at the Sunshine State Conference Championships in Dade City, Fla.
For full results from the 2014 Buccaneer Invitational, click here.
Adam Svensson made history at Barry University on Tuesday, winning his fifth tournament of the season at the Bobcat Invitational in Eatonton, Georgia.
The Team Canada National Squad member fired a final round 3-under 67 in tough conditions to finish three strokes ahead of Fredrik Lindblom of Clayton State University for his record breaking fifth title as a Buccaneer.
“It feels pretty good to break the record,” Svensson said after his final round. “It was brutal conditions, and I just kind of stuck in there. It’s a special win, knowing that it’s a record-setting win for Barry.”
Svensson, a Surrey, B.C. native and Barry University sophomore, finished the tournament as the only player under par at 1-under 139 after the Bobcat Invitational was shortened to 36 holes due to poor weather conditions.
As the No. 1 player in Division II golf, Svensson made eight birdies over 36 holes at the Golf Club at Cuscowilla to claim his fifth win in only nine starts this season.
“I know my potential. I’m a little bit surprised, but I’ve worked hard,” Svensson told Barry University Athletics. “Just the experience of getting to know the courses has paid off. It’s a pretty big accomplishment for me.”
Svensson alongside his No. 1 ranked team will look to pick up another victory when they host the Buccaneer Invitational March 31-April 1.
For complete results from the Bobcat Invitational, click here.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Team Canada National Team member and Kent State junior, Jennifer Ha, shot a 216 (74-69-73) to finish in a tie for fifth Sunday at the SunTrust Gator Women’s Invite.
Ha, a Calgary native, was one of four Golden Flashes to crack the top 20. She was joined by Natalie Goodson (+5), Erin Hawe (+9) and Wad Phaewchimplee (+10). The individual leader and medalist was Daniela Darquea of Miami University.
Collectively, Kent State finished just one stroke back of Arizona to sit second overall. The Arizona Wildcats carded a 5-over 285 on Sunday’s final round to come from behind for the win.
The Golden Flashes will tee-it-up again in two weeks at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tuscon, Ariz.
For full results, click here.
MANOA, Hawaii – Team Canada National Team member and N.C. State junior Augusta James finished in a tie for third Wednesday at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational.
The Bath, Ont., native carded a 2-over 218 (73-72-73) to finish two strokes back of medalist Ines Lescudier of Kennesaw State.
Brittany Marchand, a National Team and N.C. State teammate just missed the top 10. The 21-year-old Orangeville, Ont., native finished with an 8-over 224 to sit tied for 11th.
As a team, the N.C. State Wolfpack placed second on the leaderboard behind Mississippi State, who ran away with a 21-stroke victory. The Wolfpack will tee-it-up again at the Bryan National Collegiate from March 28-30.
For full results, click here.
Murrels Inlet, S.C. – Team Canada’s Corey Conners has continued his torrid play of late, sharing medalist honours at the General Hackler Championship with Andrew Dorn of Coastal California.
Conners, a member of the Kent State Golden Flashes, finished at even par (75-69-72) and was the only player to score a round in the 60’s during the tournament. The 21-year-old is coming off a playoff win at the prestigious Jones Cup just last month.
The Listowel, Ont. native now sits at No. 25 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). He’s in the running for the Ben Hogan Award – given annually to the outstanding male collegiate golfer of the year in the U.S.
Taylor Pendrith, 22, shot 70 Tuesday to finish 1-over, in third place. His round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 2nd which he double-bogeyed in his first round. This is the second consecutive top 5 finish for the Richmond Hill, Ont. native and Kent State senior.
Collectively, Kent State finished in second place, two strokes back of champion Middle Tennessee State. The Golden Flashes are currently ranked No. 25 in NCAA Men’s Div I Golf. They tee-it-up again March 26th at the Floridian Collegiate.
Click here for full results from the 2014 General Hackler Championship.
Adam Svensson continued his winning ways Tuesday, capturing his second straight tournament after firing a 7-under 65 at the St. Edward’s Invitational in Austin, Texas.
Svensson, a sophomore at Barry University, finished the tournament at 10-under 134. The event was shortened to 36 holes due to bad weather in the Austin area.
The Team Canada National Squad member carded 13 birdies over two days to finish eight-strokes clear of runner-up Carr Vernon from CSU-Monterey Bay.
The Surrey, B.C. native now has four victories in only six starts this season. He’s now tied with Daniel Stapff for all-time wins at Barry University.
During the fall season, Svensson, 20, captured the Brickyard Crossing and Guy Harvey Invitational. In addition, he recently set a single round school scoring record after carding a second round 64 en-route to his victory at the Matlock Collegiate Classic in February.
As a team, No. 1 ranked Barry finished 13 strokes ahead of CSU-Monterey Bay to claim their third team victory of the season.
For complete results from the St. Edward Invitational, click here.
