OTTAWA, Ont. – On a day that was perfect to play golf, Canada’s golf industry was on Parliament Hill touting the benefits of the sport to nearly 70 members of parliament and a handful of Canada’s senators as well.

It was the first year the National Allied Golf Associations (composed of Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada, the National Golf Course Owners Association, the Canadian Society of Club Managers, and the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association) decided to change their outward marketing approach to align with the American golf industry associations.

NAGA, as its known, will remain the administrative name for the body of industry associations, but moving forward the brand will be called ‘We Are Golf.’

We Are Golf set up a junior golf clinic on Parliament Hill in concert with Golf in Schools, and welcomed nearly 100 students from Carson Grove Elementary School on Tuesday, many of whom had never played golf before.

“What’s been amazing is that we’ve been able to get the word out about We Are Golf,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum, who has just recently celebrated one year at the helm of Golf Canada.

From left to right: Charlie Beaulieu (Vice President, Golf Canada), Leslie Dunning (President, Golf Canada), Laurence Applebaum (CEO, Golf Canada), Patrick Kelly (President, B.C. Golf)

The objective of the day was to continue to grow awareness of golf in the country’s decision makers, as leaders from each of the respective organizations had a day chalk-full of meetings on Parliament Hill with MPs from across the country.

Jeff Calderwood, the CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association and chair of NAGA, said one of the main objectives of the day was based on how many people the organization got to meet with, and he said they ended up exceeded that number.

“It’s up to us to tell the story about golf and let the nearly 70 MPs and the few senators know all about what the golf industry is really about. Without that, you’re susceptible to politicians just seeing this as a game,” said Calderwood. “It could be a great game, and a game more people could play than any other sport, but if you need to go beyond that and give them the rest of the story. That’s when they start to treat you the way you need to be treated to have a fair outcome on anything environmental, tax-related, or funding-related.”

Calderwood said a key message would be around how golf is a vital industry in almost every community in Canada. Well north of 75 percent of all communities (or ‘ridings,’ in political vernacular) have a golf course – save for downtown ridings like Toronto Centre or Ottawa Centre, for example – and even the ones that don’t are only 10 minutes away from the nearest course, said Calderwood.

This past election was a first for Calderwood, he said, as more than 200 MPs that came into the legislature were first-timers. He admitted Tuesday that with the next election only 18 months away, there would be a lot of education for the new MPs on the golf industry – its economic benefits, its environmental benefits, and more.

“It never ends,” he said. “This time they had 200 new members of parliament, which is an unusually big turnover. You start back at ground zero with their awareness of the golf industry, but the education needs to be a perpetual thing. This gives us a chance to highlight (golf) early in the year and sync up with National Golf Day in the U.S.”

Unlike Calderwood, this was Applebaum’s first time on Parliament Hill lobbying on behalf of the golf industry.

He said the day was a positive one, and he was impressed to see how many rookie MPs play golf, along with their families. Specifically he was happy to hear from MP Roger Cuzner from Cape Breton-Canso, who has seen millions of tourism dollars flood the island thanks to the worldwide success of Cabot Links, Cabot Cliffs, and Highlands Links.

Scenes from National Golf Day on Parliament Hill ??⛳️#CanadaGolfDay#WeAreCanadianGolf pic.twitter.com/KS4VoolZwB

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 29, 2018

Getting the message out about golf’s positives was key, said Applebaum, speaking specifically to its impact on Canada’s GDP ($15 billion) and employment (more than 300,000 across the country).

While in past years NAGA was on Parliament Hill lobbying for tax fairness for the golf industry – to allow people to claim a round of golf on their taxes in terms of entertainment as a bonafide business expense – that wasn’t on the agenda Tuesday.

Applebaum said that is still an “important issue” as an industry, but instead the day in Ottawa was more for “advocacy, information, and sharing.”

“We’re not here for an ask. We’re just here to let the MPs know how active their constituents are with golf, and down the road we’ll address the tax issue,” he explained.

Moving forward, Applebaum is hopeful that National Golf Day results in more awareness, and maybe even days off for people to go play golf. But he would say the first iteration was a success.

“We’ve gotten together as an industry, which we don’t always do so well, and we’ve been able to get our voice heard,” he said. “That makes for a really nice day for us.”

Knowing they need some solid finishes this summer to secure their futures on the PGA TOUR, Canadian rookies Ben Silverman and Corey Conners say their impressive showings at the Fort Worth Invitational are a huge confidence boost heading into a crucial stretch of the season.

Conners finished eighth and Silverman 11th at last week’s event just outside Dallas, Texas, to give each of them a 19-point boost in the FedEx Cup standings. Still, Conners, now 109th, and Silverman, 124th, know there is work still to be done to reach the target of finishing the campaign in the top 125 and automatically earning PGA Tour status for next season.

“I’ve been eyeing it since the season started in October,” said Silverman by phone from Texas.

Both golfers posted huge rounds in Texas en route to their best finishes of the 2018 calendar year.

Silverman shot 5-under 65 in Sunday’s final round – his best-ever round on the PGA TOUR. Conners shot a 7-under-par 63 on Saturday – tied for the round of the day – en route to his first top-10 finish on the tour.

“It’s what I needed to see,” said Silverman. “Things with my game have been progressing in the right direction but I just haven’t seen the results out of it that I should.”

Silverman, who had two top-10 finishes in the 2017 portion of the season, missed his previous three cuts entering last week’s event. But the 30-year-old said he has shown he can compete.

FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 25: Ben Silverman of Canada looks on on the ninth tee during round two of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 25, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

“When I don’t have a day like Saturday (when Silverman shot 2-over-par 72) I’d be much closer to the lead, and that’s where I should be when things with my game are going well,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working on everything I’ve been doing and I’ve got lots of good stuff coming up this summer.”

Silverman and his wife, Morgan, welcomed their first child in November, and he said for the first time they tried something different on the road last week: booking a one-bedroom suite. Silverman slept on the pullout couch when he had an early tee-time and said that helped him get better rest and resulted in better play.

Conners was in the last group on Sunday two tournaments in a row in March – the Valspar Championship and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship – but struggled in the final rounds, finishing tied for 16th and 13th, respectively.

Conners’ final-round scoring average of 72.02 has him 168th on Tour, but he said he learned “a ton” those weeks in March. It helped him feel more comfortable on Sunday in Texas, en route to his best ever PGA TOUR result.

“I was definitely more relaxed and focused,” he said. “It’s definitely different on Sunday. You try to play just another round of golf but you know it’s the final day and you’ve got to try to make a move.”

Conners and Silverman are off this week from the PGA Tour, but they will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open at sectional sites in Ohio on June 4.

Silverman said if he gets into the U.S. Open he will not play the week before, at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., but Conners said no matter if he gets in or not, he will play in Memphis.

Conners played the U.S. Open last year after qualifying, while Silverman has not yet played a major championship.

Hellman, Lee, Graham, Olson and Brook top individual standings

CHILLIWACK, B.C. –An overcast first round of the Canadian University/College Championship saw five individuals sit atop the leaderboard today at Chilliwack Golf Club.

Zack Olson shot a 4-under to share a piece of 4th and give host team University of the Fraser Valley Cascades a commanding lead, while Kelly Hellman and Avril Li carded an even-par to help defending women’s champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds top the women’s competition.

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s team earned a combined 10-under par to earn a commanding lead, building a 13-shot advantage over defending men’s team champion Université Laval Rouge et Or who posted a 3-over par. University of Guelph Gryphons are currently in third with a 4-over par.

Three players in the men’s individual championship – Adam Graham (Brock University Badgers), Wyatt Brook (Vancouver Island University Mariners), and Zach Olson (University of the Fraser Valley Cascades) – head into tomorrow in first place at 4-under par.

Thunderbirds Kelly Hellman of Nelson, B.C. and Avril Li of Port Moody, B.C. both fired an even-par 72 to earn top spots in the women’s individual competition. The Thunderbirds have won 12 of the past 15 editions of the women’s team event.

Veronique Fortin-Latreille of the Université de Montréal Carabins and Sarah Dunning of the University of Guelph Gryphons are very close behind, sitting second in the women’s individual competition one stroke behind at 1-over par.

With a combined score of 5-over par, the Thunderbirds are two strokes ahead of the Université de Montréal Carabins, who posted a team score of 7-over par on day one. The University of Victoria Vikes sit in third place at 10-over par.

The Women’s and Men’s Individual winners receive an exemption into their respective Canadian Amateur Championship. The top-three Men’s and Women’s individual finishers qualify for the FISU Universiade Games.

For more information on the event, including tomorrow’s tee times and current results, can be found here.

TOP-5 MEN’S – TEAM

1 University of the Fraser Valley Cascades.                -10.       F          -10       278

2 Université Laval Rouge et Or                                      +3        F*         +3        291

3 University of Guelph Gryphons                                  +4        F          +4        292

T4. Université de Montréal Carabins                            +5        F          +5        293

T4. University of British Columbia Thunderbirds      +5        F          +5        293

TOP-5 MEN’S – INDIVIDUAL

T1. Adam Graham                            Brock University Badgers                                 *35-33-68 -4

T1. Wyatt Brook                                Vancouver Island University Mariners          *35-33-68 -4

T1. Zack Olson                                   University of the Fraser Valley Cascades       *32-36-68 -4

T4. Nicholas Striker                          University of Guelph Gryphons                      *34-35-69 -3

T4. Daniel Campbell                         University of the Fraser Valley Cascades      *32-37-69 +2

TOP-5 WOMEN’S – TEAM

1. University of British Columbia Thunderbirds         +5        F          +5        221
2. Université de Montréal Carabins                               +7         F*         +7        223
3. University of Victoria Vikes                                        +10       F          +10      226
4. University of Toronto Varsity Blues                           +18      F         +18      234
5. University of the Fraser Valley Cascades                 +20       F          +20      236

TOP-5 WOMEN’S – INDIVIDUAL

T1. Kelly Hellman                                    University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.  *35-37-72 E

T1. Avril Li                                                University of British Columbia Thunderbirds   *36-36-72 E

T3. Veronique Fortin-Latreille             Université de Montréal Carabins                         *38-35-73 +1

T3. Sarah Dunning                                  University of Guelph Gryphons                            *38-35-73 +1

T5. Mylène Limoges                                Université de Montréal Carabins                         *37-37-74 +2

T5. Quinn Fitzgerald                               University of Victoria Vikes                                  *41-33-74 +2

Click hereto download photos; credit to Golf Canada.

OTTAWA – Today, to mark Canada’s first annual National Golf Day, Canadians are invited to take a swing on Parliament Hill with a number of We Are Golf interactive golf activities. As well, PGA of Canada professionals will be on hand to provide golf tips and share their enthusiasm for the game with golfers and Ottawa-area school students.

The event is aimed at raising awareness among the public and government decision-makers on the many positive health, economic, social, environmental and charitable impacts of the golf industry across Canada.

“Golf is a game for everyone. And not only do more Canadians play golf than any other participation sport, our industry also drives more economic impact, employment and charity fundraising,” said Jeff Calderwood, We Are Golf Chair. “So we want to celebrate the golf onNational Golf Day and we invite Canadians to join us on Parliament Hill to talk golf and take a few swings.”

The conversations will include the healthy fitness benefits of the sport, with a typical 18-hole round being an eight to ten- kilometer walk that burns up to 2000 calories. And the environmental stewardship of golf preserving over 175,000 hectares of green space managed by over 2300 golf course operators, including 30,000 hectares of unmanaged wildlife habitat.

The Canadian #golf industry is excited to get underway with today’s National Golf Day on Parliament Hill! ⛳️?? #CanadaGolfDay #WeAreCanadianGolf

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/Wn3bn4DdD1 pic.twitter.com/FXPfxSpd27

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 29, 2018

There will also be an emphasis on junior golf, noting that golf develops important life skills for children of all ages. Programs like Adopt A School and Take A Kid To The Course will be promoted on the front lawn during National Golf Day. Thirty-seven percent of the 126,000 Canadians employed by golf are also youth students.

Since golf is not only a great game, but also a highly developed industry, the economic impact generated is substantial and leads all other participation sports in Canada. Golf’s $14.3 billion annual direct GDP includes tourism benefits exceeding one million overnight trips by Canadian golfers, creating spending of $2.5 billion annually on golf travel within Canada. Foreign visiting golfers spend an additional $1.6 billion on golf related travel each year.

“We are looking forward to welcoming golf enthusiasts, area residents and students out to the We Are Golf activities on the front lawn of Parliament to learn about all the many ways that the golf experience contributes to life in Canada,” added Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “There are so many meaningful benefits that golf delivers in communities from coast to coast and it will be exciting to share those insights on National Golf Day.”

Golf activities are available on the front lawn of Parliament Hill from 9 am to 5 pm, May 29, 2018.

Brooke Henderson has played more on the LPGA Tour than anyone else the last two years, so it was interesting to see her skip a tournament in the middle of the season last week.

But with the U.S. Women’s Open starting Thursday at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., the young Canadian wanted to get as prepared as she could be for what is usually the toughest test on tour.

“The majors bring that little bit extra,” said the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., who took a pass on the Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere and it’s the greatest feeling in the world to know you’re competing and have a chance to win a major. Having won one in 2016 was the coolest thing ever, so I’m just really excited for when I can hold another major trophy.”

The lone major triumph for Henderson, 20, was the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, when she toppled then No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko in a playoff. She has won six times on the LPGA Tour, including once this year at the Lotte Championship in April.

Henderson returned to her home in Naples, Fla. last week in order to get used to the different kind of grass she’ll play on this week, along with the sticky early-June heat.

In 2013, when Henderson was just 15, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, and went on to make the cut, her first on the LPGA Tour. Her best result is a tie for fifth, which came in 2015.

“The U.S. Women’s Open has always been special to me,” said Henderson. “Some tournaments just mean a little bit more to you and you feel a little more confident and that’s what I feel at the U.S. Women’s Open.”

Shoal Creek is no stranger to hosting big events, including the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. But Shannon Rouillard, the U.S. Women’s Open championship director, says the setup for this week’s championship will be unique.

She says the United States Golf Association has intentionally narrowed some fairways and also added some closely mowed areas around the greens to force players to think about the shot they’re going to play versus just chopping out of thick rough.

Rouillard, who also runs the U.S. women’s amateur championship, remembers watching Henderson as a 14-year-old, and says she is a tremendous player. However, she’ll still need to bring her A-game this week.

“She hits the ball a long way, she’s a good putter ? but she’s still going to have to make the shots, think her way around the course, and manage her game accordingly,” Rouillard said.

Henderson has been solid from tee to green this year, sitting in the top 10 in a handful of key statistical categories. However, she is 73rd in putting average, and has used four different putters this year.

Henderson says she has returned to an older putter that she used for her first LPGA Tour win in 2015, and had that putter in her bag two weeks ago en route to a tie for fourth at the Kingsmill Championship, her fifth top-10 finish of the year.

Her biggest strength is with the driver, and according to Tom Lehman, the former No. 1-ranked golfer in the world who won back-to-back Regions Traditions titles on PGA Tour Champions in 2011-12 at Shoal Creek, that will be a key for success this week.

“If you had to get right down to brass tax, like what is absolutely necessary, you have to drive the ball well. It’s a great driver’s golf course. It’s a sensational course for those who drive the ball well,” Lehman said. “The longer you can hit it, the straighter you can hit it, the bigger advantage you have.”

Henderson never has played Shoal Creek and admits there is a lot of pressure to “learn one of the toughest courses in America.”

But she’s excited for the opportunity to play for one of golf’s biggest titles.

“I do feel that the major championships do fit my game a little bit, because the courses are longer, I tend to play better on tougher courses generally which is always a good thing,” Henderson said. “As long as I’m feeling healthy and not tired, I feel like mentally I can out-grind a lot of the players out there, which is always a really great thing.”

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Britany Marchan shot an even 72 on Saturday at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbour, Mich. She started off strong recording two birdies on holes 3 and 4 but then but slowed down recording bogeys on holes 7, 11 and 16 with one more birdie on hole 14.

Minjee Lee shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round, with Stacy Lewis tied for second playing five months’ pregnant.

Lee capped a bogey-free third round with a birdie on No. 18 to get to 12 under, and the Australian standout will try to celebrate her birthday with her first victory of the year. She turns 22 on Sunday.

Lewis (67) birdied five of the last six holes to match In-Kyung Kim (67), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) and Lindy Duncan (69) at 10 under. There were nine players within three strokes of Lee.

Play was interrupted for about two hours by a weather delay, but everyone was able to finish.

Lee lost this tournament by one stroke last year.

Laurent Desmarchais and Cam Kellett share the lead in the Boys Division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship after the opening round on Friday, while Hailey McLaughlin is at the top of the Girls Division at Otter Creek Golf Club, in Otterville, Ont.

Desmarchais and Kellett shot a 3-under 68.

Desmarchais, from Longueuil, Qce., got off to a good start with four birdies on his front nine and continued with four more birdies on the back nine.

“The course was in good shape and the greens were pretty bumpy, but I made a few good putts, and I played well today,” said Desmarchais.

Kellett, from London, Ont., got off to a fast start with three birdies in his first seven holes, but slowed down after he made the turn to the back nine and recorded bogeys on holes 10 and 11, before bouncing back with birdies on holes 14 and 16.

“My short game was solid, and I made a few birdies on holes I shouldn’t have and birdied a couple par 5s. Overall it was a solid day,” said Kellett.

Michael von Schalburg (King City, Ont.) and Matthew Anderson (Mississauga, Ont.) both posted a 72 to sit four strokes behind Desmarchais and Kellett.

In the Girls Division, McLaughlin topped the leaderboard with a 2-over-par 74.

The Markham native started with three birdies and two bogeys but struggled in the back nine with a double bogey on hole 14 and a bogey on hole 18.

Sitting two shots back of McLaughlin in a three-way tie for second place are Jasmine Ly (Windsor, Ont.), Haley Yerxa (Ottawa, Ont.), and Taylor Kehoe (Strathroy, Ont.) who all shot 4-over 76.

Team Canada Development Squad members Alyssa DiMarcantonio and Monet Chun sit a few places behind after firing a 79 and 80, respectively.

The top six finishers in the junior boys’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. The top six finishers in the junior girls’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

Round one results can be found here.

Every year, there are about 37,000 charitable golf tournaments in Canada, raising about half a billion dollars for worthwhile causes. There are also innumerable corporate tournaments that entertain clients and customers, many with a charitable aspect.

Congratulations to all involved.

But, as the old saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

As much as those tournaments and their philanthropic results make for feel-good headlines, there are thousands of volunteers who devote countless hours to making sure these events come off as planned. It’s a largely thankless and, in many cases, frustrating task. It can be punishing.

I speak from experience.

Next month, the 15^th annual Mikey’s Tournament for Autism will take place at Midland Golf and Country Club in Ontario. As a co-founder, even with my background in golf, I can attest to the many hours it takes to pull off a successful event. Kudos to our volunteer committee which knocks on doors, literally, for sponsors, repeatedly phones and emails potential players, puts up posters, and tries to keep track manually of registrations, donations and more.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when tournament day arrives.

Where was TournamentCaddie 15 years ago?

After a few years of sharing his technological and marketing expertise working with Golf Canada, Donal Byrne turned his focus towards creating, with the help of a talented team, the TournamentCaddie software.

For those of us far less technically adept, let’s call it “tournament in a (virtual) box.”

“There are lots of other platforms out there but our goal was to simplify the process,” says Byrne. “This is a made-in-Canada, responsive, customizable, intuitive and mobile-friendly solution that is perfect for anyone who wants to raise funds through a golf tournament but doesn’t know where to start.

“You’re good at your day job, no doubt, but when it comes to organizing a golf tournament you have to accept just what you are good at and what you’re not. We’re good at this. This is our day job. We are here to help.”

Click on the website and the first thing you see is, “Sign up for free and create your event website in about 90 seconds!”

It’s not false advertising. I ran through the process during a conversation with Byrne and it takes care of every detail “auto-magically,” as he likes to say.

We will be using TournamentCaddie for Mikey’s. Our fee is $150 but we will bump that to $155 to cover Tournament Caddie’s $4 per-player charge (plus HST). It’s well worth it.

Why? It’s a no-brainer, even for a techno-dummy like me.

Using TournamentCaddie streamlines the entire process, from effortlessly building a great-looking, interactive web site to collecting registration payments and even printing tee and cart signs and scorecards. Organizers can arrange and rearrange foursomes, starting times and formats. Their partnership with Aviva Canada makes arranging hole-in-one insurance a breeze.

If you’re an event organizer, take a run through the set-up process. If you’re a golf course, do the same and look into TournamentCaddie’s “Club Affiliate Program” with its marketing benefits.

Stop punishing yourself for a good cause!

Former Golf Canada National Amateur Team member Blair Hamilton has been awarded the 2018 Mackenzie Investments-GJAC Player Bursary.

Hamilton, 24, was given the $3,000 award after a vote of the membership of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada, an organization that represents the majority of Canada’s golf media.

“I feel very honoured and blessed to be awarded the 2018 GJAC bursary, and to have received the nomination from some of the most respected individuals in the sport means a great deal,” Hamilton said. “Competing full time as a pro carries a significant financial burden and this bursary will go a long way for me this season. I am truly humbled and grateful for the support.”

“Canadian golf has a number of strong young players in the mix, and Blair Hamilton is certainly among them,” added GJAC President Robert Thompson. “One of the goals of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada is to support young talent in this country, and we are thrilled to help Blair on his journey in the professional ranks.”

Hamilton turned pro in 2016 following three years experience with Team Canada’s Amateur squad and four with the University of Houston, where he graduated with a degree in Corporate Communications. Last year was the Burlington, Ontario native’s first full season on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. He had three Top 25 finishes in 11 events; his best finish was a T19 at the 2017 National Capital Open to Support Our Troops. This season he plans to compete on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica with his sights set on making the Web.com, and eventually the PGA TOUR.

Hamilton ended his amateur career with a stellar campaign in 2016 that featured a runner-up finish at the Jones Cup, four Top-10 NCAA finishes, and cracking the Top-20 in both the prestigious Monroe Invitational and the Porter Cup.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with the Golf Journalists Association of Canada for this award and continue our support of golf in Canada,” said Court Elliott, Vice President Sponsorships, Mackenzie Investments. “Congratulations to Blair! We hope winning this award gives him the confidence he needs to strive to the next level.”

In 2019, the player bursary will be awarded to a member of the Symetra Tour. The bursary will be awarded to Symetra Tour/Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada members in alternating years. Last year’s winner was Brittany Marchand, who is playing on the LPGA Tour in 2018.