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.

To catch up with Todd Fanning is not unlike anyone else who may work in a non-descript office building. Your conversation gets interrupted by a group of people looking to use the meeting room for a conference call, and when asked how often he gets to play golf, the answer (“I don’t”) comes with a hearty chuckle.

But Fanning, who is a sales manager for a large equipment leasing company in Winnipeg, isn’t just that.

For years he chased a professional golf dream, playing on the Web.com Tour and making a few appearances at the RBC Canadian Open before rescinding his professional playing privileges and returning to regular job and a regular life.

That is, until last summer.

Fanning shot a 2-under-par 69 at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Wascana Country Club to nip three-time champion Garrett Rank and 54-hole leader Steven Diack in a four-hole playoff a year ago this August.

He didn’t plan on playing a championship schedule in 2017, but when it was announced The Wascana would play host, he signed up to play the Manitoba Mid-Amateur to try to qualify (which he ended up winning), since his father lives in Regina and he had played Wascana a lot in his golfing life.

With the win at the Canadian Mid-Amateur, Fanning will make his fifth appearance at the RBC Canadian Open this summer when it returns to Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

“I’m just going to be the guy in the middle of the range and they’re going to say, ‘well who’s that?’ says Fanning. “It’s going to be quite funny.”

Self-deprecating humour aside, Fanning truly earned his spot in the RBC Canadian Open. He held off one of the furriest charges in the Canadian Mid-Amateur’s history, as Rank, who started the day eight shots back of Diack’s lead, shot a 5-under-par 66 to jump into a tie for the lead.

“It was the best nine holes of golf I’d ever seen,” Fanning says of Rank’s final nine holes, where she shot a 31.

“I just executed down the stretch. I almost won it in regulation. I had an eagle putt from the back fringe and thought it was going in, and I looked foolish when it didn’t. But out of the hundreds of people watching with 45 minutes to go, I don’t think anyone would have thought, other than my wife, that I would have won that tournament.”

But as per usual with golf, the most unpredictable of games, it was indeed Fanning who came out on top. He made a par on the fourth playoff hole, and when the 25-year-old Diack made a bogey, the championship was his.

He unleashed a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump and a little dance (“I don’t know what happened there… it was very bizarre,” he recalls with a laugh) and the accomplishment finally set in.

“I realized what happened. I was turning 50 and I get to play Glen Abbey again. All those thoughts raced through my mind,” he says.

Fanning says one of his good friends arrived in Regina from Winnipeg to watch the final round, and will have “quite a few” people out with him at Glen Abbey later this summer to celebrate his success.

At work, he says, it made for a great story. People would come up to him to say they watched the live-stream of the playoff (Golf Canada’s social media team played it out on Twitter, via Periscope) and his colleagues said he looked calm.

“I said it was because I have a great job and get to work with (them) so that was just fun for me,” says Fanning, laughing.

Before the RBC Canadian Open Fanning will return to defend his title at the Manitoba Mid-Amateur in early July, and says he will also play this year’s Canadian Mid-Amateur at Victoria Golf Club in August.

But he says what he’s most looking forward to this summer is another shot at Glen Abbey.

Fanning had the morning draw on Thursday in 1998, the last time he played there (he played the RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal in 2001 and at Angus Glen in 2002), and he managed to get off to a great start. He says he told his caddie he was having fun, but his caddie wasn’t.

“’Not yet, not until we got to the top of the leaderboard,’” Fanning recalls what his caddie told him.

Fanning hit a 6-iron into the par-3 7th and knocked in the birdie putt, so he got to 4-under par on his round and got to the top of the leaderboard in the morning. He went on to miss the cut, however, and will be thinking about that when he goes back.

But the fact that he gets to go back at all is the most exciting thing of all.

Fanning says there’s nothing on his radar to come to Oakville prior to July to get in a practice round, but he will arrive on site a little earlier than most to ‘cram for the exam,’ he says.

When he played Glen Abbey in the late-90s the golf course setup was different, but there’s nothing that will catch him off guard, as he watches the tournament on television and sees what the current course looks like. He admits he’ll be behind in his preparation, but is looking forward to watch should be a fun week.

“I have a full-time job so I don’t expect to go out there and contend and be in the last group on Sunday, but to me it’s all about family,” he says, as his 17-year-old son will be his caddie for the week. “My whole family is coming. My children never got a chance to see me compete as a professional, and now I have three of them and they’re all going to be there. It’s going to be a really fun time for them.”

Having recorded some impressive results, Monet Chun is proving herself to be a promising and talented young golfer with a bright future ahead.

Among the highlights for the second-year member of the Team Canada’s Development Squad are three victories at Future Links, driven by Acura Championships: Quebec, Ontario and Pacific, winning this past May by a two-stroke margin.

Other highlights of her impressive 2017 season include a win at the Investors Group Junior Girl’s Spring Classic, a top-10 finish at the prestigious Porter Cup along with a 3rd and 4th place finish at the Junior Orange Bowl and Canada Summer Games, respectively.

Looking back on her humble beginnings, the Richmond Hill, Ont. native says she got started at the age of five with the encouragement of her mom, Elena.

“My mom looked for a sport with limited possibilities of injuries. I started taking lessons once a week and participated in my first tournament at the age of seven,” she recalled.

Growing up, Chun would dabble in other sports—but after committing herself to golf at the age of 10, she has not looked back.

“I played other sports like volleyball and basketball for fun, but never competitively,” she pointed out.

“I realized I wanted to play at a high level since I was 10. Playing at an international golf event made me want to continue to play at that level and I want to compete with the best players.”

After a number of runner up finishes, Chun’s first big victory came at the 2015 Ontario Junior Girls’ Match Play championship where she defeated Alyssa Getty 5 & 4 in the championship match. In 2016, Chun would win the Golf Quebec Junior Spring Open and finish in a tie for second at the Ontario Women’s Amateur.

Having spent some time working with Chun, 2007 Ontario Women’s Amateur champion, coach Rebecca Lee-Bentham sees a lot of potential in the young golfer.

“I see a lot of myself in Monet because I can see that she’s really disciplined and works really hard; and is really dedicated to getting better each day,” said Lee Bentham, a retired LPGA pro and current PGA of Canada Class “A” coach.

“She’s consistent off the tee and has a good long game and her short game is sound also,” added Lee-Bentham. “Overall, she’s very talented and has a promising future ahead.”

The 17-year-old golfer is quick to credit her mom and her dad, Peter, for their unconditional support over the years.

“I would not be able to play the sport without the support of my parents and their dedication in driving me to practices and taking me to tournaments. I think their commitment to my game has been a key factor to my improvement over the years,” said Chun.

She is also quick to credit her time on the women’s development squad for her progression as a player.

“The program has helped improve not only my techniques, but has helped me improve physical strength and my mental game,” she said.

Currently Chun is part of the first group of golfers who have relocated to Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C. as part of the revamped development squad program.

The change in program structure and commitment to a centralized training environment over four and a half months of the year are designed to better support emerging talents as part of Golf Canada’s next generation strategy.

“The training facility in Victoria is well equipped and suited for our practices. I think it is a great idea for the team to be centralized in Victoria,” said Chun.

“It will help to improve my game since I will be receiving better support, more time with the coaches, better weather and facilities, and programs that fit our needs including schooling.”

The Richmond Hill, Ont. native was chosen to represent Canada—for the second year in a row—at the World Junior Girls Championship this past September in Ottawa.

“The field has many strong players and I was able to meet new people from all over the world. Being able to take part in a team is a different experience to other competition which I think makes the World Junior Girls Championship a wonderful experience. Also, I was able to get to know my new teammates better. It was a fun tournament,” said Chun about the event which was held at the Marshes Golf Club.

Looking ahead, the talented and promising young golfer is clear on both her short and long-term goals.

“My goals over the next year are to play consistently during (and outside) of tournaments; and commit to a school in the States,” said Chun.

“And my goals over the next five years is to win a national title, play in the NCAA representing a college team, and play in an LPGA Tour event.”

The Great Canadian East-West Contest is back for 2018, giving one lucky draw winner the golf trip of a lifetime to one of Canada’s most renowned golf courses. This year will include an all-expenses-paid trip for two to either Bear Mountain Golf & Country Club in B.C., or Kingswood Golf & Country Club in N.B.

The winner is drawn from all score entries posted by Golf Canada members from April 1 – Oct. 31, 2018. Each additional score posted counts for an additional entry. In addition to the golf, the winner will receive:

• Two nights accommodation at hotel near chosen golf course
• Round trip airfare (with either Delta or WestJet)
• Three-day car rental (with National/Enterprise)
• One hour lesson and one round of golf with the PGA of Canada professional
• $500 spending money

In 2017, the Great Canadian East-West Contest came to an end Oct. 31, with North Vancouver’s Patrick Lloyd winning the draw amongst over 7 million scores posted by Golf Canada members.

As the winner, Lloyd was given the choice of a golf vacation for two in 2018 to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club (also in B.C.) or The Links at Crowbush Cove in Morell, P.E.I.

Lloyd, a member of Seymour Golf & Country Club in North Vancouver, B.C., will head east to Crowbush Cove alongside wife Linda this summer.

Click here for contest details.