Matheson wins medallist honours at RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Matt Matheson of West Vancouver, B.C., shot 5-under par 65 on Tuesday to earn medallist honours at Ledgeview Golf Club, host of the first of three RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifying events.
Matheson started off strong with birdies on holes 5, 9, 10 and 12 before capping off the round with the day’s only eagle, coming on the par-5 18th.
“I wasn’t hitting it particularly well but it was about minimizing mistakes,” said Matheson, a 24-year-old amateur. “I feel like I did a really good job of that today.”
Matheson was one of seven golfers to advance on Tuesday, earning a spot to compete in the final Qualifying event on July 23 at Heron Points Golf Links in Alberton, Ont.
Congrats to medallist Matt Matheson of West Vancouver who shot at 65 to win the Regional @RBCCanadianOpen Qualifier! #RBCCO ?? pic.twitter.com/Jhfr54RzkR
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) May 8, 2018
Khan Lee, of Langley, B.C., fired 3-under par 67 to finish runner-up behind Matheson.
Anton Frondelius of Concord, N.C., finished one stroke behind Lee at 2 under par, while Devin Carrey recorded a 1-under-par 69.
Rounding out the seven to advance were a trio of golfers at even par. Nigel Sinnott from Chilliwack, B.C., Kevin Stinson from Mission, B.C., and Keith Martin from Kelowna, B.C., all recorded rounds of 70 to punch their tickets to the final stage.
In total, there are three regional qualifying events, each consisting of 18 holes of stroke play. Provided that there are 100 or more players in the field, the low qualifier receives an exemption directly into the 2018 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.
Otherwise, the top 15 percent of finishers at each qualifier become eligible to compete at the final qualifying event.
A minimum of four players from the 18-hole stroke play Final Qualifier at Heron Point will gain entry into the RBC Canadian Open field.
There are two more regional qualifying events before the final qualifier:
May 17 – Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton, Ont.
June 18 – Le Blainvillier in Blainville, Que.
Click here for full scoring.
Additional information regarding Tuesday’s RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier at Ledgeview, can be found here.
Team Canada’s Taylor Pendrith wins medallist honours at U.S. Open Local Qualifier
TORONTO – Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Taylor Pendrith fired a 3-under-par 69 on Monday to win medallist honours in Canada’s only U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Weston Golf and Country Club.
Pendrith, from Richmond Hill, Ont., birdied two of his opening three holes to find some early breathing room on a beautiful spring day at Weston. The 26-year-old went on to card two more birdies on the day to finish with a one-stroke victory, earning one of four spots available into the next stage of qualifying.
“I hit a lot of greens and my speed was good today… I kept it in front of me and if I missed a green I was in a spot that I was able to get up-and-down,” said Pendrith, greenside at No. 18.”
The win marks a promising sign for the Team Canada veteran, who’s looking for things to go his way following injury problems his last couple seasons.
“I feel good – it’s really nice to finally hit a ball without pain,” added Pendrith. “I feel almost 100 per cent and my game feels really good, I’m confident for the summer.”
#TeamCanada Young Pro Squad’s @TaylorPendrith is your #USOpen Qualifier medallist with a 3-under-par 69 ??? pic.twitter.com/Rox5MOKDPA
— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 7, 2018
Trailing Pendrith was co-runner-up Tyson Turchanski, a Calgary, Alta., native and junior at Waterloo University. Turchanski posted a steady 2-under 70, with a total of 14 pars on the day.
“Just kept it really simple out there… swung as easy as I could,” said Turchanski, the lone amateur to advance to sectional qualifying. “The course [Weston] was solid – it sets up nice for my game. Makes you think a little and if you hit in the right spots, you get rewarded.”
Stephane Dubois of Brantford, Ont., punches his ticket for the second consecutive year. His round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 3rd hole, one of two eagles posted on Monday at Weston. Dubois advances with his mother (and caddie) by his side, a relationship which continues to pay dividends.
Rounding out the four men to advance was Nick Kenney of Toronto. Kenney, an assistant PGA of Canada professional at The National, began the day 4 under through five holes, before eventually cooling off on the back nine to close at 1 under for the day.
The four to advance are among 100 that will play in 36-hole sectional qualifying events at 12 locations across the United States on June 4 (except for Japan sectional on May 21).
James Seymour of Aurora, Ont., is the first alternate and Thomas Code, an amateur from Dorchester, Ont. is the second alternate.
Designed by Willie Park, Jr., the storied Weston Golf and Country Club was home to Arnold Palmer’s first PGA TOUR victory – the RBC Canadian Open in 1955.
Click here for full results.
More information on local qualifying can be found here.
THE TOP-4 ADVANCING TO SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
1. Taylor Pendrith, Richmond Hill, Ont. | 69 (-3)
T2. Tyson Turchanski (a), Calgary, Alta. | 70 (-2)
T2. Stephane Dubois, Brantdord, Ont. | 70 (-2)
4. Nick Kenney, Toronto, Ont. | 71 (-1)
Five Canadians earn status at PGA TOUR Canada Q-School
COURTENAY, B.C. —Amateur Jake Shuman claimed medalist honours at the fifth and final Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community, shooting a final-round 68 to edge fellow American Brinson Paolini. William Griffin finished third.
Shuman was under-par in each of his four rounds, playing the par-5s in 13-under, birdieing all eight in the final two rounds.
The Duke senior birdied his first hole of the final round before giving one back on the third. The product of Needham, Massachusetts, quickly bounced back, making birdie at the fifth and sixth before making his final bogey of the tournament, on the seventh.
From there on in, Shuman played marvelous golf, sandwiching a birdie on 13 between circles on his scorecard at Nos. 10 and 15, closing the day with three pars for the victory.
“If that’s not the best tournament I’ve ever played, it’s one of the best,” said Shuman, following his round.
Putting heat on Shuman down the stretch was Paolini, another Duke alum. After making nine pars on the front nine, Paolini birdied 10 and then made three in a row from the 15th to the 17th to get within one shot of Shuman.
Paolini had a 20-foot look for birdie on the 18th that narrowly slid by the hole as he settled for the runner-up position.
Griffin pieced together three of the best rounds of the tournament, highlighted by his second-round 65, including an ace that gave him the lead going into the third round.
Griffin battled back Friday from his third-round 73, capping a bogey-free 66 with a 15-foot birdie putt on 18.
Amateur Grant Hirschman, a senior at the University of Oklahoma, finished fourth, and fellow amateur Chandler Blanchet, who tied for fifth alongside Nicholas Pandelena, won a playoff to receive status through the first eight events. Pandelena receives status through the first four events.
Canadian Riley Wheeldon paced the Canadian contingent in the field, closing at 11 under par to finish with a share of seventh place. Growing up in Comox, B.C., Wheeldon has played a number of rounds at Crown Isle, with Friday’s round one of his more important ones. A winner on the Mackenzie Tour in 2013, Wheeldon shot his second 67 of the week to jump 13 spots. Wheeldon will be exempt for the first eight events, subject to the second reshuffle.
Four other Canadians finished between 17th and 40th to earn conditional status for the 2018 campaign:
- Brett Hogan (a) | Calgary
- Jake Duvall (a) | Victoria, B.C.
- Bret Thompson | Winnipeg, Man.
- Devin Carrey | Burnaby, B.C.
Click here for full scoring.
Team Canada’s Crisologo earns 4th selection to All-GNAC team
PORTLAND, Ore. – Ending his career as arguably the most dominant player in conference history, Simon Fraser senior Chris Crisologo is once again the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, headlining four selections to the 2017-18 GNAC Men’s Golf All-Conference Team.
Crisologo, now a three-time GNAC Player of the Year, is the first four-time First Team All-GNAC men’s golf selection. The senior was named the GNAC Player of the Week on four occasions this season and leads the conference with a 70.6 stroke average. He had seven top-five finishes, which includes a tie for fifth at the GNAC Championships and a first-place finish in October’s Concordia Invitational. Crisologo will also make his fourth appearance at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional next week in Amarillo, Texas.
The Team Canada National Amateur Squad member is also the Clan’s first-ever NCAA first-team All-American selection (2017).
In his first full season at the helm, Simon Fraser head coach Matthew Steinbach was chosen by his peers as the GNAC Coach of the Year. Steinbach led the Clan to its first conference championship since the 2015 campaign after guiding SFU to a nine-stroke victory at the GNAC Championships.
Crisologo is the only repeat selection to the First Team. Joining him on the First Team are Clan senior Craig Titterington, sophomore Sy Lovan and sophomore Scott Kerr.
Crisologo’s efforts also earned him a selection as a semifinalists for the 2018 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced May 31 with the honour presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
In addition to receiving the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, the five recipients will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship, held July 16-22, at the Champions at Keene Trace in Lexington, Ky. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 2 at the storied Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio – the same club where Jack Nicklaus first learned the game of golf as a young boy.
Earning his first all-conference selection, Titterington helped Simon Fraser earn its second GNAC title after leading the team with a 4-under 209 to finish in second place at the GNAC Championships. Titterington is also fourth on the team with a 75.2 stroke average.
Lovan and Kerr have played instrumental roles in the Clan’s successful season. The duo finished in fourth and tied for fifth at the conference championships and are among GNAC leaders in stroke average. Kerr is second on the team with four top-10 finishes and was the individual medalist in September’s Western Washington Invitational after shooting a 10-under par 206.
Simon Fraser and Western Washington will participate in next week’s NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships.
Osprey Valley Open to become first Greater Toronto Area tournament in Mackenzie Tour history
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. —The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced today that its newly created Osprey Valley Open, the first Greater Toronto Area-based tournament in Mackenzie Tour history, will be played July 19-22 at Osprey Valley Golf Course in Caledon, Ontario. In conjunction with the addition of this tournament to the 2018 schedule, the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval is moving to a previously open date on the schedule, September 6-9, at Elm Ridge Country Club in L’Île-Bizard, Quebec.
Osprey Valley is a 54-hole facility, featuring three courses all designed by renowned Canadian golf course architect Doug Carrick — the Hoot, the Heathlands and the Toot courses. The Osprey Valley Open will be held at the Toot Course, a parkland-style layout that features rolling fairways, large landing areas and undulating greens. At its longest, the par-72 Toot measures 7,151 yards.
“We’re pleased to add the Osprey Valley Open to our 2018 schedule and look forward to a long and lasting partnership with this beautiful facility,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We’re certainly happy to be playing in the Greater Toronto Area for the first time, and we think our players will love what they see once they arrive on the property.”
The Osprey Valley Open will be the seventh tournament on the schedule and features a $200,000 purse, with $36,000 going to the winner. The Osprey Valley Open will be played the week prior to the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open, Canada’s national open set for July 26-29 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario. The top-three players on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit following the conclusion of the Osprey Valley Open will receive invitations to play in the RBC Canadian Open.
“We are delighted to be welcoming a Mackenzie Tour event to Osprey Valley. Hosting some of the world’s top up-and-coming players this summer provides us a wonderful opportunity to showcase what we believe makes Osprey Valley such a special place,” said Osprey Valley President Chris Humeniuk. “We are looking forward to working with the Mackenzie Tour and launching a successful event.”
When the Mackenzie Tour initially released its 2018 schedule, it had not announced the tournament that would fill in the September 6-9 dates. The Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval moved to the early September dates to allow for a better flow to the schedule.
This will be Elm Ridge’s first year hosting the tournament, with Circuit Canada Pro Tour serving as the host organization. Members established Elm Ridge Country Club in 1924, with the current facility opening in 1960, with two 18-hole golf courses. The club’s North Course will be the site of the Mackenzie Investments Open. A year ago, Web.com Tour member Hank Lebioda won the inaugural tournament by eight strokes.
“The members of Elm Ridge Country Club are honored and pleased to host the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval. We are looking forward to welcoming the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada players and all golf fans and enthusiasts to our most special and accommodating club for an unparalleled golf show,” said Randy Moncrieff, Elm Ridge General Manager. “It is also a pleasure to partner with the sponsors, Mackenzie Investments and Jaguar Laval, as well with the charity involved, CHU Ste-Justine Foundation.”
“I know the players love traveling to the Montreal area, and they will certainly find Elm Ridge to be not only an enjoyable place to play but a great test of golf, as well,” Monday added.
In late-May, early June, the Mackenzie Tour will embark on its sixth year, with the season beginning May 31-June 3 at the Freedom 55 Financial Open at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia. The 13-tournament schedule concludes September 13-16 in London, Ontario, for the Freedom 55 Financial Championship.
Mackenzie Tour players will once again look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR by leveraging their performances into advantages to reach the next level. The Order of Merit winner will be fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the following season, with Nos. 2-5 earning conditional membership. Those players Nos. 2-10 will also earn an exemption into the Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, while Nos. 11-20 on the Order of Merit will earn an exemption into the Qualifying Tournament’s Second Stage.
Players will look to follow in the footsteps of PGA TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Tony Finau and Nick Taylor, along with rest of the 20 alumni who have gone on to earn their PGA TOUR cards. More than 160 Mackenzie Tour players have gone on to earn status on the Web.com Tour, including 72 for the 2018 season.
Canadian golf industry launches “National Golf Day”
OTTAWA – Today, Canada’s national golf industry associations announced the first annual National Golf Day, May 29, an event aimed at raising awareness to the public and government decision makers on the many positive impacts of the golf industry.
“More Canadians play golf than any other participation sport and our industry is #1 in driving economic impact, employment and charity fundraising,” said Jeff Calderwood, National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) and We Are Golf Chair. “Combined with golf’s diversity, healthy fitness benefits and environmental stewardship, we really do have such a positive message to communicate.”
National Golf Day provides the opportunity for Canada’s golf industry leaders to discuss these wide-reaching benefits of the sport directly with MPs, Senators and policy advisors at Parliament Hill. A May 28 evening reception will also be held in Centre Block, and NAGA will be hosting a day of interactive golf activities on the front lawn where MPs and visitors will be able to participate. This day of outdoor golf activities will include a focus on junior golf.
“We are really looking forward to our time in Ottawa and expect that government officials from all parties will be impressed to learn about all the ways golf contributes in virtually every riding throughout 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 great to share all those insights on National Golf Day.”
Golf courses and all related stakeholders throughout Canada are encouraged to promote the same positive messages. NAGA will provide shareable social content.
NAGA is also announcing a rebranding of its public facing name to We Are Golf. This aligns with the same brand name used by the American golf industry for allied association activities such as National Golf Day. NAGA does carry on as the administrative body but will use the We Are Golf brand for all public communications.
Please watch for additional We Are Golf and National Golf Day communications over the coming weeks as we lead up to the May 29 event itself.
For more information on We Are Golf, visit wearegolf.ca
Ontario Golf Hall of Fame celebrates 2018 inductees
UXBRIDGE – The annual Ontario Golf Hall of Fame ceremony was held on Wednesday, May 2, from Wooden Sticks Golf Course in Uxbridge, Ont.
This year, three deserving inductees entered the Hall and one member of the Ontario golf media was honoured with the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award.
Also a group of Posthumous individuals with golf accomplishments pre-dating the 1950’s were inducted. The emcee for the evening was Bob Weeks, a senior reporter and TSN’s golf analyst.
The evening began with the presentation of the posthumous individuals being inducted into the hall of fame, followed by the Inductions of Wayne Redshaw (with the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award), Terrill Samuel, Dave Bunker and Warren Crosbie.
Wayne Redshaw is a veteran sports writer and sports editor whose career began as a sports beat writer in 1962. Redshaw is also a member of the Sabres Hall of Fame and life member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Terrill Samuel, enters the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in the Amateur Golfer category. Samuel has captured many titles both provincially and nationally throughout her career. Provincially she has won the Ontario Women’s Amateur twice, Ontario Women’s Mid-Amateur three times and the Ontario Senior Women’s. Samuel also represented Canada on the international stage multiple times.
Another inductee in the Amateur Golfer category is Brampton’s Dave Bunker. Bunker, has amassed an almost immeasurable amount of championships and accolades. Just some highlights of his career include capturing 15 provincial titles including three Ontario Mid-Master titles, countless course Championships and 8 Canadian titles including The Canadian Mid-Master and Mid-Amateur for three straight seasons.
Crosbie has been a Golf Professional for 49 years including 33 years at Bayview Golf and Country Club. One of the remarkable aspects of Warren’s career is the number of Golf Professionals who he trained and mentored. Further Warren supports the junior program at Bayview and continues to teach young aspiring Golf Professionals.
Golf Ontario would like to extend their congratulations to the 2018 Ontario Golf Hall of Fame Class, and thank all those who attended, including Golf Ontario partners who make events like the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame possible. Also, a big thank you to Wooden Sticks for their continued support in hosting the ceremony and housing the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame.
Team Canada’s Céleste Dao captures Mexican Junior Girls Championship in playoff
CANCUN, Mexico – It was a storybook ending for Quebec’s Céleste Dao, who stormed back to win the Mexican Junior Girls Championship in a playoff on Tuesday at the Cancun Country Club.
Starting the day six strokes back, Team Canada’s Dao went off with a bogey-free, 6-under 66 to force extra holes with Mexico’s Corey Lopez, eventually winning the title on the third playoff hole.
#TeamCanada Development Squad member Céleste Dao on her playoff victory yesterday at the Mexican Junior Girls Championship ??
Read ➡️ https://t.co/8ArAb5LX2m pic.twitter.com/px6KyuNN01
— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 2, 2018
Dao, 17, closed the event at 5 under par on the strength of four straight birdies between hole Nos. 13-16. Joining Dao near the top of the leaderboard were Development Squad teammates Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.) who finished 3rd and 6th, respectively.
This marks the second straight victory for the Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot native—she captured the Toyota Junior World Cup Qualifier medallist honours two weeks ago at Bear Mountain (the official training centre for Team Canada). The two victories bode well for the success of the centralized program at Bear Mountain, which is in its first year of providing athletes an immersive, focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition.
“The program is great – we all live in the same house together,” said Dao of the new centralized program at Bear Mountain. “It’s been helpful for me… we all go to the gym together, and I see my coach Matt Wilson and assistant coach Sara-Maude Juneau all the time and they help me a lot in improving my game and decisions – it’s been great.”
Click here for full scoring.
David Hearn & Seamus Power finish T10 at Zurich Classic
AVONDALE, La. – When Scott Piercy tried to deflect credit to Billy Horschel for their nerve-testing, one-shot victory in the Zurich Classic team event, Horschel grinned and went with it.
“I’d like to thank myself for playing well this week,” Horschel began with a laugh. “No, it was great to play with Scott. Our games match up well. We are really good ball-strikers. We think the same way. … I don’t have to worry about him making a bad decision.”
Playing in the same group as Jason Dufner and Pat Perez – who trailed by a mere stroke for the final seven holes – Horschel and Piercy calmly executed one pressure-packed shot after another Sunday, closing with a bogey-free 5-under 67 in alternate shot play that was just good enough.
“All four of us are really great friends. We were chatting it up the entire day– toward the end of the round, a little less,” Horschel said. “You’re going to be anxious, nervous. You’re heart’s going to be racing a little bit, but that says you’re alive. It says you’re alive and in the spot you want to be.”
Horschel became a two-time winner at TPC Louisiana. He captured his maiden PGA TOUR triumph at the 2013 Zurich Classic when it was a traditional every-man-for-himself event. His popularity with the crowd was evident with the ovation he receiving approaching the 18th green. He said he loves New Orleans and has close friends in the city.
“I just feel at home here,” Horschel said. “Maybe I should look into buying a house here, but what are the state income taxes? That’s the issue.”
Especially if he keeps playing the way he has lately, having finished tied for fifth at the RBC Heritage two weeks earlier.
Horschel and Piercy surged into the lead with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. They followed that with seven straight pars. After Horschel narrowly missed a 23-foot birdie putt on 18 that was reminiscent of the one he sank to win on the same green five years ago, Dufner stood over a 14-foot putt for the tie. He left it a foot short.
“Last putt, I didn’t get aggressive with it. Just didn’t quite get speed matched up like I wanted to,” Dufner said before complimenting Horschel on Piercy on how hard they were to chase down. “They didn’t lose a tee all day – and that’s pretty tough in alternate shot.”
Canadian David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Irish partner Seamus Power shot a 68 to tie for 10th. For Hearn, the finish comes one week after earning a T16 result at the Valero Texas Open. The strong back-to-back performances bode well for Hearn’s FedEx Cup standings and PGA TOUR status for 2019 – he currently sits at No. 139.
This was the second year of the Zurich’s switch to a two-player team format.
The victory was Horschel’s fifth and Piercy’s fourth. They each earned $1.04 million and 400 FedExCup points.
The result did not count toward the world ranking.
A year ago, the Zurich format called for best-ball play in the second and final rounds, with alternate-shot on the first and third. But organizers decided this year to flip that so the final round would have the alternate-shot format, with one player hitting the tee shots on even-numbered holes and the other on odd numbers. That set the stage for substantial moves up or down the leaderboard; players had less margin for error and no choice but the play the lies their teammates left them on the previous shot.
Horschel liked the change because “the better players, the better teams obviously are going to rise on Sunday. It’s a lot more volatility. … I felt the way we played – how good of ball-strikers we are – I felt like we could really make up a lot of ground.”
Horschel and Piercy began the day three shots back, but immediately surged into contention with birdies on the first two holes.
Piercy’s 146-yard approach set up Horschel’s 5-foot birdie putt on the opening hole. On the par-5 second hole, Piercy chipped to 4 feet to set up Horschel for birdie again.
Horschel returned the favour on the par-5 seventh with a chip to 3 feet and did even better on the 10th, dropping a 148-yard approach shot a foot from the hole.
Horschel’s 88-foot wedge out of a greenside bunker stopped less than 2 feet from the hole on the par-5 11th to set up his team’s final birdie.
“With Billy’s course knowledge and comfort level here, I just had to do a little bit and he could kind of take over,” Piercy said.
Heading into the final round, Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, the 2017 runners-up in a playoff, topped a crowded leaderboard that featured 13 teams within four shots of the lead. By the time the top five teams had all reached the back nine, they were all within two shots of one another.
This time, Kisner and Brown faded on the back nine with three bogeys and one double-bogey, and tied for 15th at 15 under.
The team of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel finished third at 20 under. Tied for fourth at 19 under were the teams of Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley, and Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley.
Garnett and Hadley began the day two shots back but briefly led after four birdies on the front nine. However, they bogeyed the par-4 13th when they struggled with a massive fairway bunker on the Pete Dye-designed course, and also bogeyed the par-3 14th and par-3 17th.
Golf Mentor Academy honoured with Future Links Facility of the Year Award
WINNIPEG – Golf Canada is pleased to celebrate Golf Mentor Academy by honouring them with the Future Links, driven by Acura Facility of the Year Award for the 2017 season.
The Golf Mentor Academy, located just south of Winnipeg, earned the award for its outstanding success in delivering Future Links—Canada’s junior golf program. Under the direction of PGA of Canada professionals Glen Sirkis and Adam Boge, The Golf Mentor Academy excelled in delivering Future Links programming.
“Golf Canada is pleased to recognize the impressive accomplishments in junior golf by the staff at Golf Mentor Academy,” stated Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “Glen and Adam demonstrated excellence with their Future Links program, and we’re proud to celebrate their achievement as one of leading junior facilities in Canada.”
More than 2000 juniors participated in the Future Links suite of programming at the Mentor Academy, including Junior Skills Challenge, Girls Club and Learn to Play. Through the online reporting tool, students received complimentary PUMA hats as a reward for graduating each of the four stages of the Learn to Play program.
.@pgaofcanada professional @adambogepga accepting the #FutureLinks Facility of the Year along with Glen Sirkis at #Winnipeg’s Golf Mentor Academy ??⛳️ pic.twitter.com/V0MGlMh5QS
— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) April 28, 2018
Part of the success of the program stems from conducting several Get Linked initiatives, connecting the golf course with local schools in the community. In 2017, Golf Mentor Academy conducted eight in-school visits in the Winnipeg area and hosted one field trip to their facility. In total, Sirkis conducted nine of the 192 Get Linked initiatives conducted in 2017.
“We’re thrilled to be receiving the 2017 Future Links Facility of the Year Award – it’s a great feeling to celebrate the growth of junior golf at our facility and across Canada,” said Sirkis. “We’d like to thank our staff that helped us achieve this award and reach over 2,000 juniors at our facility.”
Golf Mentor Academy is the fifth Canadian golf club to receive the Future Links Facility of the Year Award. This marks the second award for Sirkis, who also received the inaugural honours back in 2013.
“On behalf of the PGA of Canada and its 3,700 members, I’d like to congratulate Glen Sirkis, Adam Boge and their staff on the Future Links Facility of the Year award,” said PGA of Canada CEO Kevin Thistle. “It’s important for PGA of Canada professionals to be recognized for all their hard work in growing the game of golf in Canada through the Future Links program.”
In 2017, Future Links programming was conducted at 548 golf facilities with more than 83,000 registered students. Since 1996, more than 1.4 million children have been introduced to golf through the Future Links junior golf program.