JEJU, Korea, Republic Of – Justin Thomas fired a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to share the lead with fellow American Scott Brown after the third round of the CJ Cup on Saturday.

Thomas offset a lone double bogey and a bogey with five birdies to reach the clubhouse at 9-under 207.

“I know for a fact I played better today than I did on Thursday when I shot a 9 under,” Thomas said. “It’s just so hard out there. I’ve never played in a place where the wind swirls as much as it does here.”

Brown had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but recovered with two birdies on the back nine for a 71.

“It was playing tough today,” Brown said. “Just kind of grounded it out, not a lot of birdies to be made. I just made some clutch up-and-downs to kind of keep the round going.”

Anirban Lahiri of India moved into a share of third place with Australian Marc Leishman (71) after a 69 that included four birdies and a bogey.

Whee Kim (70) was the highest placed of the 16 South Korean players in the field, tied for fifth after a 72.

Overnight leader Luke List struggled with the conditions and fell into a tie for eighth place after a 76. List had three bogeys on the front nine and a pair of double bogeys on the back nine.

Jason Day also struggled with the wind, carding a 71 to be tied for 16th on 3-under 213.

More wind is forecast for the final round on Sunday.

“It’s going to be tough but everyone has to deal with it,” Thomas said. “So we’re just going to have to get a great game plan and stick with it and just try to make as many pars as possible.”

Nick Taylor (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 10th place at 4 under while Adam Hadwin (76), also of Abbotsford, was in 56th at 7 over.

Eleven years ago, player development in this country was a long overdue idea that (finally) got some buy in.

Humble beginnings? Imagine it as the professional sports equivalent of an expansion franchise. No coaches, no players, no real structure or support mechanism at kick-off time but, hey, there was a name: Team Canada. In a hockey-infested nation, who couldn’t relate to that?

And who among us can’t relate to this concept: belief.

It’s a powerful word. Belief is the heart of this program, in my opinion. It is what drove it from idea to implementation. As the early adopters for Team Canada rolled up their sleeves and left egos and agendas at the door, a strange thing happened. All of them found common ground. They made “belief” fundamental to the National Team program process. Through that, they also found it in each other.

“When we started (the program) there were people who were intrigued but there were a lot of questions,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “What’s this really going to do? What kind of an effect is this going to have? Can it last? Can we all work together? All it’s done since then is improve year over year.”

Did anyone see this coming? Twenty-nine worldwide tour wins and multiple Canadian flags trending on golf’s official world rankings in just over a decade? Unlikely, but it’s happened.

We also saw fans lined 10-deep along Ottawa Hunt & Golf’s fairways to catch a glimpse of Brooke Henderson at the CP Women’s Open; saw Henderson rise to No. 2 in the world before turning 19 years old; saw her win a major championship and three more LPGA titles and nearly medal at the Olympics.

How about Mackenzie Hughes? Did you believe he’d be a winner on the PGA Tour in his rookie season or that the Symetra Tour would have not one but two Canadians, Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Brittany Marchand, win titles in 2018?

Ever think you would feel this bullish about Canadian golf and its future? I didn’t. My hope for this initiative 11 years ago was for good-but- not-great things and for it to assist development, not become a tipping point for success. To those early influencers, coaches and “believers,” I likely owe an apology. Not only has Golf Canada’s amateur program become one of the best untold stories in Canadian sports but it’s an initiative countries around the world now want to emulate.

“Our program mantra is pretty simple,” explained Thompson. “It’s to produce more Brooke Hendersons and Mackenzie Hughes more often, by design not by chance.”

Structure has been a priority. Team Canada is an annual $1.5-million, multi- layer investment where there is a clear and defined path. It begins with the national development team, morphs to the national amateur squad and then the post-graduate support, assistance and mentorship of the Young Pro squad.

Starting in 2018, the national development squad program will also include an 18-week academy pillar. Players and coaches will live at Victoria’s Bear Mountain Resort, immersed in a high-performance centre of excellence. The team will attend morning classes at a nearby high school. Training that was at 30 to 35 days a year rises to 120 days. “Honestly, when we looked at what was going on globally and the amount of touch points and time other countries were having with their players we felt like this was a missing step,” added Thompson.

Amid, I might add, very few missed Team Canada steps along the way.

This article was originally published in the Fall Issue of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Jenny Shin shot a 5-under-par 67 for a share of the lead with Eun-Hee Ji after the second round of the Taiwan Championship on Friday.

Shin offset a pair of bogeys with seven birdies at Miramar Resort and Country Club, including a birdie-birdie finish.

“I had a really good break back there on the 18th hole,” Shin said. “My tee shot went to the right, but I got relief because it was completely underwater, and I took advantage of that. Made the putt on 17, so I wanted to keep running at it and made my last putt on 18.”

First-round leader Ji made a pair of bogeys and two birdies early, but birdied the par-5 18th for a 71.

“Not as great as yesterday but I don’t feel really bad,” Ji said. “I just struggled with my putting this first nine, and I get just a little bit better on the back nine. I just made it out a little bit. I’m pretty happy to make a birdie on the last.”

The leaders are at 7-under 137, one ahead of Brittany Altomare, who carded a 68.

Altomare missed only one fairway and hit 14 of 18 greens.

“I’ve just felt more and more comfortable out here,” Altomare said. “My caddie throughout the year, Dewi, she helped me stay confident and be comfortable in those positions, whereas last year, I didn’t feel so confident and comfortable.”

Alena Sharp of Hamilton shot 4-under and was tied for 14th at 1-under. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was well down the leaderboard after a round of 75 left her at 5-over par.

Su Oh of Australia was in sole possession of fourth place after she eagled the 18th to complete the day’s lowest score of 66 that also included two bogeys and six birdies.

Top-ranked So Yeon Ryu fired a 68 to move into contention at 3-under 141, four off the pace.

Sung Hyun Park, the U.S. LPGA Tour rookie of the year, continued to struggle and shot a 73 to be 5 over for the tournament.

JEJU, Korea, Republic Of – Luke List fired a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the CJ Cup on Friday.

List, who is looking to win on the U.S. PGA Tour for the first time, carded five birdies, including one on the par-5 9th, his final hole, to move to 9 under.

Three-time tour winner Lucas Glover compensated for a pair of bogeys with seven birdies in a 67 and was tied for second with Scott Brown, who had a 70.

A day after firing a 63 for the first-round lead, Justin Thomas made a 74 to slip into a share of fourth with Australian golfer Cameron Smith (68) at 7 under.

Thomas took a three-shot lead into the second round, but an opening 3-over-par 39 on the front brought him back to the pack.

The second-round 74 is Thomas’ worst score since an 80 in the second round of the British Open.

Jason Day also struggled en route to a 74 to fall back to 24th at 2 under.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was at 4 under after a round of 72. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., also shot even par and 3-over, and Graham Delaet of Weyburn, Sask., withdrew from the tournament.

Whee Kim (70) was the highest placed of the 16 South Korean players in the field at 6 under overall, tied for sixth with Patrick Reed (72), Chez Reavie (72) and another Australian, Marc Leishman (72).

Seung Yul Noh carded five birdies and closed with an eagle in a bogey-free 65 for the best score of the day, lifting him to even par overall.

The final round of the 2017 CCAA PING Golf National Championship at Royal Ashburn Golf Club is set up to be an exciting finish as medal hopes remain alive for a number of teams and individuals in the 19-team field.

In the men’s team competition, the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat cut into the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades’ lead by three strokes on Thursday, as the deficit is just two strokes heading into the final round. The leading Cascades shot 23-over in round three while the Heat combined to go 20-over.

Unlike the previous two days, it was the third and fourth place teams with the best rounds of the day. Humber, who sits in third place, is now seven strokes behind the leader as they shot 14-over but the best round of the tournament came from the Champlain St. Lawrence Lions who were three-over, to get within three strokes of the Hawks of a podium finish.

Charles-Eric Bélanger led the way for the Lions as he had the low round of the day at three-under. Taking off a triple bogey on the 12th hole, Bélanger was six-under the rest of the round as he posted the only score under 70 over the course of the three days.

It all goes down tomorrow at @RoyalAshburn ???? pic.twitter.com/avY9QFbliD

— CCAA/ACSC (@CCAAsportsACSC) October 20, 2017

Bélanger sits in third place overall, trailing Daniel Campbell of UFV and James Casorso of UBCO by five and two strokes respectively. Casorso and Jonathan Vermette of Champlain St. Lawrence joined Bélanger as the only golfers under par in round three as they shot one-under and two under respectively.

The top golfer from Ontario is Thomas Code of the Fanshawe Falcons, who is tied with Olivier Ménard of André-Laurendeau for fourth place at eight-over, two strokes back of a podium finish.

In the women’s draw, UFV has a stranglehold on first place as they lead the defending national champion Georgian Grizzlies by 22 strokes. As their men’s team did, Champlain St. Lawrence closed the gap on day three as they had a six-stroke edge on the Grizzlies, putting them in third place just three strokes back. Humber is also within striking distance of the medals as they are three strokes back of the Lions.

In the individual competition, Sarah-Eve Rheaume of Champlain St. Lawrence and Madison Kapchinsky of UFV enter the final round in a deadlock at 21-over. The pair have been even all week long with all scores being within two strokes of one another, with Rheaume holding a one-shot advantage in round three at three-over.

Emery Bardock of UFV sits in third place, six strokes back of the leaders while Emilie Tyndall of Georgian and Sonia Nagindas of Humber are tied for fourth place, six strokes back of a medal position.

“We could not ask for more,” said Mike Duggan, chair of the PING CCAA Golf National Championships. “If the final round is anything like the previous three, we are in for a great finish.”

The host Durham College Lords did not make a move on moving day as they remained in seventh place in the team standings, with Josh Taylor of Barrie in a tie for 22nd place overall. He has been consistent all week with rounds of 79, 78 and 78 to sit at 19-over.

As part of the championship the host committee at Durham College and Conroy’s No Frills in Whitby have partnered to have one pound of food donated to the Salvation Army for every birdie made throughout the tournament.

Through three rounds the total sits at 330 birdies, or 330 pounds of food. The teams have improved their total each day, including going from 116 to 117 from round two to three.

The final round opens at Royal Ashburn at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

Click here for full scores.

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced on Thursday that its 12 tournaments combined to raise more than $1 million for charity in 2017, surpassing the million-dollar mark for the second consecutive season and bringing the total donated to charity since 2013 to more than $3.2 million.

Each event on the 2017 schedule directed funds toward official charitable partners and was aided by a $150,000 donation by the Mackenzie Tour on behalf of Mackenzie Investments.

“Making a positive impact in the communities where we play is a priority for each and every tournament under the PGA TOUR umbrella, and we’re so proud to see the work Mackenzie Tour events have done to help make a difference in people’s lives,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “Along with our umbrella sponsor, Mackenzie Investments, we’re proud to support each of these causes and are thrilled to have surpassed $1 million in donations again this year.”

“We are so pleased with the success of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour. The team at Mackenzie is especially proud of the Tour’s focus on charity and community, and we’d like to thank everyone who helped reach this significant milestone for the second season in a row,” said Barry McInerney, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mackenzie Investments.

Leading the way once again in 2017 was the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, which raised $271,500 for families battling cancer in Northwestern Ontario. The event was the top fundraiser for all 2017 tournaments and brings the Staal Foundation Open’s total amount donated since 2014 to more than $800,000.

JEJU, Korea, Republic Of – Justin Thomas eagled twice in a 9-under-par 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the CJ Cup, the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in South Korea.

Thomas started on Thursday with a bogey at the 10th hole but made amends with eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes around four straight birdies from No. 14-17 to turn in 29. He added three more birdies and a bogey to hold his margin.

“It was kind of a weird day,” Thomas said. “It started off with a really, really bad bogey. And then I had a seven-hole stretch there where I basically kind of went unconscious. That was pretty much most of my round.”

Thomas set up a long eagle putt on No. 12 with a driver and a 3-wood.

“That was a weird putt,” Thomas said. “Jimmy and I had a hard time reading it which usually means it’s pretty straight so that’s how we ended up playing it.”

His second eagle on 18 came when he hit a wedge to three feet from the hole.

Thomas won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2015 and 2016 and says he is comfortable playing overseas.

“It’s still golf,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t matter where you are and I know that it is very cliche and easier said than done but you just have to take advantage of the rest and time you have off the course.”

Chez Reavie, Gavin Kyle Green, Scott Brown, Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman all opened with 66s and were in a five-way share of second at 6 under.

Jhonattan Vegas and Charles Howell III were among five players a shot further back at 5 under.

Jason Day and fellow Australian Rod Pampling were at 4 under, one stroke ahead of Pat Perez, who was coming off a victory last week at the CIMB Classic.

Adam Scott had a 72 containing four birdies and four bogeys.

Canadian Nick Taylor sits T12 after opening with a 4-under-par 68.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Eun-Hee Ji had a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA’s Taiwan Championship.

Ji got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies at the Miramar Golf Country Club, and added four more to finish the round clear of fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim, Megan Khang and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand.

Lydia Ko was in a group of five tied for fifth after a 70 that included three bogeys and five birdies.

Top-ranked So Yeon Ryu and No. 2 Sung Hyun Park struggled to find their rhythm. Ryu finished with a 73 for a share of 23rd place, and Park was 4 over.

Defending champion Ha Na Jang struggled in an opening round of 81.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson is tied for 34th after an opening-round 74 (+2).

Despite improved scores nearly across the board by team and individuals alike, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades continue to hold first place on all four leaderboards at the PING CCAA Golf National Championships at Royal Ashburn.

“I think we played well yesterday (Tuesday) given the course was tough and it was windy, but I think it got a little bit better today and more scoreable,” said UFV head coach Chris Bertram. “I think overall we’re playing well. I don’t think we’re playing our best yet. I think at this point it’s good enough, but we’re only at the halfway point and we’ve got some work to do still.”

The only change at the top was in the women’s individual standings. Emery Bardock, who led after the opening round dropped to second place, but her teammate Madison Kapchinsky moved into the top spot with the best round of the day at one-over par to keep the Cascades in the lead at 17-over. Hannah Dirksen, also of the Cascades is tied with Bardock for fourth at 21-over after two rounds, trailing Bardock’s and Sarah-Eve Rheaume of the Champlain St. Lawrence Lions at 18-over.

Defending individual champion Addison Wallwin of the Georgian Grizzlies is also tied with Dirksen at 21-over, while her teammate is in sixth at 22-over.

The strong presence of Cascades and Grizzlies at the top of the individual leaderboard has their teams in the same position as yesterday, sitting 1-2 respectively. Georgian currently trails by 11 strokes after two rounds. The entire team leaderboard saw no changes for the women as the Humber Hawks and Champlain St. Lawrence Lions sit third and fourth, 18 and 20 strokes back of Fraser Valley.

On the men’s side the team standings also didn’t change for the top four as Fraser Valley continued to hold first place over PACWEST rival UBC-Okanagan by five strokes. The top team from the host conference (OCAA) continued to be the Humber Hawks, who are 16 strokes back of the Cascades, but only lead fourth-place André-Laurendeau by five strokes.

Thomas Code of the Fanshawe Falcons had the low round of the day for the men at one-under par, moving him into sixth place overall on the individual leaderboard. That wasn’t enough to shuffle the top three though as they all stayed in medal spots midway through the championship.

Daniel Campbell and Zach Olson hold first and second place again for Fraser Valley, while Olivier Ménard of the André-Laurendeau Boomerang still sits in third after Round 2.

James Casorso passed his UBC-Okanagan teammate Nik Federko for fourth place, but Federko only dropped to fifth after a round of four-over.

The host Durham College Lords struggled on the second day of play and dropped from fifth to seventh in the team standings. This also puts them 25 strokes out of a podium position.

Defending champion @GeorgianGrizz speak about their opening two rounds of @PingTour CCAA Golf National Championships at @RoyalAshburn. pic.twitter.com/78eVrQHDEv

— CCAA/ACSC (@CCAAsportsACSC) October 18, 2017

As part of the championship the host committee at Durham College and Conroy’s No Frills in Whitby have partnered to have one pound of food donated to the Salvation Army for every birdie made throughout the tournament.

Through two rounds the total sits at 213 birdies, or 213 pounds of food. The teams improved their total of 97 from the opening day to 116.

Round three opens at Royal Ashburn at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 18 athletes who have been chosen to represent Team Canada as part of the 2018 National Amateur Squad and Development Squad.

In all, eight athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including four players on the men’s team and four on the women’s. The 10-member Development Squad will include five women and five men.

“Based on their outstanding performances this year, we are pleased to announce the young men and women chosen to represent Canada as part of the national team program,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. These talented athletes are a product of a circle of support that includes personal coaches, parents and provincial high-performance programs and will proudly represent Canada on the global golf stage.”

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2018 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Maddie Szeryk, Allen, Tex., Ontario Public Player (21)
• Naomi Ko, Victoria, B.C., Olympic View Golf Club (20)
• Jaclyn Lee, Calgary, Alta., Glencoe Golf & Country Club (20)
• Grace St-Germain, Ottawa, Ont., Camelot Golf & Country Club (19)

MEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Hugo Bernard, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., Laval sur-le-Lac Club (22)
• Josh Whalen, Napanee, Ont., Napanee Golf & Country Club (22)
• Joey Savoie, La Prairie, Que., Pinegrove Country Club (23)
• Chris Crisologo, Richmond, B.C., Marine Drive Golf Club (21)

Complete National Amateur Squad bios can be found here.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2018 Development Squad:

WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

• Céleste Dao, Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (16)
• Monet Chun, Richmond Hill, Ont., Summit Golf & Country Club (16)
• Ellie Szeryk, Allen, Tex., Ontario Public Player (16)
• Alyssa DiMarcantonio, Maple, Ont., Station Creek Golf Club (14)
• Euna Han, Coquitlam, B.C., Morgan Creek Golf Course (15)

MEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

• Christopher Vandette, Beaconsfield, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (16)
• Johnny Travale, Stoney Creek, Ont., Hamilton Golf & Country Club (16)
• Nolan Thoroughgood, Victoria, B.C., Royal Colwood Golf Club (17)
• Peyton Callens, Langton, Ont., Delhi Golf & Country Club (17)
• Thomas Critch, Cedar Park, Tex., Ontario Public Player (17)

Complete Development Squad player bios can be found here. 

Development Squad to Feature Centralized Program out of Bear Mountain Resort

New in 2018, the National Development Squad program will feature a centralized component, which will be based out of Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C.—Team Canada’s official training centre since 2015.

The program will send Development Squad athletes to Bear Mountain from February through to early June to be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition.

The 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 number of days that Development Squad athletes will spend in a world-class training environment will increase from approximately 30 (in the current structure) to 120 in the new program.

“We felt that this change was necessary to deliver a significant impact to targeted athletes aged 18 and under in this crucial stage of their development,” said Thompson. “An increased number of contact days with our expert high-performance coaches and sport science staff will provide our next generation athletes with a true world-class training environment.”

In addition to the world-class facilities available at Bear Mountain, athletes will have access to one of the best training centres in the country just 10 minutes away – the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence.

For accommodation, Development Squad members will be paired with billet families in the region to provide safe, supportive home environments for training and study throughout the program. All potential billet candidates will undergo a screening process with Golf Canada.

Athletes will be enrolled at Belmont Secondary School in Langford, B.C., where they will attend classes in the morning, followed by training in the afternoon. Team members will also be assigned a teacher from West Shore Distributed Learning Centre, where they will take online courses and receive advanced credits for their sports training. Academic commitment will remain a cornerstone of the Team Canada program with Golf Canada coaches and support team working closely with the teaching staff to ensure success in and out of the classroom.

Bear Mountain Resort has served as Golf Canada’s national team training centre since 2015. In addition to world class amenities and accommodations, the resort features a 36-hole Nicklaus design golf course located on 836 acres with spectacular mountain vistas and views of British Columbia’s seaside capital city. 

Team Canada Coaching Staff Announced….

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2018 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Development Squads.

On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Waterdown, Ont returns as Women’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Matt Wilson, from Newmarket, Ont., will oversee the Women’s Development Squad. Wilson, who also works as Golf Canada’s director of next generation performance, takes over for long-serving Women’s Development Squad coach Ann Carroll who will be taking a new step in her coaching career.

Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man. returns as Men’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C.  will be leading the Men’s Development Squad.

“Derek and Tristan have had tremendous success with Team Canada athletes and the evolution of our national team program will see Robert and Matt play a more significant role through the centralized training environment at Bear Mountain,” added Thompson. “We also want to express our sincere thanks to Ann Carroll on her tremendous contributions to our Women’s Development Squad over the past six years.”

Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe and Wilson are all class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.

“Not only am I excited to see these young athletes represent Team Canada in 2018, but I’m also thrilled for their PGA of Canada coaches as well,” PGA of Canada President Steve Wood. “The commitment Golf Canada has shown in collaborating with the PGA of Canada in our world class teaching and coaching certification programs is exemplary.”

The 2018 Young Pro Squad team selection is expected in December.