Former executive director of Ontario Para Network will help support the National Sport Federation’s commitment to creating a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment within the organization and across the sport.

Golf Canada has announced the hiring of Laura Wilson as its new Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Safe Sport.

Wilson, an experienced and enthusiastic senior leader, has held important executive positions at various organizations including most recently as the Executive Director of the Ontario Para Network, and previously with the Coaches Association of Ontario, and the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.

The role is a new position in Golf Canada, reflecting the organization’s elevated commitment to driving diversity and inclusion in all facets of the game as well as ensuring a safe sport environment for all enthusiasts.

“We are extremely proud to add someone like Laura, with the depth of her experience and skill-set, to our team,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “Golf Canada launched an extensive search for committed leader such as Laura who could advance our efforts across equity, diversity and inclusion as well as our critical safe sport activities. As an organization and industry, we are looking forward to open dialogue, engagement and action with our stakeholders and partners to help develop and execute an important diversity, inclusion, and safe sport strategy for the betterment of the organization and our sport overall.”

As part of Wilson’s effort, she will chair Golf Canada’s Diversity and Inclusion Alliance to execute a multi-point strategy to help all individuals to foster an environment where all feel responsible for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“I am committed to building diverse, fully inclusive, and equitable sport pathways for future generations of all abilities, and I can’t wait to get started at Golf Canada. As a sport leader, I am also committed to increasing opportunities for all,” said Wilson, who immigrated from India with her parents as a child.

“I believe we all have a responsibility to champion safe sport and inclusion while fostering the change we want to see in our organization and across our communities.”

Golf Canada recently launched an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion online resource as an expression of is commitment in this important space. The portal outlines a number of the policies, activities and alliances that are currently underway.

Earlier this year, Golf Canada also launched a Safe Sport online resource as part of its fundamental responsibility to protect the health, safety and physical and mental well-being of athletes, staff, volunteers, and other enthusiasts involved in its activities.

Wilson has experience not only as a senior leader in the associations and organizations space but has a background in media and content development as well. Her robust volunteer experience across many sports along with a continued interest in education and growth made her a perfect addition to Golf Canada’s team.

Wilson has already begun in her role with Golf Canada and can be reached at lwilson@golfcanada.ca.

SPRUCE GROVE, ALTA. – The Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship is set for July 27-30 at the Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club in Spruce Grove, Alta., for the 107th installment of the event.

The 72-hole tournament returns for the first time since 2019, after the pandemic caused the cancellation of Golf Canada’s 2020 competitive season.

The 110-player field features three of the Team Canada National Amateur Squad members; Mary Parsons (Delta, B.C.), Noemie Pare (Victoriaville, Que.), and Sara-Eve Rheaume (Quebec City, Que.).

More than half of the top 50 Canadians on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) are in the field with 27, including 2018 and 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Champions Celeste Dao (Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que.) and Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), respectively. 

The winner will receive an exemption into the 2022 CP Women’s Open, as well as the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur

Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club was established in 1993 and features a Mark McCumber design. It is a par-72 with a maximum yardage of 6,244 yards with tree-lined fairways and large bodies of water.

The Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event, with a 36-hole cut for the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes.

The practice round will be conducted on July 26.

Previous winners of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship include Jennifer Kupcho of the United States (2017), Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. (2013), and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand (2012). All three golfers are currently ranked inside the top-25 of the Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Click here for the full field and tournament information.

NOTABLES

Mary Parsons

The 22-year-old from Delta, B.C., is in her third year as a part of the National Team, having previously been a part of the National Amateur Squad in 2020, and the Junior Squad in 2017. In 2019, Parsons won the Lady Boliermaker in the NCAA, and in 2018 Parsons won the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship. She finished fifth at the 2019 Pan American Games and was a quarterfinalist at the 2020 Women’s Western Championship. Parsons has been a member of the Indiana University Women’s Golf Team since the 2017-18 season.

Noémie Paré

The 23-year-old from Victoriaville, Que., is in her second year as a part of the National Amateur Squad. Paré finished inside the top-10 in seven events in 2020, including wins at both the Palm Beach Collegiate Invitational and the Québec Women’s Amateur Championship, and runner-up finishes at both the Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship and the Atlantic Collegiate Invitational. Paré was a member of the Barry University Women’s Golf Team from the 2016-17 season until she graduated in 2020.

Sarah-Eve Rhéaume

The 21-year-old from Quebec City is in her second year as a part of the National Amateur Squad. In 2019, Rhéaume won the Quebec Women’s Amateur Championship. In 2020, Rhéaume finished fifth at both the Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship and the Quebec Women’s Amateur Championship, and sixth at the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship. Rhéaume has been a member of the Furman University Women’s Golf Team since the 2018-19 season.

FAST FACTS

Current LPGA Tour golfer Maria Fassi of Mexico shot a 5-under 65 in the third round of the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, matching the women’s competitive course record at Ken-Wo Golf Club.

10-time LPGA Tour winner Brooke Henderson won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in 2013 at the age of 15.

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Marlene Stewart Streit won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship 11 times and was the runner-up five times.

LEDUC, Alta. – Team Canada National Junior Squad member Nicole Gal of Oakville, Ont., shot a final-round 67 on Friday to win the 66th Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Leduc Golf Club in Leduc, Alta., by a commanding 12-stroke margin.

Gal finished the championship at 13 under. She finished ahead of fellow Junior Squad member and Oakville resident, Katie Cranston who finished second at 1 under.

Gal also won the Juvenile division, which ran concurrently for girls aged 16 and under, ahead of Luna Lu of Burnaby, B.C. at two-over and Martina Yu of Coquitlam, B.C. at three-over. Lu and Yu finished third and fourth overall, respectively.

The 16-year-old registered all four rounds with an under par score (71-69-68-67) and led the field by three at the end of the second round. By the completion of 54-holes, Gal had extended her lead to five strokes after a bogey-free third round.

By the time Gal and the final group reached the turn on Friday, Gal had extended her lead to eight strokes over Cranston and would go on to card a second consecutive bogey-free round.

This is not the first time Gal and Cranston have finished next to each other on the leaderboard. In 2020, Gal finished runner-up to Cranston at the Ontario Junior Girls Championship.

In 2019, Gal notably won the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship in the Girls 14-15 division.

This year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship began with a 106-player field that included three of the Team Canada National Junior Squad members including Gal, Cranston, and Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver, B.C., who held the 18-hole lead and ultimately finished in a tie for eighth.

The field’s youngest competitor, 11-year-old Lucy Lin, finished in a tie for 12th at 12 over.

With the win Gal receives an exemption into the 2021 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship held July 27-30 at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club in Spruce Grove, Alta.

“It’s the first time I’m playing that event, so I don’t have many expectations yet,” said Gal on the Women’s Amateur. “But if I just take it day by day, I think I will finish pretty well there as well.”

Gal joins a list of notable Canadian golfers to have won the Canadian Junior Girls Championship including LPGA Tour players and Olympians Brooke Henderson (2012) and Alena Sharp (1999), as well as Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Sandra Post (1964-66).

Full results can be found here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) — Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific (CP) and LNG Canada has announced the fourth annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit presented by LNG Canada will take place virtually on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, with complimentary access. 

The intent of the Summit is to bring together like-minded female leaders across business and sport to have important conversations about gender equity, representation, diversity and intersectionality. This year’s Summit will feature four sessions, running from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, and will be hosted by TSN personality Lindsay Hamilton. 

The CP Women’s Leadership Summit presented by LNG Canada will also help raise funds for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. This year, CP has generously offered to triple-match all online donations, meaning donor gifts go three-times as far towards benefiting BC youth. 

The opening-session of the Summit will focus on changing the status quo in golf and will be led by PGD Global executives, Nisha and Seema Sadekar, former professional golfers and founders of the “Bigger Than Golf” and “Project Fairway” initiatives designed for women and girls to use golf as a tool for life.

The second session will discuss leveling the gender playing field in business and will feature Alison Twiner, Digital Marketing & Strategy Advisor and Chair of the Heart & Stroke Foundation Board along with Caryna Pinheiro, Assistant Vice-President, Application & Digital Services at CP. 

LPGA Tour athlete Cheyenne Woods and three-time CP Women’s Open champion Lydia Ko will head up the third session touching on representation in sport.

The final session of the Summit will focus on leadership utilizing the strength of your diversity and will feature Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USGA Executive Committee member. 

In July of 2019, Engelbert was named the first-ever Commissioner of the WNBA and has since led the league through the COVID-19 pandemic and executed the historic player-first Collective Bargaining Agreement. A former CEO of Deloitte, Engelbert has been named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women for consecutive years, is ranked on Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards honouring the 100 Highest-Rated CEOs and is among Crain’s 50 Most Powerful Women in New York.

“The CP Women’s Leadership Summit is an exciting opportunity to share, hear and learn from some amazing female leaders,” said Caryna Pinheiro, CP’s Assistant Vice-President, Application & Digital Services. “I am honoured to participate in the Summit and help raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation to leave a lasting legacy for the hospital, children and families who need it.”

For Golf Canada, hosting the CP Women’s Leadership Summit presented by LNG Canada aligns with the organization’s commitment to developing a more inclusive culture in Canadian golf.

“The CP Women’s Leadership Summit is an important event to provide a forum to discuss meaningful topics that can offer change within sport and the workplace,” said Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman. “Our speakers are true leaders, both in their respective industries and as women’s empowerment advocates. While we unfortunately cannot gather in person this year due to circumstances around the pandemic, we are excited to bring our expert speakers together virtually to provide participants with an inspiring experience and wide array of perspectives.”

The CP Women’s Leadership Summit presented by LNG Canada typically takes place in conjunction with CP Women’s Open tournament week. In early June, Golf Canada, CP and the LPGA jointly announced the 2021 CP Women’s Open would be cancelled due to logistical challenges and border restrictions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  

The 2022 CP Women’s Open will be held August 22-28, at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Ottawa. 

The CP Women’s Leadership Summit is proudly supported by Audi.

For more information, visit www.cpwomensopen.com/cpwls

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. – Inspired by the putters he has made for major winners and champions on the worldwide professional golf tours, Scotty Cameron has re-imagined one of his most iconic designs to create three new models called Champions Choice. Crafted in a limited run to be released this summer, the new putters bring the sleek, tour-proven shapes of the Special Select family of putters together with an integrated Teryllium insert and Scotty Cameron’s revered “Button Back” setup, as well as unique graphics and accessories celebrating the history of winning with Scotty Cameron putters.

In select Titleist golf shops worldwide beginning Friday, August 6, the new Champions Choice putters will be offered in three models: Newport Button Back, Newport 2 Button Back (also available in left-handed) and Flowback 5.5 Button Back. Each putter features a solid milled 303 stainless steel body with a soft Teryllium inlay fused together with the iconic button head machine screws and modern vibration dampening technology.

LEDUC, Alta. – The 66th Canadian Junior Girls Championship will return this year from July 20-23 at Leduc Golf Club in Leduc, Alta., a year after the pandemic forced a cancellation of Golf Canada’s 2020 competitive season.

The 72-hole event kicks off the return of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Championships. The last tournament was conducted in September of 2019.

This year’s 106-player field includes three Team Canada National Junior Squad members; Jennifer Gu (West Vancouver, B.C.), Katie Cranston (Oakville, Ont.), and Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont.). Due to travel restrictions, only Canadian residents are allowed entry to the event.

This year 11 of Canada’s top 50 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) will travel to Leduc Golf Club for the championship, including Luna Lu (Burnaby, B.C.), who finished ninth in the 2019 event.

The winner receives an exemption into the 2021 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship held from July 27-30 at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club in Spruce Grove, Alta.

The Canadian Junior Girls Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event, that features a 36-hole cut for the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes.

The Juvenile division will run concurrently with the Junior division through the 72-hole competition. The Juvenile division is for girls 16 and under.

A practice round will be conducted on July 19, the day before competition begins.

Leduc Golf Course was founded in 1961 as a nine-hole course. Now, it’s an 18-hole course with over 6,000 yards of fairways—some tree-lined and some with water hazards and sloped greens.

Previous winners of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship include Brooke Henderson (2012), Alena Sharp (1999), and Sandra Post (1964-66).

Click here for the full field and tournament information.

NOTABLES

Jennifer Gu
Another 16-year-old from B.C., Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver is also a member of the National Junior Squad and is coming off an incredible 2020 season that saw multiple top 10 finishes at major events. Gu won the PGA of BC Junior Championship, finished third at the Alberta Junior Girls Championship and fourth and the B.C. Junior Girls Championship last year.

Katie Cranston
The 17-year-old from Oakville, Ont. is also a member of the National Junior Squad and like both Arora and Gu, Cranston found a win in 2020, winning the Ontario Junior Girls Championship. In 2019, Cranston finished second at the Future Links Ontario Championship, and third at the Future Links Fall Series (East).

Nicole Gal
Also from Oakville, 16-year-old Nicole Gal rounds out the National Junior Squad members in the field. In 2020, Gal finished runner-up at the Ontario Junior Girls Championship to fellow Oakville golfer, Cranston, and finished in a tie for eighth at the North & South Junior Amateur. In 2019, Gal won the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship in the Girls 14-15 division.

FAST FACTS

Celeste Dao’s win in 2018 broke a streak of three straight years in which a British Columbia golfer won the individual event: Susan Xiao in 2017 (Surrey, B.C.), Naomi Ko in 2016 (Victoria, B.C.) and Michelle Kim in 2015 (Surrey, B.C.).

Ten-time LPGA winner and major champion Brooke Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won the event in 2012 at River Spirit Golf Club in Calgary, Alta.

Heather Kuzmich won four straight Canadian Junior Girls Championships from 1981-1984.

Four Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members are past champions of the event: Betty Stanhope-Cole (1956), Judy Darling Evans (1957), Gail Harvey (1958-60) and Sandra Post (1964-66).

Current LPGA golfer Alena Sharp was the 1999 Canadian Junior Girls Champion.

In 2019, Euna Han of Coquitlam, B.C., set a new course record at the host course, Lethbridge Country Club during the Canadian Junior Girls Championship by shooting an opening-round 64.

Like many athletes in a training environment over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to competitive opportunities for junior golfers in Canada. To facilitate the selection of participants for the 2021-2022 National Junior Squad, Golf Canada will hold a National Junior Selection Camp from August 29 through September 3 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont. 

Approximately 50 junior boys and girls who have not reached their 19^th birthday by August 1, 2021, will be invited to participate in the National Junior Selection Camp. The camp will include skills testing as well as a 54-hole stroke-play competition that will award World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points. 

Performance at the camp will be considered alongside results from recent competitions to assist Golf Canada in selecting participants for the 2021-2022 National Junior Squad. Additional details about final squad selection will be released later the summer. 

The 54-hole competition at the selection camp will also be used to fill remaining spots for Canada’s team at the World Junior Girls Championship in late September (Markham, Ontario), should this international competition gain government approval to proceed. More information about selection for the World Junior Girls team can be found at this link. 

There are several ways that athletes may qualify for the National Junior Selection Camp. Players who meet any of the following criteria will automatically qualify:

• Age eligible members of the 2020-2021 National Junior Squad.
• Any junior girls ranked within the top-750 on the WAGR and any junior boys ranked within the top-1250 on WAGR as of August 4, 2021.
• Canadian national junior and juvenile champions (boys and girls) from 2021.
• Champions from each of the ten provincial junior championships from 2021, provided the winning total score is even par or better and the championship has concluded before August 9,  2021.

In addition, each provincial golf association may nominate athletes for consideration, and athletes may apply to the camp directly by completing the application form at this link by August 9. Complete information about qualification criteria for the National Junior Selection Camp should be reviewed here. 

Selected athletes should plan to arrive for the camp in the afternoon or evening on August 29 and depart in the afternoon on September 3. Skills testing and practice rounds will take place on August 30 and August 31. Competitive rounds will occur on the North course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on September 1-3. 

Golf Canada will provide camp participants with a stipend to cover the cost of travel and accommodations while parents are invited to attend the camp at their own expense. 

Please contact Brian Newton (bnewton@golfcanada.ca) with any questions.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Wondering how Canada’s Olympic golf team will be selected? You’re not alone.

In 2016, golf made its historic return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years, dating back to when Canadian George S. Lyon won gold for Canada at St. Louis 1904. A lot has happened since 2016 (new Rules of Golf and new PGA TOUR schedule just to name a few) and many golf fans have forgotten how Olympic qualifying works, which is why we’re writing this article.

The field for the 2020 Olympic golf competition will include 60 women and 60 men competing over 72 holes of stroke play in a men’s individual event (July 30-August 2) and a women’s individual event (August 5-8).

Athletes earn their spots on their respective Olympic Golf Team based on their standing in the respective men’s and women’s Olympic golf rankings. The final day for qualifying is June 22, 2020 for the men’s teams and June 29, 2020, for the women’s teams.

The top-15 players will qualify with a limit of up to four golfers per any one country. Any remaining spots will go to countries who do not already have two golfers qualified, with a limit of two per country. As well, the International Golf Federation (IGF) has guaranteed at least one golfer from the host nation and each geographical region (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) will qualify.

If Canada’s team was determined today (Sept. 12, 2019), Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp represent Canada. However, there’s still plenty of golf to be played before the selection is made.

Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 319,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our vision is to be a world leader in golf.

Prior to being named to the final Canadian 2020 Team, all nominations from Canada are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Federations.

UPDATE: May 27, 2020

Qualification will still be based on the Olympic Golf Rankings, with the men’s qualification period now ending on June 21, 2021 and the women’s closing a week later on June 28, 2021. The rankings have been suspended since March 20 and points will begin to be accumulated again when competitions are allowed to resume.

UPDATE: June 30, 2021

The men’s individual event will now be played from July 29-Aug. 1, 2021 and the women’s individual event will be played from Aug. 4-7, 2021. Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes are the men’s nominated athletes and Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp are the women’s nominated athletes to represent Canada.

Golf Canada and Recipe Unlimited announced today a multi-year integrated partnership that will see Recipe Unlimited become the Official Restaurant Partner for the National Sport Federation. 

The two-tiered partnership will welcome Recipe Unlimited as the official Restaurant Partner of Canada’s National Open Golf Championships – the CP Women’s Open and the RBC Canadian Open – as well as become the presenting sponsor of the onsite “Fare Way” food experience at both Championships. 

Recipe Unlimited’s catering division – Marigolds and Onions – will also become the exclusive Catering Partner for both National Open Championships providing concessions and catering services including non-clubhouse corporate hospitality areas.

“Partnering with Recipe Unlimited and their collection of premium restaurant brands will deliver a special enhancement to the fan-centric Fare Way food experience at our National Open Championships,” said Golf Canada Chief Commercial Officer John Sibley. “We are excited to welcome our new partners to the golf space and look forward to working with their experienced restaurant and catering divisions to deliver an exceptional and familiar food experience to our event spectators and hospitality clients as well as golfers from coast to coast.” 

Recipe Unlimited (formerly Cara Foods) is the largest restaurant operator in Canada and includes brands such as The Keg, Swiss Chalet, Harvey’s, Montana’s, Pickle Barrel, New York Fries and Burger’s Priest to name a few.

“We are thrilled to become the Official Restaurant Partner for the National Sport Federation, fueling both the RBC Canadian Open and the CP Women’s Open in 2022 and beyond,” said Frank Hennessey, CEO, Recipe Unlimited.

Through the partnership, Recipe Unlimited will look to engage with golfers across Canada and will also look to develop additional opportunities to add value for Golf Canada members at select Recipe Unlimited restaurant locations. 

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are quickly approaching, with the men’s competition from July 29 to Aug. 1, and the women’s competition following shortly after from Aug. 4 to 7. Both events will be held at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, Japan.

The men’s team is made up of Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., who were previously teammates at Kent State University. The women’s team will be the returning pair of Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., with Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. who both participated in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Both teams will be wearing uniforms by Adidas Golf on the field of play. They feature various shades of grey, red, white and black in a variety of different patterns, colour combinations, and styles. All shirts carry “CAN” in either red or white capital letters on the left side.  

The official Golf Canada fan gear collection is available here.