BELMONT, Mich. – Her ailing back a bit better after treatment, defending champion Lexi Thompson shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday for a share of the Meijer LPGA Classic lead with In Gee Chun.

“I got a lot of work done to it last night,” Thompson said about her back. “It was hurting quite a bit, but I have it all taped up and it helped out out there today, and took my pain pills. It was better today than yesterday.”

Thompson birdied five of the first 13 holes at Blythefield in her bogey-free round to match Chun at 15-under 198. The 21-year-old American birdied three of the four par-5 holes and is 9 under overall on the par 5s.

“I just hit a lot of drivers and, if my game’s on, it comes together,” said Thompson, possibly in danger of missing the Olympics if the back problem lingers into the busy summer. “It’s just a nice setting and atmosphere. It’s one of our best tournaments.”

Chun had a bogey-free 65, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine. The U.S. Women’s Open champion sat out a month this year because of a back injury after she was struck by a suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

“My iron shot great,” Chun said. “I was putting very well. I was so good at rolling the ball on the line. … I’m always excited to play in the last group so I’m ready. I enjoy it. … I play with Lexi. It’s very exciting.”

Thompson’s father, Scott, is with her – setting up a possible Father’s Day victory present Sunday.

“That’s what I’m going to try to do, but just to have him out here supporting me and basically along the way for my journey my whole life always means a lot to me,” Thompson said. “No more pressure because then I won’t perform to my best. I’m just going to go out here, have fun, be relaxed, just how I have been the last three days. It’s been a very relaxing week so far.”

Thompson won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February for her seventh LPGA Tour title. The long-hitting Florida player, ranked fourth in the world, also won a Japan LPGA event last month.

Sei Young Kim was a stroke back after a 65. The South Korean player eagled the par-5 11th and parred the final seven holes. She won this year in Phoenix, shooting 63-66-70-62 to match Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour scoring record of 27 under. Last year, she won three times and was the rookie of the year.

“The greens are holding very well so we can play second shot very aggressive and then make a lot of birdie chances. That’s a lot of help,” Kim said. “Great score, yeah. The fairways are little narrow, but if I keep it in the fairway, pretty sure I make birdie a couple holes.”

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was 13 under after a 66, and China’s Shanshan Feng had a 65 to get to 12 under.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 67 to reach 11 under, starting the back nine with four straight birdies.

“I’ve just got to focus on my game,” Ko said. “The girls are going low so I know all I’ve got to do is have fun out there, be patient and hopefully make birdies. But you just never know what’s going to happen, and especially with the girls going low, there could be a very low number tomorrow.”

The 19-year-old New Zealander won the Kia Classic and major ANA Inspiration in consecutive weeks this year in Southern California.

No. 2 Brooke Henderson, coming off a playoff victory last week over Ko in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship outside Seattle, had a 72 to drop into a tie for 21st at 6 under. The 18-year-old Canadian had three straight bogeys late in the round.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was even on the day and holds a share of 11th. Maude-Aimée Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., is 1-under and is tied for 60th.

Michelle Wie shot a 67 to move into a tie for 28th at 5 under. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 37 events.

Ariya Jutanugarn, third last week after winning her previous three starts, was 4 under after a 72.

OAKMONT, Pa. – One year after Dustin Johnson let the U.S. Open slip away from him at Chambers Bay, he drove his way to the top of the leaderboard Friday at Oakmont.

Immaculate from tee-to-green, Johnson endured a marathon day of 36 holes with a game that makes him look tough to beat. He didn’t make a bogey in his opening round of 3-under 67, and he dropped only one shot in his 69 that ended just as the siren sounded to stop play because of darkness.

Johnson was at 4-under 136, two shots ahead of anyone else who completed the second round in the rain-delayed U.S. Open.

More than just his long ball, one of Johnson’s greatest assets is a short memory. He already has squandered chances in four majors, none more crushing than last year when he was a 12-foot eagle putt away from winning and three-putted to finish one behind Jordan Spieth.

Asked if he was motivated by Chambers Bay, Johnson deadpanned, “What happened last year?”

Andrew Landry had a much shorter day.

The 28-year-old qualifier only had to hit one shot Friday when he returned in the morning to make a 10-foot birdie putt for a 66 and the lead. It was the best opening round in 10 majors at Oakmont, beating a record shared by Ben Hogan and Tom Watson.

Landry also became the first player in 30 years to have the sole lead after his first U.S. Open round.

Three storm delays Thursday left a disjointed schedule and no clear picture of who’s in control. The nine players who completed the opening round Thursday, including 19-year-old Scottie Scheffler and his 69, had the entire day off Friday.

Those who had to return to finish the first round initially were given tee times deep into the evening until the USGA decided it best that everyone from that half of the field – including Spieth at 2 over – start Saturday morning.

Johnson went 27 holes without a bogey in a U.S. Open held on its toughest course.

The streak finally ended when he found a deep bunker left of the first fairway, advanced only 40 yards and narrowly missed a 20-foot par putt. He missed plenty of other birdie chances along the way, not alarming because Oakmont’s greens are difficult to putt.

Far more impressive was his accuracy.

Johnson missed only three fairways in the second round, and he has missed only five greens through two rounds. If the lead stands after the second round is over, it would match the lowest 36-hole score in a U.S. Open at Oakmont. And he still hasn’t made a birdie on a par 5 in two rounds.

“It was a long day today, but I felt like I played really solid all day for all 36 holes,” he said. “I drove it really well.”

Sergio Garcia, who also knows his share of heartache in the majors, stayed with Johnson as best he could. He made a tough par on No. 4 by playing his third shot from the fifth fairway. And he finished his round with a 50-foot par save for a 70.

Garcia was at 2-under 138, along with Scott Piercy, who also went 68-70.

“I’m too old for this,” the 36-year-old Spaniard said. “We know how difficult the U.S. Open is, and here at Oakmont even tougher.”

On the leaderboard, they were one shot behind Lee Westwood, who closed with two birdies in the morning for a 67.

“It was good, one of the best starts I’ve ever had,” Westwood said. “I felt confident out there and hit a lot of good shots. I was shaping it both ways, which you need to do in U.S. Opens to get at a lot of the flags.”

Daniel Summerhays, who got into the field as an alternate, had a tournament-best 65 and joined Andy Sullivan (68) at 1-under 139. Jim Furyk, a runner-up at Oakmont in the 2007 U.S. Open, also was at 1 under and faced the ninth hole Saturday morning to finish his round.

Spieth, who finished off a round of only one birdie for a 72, returned to Oakmont in the afternoon to putt. Rory McIlroy, who matched his worst score in a U.S. Open with a 77, came back to work on his swing.

On the course, other stars were struggling.

Jason Day, the No. 1 player in the world, opened with a 76 and was at 5 over with three holes remaining. Phil Mickelson was in danger of missing the cut for the second straight time at Oakmont. He was at 7 over with two holes remaining.

For Johnson, it’s time to put up his feet and contemplate another run at a major.

“He played awesome,” Garcia said. “It’s impressive. He drove the ball great, very far. I don’t think he missed many fairways at all. Out of 36 holes here at Oakmont with only one bogey, it shows you have to play really, really well. He’s going to be tough to beat, but I’ll give it a shot.”

BELMONT, Mich. – Defending champion Lexi Thompson fought through back pain Friday to take the second-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“It just came on last weekend and it was really bad today,” Thompson said. “I’m not really one to complain about pain because I just fight through it, but yeah, it’s hurting. I’m going to go and get a rubdown and see if it goes away.”

The 21-year-old Thompson shot a 4-under 67, rebounding from bogeys on 15 and 16 with birdies on the final two holes to reach 10-under 132 at Blythefield.

“It was definitely important to come back from the two bogeys,” Thompson said. “I just hit a few errant drives there toward the end and made bogeys, but I played 17 and 18 well.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp bogeyed her final hole to drop into a tie for second at 9 under with South Korean players In Gee Chun, So Yeon Ryu and Q Baek. They all shot 67.

“We just finished major tournament last week and the golf course was quite narrow and a really, really tough golf course,” Ryu said about the KPMG Women’s PGA last week outside Seattle. “We really had to deal with all the trees. After last week, this golf course feels more wide open, I feel more comfortable, felt like be able to play more aggressive.”

Thompson won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February for her seventh LPGA Tour title. The long-hitting Florida player, ranked fourth in the world, also won a Japan LPGA event last month. The back pain could be a major concern heading into the busy summer schedule and golf’s return to the Olympics.

“I just try not to pay attention to it,” Thompson said. “It was hurting just getting into posture for my golf shot, so it is what it is. Took a few ibuprofens and waited for it to kick in. I didn’t really want to pay attention to how bad it was hurting because then it brings more attention to it and it becomes a mind game. I just tried not to focus on it and I just tried to stick to what I did yesterday.”

The 35-year-old Sharp is winless on the LPGA Tour, with six top-10 finishes in 11 seasons.

“I’m going to just keep playing my game, hit fairways and go at pins when I can,” Sharp said. “My putting has been really good the last two tournaments, so I’m kind of relying on it.”

Amy Yang (67) was 8 under along with Sei Young Kim (69), Minjee Lee (67), Haru Nomura (67), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (68), Amelia Lewis (68) and Carlota Ciganda (69).

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and No. 2 Brooke Henderson, coming off a playoff victory over Ko in the KPMG Women’s PGA, were together at 7 under after matching rounds of 68.

Ko birdied three of her last five holes. The 19-year-old New Zealander won the Kia Classic and major ANA Inspiration in consecutive weeks this year in Southern California. She has 12 LPGA Tour victories.

“I’m happy with the way I played,” Ko said. “I was pretty consistent and I just got to keep playing like this. My ball striking wasn’t as good as yesterday, so hopefully it can get better progressively on the weekend.”

Henderson played her final nine holes in 4 under. The 18-year-old Canadian, up to No. 2 in the world, has 10 top-10 finishes this season. She also won last year in Portland, Oregon.

“It was much warmer out today, a beautiful day,” Henderson said. “I started out not as well as I would have liked, 1 over for the front nine, but I made a lot of birdies on the back and go 4 under, so overall it was a pretty steady day. I know I have some work to do on the weekend, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, third last week after winning her previous three starts, was 5 under after a 69. Older sister Moriya also was 5 under after a 68.

Laura Davies, the 52-year-old World Golf Hall of Fame member who shot a 65 on Thursday to share the lead, had a 73 to drop to 4 under. She won the last of her 20 LPGA Tour titles in 2001.

Maude-Aimée Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., shot 2-under on the day to take a share of 39th.

Michelle Wie made the cut by a stroke at 1 under, following her opening 71 with a 70. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 37 events.

TOYOTA CITY, Japan – Team Canada Men’s Development Squad struggled to close out their final round on Friday at the Chukyo Golf Club, carding a collective 4-over par to drop to an 11^th place finish at the 24th annual Toyota Junior Golf World Cup presented by JAL.

As a team, the Canadian contingent tallied an aggregate score of 1-over par through 72-holes of the play-four-count-three format. They were as high as T6 in the event, but struggled to hold their position. The foursome finished well back of the Americans, who ran away with the competition posting four consecutive rounds under par to lock down a score of 36-under par—good for a nine-stroke victory over runner-up Germany. The win marks the eighth title for the Americans and their first since 2005.

The Canucks were led by Vaughan, Ont., native Tony Gil, who closed at 4-under par (65-73-68-74) to finish alone in 18^th place. The 18-year-old University of Houston commit was a steady performer all week, playing in his third Toyota World Junior event. Trailing Gil by one stroke was teammate A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C. Ewart, 17, posted consistent rounds of 71-70-69-71 to end the tournament in 19^th place.

Rounding out the Canadian squad was Quebec’s Charles-Éric Bélanger, who came in at 11-over par (76-73-74-72) to end in a tie for 47^th. Jack Simpson, an Aurora, Ont., product, posted a total of 18-over par, ending in 56^th place overall.

Medalist honours went to Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who fired a final round 62 (-9) in Friday’s final to close at 17-under par with a five-stroke margin over second place.

On the girls’ side, the Americans captured the team and individual victories, with Kristen Gillman taking home the medal at 10-under par. Canada did not have a squad compete in the girls’ division.

Click here for team scoring.
Click here for individual scoring.

The 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship is expected to attract a strong international field when it is played at Ken-Wo GC in New Minas, N.S., this summer.

The tournament, an “A”-ranked event by the World Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking (WWAGR) for the past five years, will run July 26-29.

It will be the fifth national tournament held at the venerable course, which opened as a nine-hole layout in 1921 and is one of the oldest in the province.

It will also be the second time that Ken-Wo has hosted this prestigious event, one of the oldest competitions in the country. In 2002, Lisa Meldrum won her second of three consecutive national women’s titles on the Ken-Wo layout. Other national tournaments played at Ken-Wo include the 1985 Canadian Junior Girls, the 1996 Canadian Club Champions’ event and the 2001 Canadian Junior Boys.

Golf Canada president Roland Deveau of Nova Scotia said Ken-Wo was chosen to host the Amateur for a variety of reasons.

“First, it’s a great championship course. It has a great variety of holes and is a challenging track, which will bring forth an excellent champion,” said Deveau. “I have been involved with a number of national and provincial championships at Ken-Wo and each one has been a great experience for the players and club. And finally, the Annapolis Valley area will be a fine host for competitors, their friends and families. It is a region in which competitors from across the country and international guests will truly enjoy,” he said.

Hosting the 103rd Women’s Amateur has the strong support of the Ken-Wo membership, according to Rene MacKay, the club’s director of golf and operations and co-chair of the tournament.

“This club has a long history of supporting competitive golf,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to put the club’s name on the national golf map. The members take pride in their club and it is exciting for staff and members to be involved,” MacKay added.

Ken-Wo, which got its name from its location in New Minas, halfway between Kentville and Wolfville, home of Acadia University, is a traditional tree-lined track, known more as a “thinker’s course,” explained MacKay.

The course is expected to play to a par 70 and approximately 6,200 yards from the tips, certainly not long by today’s standards. However, savvy course management and green reading will be keys to scoring well.

“Ken-Wo’s defence is it is tree-lined and the greens are difficult. I have been here for close to 20 years and I still have a hard time with them because they are difficult to read,” MacKay said.

In a brief overview of what these top-flight golfers can expect, MacKay acknowledged the first five or six holes are fairly straightforward, “laid out in front of the golfer” with holes seven, eight and nine more difficult.

“They are all par 4s. The seventh hole is tree lined and fades left to right. If you hit to the right you will have no shot into the green. The eighth hole is a beautiful golf hole. It is also tree lined and a slight dogleg left. The ninth hole you hit into a valley but it is tough to get your second shot up the hill to the back of the green,” said MacKay.

Holes 10 through 13 are affectionately called the course’s “orchard” holes because it used to be the site of an old apple orchard.

Holes 14 through 18, known locally as Death Valley, “are likely this golf course’s biggest strength,” said MacKay. He noted that many championships have been won and lost over these last holes.

“At Augusta they say the (Masters) starts on the last day on the back nine. For us the tournament starts on the last day on No. 14,” he said with a smile. “So much can happen there.

The last holes are the meat of the golf course. Many rounds have gone down badly. This is where the course really defends itself,” he stated. The last five holes include two par 5s, two tough par 4s and a long par 3.

Overall, MacKay said Ken-Wo is a “positional” course and there are definitely “spots where you can’t hit it.” He anticipates the longer hitters will decide not to use driver on some of the shorter holes where being long off the tee may not be of any benefit.

The greens — about 4,000 to 5,000 square feet with a lot of undulation — are protected by about 50 sand traps and some water. “This course lends itself well to a national championship,” he concluded.

MacKay is intrigued to see how well the players will score and speculates a lot will depend on where the pins are situated on the greens. “I think we will see a 65 or 66, but not from one player every day. I think, depending on the setup laid out by Golf Canada, maybe four, five or six under will win.”

Atlantic attack This article was originally published in the May 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

When the 2016 World Junior Girls Championship begins September 25th, Canada’s top female teenage golfer won’t be attendance.

That’s because Brooke Henderson is a little busy skyrocketing up the world rankings, winning major championships on the LPGA Tour, and becoming the face of the sport in this country.

However, that doesn’t mean her presence won’t be felt.

The blonde-haired youngster with a megawatt smile participated in the inaugural edition of the World Junior Girls event in 2014 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. It was her final event as an amateur and she finished fourth individually. Her team of three claimed the bronze medal.

Henderson recorded a video for the competitors last year at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, which was incredibly well received. This year, when the tournament heads to the storied Mississaugua Golf and Country Club just outside Toronto, Henderson will have just wrapped up the final major of the year in France.

But for the Canadian and international competitors alike, Henderson is an inspiration, especially given her young age.

“I’m still a young girl myself,” she said with a laugh when asked how it feels to inspire girls who are around her age. “It’s really unbelievable. Hopefully I can continue to be that role model.”

Henderson appeared at an event in Ottawa led by noted Canadian golf instructor Kevin Haime in early May this year before heading out on her most recent run of fine play, culminating with Sunday’s victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the teenagers’ first major championship win.

At Haime’s event, Henderson and her sister Brittany put on a clinic for a group of approximately 60 juniors – both male and female.

“What an opportunity for those kids to watch her. She’s going to do special things in golf, and as a junior in the area (Ottawa), you can’t imagine a better get for this event,” explained Haime. “It’s even more special than Jordan Spieth, the kids can really relate her. It’s the whole local element.”

The native of Smiths Falls, Ont., was part of Canada’s national team since she was 14. That was the year she first felt that playing golf, for a living, was within her grasp.

“I had that dream as a young girl, to play on the LPGA Tour, and I thought maybe it was possible,” she stated. “I didn’t know for sure until I was 14 and won a pro event in Quebec and got an invite to play against LPGA Tour players.”

The event in question was a Canadian Women’s Tour event that took place almost exactly four years to the date of her major victory (June 13, 2012). With that win, she eclipsed the record for “youngest person to win a professional golf event” held previously by someone who was already becoming familiar to her: Lydia Ko.

It was also Ko who Henderson took down in a playoff to capture her first major.

But Ko remains an inspiration to Henderson, by the Canadian’s self-admission.

They had a spirited exchange on Twitter at the conclusion of Sunday’s playoff that ended with Ko saying what Henderson was “doing for golf in Canada and women’s golf is amazing.”

The day after her win Henderson was asked what she remembers, if anything, of Mike Weir’s win at The Masters in 2003 – seeing as Henderson was only five years old.

Although she admitted she didn’t remember watching it, she knew how much his win meant.

“He really changed golf in Canada, I think, for everybody,” she said.

With Henderson only at the beginning of her career, and with Weir in the twilight of his, there is a chance she will change golf, again, in this country.

And perhaps it will start at the World Junior Girls Championship in September.

Will there be the next Brooke Henderson in the mix?

Henderson, unlikely, will want to give up the mantle quite yet. However, she is happy to be a part of the inspiration to get more young girls playing golf. Many of whom will be in the championship field in September.

“It’s pretty cool to think that I can inspire and motivate,” she said. “And just being someone they want to be like is really amazing.”

For more info on the World Junior Girls Championship, visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

Though he should be considered one of Canada’s greatest sporting heroes, the sad reality is that George Seymour Lyon is little known in this country.

That will change, to a small degree, during the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when Lyon is recognized as the defending champion in golf for his win in 1904, the last time the sport was in the Summer Games.

What most media won’t have time or the inclination to tell is the full story of who he was, what an amazing athlete he became, how he didn’t take up golf until his late 30s, and won the Olympic gold medal at the age of 46 against a rising star less than half his age. Not to mention how four years later Lyon became one of the first athletes in Olympic history to decline a gold medal because he felt he hadn’t earned it.

“The story of what George S. Lyon did, at age 46, and all of the other things he accomplished in his life is simply remarkable,” says Scott Simmons, CEO of Golf Canada. “There is no doubt in my mind that if he, as a multi-sport athlete, had accomplished what he did in today’s modern era sport and media landscape instead of the late 1800s and early 1900s, that we would be celebrating one of Canada’s most iconic athletes and arguably one of the most compelling stories in the history of sport.”

Lyon was born in Richmond, Ont., near Ottawa, in 1858 and it seems he was born to do historic things. His great uncle Robert Lyon fought and lost the last duel in Canadian history. And his grandfather, captain George Lyon, was wounded but survived in the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812. It was a noteworthy battle because it marked the first time that American regulars had defeated British regulars on the battlefield.

The Lyon family moved from Richmond to Toronto where young George would demonstrate a remarkable ability as an athlete. It didn’t seem to matter what sport he tried — track and field, baseball, cricket, hockey, tennis, curling, golf — he was good at it.

At the age of 18 he set a Canadian pole vault record.

George S. Lyon (middle, seated) was a member of the 1894 Canadian International Eleven (Golf Canada Archives)

Lyon was one of, if not the best, batsmen in Canada at a time when cricket was still big in this country.

In 1894, playing for a Toronto team against Peterborough, he carried his bat for 238, a record which lasted for 40 years. And he regularly captained Canadian teams in international competitions.

Lyon was a good enough curler to be a part of numerous championship teams, including vice-skipping a rink that won the Ontario tankard.

Golf was a sport that came late to Lyon, however. He was usually tied up with cricket during the summer months and he even showed some disdain for the game initially.

He was 38 and, if the old story is to be believed, was waiting for a cricket practice to begin when a friend, John Dick, invited him to come to the adjacent golf course to give it a try.

After those first few swings, Lyon like so many before and after him, was hooked on golf.

He eschewed the golf swing of the day and instead came at the ball hard like he was swinging a cricket bat at it. The swing may have been unorthodox and looked odd but the result was prodigious length. That, and his natural athletic ability, allowed him to pick up the sport very quickly. So quickly in fact that within two years he had won the first of his record eight Canadian Amateur Championships.

In September of 1904, Lyon journeyed by train to St. Louis to play in the Olympic Games with two other golfers from his home club, Lambton Golf and Country, which he had helped found and design in then-suburban Toronto.

Lyon, at age 46, qualified for match play and made it to the finals where he faced Chandler Egan, the 20-year-old rising star of American golf who had already won the Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur earlier that summer.

In the 36-hole, one-day final, played partly in a pouring rain storm, Lyon won 3 & 2 to capture the Olympic gold medal (which has long since gone missing) and the majestic championship trophy which resides in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum.

Egan, citing exhaustion, retired to his hotel room while Lyon, who had been kidded by the local press about being old and overweight, walked the length of the banquet hall on his hands to accept his reward.

Four years later Lyon went to London, England to attempt to defend his Olympic title. When he arrived, Games organizers informed him golf had been cancelled over a dispute involving the rules of amateur status. They offered Lyon the gold medal but he declined it because he said he hadn’t earned it.

Lyon went on to have many more years of competitive golf and served as an administrator with the Royal Canadian Golf Association (now Golf Canada) including a term as president of the organization in 1923.

He died in 1938 at the age of 79.

George S. Lyon This article was originally published in the May 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

Behind every successful junior golfer there is a vital mentor, teacher, instructor or coach. For instance, do you think Canadian Golf Hall of Famers Marlene Stewart Streit and Gary Cowan would have reached such dizzying heights around the world had they not worked with Gordon McInnis, Sr. and Lloyd Tucker, respectively, when they were young?

From coast to coast, Canada has been blessed with many wonderful junior golf instructors, coaches and PGA of Canada professionals that have kept the cradle of golf alive in this country.

Each of the current crop of Canadian professional stars like Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp, Nick Taylor, David Hearn, Graham DeLaet and Brad Fritsch had mentors too. And their success serves as a carrot for aspiring young golfers today.

“When you see all the good players like Brooke Henderson that Golf Canada has helped to produce through its national team programs you see a lot of young athletes who want to play golf to become the next Brooke Henderson or whoever,” said Dave Smallwood, who runs the successful Golf Performance Centre at Whistle Bear GC in Cambridge, Ont.

“Golf Canada and the provincial golf associations have done a great job with their [National Junior Golf Develop- ment Centres].”

Smallwood was a successful club pro for more than two decades, but about 10 years ago he decided to move solely into a coaching role.

“For me, it’s not only rewarding to coach juniors, the move allowed me to specialize,” said Smallwood, a PGA of Canada Class “A” member. “As a club pro you obviously have to wear many hats and one of those hats used to be instruction.

“To have professionals who can now specialize in instruction has im- proved the quality of teaching or coaching better than technology and we have many more teachers suitable for player development.”

Smallwood has seen the quality of play among junior golfers evolve and improve in his time as a coach because there is “actual coaching going on.”

At Whistle Bear, the students of Smallwood and his staff are working on their games all season long because of an indoor facility.

Launch monitors, video, mental coaching and work in the gym are areas that encompass the best junior teachers in Canada. It’s not just about the fundamentals anymore.

“If you have a junior who wants to be the best he or she can be, you have to offer all the tools they may need,” Smallwood said. “Whether it’s technology, proper club fitting, whether it’s sports psychology, strength and conditioning or quality instruction, all my players have that. There are no limitations.”

“When I was a young golfer I never had that. I didn’t have a high-end player to idolize. It’s revolutionary what’s going on in Canada.”

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is keeping golf fun. It’s always a challenge with such a difficult sport to learn and young athletes have other options to pursue.

That’s why when you arrive at the Brian Affleck Golf Academy in New Glasgow, N.S., you may wonder if you’re at a hockey school, soccer academy or golf academy.

Affleck isn’t afraid to bring out hockey sticks or have his students kick soccer balls to better understand the body motion required for a successful golf swing.

“Yeah, we have a few unconventional methods,” said Affleck, who has seen his program boom from 43 students when he opened his facility in 2013 to more than 300.

“My biggest philosophy is that everybody is different, so I don’t try to teach everybody the same golf swing,” Affleck said. “I try to teach them a swing that is natural to them and then we find a way to make that work.

“This way they enjoy it more and really that’s the ultimate goal — find a way for them to enjoy themselves playing golf.”

A common approach among Canada’s top junior golf coaches is to treat the young golfer as a young athlete.

Golf Québec’s provincial coach Fred Colgan was a baseball player first, then got hurt and fell in love with golf. He opened his first golf academy in Quebec City 25 years ago and has seen quite a difference in the type of young people who are playing golf.

“Golf has become a sport,” Colgan said. “There no longer are players who look like Craig Stadler or John Daly.

“I’d say in the past 10 years the game of golf has improved in all kinds of directions and one has been teaching or coaching. You have swing fundamentals, short game, mental therapists and trainers so the golfer becomes an athlete too.”

Colgan and his team have been successful because of their commitment to developing their high-performance students not just with their swing skills but their life skills.

“You have to be committed to coaching a person over a long period of time,” said Colgan, who is a leader in delivering Learn to Compete, Golf Canada’s latest development program.

“Golf is more than a sport, it’s a way of life. You’re teaching them to set goals, planning a day, making them a better player and a better person.”

Brian Gallant takes a similar approach at his Junior Golf Development Centre at Firerock GC in London, Ont., with his pilot program called Learn to Play, Life Skills he helped set up last year.

His aim is three-fold: to keep the game fun; the importance on being an athlete first and golfer second; and a family and life-skills approach.

“Golf is an activity you can do as a family for your entire life,” said Gallant, who enjoys working with juniors of all ages and all levels. “You don’t see a family playing hockey together at the rink or playing soccer together on the same pitch.

“There has to be enjoyment and fun first. If kids aren’t having a good time at something they are probably not going to want to continue to do it because there are so many things for them they can do.”

One of the attractions to golf over time has been how it can bleed into other areas of life. Discipline, work ethic, commitment, honesty and life skills are areas long been associated with golf and are areas that Colin Lavers teaches at the state-of-the-art instruction facility at Seymour Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.

“I love teaching juniors because I want them to learn to love the game the way I did when I was their age,” Lavers said. “Some of my best memories as a child were spending the summer at the golf course from ages 12 to 18.

“One of the great things about juniors is they have more time to spend working on their game compared to adults, so they see improvement. The more they improve, the more they want to play and the better they play the more they believe in themselves.

“It’s a lot of fun to see a junior golfer go from a 30 handicapper to a two handicapper and be along for the ride.”

People like Lavers, Gallant, Colgan, Affleck and Smallwood are a small sample of why the game is in good hands in this country.

Will juniors be the answer?

Programming and membership created specifically for junior players are key to the survival of an Ontario course. 

A neat development over the winter took place in Brantford, Ont., when the Arrowdale Municipal Golf Course was up for closure but then saved.

With support from Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons, a Brantford native, the nine-hole layout is staying open. Jeff Moore, the director of golf operations for the five city courses in Brantford, found a way to rescue Arrowdale by introducing two new programs aimed at getting young golfers involved in the game.

The new Junior Junior program will offer special twilight fees every weekend and holidays for young golfers aged six through 10 and a family twilight golf special every weekend and holiday during the season.

The second program will offer a new Junior Junior membership for $100, plus tax, that includes unlimited play after 11 a.m. as well as reduced green fees for a parent or adult wishing to accompany the junior golfer.

Moore came up with the idea when he studied the membership statistics of both Arrowdale and Northridge Municipal Golf Course in Brantford. He discovered there were 114 juniors at the 18-hole Northridge club, but only 11 junior members at Arrowdale.

“I started thinking Arrowdale would be the perfect place to introduce it to give them the start,” Moore told Brant-News.

Moore’s hope is that juniors will ignite their passion for golf at Arrowdale and continue to play at Northridge as adults.

“I think it’s going to be a win-win for both operations,” said Moore, the 2011 Ontario PGA Junior Leader of the Year, who along with his son, Zac, will teach biweekly short game clinics for the juniors on Saturday afternoons in June through August.

“I’ve always had a passion for working with the juniors. I’ve always operated under the premise if you take care of the kids, the parents aren’t going to be too far behind.”

Camp counsellors This article was originally published in the May 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

TOYOTA CITY, Japan – Team Canada Men’s Development Squad returns to the Chukyo Golf Club this week from June 14–17 for the 24^th annual Toyota Junior Golf World Cup supported by JAL.

Leading the way for the Canadian foursome is Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., who will be returning to the event for the third consecutive year. In 2015, the 18-year-old University of Houston commit finished T10 to lead the Canadians. He will be joined by teammates Charles-Éric Belanger (Quebec), A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.).

The Canadian contingent will be under the direction of Lead Development Squad Coach, Robert Ratcliffe—who is entering his fourth year coaching the event. Ratcliffe will be joined by fellow PGA of Canada Class “A” member Matt Wilson, who will be acting as team captain for the second straight year. Wilson currently works out of the La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos, Calif., as the Director of Instruction.

The 72-hole event, featuring both a boys and girls division, plays host to 87 players from 19 countries across the globe. The scoring is conducted in a stroke-play format, with each team’s lowest three scores counting towards the day’s aggregate total.

The Canadian quartet will look to improve on last year’s sixth place finish 2015 and they will look to dethrone the defending champion and host Japan.

Click here for pairings.
Click here for scoring.

NEEPAWA, Man. – Following a 90-minute delay due to lightning, the final round of the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship got underway beneath overcast skies at Neepawa Golf & Country Club. Camryn Roadley and Peyton Callens played through the difficult conditions to each claim two-stroke victories and the titles of Junior Girls and Junior Boys champions.

Back-to-back birdies on holes 4 and 5 gave Winnipeg’s Roadley an early push ahead of weekend-leader Shirin Anjarwalla. The 17-year-old carded a 2-over 74 which included three birdies and seven consecutive pars to begin the back nine.

“The last couple of days I played really well. The course is in great shape and played really nice for me,” she said. “My playing partners Shirin and Julie played really well too, so it was nice to have someone pushing me the entire way.”

Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, B.C., entered the day having held the 18- and 36-hole leads. The 16-year-old was unable to hold off the advances of Roadley and finished in second at 13-over 229.

Roadley was excited to see the growth in her game since her first foray into the CN Future Links Championships at the 2012 edition of this event. “One of my first tournaments was the Prairie Future Links where I came last. To now actually be at the top is a nice change.”

Julie (Younsoo) Ju of West Vancouver, B.C., held onto third-place for a second straight day after matching Roadley’s 2-over performance.

All competitors within the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls Division have earned exemptions into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., August 2-5. Roadley, Anjarwalla, and Ju will be joined by Bobbi Uhl (Erickson, Man.), Kate (Dahye) Choi (Surrey, B.C.), and Rebecca Kuik (Winnipeg).

Peyton Callens of Langton, Ont., came into the final round sporting a four-stroke lead over Victoria’s Keaton Gudz. The pair would play out a seesaw affair throughout the day, but a six-birdie, even-par showing would secure Callens the victory.

“Throughout the week, I thought I played very well,” said the 16-year-old who finished 4-under 212. “Keaton and I were battling all day. After the first two holes we were already tied, so after that point, I just had to focus on me.”

Callens’s sights are now set on the challenge of competing at the national championship. “I missed the cut for the Canadian Junior Boys last year, so I’m going to practice and play every day. I’ll continue playing tournaments along the way to keep my competition level up.”

Winnipeg’s Marco Trstenjak tallied six birdies, including four across a bogey-free back nine, to climb into third-place. The 16-year-old’s 4-under 68 tied for the low-round in the competition. CN Future Links Quebec champion Callum Davison claimed fourth.

With the day’s result, Callens, Gudz, Trstenjak, and Davison have all gained entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s N.L., from August 1-4. Keenan Flemming and Ryan McMillan prevailed in a two-hole playoff to break a three-way tie for fifth and earn the final two exemptions.

Two additional CN Future Links Championships will be played this season:

• July 4-6 – CN Future Links Western – Medicine Hat, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club
• July 12-14 – CN Future Links Atlantic – Fairview, P.E.I. – Countryview Golf Club

Additional information regarding the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship can be found here.