CALGARY — Two of the young guns on the PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour, Lee Janzen and Scott McCarron, will be focused on putting on the champion’s white cowboy hat when they tee it up in the Stampede City for the 2015 Shaw Charity Classic, August 5-9 at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club.

Janzen and McCarron are no strangers to the winner’s circle. They bring 11 PGA TOUR titles with them to Canada, including Janzen’s two majors, where they will look to knock off the top players in the world 50-years old and over.

“One of the most compelling characteristics of the Champions Tour is we continue to welcome new, big names each year, who are still able to play on the PGA TOUR,” said Sean Van Kesteren, tournament director, Shaw Charity Classic. “This year is no different with another strong rookie class led by Lee and Scott. They still have a lot of game in them, and are great additions to the field.”

Janzen is an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR including his two U.S. Open titles. Janzen recently qualified to make a return to the U.S. Open in 2015 after a six-year hiatus. A member of two U.S. Ryder Cup Teams, Janzen also won The Players Championship in 1995. After joining the Champions Tour full time this year, he recorded his first victory in February at the ACE Group Classic.

“I have played with pretty much everybody out here on the PGA TOUR so it is like a big fraternity on the Champions Tour,” said Janzen. “But you have to be ready to play. These guys can all still play at a very high level, and are still extremely competitive. We want to play well, and still love to win. Hopefully that happens for me in Calgary.”

Janzen will be joined by Scott McCarron who has three PGA TOUR titles to his credit. The two Champions Tour rookies also share a memorable moment in PGA TOUR history. In August 1999, McCarron made a hole-in-one during the first round of the CVS Charity Classic, which was immediately followed by Janzen on the 17th hole at Rhode Island Country Club. McCarron is no stranger to the hole-in-one history books. His first two came seven holes apart when he was 28 years old, at Alameda Golf Club near Oakland. He made his first ace on the fourth hole, before chalking up another hole-in-one on the 11th.

“Scott McCarron’s name is synonymous with the hole-in-one club, and I think it is fitting we are having him with us this year in Calgary with the tournament running a big contest to recognize all new Canadians to the hole-in-one club in 2015,” added Van Kesteren. “The Shaw Charity Classic is giving one lucky fan who records a hole-in-one – and three friends – the chance to feel like a professional golfer and play with the pros for a day. It will be a contest that will run throughout the summer until tournament week, and hopefully that winner will have a chance to play, or at least meet, Mr. Hole-in-One, Scott McCarron.”

Any Canadian golfers who record a hole-in-one during the 2015 contest period must register through the tournament web site at www.shawcharityclassic.com for a chance to win the grand prize. All new members of the club will be invited to participate in a qualification closest-to-the-pin contest in July 24. The top-10 closest to the pin winners will then be invited to media day at Canyon Meadows, July 29, where the winner will be determined.

The hole-in-one must be attested by the golf facility’s general manager, chief operating officer, club president, head professional or director of golf. Participants between the ages of 13 and 18 must also have parental consent. The Shaw Charity Classic will aim to profile each hole-in-one on its social media platforms.

Some of the greatest names in the game will play for a purse of $2.35 million, an increase of $100,000, when they return to Calgary’s Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club from August 5-9. Tickets and corporate packages for the Shaw Charity Classic are available online at www.shawcharityclassic.com. Youth 17 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.

With a name like ‘Augusta,’ you have to think that golf will play a part in that person’s life.

In the case of Augusta James, a former member of Golf Canada’s national team and now a member of the Symetra Tour, this is absolutely the case.

The 21-year-old from Bath, Ont. Enjoyed three-and-a-half years at North Carolina State before leaving school earlier in 2015 to turn professional.

She cashed her first professional cheque in mid-February, and here, she dishes on her brother Austin (the winner of the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship), her proudest moments as an amateur and of course, her iconic name.

On her introduction to golf:

I started playing junior golf when I was about five. My brother and I would go out and play nine with my parents; either we’d play from the cart signs in and putt, or we’d be in the bunkers messing around. It was just a fun thing to do.

On the brother-sister dynamic:

We’ve always had a sibling rivalry, but more so, we’re huge support systems for each other. I could normally get him on the golf course when we were younger, but that’s not always the case anymore. [Now] he always has my best interest at heart, and he’s my number one fan.

On that 63 at the Canadian Women’s Amateur:

I was definitely in the zone. I like to consider myself a pretty decent putter, and that’s what happened that day: the putter was really working. Winning the Canadian Amateur was a highlight of my amateur career, along with going to World Amateurs in Turkey and Japan.

On staying in school:

I’m still working on graduating from N.C. State as soon as possible. I’m working with the office of international student affairs and my teachers on some correspondence classes to finish my degree.

On deciding to turn pro:

Given my work through Q-School, I had given myself an opportunity to play the full year on the Symetra Tour and get myself to the LPGA [Tour]. I just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity I created for myself and be 100 per cent committed to the decision I made.

On excitement versus nerves:

I’m certainly more excited for this year than nervous. There are some nerves – you’re moving to a different level and playing different tournaments – but everybody that I’ve met has been extremely nice. There’s nothing to be nervous about, you’ve just got to go play your game.

On idols:

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to play with Brittany Lincicome and Natalie Gulbis … that was fantastic. I learned a lot about how to approach things. I also really like what Stacey Lewis has done with her career. She’s definitely an inspiration.

On Canadian Girl Power:

Women’s golf in Canada is progressing every year. We have great players coming through the college ranks and the amateur ranks, and now, the pro ranks too. It’s just getting better every year.

On hometown support:

Seeing a bunch of girls (including Brooke Henderson and Grace St-Germain) from Eastern Ontario have success makes me really proud to be from that area. The support we get from that area is unbelievable.

On “Augusta”:

My parents were big golfers and had been for a long time. I was born on the opening day of The Masters in 1993; they didn’t have a name for me yet, so, they went with Augusta.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ryan Palmer, Brooks Koepka and Greg Owen each shot 6-under 64 Thursday for a three-way tie atop the leaderboard after the opening round of the St. Jude Classic.

Palmer, a three-time PGA Tour winner, turned in a bogey-free round with six birdies in the afternoon to join Koepka and Owen atop the leaderboard at TPC Southwind. Koepka, who won in Phoenix earlier this year, matched his low round of 2015 with eight birdies and two bogeys, while Owen shot his best round this year with no bogeys and six birdies.

Scott Brown, Steven Alker, Brian Davis and Richard Sterne each shot 65s. Defending champ Ben Crane tied four others with 66s.

Boo Weekley was tied with six others at 67, and Phil Mickelson was in a group of 11 at 68.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the low Canadian, tied for 73rd. Hearn shot a 1-over 71, while Calgary’s Roger Sloan and Corey Conners both shot 5-over 75s. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., was 7-over 77.

Palmer had seven holes left after reaching 6 under, but he had to scramble down the stretch and needed to get up and down on his 18th hole, No. 9, to keep a piece of the lead. His last victory came in 2010 at the Sony Open, though he tied for second in Phoenix and tied for sixth at the Texas Open this year.

His key Thursday was his putter. He needed only 24 putts with his closest birdie putt at 6 feet with a couple 20 feet and longer.

“I’ve been trying to get comfortable with the putter,” Palmer said. “I finally found the position I had last year from the British Open through the playoffs when I putted some of my best I felt. And I get on the putting green this morning and found it. The ball position, the width of my stance, where my shoulders and feet were, and it paid off today.”

Koepka has had three Top 20 finishes since his win in February, but he also withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March before missing the cut at The Players Championship. Needing to play better before heading to Chambers Bay in Washington for the U.S. Open prompted him to add Memphis to his schedule. He said he was playing good golf but not scoring well enough. He gave himself a nice confidence boost, especially finishing with back-to-back birdies for a share of the lead.

“To me, it’s been expectations,” Koepka said. “My expectations have been a little too high. When you’re able to kind of put it in the center of the greens, give yourself uphill putts, that makes this golf course a lot easier, and being in the fairway helps a lot.”

Owen, an Englishman who now lives in Florida, has played 213 PGA Tour events since turning pro in 2005. He’s back on tour thanks to a Web.com Tour exemption. He topped the 66 that had been his low round this year back in April in New Orleans in the opening round where he wound up tied for 43rd. Owen said his game started coming around at the Byron Nelson where he shot in the 60s his final three rounds and tied for 46th.

“I’m healthy and fit and I’m putting well,” Owen said. “That’s a big bonus for me, confidence with the putt.”

Crane was the only player to get to 7 under as he rolled in seven birdies in nine holes. But he started hitting shots into the rough and wound up with bogeys on three of his final five holes.

“Obviously had it going pretty low there for a while, and all in all, I feel like my game is going in the right direction,” Crane said. “Feel very comfortable on this golf course. I love this place.”

Mickelson was at 4 under after a quick start with four birdies over his first seven holes starting on the back nine. A couple bogeys on the par 3s on the front nine dropped him to 2 under.

“I had a couple of opportunities coming in that would have really made the round a few more shots lower, but they didn’t quite fall,” Mickelson said. “That happens. But I made a bunch on the front. Made some good putts on the front, so it’s going to come down to … you got to get some putts to fall because it’s not a course you can overpower. It’s a course if you hit some poor shots will bite you.”

Divots: Dustin Johnson, the highest-ranked player in this event at No. 7 in the world and the 2012 champ here, withdrew after nine holes. Johnson opened with three bogeys and had six pars. Crane played with Johnson, who told him he wasn’t going to make it on the ninth hole. “Clearly, he wasn’t feeling good,” Crane said.

HARRISON, N.Y – South Korean Jenny Shin kept moving up the leaderboard, chasing Hall-of-Famer Karrie Webb.

Shin eventually caught her, shooting a bogey-free, 7-under 66 Thursday for a one-stroke lead after the opening round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major of the season.

“I was chasing the leaderboard all day, and I was surprised that Webby was at 6 under at one point,” said the 22-year-old Shin. “I got there and was like `Maybe I can get one more on the 18th hole,’ and I did.”

Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson had a three-putt bogey on her final hole at the ninth to drop a shot back after Shin birdied No. 18 at the Westchester Country Club.

“I hit it well all day, I’m disappointed with the finish on the last hole,” said the 17-year-old Henderson, who was playing on a sponsor exemption.

Webb birdied three of the first four holes and finished at 68. The 40-year-old Webb started her round in hazy conditions at No. 10 and shot a 4-under 33 on the opening nine. She had a bogey-free round until she dropped a shot on the seventh when she missed the fairway left and hit the front bunker.

“I hit a wedge to a foot and a half on 10 and that settled me in,” Webb said. “Hit the green in two on 12 and had about a 15-footer for eagle. I really put some very solid swings on it early on.”

Shin had five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th. She spoke to her sports psychologist on Wednesday night to help calm her nerves.

“I was freaking out for this round, so I tried to play as comfortable as I can, just like any other tournament,” Shin said. “I tried not to think of it as a major and it turned out great. I had a couple of bogey-free rounds last week, so I think I’m on a good run.”

Americans Brittany Lincicome, Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr and Stacy Lewis were in a large group that finished four strokes back at 70 in steamy temperatures that reached the mid-80s. Lincicome, the winner of the first major at the ANA Inspiration in April, eagled the par-5 15th and followed with a birdie on 16.

Two-time defending champion Inbee Park shot a 71. Top-ranked teenager Lydia Ko was another stroke back, and Suzann Pettersen, coming off a win in Canada, finished at 74. Michelle Wie, bothered by a hip injury, shot 75.

Shin, who is seeking her first major, had three birdies on the front nine to gain on Webb, a seven-time major winner.

Henderson, who turned pro in December, is below the LPGA Tour’s age requirement of 18. But she made the most of her sponsor exemption.

Henderson birdied No. 10, her opening hole, and added birdies at Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 15. For her eagle on the par-5, 274 yard 12th hole, she hit a 7-wood 204 yards and the ball landed three feet from the cup.

Then came the three-putt on her final hole, where she “tried to hit it a little too hard and had an 8-footer to save par.”

The 29-year-old Lincicome, who is seeking her third major, is one of the longest hitters on the tour. She used a 4-iron from 203 yards out and got within 30 feet for her eagle on the par-5, 497-yard 15th.

“The putt, if I hadn’t hit the hole, it probably would have gone off the green,” she said. “(My caddie) asked if I had dented the cup.”

Park finished with a birdie on 18, one of five on the day along with a bogey. The South Korean has won five majors, including three straight in 2013.

Kerr had a bogey on the par-5, 551-yard fifth hole and four birdies on the West Course that she often plays when in New York. She’s familiar with the sloping greens at the longtime home of the PGA Tour event now called The Barclays.

“The front nine, I had a bunch of chances and a couple putts lipped out,” Kerr said. “I just tried to stay patient and got off to a great start on the back nine.”

Alena Sharp carded a 1-under 72, while fellow Canadians Sue Kim and Rebecca Lee-Bentham both posted rounds of 78.

BIRDIES: Annika Sorenstam, a winner of 10 majors and three Women PGA Championships, said she walked the course. “It’s a tough course, the greens and some blind holes where you really have to commit yourself. The scores are not that low, not many birdies. It will be a typical grinder week.” … Lincicome ran into Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza at the Mets game on Tuesday night and got a picture with him. … Playing with Kerr and Jessica Korda, Lincicome bet $5 for every birdie after a slow start. “Korda birdied the last, so we were tied, unfortunately,” Lincicome said. “We just kind of needed something to motivate us to get back in it. We didn’t let Kerr in because she was already making too many.”

BELMONT, Mass. – Bernhard Langer wasn’t sure what to expect from unfamiliar confines on Thursday, but that didn’t keep him from making history.

The two-time Masters champion shot four birdies on the final five holes to tie a course record with a 6-under-par 65 in the first round of the Senior Players Championship.

“I was watching the leaderboards and I saw a bunch of 3 and 4 unders so I figured that must be doable,” said Langer, who was playing the par-71, 6,855-yard course at Belmont Country Club for the first time.

Afternoon wind gusts made for difficult playing conditions on an otherwise pleasant day, but that didn’t seem to bother Langer.

Langer bogeyed twice on his first nine holes, but still carded a 2-under 34 at the halfway point. After opening the back nine with four straight pars, Langer charged up the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 and finished with two more on Nos. 17 and 18.

It wasn’t until the 17th hole that Langer took sole possession of the lead. On the par-4 18th, his tee shot landed in the rough, but a hard wedge swing placed the ball three yards from the hole for an easy putt.

A victory this weekend in Belmont would give Langer his second consecutive Senior Players title, something no golfer has done since Arnold Palmer in 1984-85.

“It’s still early in the week so I’m just trying to not shoot myself in the foot and be in contention,” said Langer.

Guy Boros, Lee Janzen, and Rocco Mediate finished the round in a three-way tie for second at 4-under 67.

Boros, whose father Julius won the 1963 U.S. Open at The Country Club in nearby Brookline, birdied three of his final six holes to put himself in contention.

“I didn’t hit it great,” Boros said. “I putted pretty well, so I made a lot of good par putts and I two-putted twice for birdie. I hit some good, some bad, so it was kind of all over the place.”

Janzen, a two-time U.S. Open champion who qualified for the tournament again on Monday, birdied five of his first nine holes while Mediate, best known for his second-place finish after a battle with Tiger Woods in the 2008 U.S. Open, began the day with three birdies on his first four.

“Golf course is fantastic,” Mediate said. “It just keeps you on your toes really. I missed a few fairways today by feet, a couple of feet and it was nasty.”

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Colin Montgomerie is three shots off the lead, and tied for fifth at 3-under-par 68.

“I’m not quite comfortable yet,” Montgomerie said. “You play defense a wee bit around here and you’ve got to position your ball and it’s playing chess the with course sort of thing.”

The Senior Players is the third of four Champions Tour majors and the 12th of 25 events the season, marking the tour’s unofficial halfway point.

A winner’s share of $405,000 of the $2.7 million purse and 810 points in the Charles Schawb Cup will be awarded to the champion.

NORTHERN IRELAND, U.K. – Team Canada’s Brittany Marchand, Maddie Szeryk and Elizabeth Tong advanced through to the round of 16 on Thursday at the Ladies British Open Amateur.

25^th seeded Marchand, an Orangeville, Ont. native, defeated 40^th seed Leonie Harm of Germany in the morning’s round of 64 match, 1up. The 22-year-old N.C. State alumnus followed that up with another nail-biting victory over Spain’s Fatima Fernandez in the afternoon match, also 1up.

Dual-citizen Maddie Szeryk had a convincing victory in her morning match, besting 37^th seeded Meghan MacLaren of England, 3&2. The Texas A&M sophomore went on for a 1up victory over Sweden’s Frida Kinhult.

Tong, a Thornill, Ont. native, just narrowly advanced through her first match, taking an extra hole to defeat 26^th seeded Agathe Sauzon of France. The afternoon was a different story however, as the 39^th seeded Tong defeated Spain’s Nuria Iturrios, 4&3.

Team Canada’s matches for Friday’s round of 16 at the Portstewart Golf Club are as follows:

8:40 a.m. – Brittany Marchand (CAN) v. Linnea Strom (SWE)

8:50 a.m. – Maddie Szeryk (CAN) v. Leslie Cloots (BEL)

9:30 a.m. – Elizabeth Tong (CAN) v. Charlotte De Corte (BEL)

Click here for full scoring.

Golf Channel recently announced a new reality competition series, Altered Course, that combines golf, speed, fitness, teamwork and decision-making as teams navigate re-imagined and extreme golf holes in excess of 700 yards, traversing the natural obstacles and challenging terrain as fast as possible.

Altered Course’s inaugural season will take place in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Of particular interest to Canadians, and British Columbians specifically, is the team of Eileen Kelly and Kyla Inaba, calling themselves the Canadian Ninjas.

Teammates at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Kyla is the veteran of the duo when it comes to the game of golf. Kyla took up golf at the age of 15. Eileen only started competing at the age of 20. Kyla was team captain when Eileen enrolled at UBC on a golf scholarship, and took her under her wing.

Both are an inspiration to each other and grew to become best friends during college and following graduation. The two pushed each other to be the best they can be on the golf course while teammates at UBC, and that continues today.

Kyla has competed on both the Australian and Canadian tours, and is looking forward to her 2015 Symetra Tour season. Eileen turned professional to compete on Altered Course Montego Bay and is beginning her professional golf career by competing on mini tours in preparation for stage one of LPGA qualifying this summer.

The two are known for their extreme fitness regimens and often joke that they are training to be ninjas. Their secret ninja abilities should come in handy in this extreme adventure competition.

Bios: Eileen Kelly and Kyla Inaba

Eileen Kelly
Age: 27
Current Residence: Victoria, British Columbia
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia
College: University of British Columbia
Home Golf Course: Royal Colwood Golf Club, Victoria, B.C.
Profession: Professional Golfer
Marital Status: Single

Kyla Inaba
Age: 28
Current Residence: Kelowna, British Columbia
Hometown: Kelowna, British Columbia
College: University of British Columbia
Home Golf Course: Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club, Kelowna, B.C.
Profession: Professional Golfer
Marital Status: Single

Slow play won’t be an issue on this fast-paced series that features two-person teams competing on extraordinary hole layouts exceeding 700 yards — while racing against time.

“Athleticism and fitness have taken on a much greater emphasis in golf in recent years, and as a result we are seeing more athletes coming up in the ranks of men’s and women’s golf,” said Keith Allo, Golf Channel vice president of programming development and original productions.

“Altered Course is taking this trend to a whole new level, rewarding teams that are the most physically fit and play the best golf. The terrain and re-imagined golf holes will test their golf skills and challenge them both mentally and physically. Pace of play will not be an issue on Altered Course.”

The tournament-style competition series will feature eight two-person teams racing against the clock as they take on the twists and turns of these extreme golf holes – one Altered Course hole can incorporate upwards of three traditional golf holes – in an alternate-shot or scramble format.

Teams will be scored on both shots taken as well as time, with weekly eliminations leaving one team left standing as the champion of Altered Course. To capture the action of this innovative format, Golf Channel will utilize Sony Action cameras and aerial footage to track the teams’ progress on each challenge, providing rarely-seen golf course camera angles.

Which team will win the inaugural season? Find out June 15 on Golf Channel.

Keep up with #AlteredCourse on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

Get ready to bid on great golf deals! Whether you choose to bid on courses that have challenged the greatest players in golf or whether you just want a great deal on a local gem, you are supporting the future of the game by funding turfgrass research programs through the Rounds 4 Research auction.

This is the first year the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF) is participating in the Rounds 4 Research auction, presented by the Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Rounds 4 Research is an innovative program that was designed to address a critical shortage in funding for turfgrass research by auctioning off donated rounds of golf at courses across the country. The CTRF will receive 80% of all auction proceeds from rounds donated to it and sold. The funds raised will be used to support golf and sports field turf management research projects.

Bidding will run June 8-21, 2015.  To visit the auction site and place a bid please click here.  To learn more about the program, visit the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation website or the Rounds 4 Research website.

ATZENBRUGG, Austria – Gregory Bourdy of France carded a bogey-free 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead on a warm and sunny opening day of the Lyoness Open on Thursday.

Bourdy, who missed just one green, hit four birdies on the front nine and seven in total to go two strokes clear of a group of four: England’s Chris Wood and Robert Dinwiddie, Spain’s Carlos Del Moral and Germany’s Maximilian Kiefer.

Former champion Bernd Wiesberger, at 37 the highest-ranked player in the field, had a disappointing 7-over 79. The Austrian, who was beaten for last year’s title by Mikael Lundberg of Sweden in a playoff, had a round without a birdie for the first time this year.

Defending champion Lundberg dropped three strokes on his first three holes but finished on par.

For kids who are into golf, the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge has it all: a reason to spend more time at the course or range, an opportunity to compete against their peers locally, provincially and nationally, online stats tracking and personal leaderboard, and a chance to —not only advance to the national final at Glen Abbey Golf Club the Saturday prior to the RBC Canadian Open —but to actually play the course and rub shoulders with some of their golf heroes.

Created in 2008, the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge is focused on developing the key golf skills of putting, chipping, iron play and driving. Administered by Golf Canada, and run by PGA of Canada professionals at facilities across Canada, the program allows participants up to the age of 18 to compete in all four skills and receive a score based on their performance in each of the categories.

“When we launched this program, we saw it as the first output of our Long Term Player Development [LTPD] program,” says Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “The redesigned Junior Skills Challenge is an interactive program aligned with the LTPD guidelines that focuses on all the key golf skills, rather than just a score. It is now an integral part of the suite of junior programs that is available to kids across Canada.”

In addition to the National Skills Challenge, other CN Future Links programming includes the Learn to Play program as well as mobile clinics, PGA Junior Leagues, Girls Club and the CN Future Links Championships. As part of its investment in Canadian junior golf, CN is also a proud supporter of Golf in Schools.

In 2014, there were 150 Skills Challenge qualifying events throughout Canada, involving more than 3,500 juniors. In total, since the program’s inception in 2008, more than 15,000 kids have participated.

The 2014 national final was held at Angus Glen GC in Markham, Ont., last September in conjunction with the inaugural World Junior Girls Golf Championship. The champions were: Braxton Kuntz, Breezy Bend Country Club, Manitoba (Boys 911); Sarah Gallagher, Braeben Golf Course, Ontario (Girls 911); Finn Lawlor, Seymour Golf Club, British Columbia (Boys 1214); Laura Wong, Seymour Golf Club, British Columbia (Girls 1214); Tyler Leclair, Seymour Golf Club, British Columbia (Boys 1518); Molly MacDermaid, Gowan Brae Golf Club, New Brunswick (Girls 1518).

“It was a lot of fun out there,” said Leclair after his victory. “It was very special to win here. The event was really set up well and all of the sponsors have been great. It was tough, everyone battled hard, and it got close and came down to one putt in the end. To win this on a national level is very sweet.”

This year, the topperforming juniors will be invited to Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ont., to compete in the national championship on July 18, the Saturday prior to the RBC Canadian Open. The next day, they will play in a Ryder Cupstyle event on the tournament course. On the Monday of tournament week, they will have a chance to caddie in the Golf Canada Foundation ProAm, and on Wednesday, they can walk with a pro inside the ropes.

“It’s a real weeklong memorable experience of a lifetime,” says Thompson.

Each of the qualified and attending participants in the final will receive a performance recognition package valued at more than $200 courtesy of Titleist. The winners of the national event in each age group for each gender will also receive a performance recognition package valued at $300 courtesy of Titleist. The national champions in the 1518 age group will also receive an exemption into one CN Future Links Championship in 2016.

Juniors can get involved in two ways. There is no charge for either option.

First, they can register with an official CN Future Links Skills Challenge facility. (A listing of participating facilities is available at www.cnfuturelinks.com.) Then, a PGA of Canada professional will run them through an official skills test. Following that, the junior can post and review their skills scores on the national leaderboard.

Alternatively, they can develop their skills on their own time and track their progress with a personalized online practice scorecard. Where they practice doesn’t matter—golf course, range, field or backyard. They will receive personalized login information so they can access a secure and private site to record their putting, chipping, iron play and driving scores.

“One of the strengths of the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge is that it is designed to identify and reward kids who have wellrounded golf games,” says Thompson, “and that is one of the goals of our Long Term Player Development Program.

Details on the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge and the entire listing of programs and information for junior golfers, parents, instructors and facilities are available at: cnfuturelinks.com.