Sixty-four of the top-ranked PGA of Canada members are set to tee it up in the 2014 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

As has been the case since the championship was re-launched in 2011, this year’s championship at Uxbridge, Ont.’s Wyndance Golf Club, will be contested as a match play event with players from the four brackets-Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman-looking to advance through the five rounds to the final championship match.

This year’s field features 34 of the top-50 ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC. Furthermore, nine of the top-10, including Billy Walsh (Fairtree Golf Centre), Bryn Parry (Seymour Creek Golf Centre), Dave Levesque (Pure Golf Experience), Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair Golf Club), Danny King (The Performance Academy at Magna), Eric Laporte (Club de Golf Montcalm), Lindsay Bernakevitch (Victoria Golf Club) and Brad Clapp (Chilliwack Golf Club), are in the field at Wyndance.

To check out the full PGA Championship of Canada match play bracket, CLICK HERE.
A comprehensive preview of every player in this year’s field can be FOUND HERE.

The first course in Canada designed by Greg Norman, Wyndance has been meticulously shaped to take advantage of the existing terrain and sandy rock faces of the reclaimed gravel pit site upon which it was built. Large waste bunkers, loose rock outcroppings, and fairways lined with fescue convey the aura of playing golf in the American Southwest, a feeling reinforced by the architecture of the clubhouse.

Forgiving off the tee, Wyndance is a second-shot course requiring exacting approach shots into greens that are heavily guarded by run-off areas and pot bunkers. The back nine skirts the gravel pit and offers impressive vistas of the property on holes 12, 16, and 18. The 18th is an exceptionally strong finishing hole, requiring a forced carry over the quarry pit from most tees.

Wyndance also features a first-class practice facility including a 2.75-acre range, 18,000 square-foot putting green and a 7,600 square-foot chipping green with a practice bunker and apron. The “Down Under” academy course is a short nine-hole facility built into the middle of the quarry pit.

Parry, who captured the championship at Magna Golf Club in 2013, looks to become the first back-to-back winner since George Knudson won in 1976 and 1977. The 42-year old also has an opportunity to once again take over the No. 1 spot atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC. He currently sits in second with 243 points, just eight points behind the top-seeded Walsh. With 60 points awarded to the winner of this June’s championship, Parry along with Levesque, Belbin and Laporte, has an opportunity to jump to the top of the rankings.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into this year’s RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club in L’Île-Bizard, Que.

Past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

The 2014 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf takes place June 23-27 with the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am kicking things off on Monday, June 23.

The first PGA Championship of Canada was contested in 1912 at Mississaugua Golf & Country Club.

Sixty-four of the top-ranked PGA of Canada members are set to tee it up in the 2014 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

As has been the case since the championship was re-launched in 2011, this year’s championship at Uxbridge, Ont.’s Wyndance Golf Club, will be contested as a match play event with players from the four brackets-Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman-looking to advance through the five rounds to the final championship match.

This year’s field features 34 of the top-50 ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC. Furthermore, nine of the top-10, including Billy Walsh (Fairtree Golf Centre), Bryn Parry (Seymour Creek Golf Centre), Dave Levesque (Pure Golf Experience), Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair Golf Club), Danny King (The Performance Academy at Magna), Eric Laporte (Club de Golf Montcalm), Lindsay Bernakevitch (Victoria Golf Club) and Brad Clapp (Chilliwack Golf Club), are in the field at Wyndance.

To check out the full PGA Championship of Canada match play bracket, CLICK HERE.
A comprehensive preview of every player in this year’s field can be FOUND HERE.

The first course in Canada designed by Greg Norman, Wyndance has been meticulously shaped to take advantage of the existing terrain and sandy rock faces of the reclaimed gravel pit site upon which it was built. Large waste bunkers, loose rock outcroppings, and fairways lined with fescue convey the aura of playing golf in the American Southwest, a feeling reinforced by the architecture of the clubhouse.

Forgiving off the tee, Wyndance is a second-shot course requiring exacting approach shots into greens that are heavily guarded by run-off areas and pot bunkers. The back nine skirts the gravel pit and offers impressive vistas of the property on holes 12, 16, and 18. The 18th is an exceptionally strong finishing hole, requiring a forced carry over the quarry pit from most tees.

Wyndance also features a first-class practice facility including a 2.75-acre range, 18,000 square-foot putting green and a 7,600 square-foot chipping green with a practice bunker and apron. The “Down Under” academy course is a short nine-hole facility built into the middle of the quarry pit.

Parry, who captured the championship at Magna Golf Club in 2013, looks to become the first back-to-back winner since George Knudson won in 1976 and 1977. The 42-year old also has an opportunity to once again take over the No. 1 spot atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC. He currently sits in second with 243 points, just eight points behind the top-seeded Walsh. With 60 points awarded to the winner of this June’s championship, Parry along with Levesque, Belbin and Laporte, has an opportunity to jump to the top of the rankings.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into this year’s RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club in L’Île-Bizard, Que.

Past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

The 2014 PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf takes place June 23-27 with the Mr. Lube Tournament for Life Pro-Am kicking things off on Monday, June 23.

The first PGA Championship of Canada was contested in 1912 at Mississaugua Golf & Country Club.

(LONDON, Ont.) – LondonOntarioGolf.com has honoured Mike Weir as its recipient of the 2014 London Ontario Golf Heart Award at Greenhills Golf Club – a ClubLink property in London, Ont.

LondonOntarioGolf.com (est. 2005) celebrates its 10th season in 2014. In 2011, publisher and editor, Jeffrey Reed established the Heart Award to recognize members of the Greater London golf industry who unselfishly give back to the game of golf. The Heart Award recipient is honoured within the categories of golf professionals/instructors, golf mentors, golf course owners/operators, golf course architects/designers and members of the media.

Previous recipients of the London Ontario Golf Heart Award include: long-time Fanshawe Golf Club head professional Mike Olizarevitch (2011), who was instrumental in creating the Parkside Nine golf course where those who have suffered a stroke, those affected by heart disease, and anyone who is physically challenged can play golf; Fred Kern (2012), a long-time Thames Valley Golf Club head professional and Tyson Tour convenor; and Patty Howard (2013), the first female head professional at a mixed club in Canada, who after 40 years of service in the golf industry, retired this past December.

Weir joined today’s festivities via Skype from his home in Sandy, Utah. His parents, Rich and Rowie, and his brother, Jim, were on hand to receive the award.

“Without a doubt, Mike Weir has made an unparalleled impact on local golf, extending beyond his roots in Bright’s Grove, Ontario,” said Reed. “I’ve covered Mike’s progress on the links since he was a two-time winner of the Junior Tyson Tour’s Les Thomas Trophy (1986-87). Because of his success on the golf course, including that memorable win at the 2003 Masters Tournament, and concurrently because of what he has done off the course with the Mike Weir Foundation, and Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive, Mike has inspired members of the golf community in the Greater London area – including me – to achieve greatness in their own lives.”

“With my roots in Southwestern Ontario, it is an honour to be recognized by LondonOntarioGolf.com as the 2014 Heart Award recipient,” said Weir. “It is great that the London Ontario Golf Heart Award brings attention to the Heart & Stroke Foundation and promotes a healthy active lifestyle. As a PGA TOUR professional, fitness and heart health are of the utmost importance. With some of the best golf facilities in the province right in my backyard, as a kid it was easy to walk the course and stay active. The Greater London area is home to many premier courses, which provide a great test for junior and amateur golfers who have the ambition to play on the PGA TOUR one day.”

Born less than an hour west of London in Bright’s Grove, Weir honed his skills under former coach Steve Bennett’s watchful eye at Huron Oaks Golf Club. Weir won the 1986 Canadian Juvenile Championship, 1988 Ontario Junior Championship, and the 1990 and 1992 Ontario Amateur Championship. In 2010, he was inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame.

A graduate of Brigham Young University, Weir was the Canadian Tour (now PGA TOUR Canada) Rookie of the Year in 1993, and Order of Merit winner in 1997. In 1999, Weir won his first PGA TOUR title at the 1999 Air Canada Championship with a two-stroke victory over Fred Funk, becoming the first Canadian to win on Tour since Richard Zokol won the 1992 Greater Milwaukee Open, and the first Canadian to win on native soil since Pat Fletcher won the 1954 Canadian Open.

Weir emerged as one of the game’s brightest stars with his Masters victory, a dramatic playoff win over Len Mattiace. His breakthrough year on the PGA TOUR earned him the 2003 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete of the year and the Lionel Conacher Award, given to Canada’s top male athlete of the year, an award he previously won in 2000 and 2001. In total, Weir has won eight times on the PGA TOUR, has competed as part of five Presidents Cup squads, and six times competed in the World Cup of Golf.

On a national level, Weir’s success and contributions through charitable work have attributed to two Order of Canada inductions (2007, 2009). In 2009, Weir was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Weir has used his success as a professional golfer as a platform for helping other families in need with the creation of the Mike Weir Foundation in 2004. Mike launched a national fundraising program through his foundation, called the Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive for Kids, supporting Children’s Miracle Network. The first Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive tournament in 2007, held at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club in London, Ontario, raised $562,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario. Since 2007, the Mike Weir Foundation and the Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive for Kids has raised close to $5 million for Children’s Miracle Network partner hospitals.

Today, Weir lives in Utah with his wife, Bricia, and their daughters, Elle and Lili – but he remains an ambassador for Canadian golf.

“London Ontario Golf is honoured to have Mike Weir as our newest winner of the Heart Award,” said Reed. “His support of the London and area community, and his status as the greatest Canadian golfer of all time have both equally inspired all generations of golfers in Southwestern Ontario. We look forward to celebrating with the Weir family this June.”

The Heart & Stroke Foundation is the Official Charity of London Ontario Golf.

The Heart Award will be put on display at Mike Weir Winery in Beamsville, Ontario – celebrating its grand opening on June 21.

PINEHURST, N.C. — With pigtails and plenty of giggles, Lucy Li just wants to have fun like any 11-year-old girl.

Except that she’s playing one of the biggest events in women’s golf.

Li, a sixth-grader from the Bay Area who doesn’t appear to be the least bit overwhelmed by the attention around her, became the youngest qualifier in U.S. Women’s Open history when she shot 68 at Half Moon Bay last month to win her sectional by seven shots.

She celebrated by having dinner at her favorite restaurant and watching “The Amazing Spiderman 2.”

Now it’s time for the amazing Lucy Li show.

“She looks so darn cute,” said Michelle Wie, who didn’t make it to her first Women’s Open until she was 13. “I was like, `I don’t think I looked that cute when I was 11.’ But she just looks so excited, so wide-eyed. … And I’m just really so excited for her to be out. It’s a memory that will last her a lifetime. What other 11-year-old can say that they played in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst? And she got to see the men play, too.”

Life is moving at warp speed for little Lucy Li.

She only became serious about golf four years ago when she set up shop in Miami to work with Jim McLean. Just two months ago, the precocious 11-year-old with a mouth full of braces won her age division in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National. And now she’s at Pinehurst No. 2, ready to take on the course where Martin Kaymer won the U.S. Open on Sunday.

“It’s awesome, right?” she said. “I mean, Pinehurst and Augusta National in like two months. I mean, that’s just amazing. It’s mind-blowing for me. It’s been awesome, because it’s been … I mean, the food is great and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve made a lot of friends.”

There’s something about U.S. Women’s Open in the North Carolina sandhills that attracts all the kids.

Morgan Pressel qualified when she was 12 and had just turned 13 when the Women’s Open was down the street at Pine Needles in 2001 (Li wasn’t even born then). Lexi Thompson qualified and played at 12 when it returned to Pine Needles in 2007.

Too young? Both went on to win major championships.

“Look, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough – or young enough, whichever way you look at it,” Laura Davies said. “If you can play the golf and you can qualify, then have a go. What’s the worst that can happen? She shoots a million this week and everyone says, `Wasn’t it great she was here?’ So I don’t think anything bad can come out of it because she’s too young to worry about the pressure.

“She’s just having fun. She’s got a week off school. It’s perfect.”

Li looked as if she was having a blast on a broiling day of practice Tuesday. She went nine holes with a local caddie. Then, it was time for a press conference, which drew the largest crowd of the day. Her pigtails in braids, held by clips the shape of hearts, she twirled in her chair waiting for it to start.

She giggled before just about every answer, including one about whether her father could beat her.

She laughed. She laughed again. And then she moved closer to the microphone and said, “No.”

But the kid made one thing clear. She’s not out to prove anything. She not out to make history.

“The perfect week? I just want to go out there and have fun and play the best I can, and I really don’t care about the outcome,” Li said. “I want to have fun and learn. I want to learn a lot from these great players.”

She is not the youngest player in Women’s Open history. Beverly Klass was 10 when she played in 1967, before there was qualifying. The youngest player to make the cut was Marlene Hagge, who was 13 in the 1947 Open at Starmount Forest in North Carolina.

Among the favorites this week is Lydia Ko, the youngest LPGA Tour winner in history at 15 in the Canadian Women’s Open two years ago.

Age is becoming irrelevant, though something about the number “11” grabs the attention.

“I saw her on the range this morning for the first time and didn’t really watch her hit any balls – just how little she was, and the pigtails kind of caught me off guard,” Stacy Lewis said. “But I’m not a big fan of it. She qualified, so we can’t say anything about that. You qualify for an Open, it’s a great thing. I just like to see kids be successful at every level before they come out here.

“When I found out she qualified, I said, `Well, where does she go from here? What do you next?’ I don’t know. If it was my kid, I wouldn’t let her play in the U.S. Open qualifier at 11. But that’s just me.”

Li played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur last year at 10. She was the youngest to qualify for match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. The idea to try to qualify for the Women’s Open was “mine.”

“Because I wanted to go out there and get the experience,” she said. “Because it’s 36 holes and I didn’t care if I qualified or not. I didn’t think about it. I just wanted to go for the experience.”

PINEHURST, N.C. – Tiger Woods is making progress in his recovery from back surgery and starting to extend his swing, his agent said Tuesday.

Woods already has missed two majors this year while he recovers from a microdiscectomy on his back on March 31. He last played on March 9 at Doral, when he closed with a 78 despite the pain in his lower back. Woods has said he has no idea when he will be healthy enough to return to competition.

A report on Golf Channel’s morning show said he was taking full swings at the Medalist Golf Club in South Florida.

“Tiger is progressing like he expected,” Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management said in an email. “Feeling good each day. As each day passes and he feels that way, he lengthens the swing a bit.”

Woods is the tournament host next week for the Quicken Loans National at Congressional. It is not expected that he will play. The deadline to enter is Friday. This is the first year of title sponsorship for the Detroit-based company.

The next major is the British Open on July 17-20 at Royal Liverpool, where Woods won in 2006.

The last time Woods missed two majors in one year because of injuries was in 2011, when he sat out the U.S. Open and British Open to let his leg fully recover. That year, he returned at Bridgestone Invitational in early August, a World Golf Championship that has no cut.

In a promotional day for Quicken Loans last month, Woods said he was chipping and putting in a way that did not require rotation in his back. That was four weeks ago.

He also did not know how much time it would take for him to be ready for a tournament once he could take full swings with no pain.

“The more time you give me, I think the better I’ll be,” he said. “The great thing about what I’ve done so far and all my other previous surgeries is that I worked on my short game. Once I start expanding from there and start competing and playing, if I start spraying it all over the lot and not hitting it that great, at least my short game is solid. That’s one of the positives to it.”

Woods has slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the world ranking, and he is likely to fall a couple of more spots in coming weeks. He is at No. 207 in the FedEx Cup standings – having finished 72 holes only once this year – and the top 125 get into the playoffs that start Aug. 21.

The news comes one day after Martin Kaymer won the U.S. Open with the second-lowest score in history at 271. The overnight rating for NBC Sports was 3.3, down 46 percent from the previous year at Merion.

London, Ont. (Golf Canada) -The Canadian Pacific Women’s Open is once again expected to draw one of the strongest player fields on the LPGA Tour. In 2013, the event drew 96 of the top 100 players on the Rolex World Ranking.

Lydia Ko, the reigning two-time champion, and World No. 3, will headline a list of past champions who have confirmed their intention to challenge for the US$2.25 million purse at the 2014 CP Women’s Open.

Ko captured the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic earlier this season, her third LPGA Tour victory after claiming back-to-back Canadian Women’s Open titles in 2012 and 2013. The New Zealand teenager will headline a world-class field at London Hunt and Country Club that already includes six past Canadian Women’s Open champions including, Rolex Rankings No. 4 Suzann Pettersen (2009), No. 11 Michelle Wie (2010), No. 62 Brittany Lincicome (2011) and No. 125 Katherine Hull (2008). As well as No. 10 Cristie Kerr who claimed the 2006 Canadian Women’s Open title when it was last conducted at London Hunt and Country Club.

“We’re two months away from the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and together with CP and our hosts at London Hunt and Country Club, we are thrilled with how our field is coming together,” said Canadian Pacific Women’s Open Tournament Director, Brent McLaughlin. “With the world’s best players as well as up and coming Canadian talents set to compete, London golf fans will be treated to an outstanding showcase of golf.”

Canadian LPGA star and Canadian Pacific ambassador Lorie Kane will lead a Canadian contingent that also includes Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. as well as recently announced Team Canada young pro members Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto, Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. and Sue Kim of Langley, B.C.

Kane, an 4-time winner on the LPGA Tour, joined CP and Golf Canada at a media event to announce the Children’s Health Foundation as the host charity. The Charlottetown native expressed her excitement about the cause.

“The players of the LPGA put a lot of heart into this tour, so it’s very fitting that CP has chosen to focus their charitable efforts on heart health,” said Lorie Kane. I am excited to partner with CP to help raise funds that create a meaningful impact in the lives of children in the London community who suffer from heart disease.  We’re looking forward to hosting a great tournament this year.”

Additional Canadian and international exemptions into the National Women’s Open Championship will be announced in the coming weeks. A field of 156 competitors will vie for the US$2.25 million purse when the CP Women’s Open makes its return to London Hunt and Country Club for the first time since 2006.

Players confirmed to compete in the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open:

Lydia Ko
– Two-time Canadian Women’s Open champion (2013 & 2012)
– 3-time LPGA Tour winner
– No. 3 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Suzanne Pettersen
– 14-time LPGA Tour winner
– 2009 Canadian Women’s Open champion
– No. 4 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Michelle Wie
– 3-time LPGA Tour winner
– 2010 Canadian Women’s Open champion
– No. 11 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Brittany Lincicome
– 5-time LPGA Tour winner
– 2011 Canadian Women’s Open champion
– No. 62 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Cristie Kerr
– 16-time LPGA Tour winner
– 2006 Canadian Women’s Open champion
– No. 10 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Katherine Hull-Kirk
– 2-time LPGA Tour winner
– 2008 Canadian Women’s Open champion
– No. 125 Women’s Rolex Rankings

Lorie Kane
– 4-time LPGA Tour winner
– 23^rd on the LPGA Tour’s all-time money list

Rebecca-Lee Bentham
– No. 231 Women’s Rolex Rankings
– Finished T28 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open; T11 at the 2013 Evian Championship
– Member of Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad

Alena Sharp
– No. 225 Women’s Rolex Rankings
– Two top-20 finishes in 2014 including a T14 at the North Texas LPGA Shootout and T18 at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic 

Jennifer Kirby
– No. 299 Women’s Rolex Rankings
– Member of Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad
– Best finish as a rookie on the LPGA is T36 at the JTBC Founders Cup

Sue Kim
– No. 388 Women’s Rolex Rankings
– Member of Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad
– Best finish in 2014, T35 at LPGA Manulife Financial Classic

Ticket information for the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open is available here.

London, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Canadian Pacific (CP) and Golf Canada are pleased to announce the Children’s Health Foundation as the charity partner for the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, August 18-24 at London Hunt and Country Club. The Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will raise funds for cardiac research and care of children from the London area and across Southwestern Ontario.

The selection of the Children’s Health Foundation in London aligns with CP’s organization-wide support of heart health in the communities in which it operates.

“Our railroad recently announced our new North American-wide community investment program CP Has Heart – and the Children’s Health Foundation is our ideal partner to improve children’s heart health,” said Canadian Pacific CEO E. Hunter Harrison. “It’s easy to rally behind this cause: buy tickets to see the best of the best play at the historic London Hunt Club in August and your children’s hospital will realize a direct benefit.”

The “Ticket Rally for Heart” campaign launched today at www.CPwomensopen.com encourages the public to buy spectator tickets for the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open prior to August 17, 2014 as CP will donate $100 to the Children’s Health Foundation for every ticket purchased.  Additional fundraising activities will happen through unique on-site experiences for spectators during tournament week with a social media campaign to be launched in July.

“Approximately 1 in 100 babies are born with some form of congenital heart disease each year, many of whom require medical attention from birth through to adulthood,” said Susan Crowley, President and CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation. “Funds raised from the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will support our paediatric cardiologists at Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, to treat children with these life threatening heart conditions. Funds will also go towards innovative research into the prevention of congenital heart disease and improve the quality of life of these children as they mature to adults in Canada and around the world.”

TORONTO, ON – The Markland Wood Golf club is very excited to be the chosen host for the 2014 Toronto Star Ladies Amateur.  Perhaps even more exciting is the planned visit of one of Canadian golf’s greatest stars – Marlene Stewart Streit.

Marlene is the most successful amateur golfer in Canadian history and was inducted in to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004 – the first Canadian to gain that honour.  Her list of wins on home soil is incredibly impressive, but it is her quality of play away from Canada that helped her receive her most distinguished award.

Marlene is the only woman ever to win the Canadian, British, American and Australian amateur titles.  The most recent of those victories was the 2003 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur which she won at age 69, becoming the oldest champion in USGA history.

On Monday June 23^rd, Marlene will be arriving at the course at 10am and will be on-site until the early afternoon.

More information on her incredible accomplishments has been shared by The World Golf Hall of Fame and  the USGA.

Top 10 Emotional Wins on the PGA Tour

Golf is as much a mental game as it’s a physical one. Occasionally, a win can mean the world to golfer who has been struggling in either their game or personal life. Here are some Tour winners who’s victory overwhelmed them in the moment.

Top 10 Aces on the Champions Tour

The over-50 crowd proves they’ve still got it in this top 10 segment put together by the Champions Tour… and you thought Zach Johnson’s hole-in-one at Pinehurst this past weekend was impressive, lets see him do it again in 20 years.

I found myself nervously pacing the carpet of the lobby of the stately Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, mulling over ways to kill a few hours before my afternoon tee time. Should I go to the Willow Stream Spa? They have a wonderful indoor/outdoor pool there with a waterfall.

Should I stroll the beach? It’s arguably the most breathtaking I’ve seen. Should I wander over to the course early? after all, the Fairmont’s undulating Turtle Hill Golf Club, with ocean views at every turn, is among the finest par-3 courses anywhere in the world. Such are the considerations of the anxiety ridden amateur unaccustomed to tournament golf. I was fresh from one of my best rounds in at least a year, scrambling madly to par the final nine holes in shooting a six-over par 60 in Round One of the Bacardi World Par-3 Championship (now known as the Grey Goose World Par-3 Championship). That had put me into the last group of the handicap division for the final round, and I was both exhilarated and terrified. I mean, there were actual fans watching me play, a few media members with cameras, competitors scrutinizing my every move.

Recreational players like me will probably never qualify for the RBC Canadian Open (okay, truth be told, I’m not even good enough to caddie in the Open), but there are a number of events around the globe that specifically cater to less accomplished golf enthusiasts seeking a little competition on a lot of quality layouts — many in some of the world’s most appealing vacation spots. Sun destination tourneys include the much-lauded Jamaica Invitational Pro-Am presented by Appleton Estate rum, which is contested over Jamaica’s elite courses such as the spectacular (and punishing) White Witch and Cinnamon Hill. How big a deal is this event?

Its official sponsors include Cobra Puma Golf, Bridgestone and American Airlines. Your arrival gift bag is valued around $550 and there’s $15,000 in team and on-course prizes, not to mention a $30,000 purse for professional participants.

Then there’s the Scottsdale Open presented by Waste Management, a slickly run three-round event for two-player teams that features a trio of the most famous tracks in Arizona: Grayhawk, Troon North and the TPC Course at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. The latter, just three weeks shy of staging the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Open, was in absolutely mint condition when I teed it up earlier this year. It also allowed participants the opportunity to play the famed par-3 16th—aka The Thunderdome—with its amphitheatre-like stands already set up for the Tour event. Or there’s the World Amateur Handicap Golf Championship in Myrtle Beach, with more than 3,000 competitors from around the world. Looking for an even more esteemed setting? Try the inaugural Dean’s Scottish Clans Golf World Championships. Set for June 23-27 at the prestigious Gleneagles Golf Resort in Scotland, it’s a four-round event featuring World Top-50 course Kingsbarns, as well as Gleneagles’ famed King’s, Queen’s and Centenary courses, the latter of which is playing host to this year’s Ryder Cup matches in September. The tournament is inviting anyone with blood ties to Scotland to compete over sacred ground — either as a single or as part of a four-player team — while dipping deeply into all things Scottish, from the bagpipes and Highland dancing to tours of whisky distilleries and other vital attractions.

While the entry fees vary, all of these fun-filled affairs have something in common: Every event requires that all participants have up-to-date, verifiable Handicap Factors. Yes, some of those figures are invariably more speculative than others—one need only look at the performances of many a supposed high handicapper at the PGA Tour’s annual Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where 16-handicappers seem to routinely shoot 78…gross…in the wind. But that doesn’t diminish the appeal for the rest of the amateur field. And while you may not be able to finagle an invite to a PGA Tour stop in Pebble Beach, your Golf Canada Handicap Factor is your private invitation to a multitude of unique and unforgettable events the world over.

To become a member of Golf Canada and your provincial golf association, click here.

Île-Bizard, Que. – The second of three 2014 RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifiers took place Monday at Elm Ridge Country Club with Montreal’s Beon Yeong Lee claiming medalist honours to earn a place in the field at the 2014 RBC Canadian Open at The Royal Montreal Golf Club, July 21-27, 2014.

Lee, a PGA Tour Canada member, fired a bogey-free 6-under 66 and will make his second trip to the RBC Canadian Open after qualifying in 2010.  He’s currently ranked No. 34 on PGA Tour Canada’s Order of Merit.

On Monday, a total of 105 players competed over 18 holes of stroke play at Elm Ridge Country Club with the top-15 percent of the field and ties (16 competitors and ties) advancing to the final Monday Qualifier to be held Monday, July 21st at Club de Golf St-Raphaël in Île-Bizard, Que.

Ben Silverman of Concord, Ont. finished in solo second at 4-under par to earn a trip to Final Qualifying, while five players shared third place at 2-under par including, Braeden Cryderman of Huntsville, Ont., Matthew McMahon of Brockville, Ont., Raoul Menard of Ange-Gardien, Que., Louis-Pierre Godin of Trois-Rivieres, Que. and Francis Berthiaume of Valleyfield, Que.

Rounding out the list of players advancing to the final Monday qualifier for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open were Montreal’s Lucas Greco, Peter Campbell of Baddeck, N.S., Remi Bouchard of Candiac, Que. and Ryan Sevigny of Stittsville, Ont., who finished in a tie for 8th at 1-under par.

Eric Laporte of St-Liguori, Que., Dave Levesque of Ste-Catherine, Que., A.J. McKenzie of Pierrefonds, Que., Billy Houle of St-Charles-Borromee, Que., Maxime Barre pf Granby, Que. and Mathieu Perron of St. Hubert, Que., also made it through after even-par 72’s.