Canada finishes sixth at Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship
After a week of sunshine, rain finally fell during the final round of the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship in Qingyuan, China. With course conditions worsening throughout the day, Zach Murray of Australia hung on to win the boys division with a 280 (-8) total. Guan Ru-qing from China claimed the girls division also shooting 280 (-8) and for the fourth straight year Australia (1450) took home the team title.
Canadian Junior Golf Association’s (CJGA) Team Canada (1535) made a final round charge to move into the fifth place but could not overcome their slow start from earlier in the week and ended the tournament in six place. Steven Lee of Kelowna, BC and Trevor Yu of Vancouver finished the tournament as top Canadians tied in 16th place.
Lee started his day rolling in two birdies on holes 7 and 8 to finish the front nine with 34 (-2). All was well for Lee until hole 14 where he failed to get up and down to save par. Things continued to unravel for Lee on 15 with a double bogey. With bogeys on holes 17 and 18 Lee finish the day shooting 75 (+3). Teammate Trevor Yu quickly got off to a good start with birdies on holes 1 and 3. Another birdie on 16 had Yu was under par for the day at -2 but it was not to be. With an errant approach shot on 18, Yu could not recover and finished the round shooting 72 (E).
In the Girls division, Sophie Liu of Surrey, BC continued to support her team by posting an eight over 80. Starting off the back nine, Liu struggled out of the gate with a bogey and triple bogey on holes 11 and 12. Quickly settling down Liu birded hole 13 and pared out for a 39 (+3). With the rain getting heaver Liu ended her day with 3 bogeys and a double bogey for a score of 41 (+5) and a total of 80 (+8).
CJGA’s Team Canada now returns home gaining valuable international experience.
“The team represented Canada and themselves in a first-class manner,” said CJGA Team Manager, John Lawrence. “Moving forward, the experience gained here in China will be a great benefit to our players. Sixth place isn’t what we had in mind when we first arrived, but I am very proud of the effort our players displayed on and off the course.”
Ontario Golf Hall of Fame to welcome four new members in 2014
The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) has announced four new members will be inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in a ceremony taking place May 7, 2014 at Wooden Sticks Golf Club.
Earl Fritz, John Henrick, Bob Weeks and Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe will become the 65th, 66th, 67th and 68th members of the Hall.
The Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of extraordinary contributions and accomplishments in the game of golf in Ontario. Founded in the year 2000 by the Ontario Golf Association and the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association, the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is housed at Wooden Sticks Golf Club in Uxbridge.
2014 Ontario Golf Hall of Fame Inductees
Earl Fritz
Earl Fritz has been a driving force in the development of the game of golf across Canada as the Executive Director of the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA), an organization that he founded in 1993.
Fritz’s passion for sport development was born out of his career as a competitive hockey player, where he gained an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of amateur sport in Canada. As he reached the twilight of his hockey career, his passion shifted to golf, where he was able to identify gaps in the junior golf development process and saw the need for a competitive tour for aspiring young players.
Working from his basement, Fritz was determined to create a development program that focused on all aspects of the sport including camps, clinics, and competitive events for all ages that would allow young golfers to build fundamental skills and learn how to compete at the high performance level. Not long after launching the CJGA in Ontario in 1993, Fritz had many of his junior tour players representing Canada in international events.
While working full time as a teacher, Fritz donated countless hours to growing the association and within five years the CJGA was offering its programs across the country. He also built mentoring programs for his players that included several PGA Tour professionals including Stephen Ames and Ian Leggatt. Today, the CJGA is a major contributor to the game of golf across the country, hosting more than 80 provincial, national and international events every year, and it is the largest feeder system into Golf Canada’s development programs. CJGA programs have impacted thousands of golfers from coast to coast, with many going on to receive golf scholarships and compete on professional tours. Fritz’s perseverance and dedication to junior golf development has made the CJGA an internationally recognized organization that is a pillar of junior golf development in Canada.
John Henrick
John Henrick has had a career in golf than spans more than 60 years as a professional, mentor, administrator and outstanding tournament player with victories over seven different decades.
Henrick earned his first title in 1948 at the Montreal Athletic Association Pro Am when he was supposed to caddy, but ended up entering and then winning the tournament when another player pulled out. In 1950, working as an assistant professional, Henrick won the Quebec and Canadian Assistants championship, and qualified into the Canadian Open. In 1952 he won the B&A Bursary Championship, earning all-expense paid sojourn to play on the PGA Tour for one year, a feat he would repeat again in 1956. In both 1956 and 1957, Henrick won the Rivermeade Trophy as the low Canadian at the Canadian Open, and in 1958 he played on the Carling Cup team that defeated the team from the United States.
While serving as a club pro and General Manager at several clubs in Quebec and Ontario including Gatineau Golf Club, Highland Country Club, Willows Golf Club and Brampton Golf Club, Henrick mentored many young golfers and professionals. He also captured the 1967 Quebec Open before going on to win three straight Ontario PGA Senior Championships from 1980 to 1982. In 2008, at age 80, he won another Ontario PGA Senior title, making him one of only a handful of golfers to win over seven different decades.
Bob Weeks
Bob Weeks has been one of the most well-known faces in Canadian golf for more than 25 years through his involvement and leadership with SCOREGolf Magazine and SCOREGolf TV on TSN.
A prominent golf journalist, Weeks brings a Canadian perspective to his extensive coverage of golf events worldwide. After joining SCOREGolf as Associate Editor 1987, Weeks assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief in 1993 where he turned the magazine into the successful enterprise that now reaches millions of golf enthusiasts each week. By the end of the 1990’s, the company branched out to include a website, television show, radio show, and a female specific property, Links for Women, becoming the largest and most successful golf media company in Canadian history.
From a reporting perspective, Weeks has authored more than 5,000 print articles ranging from profiles of junior golfers to coverage of major men’s and women’s golf championships. Weeks also writes a highly popular blog on SCOREGolf.com, and has written for GOLF Magazine, Golf Digest, Golfweek, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s as well as countless other publications throughout the world. He has covered every Canadian Open consecutively since 1988 and over 40 men’s major championships, and has penned a number of best-selling books including “The World’s Greatest Golf Courses” in 1998.
Weeks was one of the first in Canadian sports to use the internet as a reporting tool, and through his guidance the SCOREGolf empire now spans across all mediums from print to broadcast to social media and mobile technology. Weeks has spent a generation promoting all facets of the game of golf to audiences at home and abroad, and his outstanding contributions continue to impact the lives of golfers from coast to coast.
Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe
Born in 1883 in North Berwick, Scotland, World Golf Hall of Fame member Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe was known as golf’s “first international female star.”
After picking up her first golf club at just 18 months old, her first notable victory came at the 1905 Scottish Ladies Championship. After winning two more Scottish Ladies’ titles, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1909 at Merion before returning to the UK to win the British Women’s Amateur at Royal Birkdale, making her the first woman to win both the U.S. and British Women’s Amateur titles in the same year.
In 1910, she moved to Canada, where she captured three straight Canadian Ladies’ Amateur Championships between 1910 and 1912, while also repeating as the U.S. champion in 1910 and the British champion in 1911. In 1912, she married and moved to the United States permanently, and her 1920 loss to Alexa Stirling Fraser in the 1920 U.S. Women’s Amateur appeared to be her last attempt at a national title. However, in 1924 with a redeveloped swing, she captured her final U.S. Amateur title at age 41, becoming the oldest winner of the championship and also earning the record for the longest gap between wins (15 years).
In 1926, Campbell set out to surpass the record for fewest putts in 18 holes (21), which she broke at Augusta Country Club with 19 putts. Campbell died in 1946 at the age of 61, and was posthumously inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1991.
Carrigan and Wiebe fall short at Argentine Amateur
Canadians Kevin Carrigan of Victoria, B.C., and Bobby Wiebe of Headingley, Man., failed to make it past the second round of match play at the Argentine Amateur in Buenos Aires at the Martindale Country Club on the weekend.
Carrigan started out strong on Wednesday, capturing the second seed overall heading into Friday’s match play rounds. The 27-year-old earned the designation by carding an 8-under 136 (69-67) to finish one back of Filippo Campigli of Italy.
Carrigan went on to defeat 63rd seed Martin Flores by one hole in the first round of match play. He was later knocked off by Alfonso Otoya 6 and 5.
Wiebe was given the 35th seed after making the cut with a 6-over 150 (80-70). He came up short in the first match play round, losing to Andre Wink of Brazil, 4 and 3.
The eventual champion was 15-year-old Argentinian Marcos Montenegro of Buenos Aires. The youngster defeated Jacopo Vecchi Fossa of Italy 4 and 3 after 36 holes of play.
For stroke play scores, click here.
For a match play tree, click here.
R&A and USGA announce changes to “Decisions on the Rules of Golf”
As the National Sport Organization and governing body of golf in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association, announce the new revisions to the 2012-2013 edition of the “Decisions on the Rules of Golf”.
The recent changes will come into effect January 1, 2014.
Golf Canada is proud to be the sole association sitting with R&A Rules Limited and the USGA on the Joint Rules Committee, which carries out the quadrennial review of the Rules of Golf, and revises the “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” every two years. Golf’s governing bodies are committed to ensure the rules are constantly evolving and relevant to today’s game.
The “2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf” contains more than 1,200 entries addressing specific situations under the Rules of Golf. A total of 87 changes have been made to the 2012-2013 Decisions book: three (3) new Decisions, 59 revised Decisions, one (1) re-numbered Decision and 24 Decisions withdrawn.
Notable changes to the 2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf include:
- New Decision 14-3/18 confirms that players can access reports on weather conditions on a smartphone during a round without breaching the Rules. Importantly, this new Decision also clarifies that players are permitted to access information on the threat of an impending storm in order to protect their own safety.
- New Decision 18/4 provides that, where enhanced technological evidence (e.g. HDTV, digital recording or online visual media, etc.) shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time. The R&A and the USGA have issued a Joint Statement Regarding the Use of Video and Visual Evidence to further explain the governing bodies’ position on the use of this technology.
- Revised Decision 25-2/0.5 helps to clarify when a golf ball is considered to be embedded in the ground through the use of illustrations.
- Revised Decision 27-2a/1.5 allows a player to go forward up to approximately 50 yards without forfeiting his or her right to go back and play a provisional ball.
The full text of the revisions to “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” can be found at www.RandA.org and www.usga.org.
Printed copies of the “2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf” are available on Golf Canada’s e-store for pre-order and will be shipped January 1st, 2014. Pre-order here.
Chamberlain wins PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada
Adam Chamberlain faced a three-shot deficit entering the final round of the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada, but by the time he holed his final putt on No. 18 for par, the 31-year-old head professional from Gowan Brae Golf Club had secured the title, besting Danny King by two-shots.
The Bathurst, N.B., native’s three day total of 9-under-par 207 (69-68-70) was two better than two-time champion and perennial PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada favourite Danny King of The Performance Academy at Magna.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to come down here for the last four years and I’ve realized that I’m able to compete with these guys, but if you would have told me I’d be holding the trophy right now at the start of the week, I’d say you were probably lying to me,” Chamberlain admitted after the round. “It’s been an awesome week with my two great playing competitors the first two days and playing with Danny and Marc (Hurtubise) today was just fantastic.”
When the final group teed off Wednesday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on the PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course, Chambly Golf Club’s Marc Hurtubise led at 10-under, three-shots better Chamberlain and four strokes over King. However, by the ninth tee, Chamberlain had climbed to 10 under, pulling even with the 50-year-old from Chambly, Que.
Chamberlain says he really didn’t get into the mindset of playing heads up against Hurtubise for the final 10 holes.
“I really wasn’t thinking it was heads up. I didn’t really know what was going on around us, or if anyone was going really low,” Chamberlain says. “I was just trying to take it one hole at a time and I made a couple par saves and had some chances to make some birdies coming in that didn’t quite drop, so I just kept grinding it out.”
As it played out, it would come down to Chamberlain leading by two over King on the last (after Hurtubise made double-bogey on the 17th) hole of the championship.
“On No. 18 I thought I hit a good drive, but it just caught the bunker on the right,” Chamberlain recalls. “I couldn’t get to the green from where I was because there was a huge lip on the bunker, so I just wedged it out short of the green. I had 54-yards left with a little downhill lie that would help it skid and I hit it to eight or 10 feet.”
“I had a straight-in putt–I couldn’t figure out if it went left or right, though. But as my dad always said, if you can’t figure it out, just hit in the middle and there it went.”
King, who celebrated his 46th birthday Tuesday, finished alone in second for the second-straight year at 7-under-par 209. Dave Levesque (Club de Golf La Prairie) and Matt Peavoy (Tamarac Golf & Country Club) finished T3 at 6-under-par 210. 2012 PGA Championship of Canada winner Eric Laporte (Club de Golf Montcalm) and Hurtubise rounded out the top-five at 5-under-par 211. In total, 23 of the 71 players who made the cut finished the 54-hole national championship at even-par or better.
Team Ontario (King, Peavoy, Dan Greenwood and Brian Hutton) captured the Inter-Zone portion of the championship after Tuesday’s second round, besting Team Quebec by eight shots.
With his win, Chamberlain earned $12,000 and jumped to No. 33 on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC.
For the complete leaderboard, click here.
Reggie Millage named head coach of Team Ontario
Peterborough native Reggie Millage has been named Head Provincial Coach for The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO).
In his new position, Millage will lead the delivery of the GAO’s high performance programs including Team Ontario, the regional team development programs and coach development programs.
“I am very humbled and excited by this opportunity to coach some of Ontario’s finest athletes,” said Millage. “I look forward to working and learning with the other great coaches in the province as we help Ontario’s junior golfers shine on the international stage.”
Millage is one of Canada’s top high performance coaches, drawing on his extensive experience and success as a competitive golfer. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Millage starred on the NCAA Div. 1 golf team for four years and was also a member of Golf Canada’s national team from 1998-2000.
After turning professional, Millage played on various tours from 2000-2004 before shifting his focus to coaching while continuing to play competitively. A Class “A” PGA of Canada professional, Millage is currently ranked 14th on the PGA of Canada Players rankings.
Millage has worked alongside some of Canada’s most accomplished coaches and has several years of experience working with juniors while teaching at The Glen Abbey Academy and Henry Brunton Golf. He is a familiar face to Team Ontario athletes, serving as a member of Team Ontario’s coaching staff for numerous events over the past two years while coaching at Team Ontario’s winter training facility, The Golf Lab.
“Following an extensive search, the GAO is thrilled to welcome to Reggie to the team,” said Mike Kelly, GAO Managing Director of Sport. “We have no doubt he will have an immediate impact on the Team Ontario program.”
Millage will also manage the implementation of the Provincial High Performance Strategic Plan, the High Performance Integrated Support Team (IST), as well as player identification, scouting programs and recruiting systems.
“It is an honour to join the staff at the Golf Association of Ontario,” said Millage. “I fondly remember the days competing in GAO events and the great road trips and friends I made as a member of Team Ontario.”
The terrific staff and tireless volunteers are constantly working to grow the game and I can’t wait to work with them.”
Anne-Catherine Tanguay finishes fifth at Alamo Invitational
Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Québec City had great success at the Alamo Invitational from Oct. 27 – 29 at the Briggs Ranch Golf Course in San Antonia, Tex., finishing in a tie for a fifth.
Tanguay, a senior at Oklahoma University, fired three consecutive rounds in the red (69-72-71) to finish with a four-under 212. In total, the 22-year-old tallied 12 birdies and eight bogies. She was seven strokes off the medalist, Lindsay Gahm, an LSU student from Louisville, Ky.
Collectively, Tanguay’s efforts helped lift the Oklahoma Sooners to a first place team finish with a final score of 24-under. The Sooners carded a remarkable 12-under on the third and final day, giving them an eight stroke cushion over runner-up LSU.
Tanguay is off to another strong start in her collegiate career. She was named to last year’s All-Big 12 Conference Team and looks for a repeat performance this season.
For full tournament results, click here.
Brooke Henderson wins individual gold at Spirit International
Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson captured the women’s individual gold medal at the Spirit International in Trinity, Texas, on Saturday.
Henderson, 16, finished at 13-under in the rain shortened 54-hole tournament. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native held off Mathilda Cappeliez, who finished at 12-under for the championship.
“I was definitely aiming for the gold, but I really was trying to help my team the most,” said Henderson. “This is one of my absolute favorite tournaments. I’ve wanted to come back ever since I was here two years ago.”
In the overall team competition the Canadian contingent of Henderson, Jaclyn Lee of Calgary, Etienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., finished in eighth place at 15-under 417. The Canadian squad finished 18 strokes behind Team USA who captured the overall championship after firing 33-under over 54 holes.
For more information, visit The Spirit International website at www.thespiritgolf.com.
Canada’s golf industry to conduct economic impact study
The National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) is conducting a study to measure the economic impact of golf in the Canadian economy.
The study, which is a follow-up to the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study conducted in 2009, will help NAGA measure the significant economic impact of golf in communities across the country.
Golfers interested in participating in the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study can do so by clicking here.
In addition to the golfer portion of the Economic Impact Study, a separate survey is being targeted directly to Canadian golf course operators and facilities.
The Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study is the second iteration of the landmark study originally launched by NAGA in 2009 assessing the direct and indirect economic impact of our sport. Among the highlights from that 2009 study, NAGA learned:
- the game of golf accounts for an estimated $11.3 billion of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which includes 341,794 jobs (43% of which are students), $7.6 billion in household income, $1.2 billion in property and other indirect taxes, $1.9 billion in income taxes;
- approximately 70 million rounds of golf are played annually;
- more than 200,000 hectares of green space (including 41,000 hectares of unmanaged wildlife habitat) are managed by golf course operators;
- each year at least 25,000 charity golf events help raise more than $439 million for charitable causes across Canada;
- Canadian travelers make more than 1 million golf related trips spending an estimated $1.9 billion on golf related travel within Canada.
Similar to 2009, Strategic Networks Group (SNG) on behalf of NAGA is carrying out the Canadian Golf Economic Impact study. SNG’s approach to analyzing the economic impacts of golf in Canada will involve collecting impact data directly from stakeholders in the golf industry (golf facility operators, individual golfers, etc.) through an online survey to quantify golf’s direct impacts to the Canadian economy.
The study outcomes, to be delivered to NAGA in early 2014, will be an independent assessment of the impacts of the Canadian Golf industry on employment, taxes, GDP, household income, and consumer spending, across Canada and within each province. In addition, the study will provide a more complete understanding of the economic dimension of golf to supporting industries, consumers and the public, and government at local, provincial and national levels.
Dates announced for 2014 Rules of Golf Level 4 seminars
Golf Canada’s Level 4 rules of golf seminars consists of a combination of classroom theory and interactive sessions furthering your understanding of the practical application of tournament officiating. In order to take full advantage of the curriculum, participants are expected to have a good understanding of the Rules of Golf and must be level 3 certified.
To see if you qualify and to learn more about our level 4 Rules of Golf Seminars, click here.
Registration for level 4 seminars will open December 2nd. Seminar sites and important travel information will be provided at that time.
2014 Golf Canada Level 4 Rules of Golf Seminars:
March 20-23, Victoria, B.C. (Location: TBD)
April 3-6, Calgary, Alta. (Location: TBD)
April 3-6, Montreal, Que. (Location: TBD)
April 24-27, Oakville, Ont. (Location: TBD)
May 1-4, St. John’s, N.L. (Location: TBD)
In 2013, 65 participants attended our level 4 seminars. We would like to specifically recognize one participant, Tom Forestell, who achieved the highest mark on the level 4 exam in 2013 scoring 98%! Congrats, Tom, and all the other participants that achieved the highest level of rating through written examination of the Golf Canada level 4 rules of golf.
Another great story from 2013 that was well documented was an individual who achieved 100% on the level 2 exam and attended the level 3 seminar last year. Meet Canada’s youngest rules official by clicking here.
Level 4 is the pinnacle of our Rules Education Pathway (national certification) and we encourage everyone passionate about golf to gain some level of Rules knowledge.
Our Rules Education Program is designed for anyone wishing to learn the Rules of Golf including recreational golfers, competitive golfers, professionals and rules officials. Whether you have an interest in learning the basics to further your enjoyment of the game or you are setting your sights on national certification, Golf Canada’s four-level program is tailored to suit everyone’s goals.
Provincial associations conduct the Level 3 seminars (Provincial Certification). For more information on level 3 seminars in your area, visit the provincial links by clicking here.
And, if you want to get your Rules Education started with our online rules education program, click here.
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Click here to view the Rules Education Pathway (PDF), a document which shows how you can progress from a rules beginner to officiating highly competitive golf events.