It was a transformative moment for our organization.

A virtual town-hall with staff in the summer of 2020 to talk about the tragic and senseless murder of George Floyd and reflect on what we were seeing and experiencing in the world around us. The team shared an honest and emotional conversation, and I was incredibly moved by the personal sharing, thoughtful insights on racial injustice, and the conviction that everyone brought to the call.

Many followed up with a willingness to play a role in what comes next for Golf Canada—a shared commitment to be an organization of impact that could lead through action. I look back to that moment as a catalyst for the important steps needed to make our organization and our sport reflect the multi-cultural diversity, inclusiveness, and acceptance that we all want as Canadians.

It was that commitment that led to the creation of Golf Canada’s Diversity and Inclusion Alliance and a vision for who we want to be in this important space.

“As the National Sport Federation and governing body, Golf Canada is committed to creating a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment within our organization and across our sport.

We recognize that even as Canada’s most participated sport, we know that our sport is not free from prejudice, stigma, racism, or systemic bias. Golf Canada stands in solidarity with racialized persons and equity seeking groups and is working to better understand the challenges of racialized communities as well as the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and golfers with a disability.

We formed our Diversity & Inclusion Alliance to develop a strategic action pathway that will guide the organization’s efforts to create a more inclusive and respectful sport environment. This includes a review of Golf Canada’s policy for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; education and training for staff and volunteers; integration of diversity elements across all programs, events and partnerships; and a commitment to be a leading voice in global golf that supports diversity and inclusion in the communities where we live, work and play.”

As the national sport federation, we needed to do the work—to begin having conversations about privilege and bias that were uncomfortable but important.

To learn from thought leaders and invest in training and education for staff and volunteers. Golf Canada’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy has been in place for a number of years and the efforts of our Diversity and Inclusion Alliance have brought forward strategic activities that bring the spirit of our policy to life. The areas of focus include: a diversity audit; education and training; recruitment and retention; advocacy; and support for racialized and diverse communities.

The launch of our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion online resource is an expression of our commitment in this important space and portal to many of the activities and alliances that are currently underway. 

To reinforce our commitment to be an organization of impact, we are proud to welcome Laura Wilson, former executive director of the Ontario Para Network as Golf Canada’s new Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Safe Sport.

I am extremely proud of the work that has been done by Golf Canada’s Diversity and Inclusion Alliance to inspire an organization-wide commitment to developing a more inclusive and inviting culture within our sport. Some of the activities undertaken to date include:

• A commitment to conduct an annual review of Golf Canada’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy.

• Professional development training for staff and volunteers in areas such as unconscious bias, microaggressions, and anti-racism.

• An internal diversity audit of staff and volunteers through a self-identification survey as well as a COBRAS survey to assess awareness of racial privilege, institutional discrimination, and racial issues.

• An ongoing review of our job postings and process with a goal to diversify and expand the applicant pool for staff and volunteer recruitment.

• A partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) as well as other thought leaders to access education, training, and expertise.

• The launch of First Tee – Canada to strengthen Golf Canada junior activities through a curriculum focused on empowering youth and building strength of character through golf. 

• The launch of the Canadian All-Abilities Golf Championship to provide a national competition for golfers of all abilities with disabilities.

• The identification of important dates and events for celebration, reflection, or awareness.

• Exploring opportunities to engage indigenous, racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, golfers with disability and other equity-seeking groups across Golf Canada programs and championships.

• Furthering Golf Canada’s commitment to the Women & Golf Charter through professional development opportunities, the hosting of the CP Women’s Leadership Summit, the conducting of the World Junior Girls Championship, operation of Golf Fore the Cure and the launch of Golf Canada’s Women and Coaching program in partnership with the PGA of Canada.

Golf Canada is also fully committed to fostering a safe sport environment for golf. As the national sport federation, we have fundamental obligation and responsibility to protect the health, safety and physical and mental well being of athletes, staff, volunteers, and other enthusiasts involved in our sport.

Change takes time. As much as anything, we want to make a connection with the many equity seeking groups who do not feel welcomed within the golf experience.

That means encouraging national, provincial, and local golf organizations along with golf facilities to consider education and training with an expressed commitment to support diversity and inclusion in the communities where we live, work, and play.

It is an invitation to golf’s stakeholders to consider positive action through policies, programs, recruitment, and retention to support the progression of indigenous communities, racialized Canadians, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, golfers with disability and other equity-seeking groups who are playing and working at all levels of the sport.

It also means promoting opportunities for diversity and inclusion through advocacy, education, recruitment, and financial investment across areas of our business.

As Canadians, the deeply disturbing tragedies of the residential school system and the ongoing impact on our Indigenous communities further reinforces the need for greater education and acceptance, and reconciliation. Those in our sport can benefit by understanding and advancing the unique connection between golf and our indigenous communities, as so thoughtfully examined in this SCOREGolf cover feature.

I want to recognize and thank our partners at the PGA of Canada for their extensive work in this space through the activities of their dynamic Diversity Task Force. We are also learning through the meaningful efforts of our many provincial, national, international, and corporate partners who have a shared vision to make our sports and our communities more inclusive.

While the expression of Golf Canada’s commitment to support equity, diversity and inclusion and our activities to date are important steps, our work and our investment in this important space is only just beginning.

Together with our Board of Directors and staff, we look forward to connecting with the entire golf community to create a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment within our organization and across our sport.

Laurence Applebaum

Chief Executive Officer
Golf Canada

They played golf together as juniors.

Then, were college teammates.

Both play on the PGA Tour.

Now, they are Olympians.

Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes will be making their Olympic debut in Tokyo, with the men’s golf tournament happening from July 28-31 at Kasumigaseki Country Club. The two Canadians share many stops along with their respective golf careers. Add representing Canada at the Summer Olympics to that list.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Conners said on a Zoom media availability prior to the Olympics. “Neither of us would have ever thought that we’d be Olympians or PGA Tour winners and continue to be great friends, but this is amazing. Hard to believe it happened.”

Conners and Hughes were born a mere 114 kilometres away from each other in Listowel and Dundas, Ontario respectively. They each met at Listowel Golf Club for a junior golf event when they were 12 years old. Flash forward to the present and the pair from small towns are sporting the red and white at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Both golfers experienced success as juniors. Hughes enrolled at Kent State University in 2008-09, with Conners joining him two years later. Under the leadership of Kent State golf coach Herb Page, Conners and Hughes propelled the program to the final eight of the 2012 NCAA Championship.

Conners won the Ontario Junior Championship in 2010. Hughes secured back-to-back victories in the Canadian Amateur Championship in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, both Conners and Hughes earned spots on the Canadian national junior team, coached by Derek Ingram. Competing in the World Team Amateur Competition in Turkey, Hughes, Conners, and Toronto native Albin Choi placed sixth.

“This is a very big event for both of them and I know they’re really looking forward to competing and trying to win a medal for Canada, with a long-time friend and teammate,” Ingram said. “For me, I couldn’t be more happy to be coaching long time students and great people who I’ve worked with for many years.”

It didn’t take Hughes long to record his first professional victory, the Cape Breton Celtic Classic on the Mackenzie Tour in 2013. Three years later, Hughes won on both the then Web.com Tour (Price Cutter Charity Championship) and the PGA Tour, winning a five-man playoff at the RSM Classic.

Conners, after turning pro in 2015, waited until the 2019 Valero Texas Open to win his first PGA Tour title. It not only qualified the young Canadian into the Masters the week after but a plethora of major championships the last couple of seasons.

It’s not hard to spot Conners and Hughes at the majors; the Canadians in the field often take a group photo together during a practice round. It speaks to the camaraderie that is felt amongst the Canadian contingent of men’s golfers, both young and old.

The major championships in 2021 provided an opportunity for Conners and Hughes to get in the mix against the best in the world. At the four majors, a Canadian finished in the top-20, and at two of them, Conners and Hughes earned a top-10. The 2021 U.S. Open saw Hughes in the final group on Sunday and Conners in the penultimate pairing during the final round of the latest Open Championship.

These results demonstrate how far Conners and Hughes improved since turning pro and their affinity for the big tournaments. While the two are rookies at the Olympics, they are no strangers to playing against golf’s best players, such as Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, or Rory McIlroy.

The Olympics will look and feel no different. No fans and rigorous health protocols define the daily realities for the Olympic athletes due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Some top golfers, like World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, are absent from the Olympics, due to the restrictions, the pandemic, and the busy golf schedule. For Conners and Hughes, skipping the Games didn’t cross their minds. They immediately said yes when given the opportunity to compete in the Olympics, not only to represent Team Canada but also how rare this chance is.

Four years ago, Graham DeLaet and David Hearn competed for Canada in Rio, finishing 20th and T-30th respectively. With how well Conners and Hughes are playing coming into this event, coupled with their motivation, there’s no doubt the chance to get on the podium is within reach.

“Hopefully we’ll do a little better and win some medals,” Hughes said.

(Note: To purchase Olympic golf gear, please click the link here)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The practice round will be conducted on July 26.

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

Click here for the full field and tournament information.

NOTABLES

Mary Parsons

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

Noémie Paré

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

Sarah-Eve Rhéaume

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

FAST FACTS

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

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

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

TORONTO—The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada will return to action in 2021 with a set of eight tournaments available for players based in Canada. The PGA TOUR made the announcement June 10. 

A year after the global pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season, and with restrictions still in place at the Canada-U.S. border, the Mackenzie Tour is giving competitive opportunities to players already in Canada through this eight-event schedule that begins in July and runs to October. 

The season begins in late-July, with the Mackenzie Investments Open at Club de Golf Le Blainvillier in the city of Blainville just outside of Montreal on July 26-August 1. Following a two- week break, the Tour begins a seven-tournament-in-seven-week stretch, beginning August 16- 22 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley for the Osprey Valley Open. Next is a two-week stay in Prince Edward Island for a pair of tournaments at two of the island’s finest golf courses. First up is the Prince Edward Island Open (August 23-29) at Dundarave Golf Club followed by the Brudenell River Classic (August 30-September 5) at Brudenell River Golf Course. 

Players will then travel west for a tournament to be announced at a later date and will be played the week of September 6-12, followed by Calgary’s ATB Financial Classic (September 13- 19) at Country Hills Golf Club, both long-time Tour partners. The season concludes with a pair of tournaments in British Columbia, the GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club (September 20-26) followed by the DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist at Uplands Golf Club (September 27-October 3). 

The Mackenzie Tour and tournament organizers continue to monitor issues surrounding the global pandemic, and they have worked with local and provincial health authorities and will continue to do so leading up to the tournaments. Approvals to return to competition still need to happen across the country, but organizers remain encouraged that the tournaments will be able to take place based on the vaccine rollout. 

Even with the compacted schedule and the number of events played in consecutive weeks caused by continued pandemic issues, Pritchard sees this year’s set of tournaments and their place on the schedule as a good thing. 

In 2020, the PGA TOUR conducted a four-tournament grouping of tournaments for players in Canada. What the Tour conducted last summer will serve as a model in 2021. 

“What I’m most excited about is that these players will have opportunities to compete at PGA TOUR-sanctioned events, the competitions taking place at quality golf courses and the Tour offering some compelling season-ending incentive for these players,” Pritchard added. 

The top player at the conclusion of the season will earn full status on the 2022 Mackenzie Tour, while players finishing No. 2 through 5 on the Points List will receive conditional 2022 Mackenzie Tour status, which will gain them entry into the first set of events before the reshuffle. Finishers six through 10 will each earn a sponsor exemption into a 2022 Mackenzie Tour event. 

Tour officials will continue to monitor the travel restrictions in place and adapt accordingly should policies change before or during the season. 

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – Cameron Champ was struggling mightily through the first half of this year, a frustrating series of performances that pointed him back to his state of mind more than any mechanical flaw.

Like many newlyweds, the 26-year-old was distracted by the delicate balance of passionately pursuing his career while still trying to carve out a healthy personal life at home. He found himself becoming much too upset by a bad round.

There sure wasn’t much for Champ to be mad about at the 3M Open.

Champ fended off dehydration and crisply putted his way to a 5-under 66 on Sunday, winning by two strokes for his third career victory.

Louis Oosthuizen, Jhonattan Vegas and Charl Schwartzel tied for second. Keith Mitchell was fifth at 12 under, and behind him were five players tied for sixth.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. finished tied for sixth, Roger Sloan of Calgary finished tied for 16th, Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., finished tied for 49th, and David Hearn of Brampton, Ont., finished tied for 58th.

Champ joined Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau as the only under-28 players to win in each of the last three seasons on tour. He jumped from 142nd to 49th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 qualifying for the playoff opener.

This month has brought quite the turnaround for the Texas A&M product, after nine missed cuts and one withdrawal over his first 16 starts of 2021. The best finish in that stretch was a tie for 17th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Champ hit the reset button after missing the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit three weeks ago, though, and emerged with a tie for 11th at the John Deere Classic in Illinois.

His wife, Jessica, was surely happy to hear that.

“It’s more so realizing what I want to do in the game of golf and then who I want to be at home. It’s a balance you have to find, and if you don’t, it can really haunt you and it can cause a lot of issues,” Champ said. “So I just feel like the last two months I’ve been in a lot better head space.”

During another 90-degree day, Champ was far from his physical best. He felt some dizziness along the back nine, putting his hands on his knees at one point as he hung his head to try to regain some composure. He had plenty of it on the last hole, after his safe strategy with the tee shot to stay away from the lake landed way left in a trampled, sandy area directly behind a clump of trees.

Champ managed to chip out onto the primary rough, then scoot up the fairway. His approach was a beauty that landed perfectly and rolled back toward the pin. He sank the easy par putt and had enough energy to pump his arms in celebration of his first top-10 finish since last October.

He had the best putting performance of the 3M Open field, with an average of 8.48 strokes gained.

Oosthuizen shot 66, too, in a much stronger finish than the previous weekend at the British Open, where his 54-hole lead turned into a tie for third after a fourth-round 71.

Playing six pairs ahead of Champ, Oosthuizen birdied three of the last four holes to give himself an outside chance. His approach to the 18th green almost yielded an eagle on the PGA Tour’s hardest par-5 hole, but the ball lipped out. Oosthuizen made a 2 1/2 foot putt for birdie instead and his fourth runner-up finish in seven starts. Schwartzel, his fellow South African, posted a 68 to match Vegas in the final round.

Cameron Tringale, a one-stroke leader after the third round, took a triple bogey on the par-3 13th hole right after consecutive birdies had brought him back into contention. He shot 74 and finished six strokes behind Champ, leaving PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson as the only 54-hole leader or co-leader to win in the last 13 tour events.

Matthew Wolff (2019) and Michael Thompson (2020), the first two winners of the 3M Open, each finished in a tie for 39th place at 5-under.

“Once I start an event,” Reed said, “I’m definitely going to finish the event.”

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – The third round of the 3M Open was filled with shots into the rough and the water around the 18th green, and sometimes both.

Cameron Tringale stayed out of trouble that so many others didn’t Saturday – and took the lead into the final round.

Tringale made a short par putt on the treacherous par-5 18th hole for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke advantage over Gary Woodland and Maverick McNealy.

Tringale, who tied for third last year at the TPC Twin Cities, eagled the par-5 12th and had three birdies in a bogey-free round. The 33-year-old topped the crowded leaderboard at 12-under 201. In an interview with reporters afterward, he quickly recalled that he birdied the 18th in the final round of the 2020 edition of the 3M Open, without fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Woodland overcame a double bogey on No. 1 with birdies on five of his next six holes in a 67. McNealy had a bogey-free 68.

“There’s going to be birdies tomorrow. You’re still going to have to go low. You’re just going to have to play a good round in the wind,” Woodland said.

Pat Perez shot a 66 to join an eight-way tie for fourth, two shots off the lead. Included in that group was Calgary’s Roger Sloan, who cared a 1-under Saturday.

Four players were three strokes back. Louis Oosthuizen, the highest-ranked player remaining at No. 9 in the world and in the FedEx Cup standings, was in a six-way tie for 16th place at only four shots behind.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was in the group that’s four shots off the pace after carding a 2-over Saturday. Hadwin shot a6-under 65 on Friday to grab a share of the second-round lead. Canadians David Hearn and Michael Gligic are both tied for 63rd.

During yet another unseasonable day of 32 C-plus degree heat, the scores crept up throughout the afternoon with the thermometer as drier and breezier air affected the play.

Keith Mitchell had a record-tying seven straight birdies to start his round on his way to a 29 on the back nine. The front nine? He posted a 37 for a 66 that left him four strokes behind Tringale. Rickie Fowler birdied six of his first 10 holes, before a triple bogey on the unrelenting 18th left him with a 70 and a tie for 29th in a six-stroke deficit.

The mini-lake in front of the 18th hole sure swallowed up a lot of balls. It’s currently ranked as the hardest par 5 on the PGA Tour. There were nine bogeys and 12 scores worse than that Saturday, for a cumulative score of 35-over. The rest of the course was 85-under.

Tringale safely hit his first two shots along the edges of the fairway before landing his third attempt at the cusp of the green. His 52-foot shot put himself in perfect position for par.

Fowler, on the other hand, splashed his third shot well short of the green. After the penalty stroke, he landed in the rough. After escaping that, he left a 20-foot putt short. He took his highest score to finish a round in his tour career.

Mitchell matched Juan Sebastian Munoz (2020), Brandt Snedeker (2007) and Joe Durant (2005) with seven birdies in a row to begin the round.

The 29-year-old Mitchell, whose only career PGA Tour victory came in the Honda Classic in 2019, had his streak stopped when a putt lipped out on the 17th green. Then the hot air grew drier and breezier, forcing a more conservative approach. The momentum shift, he said, was palpable. His tee shot on box No. 1 after the turn landed into the native grass area.

The first half of his card was clearly a keeper.

“I actually felt some nerves a little bit, but they were good nerves. It was a good kind of nervous, not like the `Hope I don’t miss the cup’ nerves or `Where do we stand on the FedExCup’ nerves. It’s more of like, `Hey, I’m in contention again, and I want to play well’ nerves, and those are the good kind. Those are the fun kind.”

With only three tournaments remaining after this prior to the FedEx Cup playoffs, Mitchell is one of several golfers near the 125-man cut who could use a strong performance on Sunday to create a bigger cushion. Mitchell entered the week ranked 114th. Perez was 115th. Chez Reavie, who was two strokes behind Tringale, was 119th. Fowler was 124th.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Roberto Diaz and Alex Kang each reached 13-under through two rounds to earn the 36-hole lead at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. The duo leads four players by one stroke at the halfway point of the tournament at Highland Springs Country Club. 

Diaz was 1-under on his round before a stretch of four consecutive birdies from Nos. 6-9 to finish. 

“It was great; I made an amazing par on 5,” said Diaz. “I hit a bad wedge in and had a bad lie in the rough, but I hit about a 12-footer for par. That really set me up for the next hole. I just kept hitting my lines with the putts and they started falling in…I haven’t really paid attention to the leaderboard. I had a peek on the ninth tee and saw that I was tied for the lead. But I’m trying to make as many birdies as possible.” 

Entering the week 23rd in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings, Diaz is seeking a strong finish to solidify his standing inside the top-25. The top-25 players in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season earn PGA TOUR membership for the 2021-22 season while the top-75 players retain their Korn Ferry Tour status in 2022. 

Earlier this season, Diaz broke through with his maiden Korn Ferry Tour victory, a one-stroke win over Peter Uihlein at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS. The win came three months to the day after the birth of his son, his first child. 

“I’ve had a great year so far,” said Diaz. “I had my first win, my kid was born, if nothing else, if I get my card or not, I will be fine. I’ve played great golf so far so I’m just enjoying where I’m at.” 

Competing in the third-to-last group of the day, Kang birdied his final two holes to match Diaz’s 13- under total. Kang is one of six players without a bogey or worse through the first two days. 

“It seems like I haven’t hit a lot of greens through the last few tournaments, so I’m trying to hit a lot of greens, give myself more chances, and not get into trouble,” said Kang, the brother of LPGA Tour star Danielle Kang. “Instead of being so aggressive, kind of try to win the tournament with the putter.” 

With uncertain status this season, Kang has made a habit of using local caddies each week. This week he has paired up with a member out at Highland Springs Country Club. 

Kang entered the week 191st in the points standings with only 10 starts. With only three events remaining in the regular season, he would likely need a win to secure Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2022 season. 

Four players sit one stroke off the lead, including 49-year-old Steven Alker and Simmons Bank Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation champion Austin Smotherman. 

Canadian Stuart Macdonald is tied for third at 12-under while fellow Canadians Adam Svensson and Taylor Pendrith are both tied for 45th.

The third round will run from 7 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. off of the first tee on Saturday at Highland Springs Country Club. 

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – Canadian Adam Hadwin missed the weekend cuts in his last three tournaments, continuing a disappointing stretch as he dropped to 120th in the FedEx Cup standings.

The 33-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., has put himself in position to get back in contention for the playoffs with a strong run at the 3M Open.

Hadwin shot a 6-under 65 on Friday for a share of the lead with Ryan Armour at 10-under 132. Armour shot 65.

Hadwin and Armour were two of few players in the afternoon to go low as wind started to play a role following a hot and humid morning with heat indexes reaching 100 degrees.

Bo Hoag (66), Chez Reavie (67), Jhonatton Vegas (69) and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (69) were a shot back. All four played in the morning.

Second-ranked Dustin Johnson bogeyed the 18th hole after putting his tee shot in the water and missed the cut. He shot 72 to finish at even par. The cut was 2-under.

Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., (71) and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., (69) made the weekend cut at 2 under.

Staying in contention this weekend would be a boon to Hadwin and Armour.

Hadwin, who finished fourth in the inaugural 3M Open in 2019, was just inside the cut for the FedEx Cup playoffs. The top 125 in the standings make the playoffs. Armour started the tournament 135th.

“I think the biggest thing coming in this week, I’ve just been a little bit more committed to the process and less on the outcome,” Hadwin said. “Certainly playoffs, maintaining status, all that stuff has probably been creeping in a bit in the last little bit and I probably got away from some of the little details that make this game happen for us. So, I’ve gotten back to that these last three rounds and it’s worked out a lot better for me.”

Hadwin, famous for shooting a 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge in 2017, had a 69 on the final day of the British Open and followed with a 67 on Thursday in Minnesota. His only PGA Tour win was the Valspar Championship in 2017.

Armour’s lone victory came in the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s coming off a fifth-place finish at last week’s Barbasol Championship. He birdied five of his final eight holes Friday.

“I’m trying,” Armour said. “We’ll worry about the points later. I don’t feel like I’ve really had as bad a year as 135 sounds. I missed five or six cuts by a shot, so you’re always kind of around that cut line and I just fell on the wrong side of it a few times. That’s what kind of gnaws at you because you feel like, man, it’s not that bad, so maybe I should be higher, but you’ve got to go out and get it done and we’re just trying our hardest right now.”

Eleven players finished their first rounds Friday after a weather delay Thursday left them unable to finish. With more inclement weather forecast overnight, the 3M Open will go with threesomes off split tees Saturday.

Vegas was able to finish in the dark on Thursday, but it wasn’t without incident as his approach on the 18th hit the top of a hospitality tent. The ball was found and he was given relief and finished with a birdie and a tie for the lead.

One of four players at the 3M Open slated to play in next week’s Olympics, Vegas kept his strong recent form going Friday. The Venezuelan was among the leaders before a bogey finish on the ninth hole, which is playing as the toughest on the course.

Vegas has tied for 11th or better in three of his last five tournaments.

“I feel I like I’m keeping the ball in play pretty well, giving myself enough chances, making a few putts, which is always good,” Vegas said. “The wind is blowing and it’s kind of that intensity that is a little bit annoying, especially some of those shots with so much water around this place, but played solid. I can’t really complain too much.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full results can be found here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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