JOHANNESBURG – Canadian Aaron Cockerill has posted a career-best finish on the European Tour with a share a fourth place.

Cockerill, from Stone Mountain, Man., ended with a 68 for 13-under at the Joburg Open on Sunday, tied with South African Brandon Stone and Steve Surry of England.

The trio were six strokes back of winner Joachim B. Hansen.

“Personal best T-4 finish on the European Tour this week,” Cockerill said in a post to his Twitter and Instagram accounts. “Getting closer and closer.”

Currently ranked 118th, the 28-year-old is the only Canadian on the tour.

 

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Hansen of Denmark overturned a three-shot deficit with nine holes remaining to win his first European Tour title Sunday.

Hansen closed with a composed, bogey-free 67 to win on 19 under par, two shots clear of 20-year-old Wilco Nienaber of South Africa. Nienaber carded a final-round 70 and saw his chance at a first tour title slip away with bogeys on his last two holes.

Nienaber took a one-stroke lead into the final round at Randpark Golf Club and extended his advantage to three with three birdies from No. 4.

Hansen birdied Nos. 10, 12 and 14 to get into a tie for the lead before Nienaber bogeyed No. 17 after almost finding the water to the left of the green.

Nienaber then dropped another shot on the last as Hansen saved par from a greenside bunker to seal his victory.

“It was a fun battle out there with Wilco,” Hansen said. “I kept the head calm out there and we stuck to the plan in terms of where we wanted to hit our drives and approaches. I kept pushing. It started slowly but suddenly the birdies came on the back nine.”

Shaun Norris of South Africa was third on 16 under after finishing with a 66.

The Joburg Open returned to the European Tour schedule this year for the first time since 2017. It’s the first of three straight tournaments in South Africa before the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai from Dec. 10-13.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Robert Streb made an 8-foot par putt to stay alive in a playoff and ended it on the second extra hole Sunday with a pitching wedge that came an inch from going in, giving him a victory over Kevin Kisner in the RSM Classic.

Streb won for the second time on the PGA Tour, his other title also coming in a playoff at Sea Island six years ago.

He rallied from a five-shot deficit in 2014. This time, he lost a three-shot lead until a 6-iron to 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole for a birdie that allowed him to close with a 2-under 68 and force extra holes.

Kisner, whose first of three PGA Tour titles came at Sea Island in 2015, closed with a 63.

They finished at 19-under 263, one shot ahead of Cameron Tringale (62).

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished tied for 10th on the strength of a 7-under 65 in the second round—the lowest round ever by a Canadian. Conners recorded six birdies during a bogey-free Sunday, finishing 15-under 267 for the tournament. Bunched up in a seven-way tie for 23rd was Roger Sloan from Merritt, B.C — he shot up 18 spots on Sunday after a round of 64.

 

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Fellow Canadians Michael Gligic (Burlington, Ont.), Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.), David Hearn (Brantford, Ont.), Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor (both from Abbotsford, B.C.) did not make the cut.

Kisner had the advantage on the 18th hole on the Seaside course for the first playoff hole. His approach caught a good bounce and left him a 15-foot birdie putt, while Streb drove into the bunker, couldn’t reach the green and his pitch from about 30 yards away still came up some 8 feet short.

Kisner missed, and Streb rolled in his par putt. They returned to the 18th again, and Streb had a flyer lie in the rough left of the fairway. He went with pitching wedge from 158 yards expecting it to come out hot, and it did. It was close to perfect, the ball landing softly and rolling just over the left edge of the cup.

Kisner’s tee shot settled in the Bermuda rough to the right of the fairway, and his approach bounded over the green. Knowing his chip had to go in, he ran it some 20 feet by and holed that for a meaningless par with Streb inches away.

The victory came at just the right time for Streb, who had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals more than a year ago just to regain full status on the tour. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf for three months, no one lost his current status. Streb missed out on the PGA Tour post-season again, but kept his card.

Now he has a two-year exemption through the end of August 2023, and he returns to the Masters in April.

Streb also extended a trend in his new PGA Tour season that began in September, joining other players who ended long victory droughts. Stewart Cink won the Safeway Open for his first victory in 11 years. Martin Laird ended seven years without winning in Las Vegas. Brian Gay won in Bermuda, his first victory in more than seven years.

In 11 tournaments of the new season, Streb is the fifth winner to be ranked outside the top 300 in the world.

Kisner did well to get in the playoff after starting five shots back. He made five birdies in 10 holes, including a pitch from thick rough in the middle of a sandy waste area to tap-in range on the par-5 seventh. He caught Streb with a 6-foot birdie on the 13th hole, and stayed in the game with an 18-foot par putt from the fringe on the next hole.

Streb missed a pair of 5-footers on the back nine, one for par and another for birdie on the par-5 15th, but he delivered the key shots when he needed. One of them was his 6-iron on the 17th. The shot he’ll remember is the pitching wedge he nearly jarred that gave him the victory.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Robert Streb kept his game from coming undone over the first hour Saturday, and then pieced together enough birdies for a 3-under 67 to build a three-shot lead going into the final round of the RSM Classic.

Streb came from five shots behind when he won at Sea Island six years ago, his only PGA Tour title. This time, he has a lead over Zach Johnson (65) and Bronson Burgoon (67).

Streb was at 17-under 195.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was the top Canadian on Saturday, tied for 14th spot with 4-under 66. His only fellow Canadian left in the competition is Roger Sloan from Merritt, B.C., who was tied for 41st heading into Sunday, the final day of the tournament.

Camilo Villegas pulled within one shot on the lead going to the back nine of the Seaside course Saturday until a two-shot swing at the 10th that cost him momentum. Streb hit his approach to 8 feet for birdie. Villegas was just on the fringe 15 feet away, ran it by 5 feet and missed that to fall three shots back.

Villegas added a bogey on the 13th, didn’t make a birdie on the back nine and had to settle for a 70. He was five shots behind as he tries to win for the first time since five years, and following a summer in which he lost his 2-year-old daughter.

Streb had to earn back his full PGA Tour card a year ago, and then missed the PGA Tour post-season for the third straight year. He kept his status because of the pandemic-shortened year, and a victory Sunday would give him an exemption through August 2023.

Even so, he knows from experience not to look too far ahead.

It was in 2014 when Streb closed with a 63 to make up a five-shot deficit before winning a three-man playoff. Six players were within five shots of the lead going into Sunday.

Even with no spectators and only limited corporate clients allowed, Johnson will feel an entire community behind. He lives at Sea Island, and no resident has ever won this event. Winless since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews, Johnson rallied late with three birdies over his last five holes, finishing with a 30-foot birdie putt.

Burgoon had five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine — the exception was a bogey on the 14th, playing straight into a strong wind along the water — to overcome a rough start and get into the final group.

Emiliano Grillo had a65 and was four shots behind, while Kevin Kisner (66) and Kyle Stanley (68) were five back.

Streb began his round with a quick hook and escaped trouble with par. From the left side of the second fairway, 123 yards to a back pin and facing the wind, he left it on the front of the green and had to two-putt from 75 feet. He came up well short of the green on the par-3 third and had to get up-and-down from 65 meet, making an 8-foot par putt.

“It wasn’t the greatest start, but got out of there with a bunch of pars and tried to find some consistency and it got better,” Streb said.

It never felt easy, but he wasn’t losing any ground. He made his first birdie with a sand wedge to 3 feet on No. 8, and the rest of the round was relatively stress-free except for a couple of more two-putts from 50 feet or longer.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Sei Young Kim answered Ally McDonald’s ace with a late birdie run to open a five-stroke lead Saturday in the Pelican Women’s Championship, the South Korean’s first event since winning the KPMG Women’s PGA a month and half ago.

The second-ranked Kim shot a 6-under 64, birdieing Nos. 14-17, to get to 14-under 196 at Pelican Golf Club.

“She made a hole-in-one, we almost one-shot lead,” Kim said. “I got a little bit pressure, but I try to focus on my game.”

McDonald shot 68. She had the hole-in-one on the par-3 12th and birdied the par-5 14th to get close to Kim. The American dropped a stroke on the par-4 16th.

“It was playing like 115 front, 127 hole, and there was a little bit of downwind,” McDonald said. “So, I thought a 115 shot, just playing the front edge, would be enough to pitch it a few yards on and let it release.

“Honestly, this is kind of how my strategy works, was everything told me to look a couple paces right of it, so I did. That’s kind of my strategy, because I wasn’t looking at the hole, but then it went in.”

Kim’s victory last month at Aronimink was her 11th on the LPGA Tour and first major title.

“I feel like same, but when standing on the first tee, like announcer, `This is a major champion, Sei Young Kim.’ When I heard that, feels like, `Oh, yeah, I got that.”’

She left McDonald behind with the birdie spree.

“I just trying to keep push myself until the last hole,” Kim said. “Just keep pushing. I think that is way to make more birdies.”

McDonald struggled on the greens late.

“I felt like I played really solid during that stretch,” McDonald said. “I hit good shots. Just unfortunately, my speed got a little off, especially 16, 17, 18. For a little bit, I kind of lost my touch with the putter.”

Stephanie Meadow was third at 8 under after a 68 in the first-year tournament originally set for the same week as the PGA Championship in May

Lydia Ko (66) was 7 under, and Minjee Lee (67) and Austin Ernst (65) were 6 under.

Brooke Henderson is also 6 under and tied for fifth place going into Sunday’s game. The Smiths Falls, Ont., player fired a 66 today — her best round of the tournament.

“I feel like after you make the cut you’re feeling a little bit looser, and I think it’s a great day where you can really, well, make a move up the leaderboard and challenge the leaders. I was trying to do that today.”

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.,) shot a 71 and sits at even par, but is still within the top 20 players teeing off Sunday.

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was tied for 28th at 2 over after a 69 in her first LPGA Tour event of the year. No. 1 in the world for the last 68 weeks, she has been home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to play three straight tournaments through the U.S. Women’s Open.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Breakthrough winners in their last starts, Sei Young Kim and Ally McDonald were on top again Friday in the Pelican Women’s Championship.

The second-ranked Kim, making her first start since winning the KPMG Women’s PGA a month and half ago at Aronimink for her first major title, shot a 5-under 65 at Pelican Golf Club to take a one-stroke lead over McDonald into the weekend.

Not that Kim was paying attention to the leaderboard.

“Golf is compete with myself, I think,” Kim said. “If you see the leaderboard then I think I think about the other things. I just want to think about focus on myself and what I have to do.”

McDonald had a 66. She won her first LPGA Tour title late last month in the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia in the tour’s last event.

“My ball-striking was just a little off yesterday, but managed to play really solid,” McDonald said. “I was able to strike it better today. Had a few more realistic looks for birdie. Overall, I just feel like I’m still rolling the ball really well, which gives me a lot of confidence and takes a little pressure off my ball-striking in general. Feel like I don’t have to hit had it really, really close.”

Kim had an 8-under 132 total in the first-year tournament originally set for the same week as the PGA Championship in May. The 11-time LPGA Tour winner birdied four of the first five holes and added another on the par-5 14th.

“It was a tough to make the chance to birdie on the back nine because pin position really tough,” Kim said. “Pins, most pins were right next to undulation, so if you miss the distance, it’ll come back, all the way back. I had three good up-and-downs. Bogey-free round It was really good play today.”

First-round lead Sophia Popov, the Women’s British Open winner at Royal Troon in August, was tied for third at 6 under with Stephanie Meadow. Popov followed an opening 64 with a 70, playing alongside McDonald and top-ranked Jim Young Ko.

“Ally had a good start, too,” Popov said. “When I started making a couple bogeys she was making birdies, and so I knew she was getting close to me. I think that also helped to push me.”

Meadow birdied four of her last five holes, finishing on the front nine, for a 65.

“My back nine was awesome,” Meadow said. “Played really solid. The front nine I hit barely any greens and made a ton of up-and-downs. Just kept my cool on my front nine, the back nine, and was able to make some birdies coming in, which was nice.”

Elizabeth Szokol was 5 under after a 66.

Lydia Ko had a 67 to join Minjee Lee (69) and Lindsey Weaver (68) at 3 under. Angela Stanford (68), Jennifer Song (70) and Robynn Ree (69) were 2 under.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., fired a 70 and is also 2 under.  Henderson is sitting in a tie for 9th place going into the weekend rounds. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is one shot behind following a 1-under 71 and is tied for 14th.

Jin Young Ko was tied for 47th at 3 over after rounds of 72 and 71, in her first LPGA Tour start of the year. No. 1 in the world for the last 68 weeks, She has been home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to play three straight tournaments through the U.S. Women’s Open.

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, also making her return to the LPGA Tour, was tied for 38th at 2 over, following an opening 73 with a 69. She last played the Women’s Australian Open in February before the tour began shutting down its Asia swing because of the pandemic.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Robert Streb birdied his last two holes on the Plantation course at Seal Island and matched his career low with a 9-under 63, giving him a two-shot lead over Camilo Villegas on Friday in the RSM Classic.

Villegas had an even better finish to stay in range going into the weekend.

His tee shot on the par-5 18th on the Plantation course hit a cart path on the right side of the fairway and bounced enough that he only had a 9-iron left over the water to a front pin. He was urging it to clear the water, and it landed just on the green and left him about 12 feet away for a closing eagle and a 66.

The final two rounds move to the Seaside course, which Joel Dahmen lit up Friday for a 9-under 61 that took him outside the cut line to just outside the top 10.

The last four winners at the RSM Classic each had the 36-hole lead.

“I don’t want to be the one that breaks it,” Streb said. “There’s still a lot of golf left, and we’ll see what happens.”

Streb was at 14-under 128 at the only tournament he has won on the PGA Tour. It was the fourth time he shot 63, the most memorable in the second round at Baltusrol in the 2016 PGA Championship.

Villegas has the same attitude — go play, count up the scores, see where he stands — though he is not oblivious to the attention on his for all he has been through this year.

The 38-year-old Colombian missed all of 2019 recovering from a shoulder injury, and then his world was torn apart when his 2-year-old daughter, Mia, developed tumors on her brain and spine. She died in late July. Villegas has his brother as a caddie — Manny, who also played professionally — and that helps keep his mind on the golf.

“I’m going to be very honest with you, there’s so much happening on the golf course, you’re so focused, and that’s what I’ve been doing all our life. Having my brother on the bag has helped, too. He keeps me in check and we try to play golf when we’re out there.”

On Thursday, he saw a rainbow on the range and it made him think of his daughter.

“Once you get on that first tee, you try to focus on golf,” he said. “I think I’ve done a good job of it.”

Villegas is a four-time winner — his last victory was six years ago — and knows not to get too caught up at the halfway point. Even so, he is building confidence mainly from his shoulder feeling good and knowing he has put in the work.

“It’s not a two-day thing, it’s a process,” Villegas said.

Bronson Burgoon also had a 63 at Plantation and was three shots behind with Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire, who had a 66 at Plantation. Harris English, another Sea Island resident, shot 66 at Plantation and was four shots behind with Kyle Stanley (65 on Plantation).

Of the top 10 on the leaderboard, past Sea Island winner Kevin Kisner was the only one who played the par-70 Seaside course, where he made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 66.

Merrit, B.C., player Roger Sloan is the top Canadian going into the weekend — he shot a 69 on Friday and sits in a tie for 22nd with 6 under. Corey Conners (Listowel, ON.) is one point behind with 5-under 137. Fellow Canadians David Hearn, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, and Michael Gligic will not be continuing on to the weekend after missing the 3-under 139 cut line.

All together, sixty-five players made the cut. Among those missing the cut was Justin Rose, who birdied three straight holes before ending with a bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole at Seaside to miss by one. Sungjae Im, a runner-up last week at the Masters, shot 69 at Seaside and missed the cut by two shots.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Women’s British Open winner Sophia Popov left top-ranked playing partner Jin Young Ko and everyone else behind Thursday in the Pelican Women’s Championship.

Popov shot a 6-under 64 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai, with Ko eight shots behind after a 72 in her first LPGA Tour start of the year.

Popov was the surprise winner at Royal Troon in August.

“I think I’m playing with a different confidence level,” Popov said. “You know, the shots are there. I always had them I felt like. I think mentally I’ve never felt as freed up as I do now. I don’t know if that’s from winning the tournament or just overall just having more fun out here. Having obviously an exemption for the next couple years just frees up the swing a little bit, my mindset, I can be a little bit more aggressive, and I think I just took advantage of that.”

At the tricky Pelican Golf Club, the German birdied the last five holes for a front-nine 29, then cooled off on the back with two birdies and two bogeys — the last on the par-4 18th.

“I felt pretty confident coming into the round,” Popov said. “Honestly, probably didn’t see that many birdies on my front. I thought with the wind the course is playing really tough, and surprised myself a little on that front nine. Tried to keep it going, but think the other nine is definitely tough and so I’m happy with my score.”

Buhai birdied three of the last four holes.

“You just have to stay patient, hit to the big parts of the green,” the South African said. “I think in order to shoot a low score today, you got to have a hot putter, especially this afternoon. The greens firmed up a lot and it was difficult to get it close. That’s what I did. I made some good putts coming down. I hit it close on 17 and then holed a nice one on 18 for birdie.”

Ally McDonald, playing alongside Popov and Ko in an afternoon threesome, was at 67 with Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim, the No. 2 player in the world.

“Honestly, my ball striking wasn’t that great,” McDonald said. “I just felt like my timing was just a little bit off.”

McDonald won her first LPGA Tour title late month in the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia.

Canadians Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp closed off their first round tied for 5th place after shooting 2-under 68.

“It’s definitely a tricky golf course,” Henderson said. “You got to be careful out there. It can kind of jump up and bite you if you’re not paying attention, and especially with how windy it was earlier today.”

Local favourite Brittany Lincicome and Jessica Korda shot 69.

“A lot of the holes it seemed like it was a left-to-right wind, which being a draw player was just really messing with my swing,” Lincicome said. “You have to miss it in the right spot, and I feel like I missed it in the wrong spot a few times.”

Lexi Thompson had a hole-in-one on the 162-yard third hole, her 12th of the day.

“Hit a full 9-iron and it was kind of flagged right off the face,” Thompson said. “I kind of went off a guy behind the green. He put his hands up. I couldn’t tell if it went in or not. But it’s a great feeling, even though there was only about ten people that saw it.”

She bogeyed three of the next four holes in a 70.

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, also making her return to the LPGA Tour, had a double bogey and two bogeys in a 73. She last played the Women’s Australian Open in February before the tour began shutting down its Asia swing because of the pandemic.

The first-year tournament was originally to be held the same week as the PGA Championship in May.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Moving on from a devastating summer of losing his child, Camilo Villegas made a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole Thursday for a 6-under 64 and a share of the lead with Matt Wallace in the RSM Classic.

Villegas and Wallace each finished on the Seaside course at Sea Island with big putts. Villegas capped off a bogey-free round on the ninth hole for his lowest score on the PGA Tour in four years. Wallace hit into a hazard on the 18th and saved par with a 30-foot putt.

They were a shot ahead of eight players, a group that included Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire and Robert Streb, who won his only PGA Tour title at Sea Island five years ago. They each had 5-under 67 on the Plantation course, which played about three-quarters of a shot harder.

Villegas was trying to return from a shoulder injury that kept him out all of 2019 when he and wife learned early this year their 2-year-old daughter, Mia, had tumors developing on her brain and spine. She was going through chemotherapy when she died in July.

He’s trying to move on and hang on to memories, and he had one immediately while warming up with his brother, Manny, working as his caddie.

“Got on the range and see a little rainbow out there. I start thinking about Mia and said, `Hey, let’s have a good one.’ Nice to have Manny on the bag and yes, it was a good ball-striking round, it was a great putting round. I was pretty free all day.”

Villegas, a 38-year-old from Colombia, is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the last two FedEx Cup playoff events in 2008. He has missed the cut in three of his five events of the new PGA Tour season, which began a little more than a month after his daughter died.

“I can’t change the past and since I can’t change the past, I’ve got to focus on the present,” Villegas said. “It’s not about forgetting because you never forget your daughter. It’s about being in the moment, being in the now and this is my now. It’s not with her, but it is with her at the same time.

“I love playing golf, I love doing what I do. The game of golf has been great to me,” he said. “I happened to have a shoulder injury there for the last couple years that kind of set me back a bit, but I’m excited. I think things are rolling the right way and obviously if I keep doing what I did today, it should be fine.”

Wallace tied for 46th last week at the Masters, and then learned on his way to Sea Island about three hours away that his caddie, Dave McNealy, tested positive for the coronavirus. Wallace tested negative, but he was in need of a caddie. With two courses in the rotation he didn’t know, he decided on a local caddie named Jeffrey Cammon.

“He’s really chill,” said Wallace, who can run the opposite side of that temperament. “He said, `What do you want me to say?’ That was the first question. I was like, `Listen, mate, I don’t need anything. I’ll ask you a question and you answer it just with pure facts of what you think.’ It worked well today.”

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., both shot a 3-under 67 during his first round, making them the top Canadian players so far at T21. Conners is playing the RSM Classic fresh out of a top 10 finish at the Masters last weekend.

Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, ON) closed the round at 1 over, a shot ahead of fellow Canadian David Hearn (Brantford, ON). Abbotsford, B.C., players Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin trailed them with respective scores of 3 and 4 over, while Michael Gligic (Burlington, ON) ended the day at 7 over.

The weather wasn’t as pleasant as it was at Augusta National, with cooler temperatures, strong wind and heavy clouds. Nearly half the 156-man field was at par or better.

Sungjae Im, a runner-up at the Masters, began his round at Plantation with double bogey and brought it back to even-par 72. Webb Simpson, at No. 6 the highest-ranked player in the field, had a 68 at Seaside. Tyrrell Hatton, the No. 10 player in the world, shot a 69 at Seaside.

JOHANNESBURG — South Africans Wilco Nienaber and Shaun Norris both shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Joburg Open, which made its return to the European Tour schedule for the first time since 2017.

Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., who played his first round bogey-free and made two birdies on his last three. Cockerill ended the day one back of the lead at 7-under 64.

American Johannes Veerman joined Cockerill in a tie for 3rd — both players completed late-afternoon runs at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg.

Rhys Enoch, Adilson da Silva, Richard McEvoy, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano all carded 65s and were another shot back.

On a morning of low scores, Nienaber and Norris both made eagles at the par-5 No. 12. Nienaber also had nine birdies but was held back by three bogeys. Norris made six birdies to go with his eagle and didn’t drop a shot all round.

The 20-year-old Nienaber turned pro last year and his best finish in a tour event is fourth. His power was on show at Randpark as he unleashed a 439-yard drive off the tee on the par-5 No. 4. He nearly picked up a second eagle there as his putt hit the cup but didn’t drop.

Norris is also seeking a first European Tour title, although he’s won twice on the Asian Tour. He put together a strong finish by making five birdies on his last seven holes.

The Joburg Open is the first of three straight European Tour tournaments in South Africa before the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai on Dec. 10-13.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of the 29 athletes, male and female, who have been selected to represent Team Canada as part of the 2021 National Amateur and Junior Squads.

Fifteen athletes will compete on Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad, consisting of eight players on the men’s squad and seven on the women’s squad.

The announcement marks a significant increase in roster size, adding six athletes to the previous year’s team. The roster expansion is due in large part to a restructuring of team resources in addition to increased funding support from the Golf Canada Foundation’s network of Trustee partners.

“We are very pleased to extend the reach of the Team Canada program to support more of the country’s top athletes,” said Derek Ingram, Head Coach of the National Men’s Squads. “The new program structure allows our coaching staff to focus more resources on training and sport science with each athlete’s individual results used to determine their respective competitive schedule.”

Team Canada’s 2021 Squad members have all competed and achieved impressive results at regional, national, and international competitions, including medals at the Pan-Am Games, NCAA tournament wins and victories at prestigious amateur competitions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all athletes from the 2020 Squad were able to return in 2021, provided they met team eligibility criteria.

“We are very excited with the athletes selected – they represent a mix of returning team members as well as talented up-and-coming athletes,” said Tristan Mullally, Head Coach of the National Women’s Squads. “It is a new chapter for amateur golf in Canada and we have a tremendous group of ambassadors representing our country.”

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2021 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S AMATEUR SQUAD

Taylor Kehoe | Strathroy, Ont. – West Haven Golf & Country Club
Alisha Lau | Richmond, B.C. – Marine Drive Golf Club
Noémie Paré | Victoriaville, Qué. – Club de golf de Victoriaville
Mary Parsons | Delta, B.C. – Mayfair Lakes Golf Club
Sarah-Ève Rhéaume | Québec, Qué. – Club de golf Royal Québec
Brigitte Thibault | Rosemère, Qué. – Club de golf de Rosemère
Brooke Rivers | Brampton, Ont. – Brampton Golf Club

MEN’S AMATEUR SQUAD

Matthew Anderson | Mississauga, Ont. – Credit Valley Golf & Country Club
Cougar Collins | Caledon, Ont. – TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley
Laurent Desmarchais | Longueuil, Qué. – Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu
Noah Steele | Kingston, Ont. – Cataraqui Golf & Country Club
Henry Lee | Coquitlam, B.C. – Public Player
Brendan MacDougall | Calgary, Alta. – Glencoe Golf and Country Club
Étienne Papineau | St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué. – Club de golf Pinegrove
Johnny Travale | Hamilton, Ont. – Glendale Golf & Country Club

Click here to read full player bios.

National Junior Squads

The National Junior Squad—a U19 program—features fourteen athletes (seven girls and seven boys).

In September, Golf Canada hosted a selection camp at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C., to evaluate Canada’s top juniors. In partnership with the Provincial Golf Associations, all golfers were run through a series of testing modules followed by a 54-hole competition.

From March through early June, the Junior Squad will practice out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain—the fourth year that the program has provided centralized training, accommodation and education for athletes during the second semester of their school year. Team members will be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics, and nutrition.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2021 Junior Squad:

JUNIOR GIRLS SQUAD

Angela Arora | Surrey, B.C. – Beach Grove Golf Club
Katie Cranston | Oakville, Ont. – Oakville Golf Club
Nicole Gal | Oakville, Ont. – Oakville Golf Club
Jennifer Gu | West Vancouver, B.C. – Seymour Golf & Country Club
Lauren Kim | Surrey, B.C. –  Morgan Creek Golf Club
Michelle Liu | Vancouver, B.C. – Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
Emily Zhu | Richmond Hill, Ont. – National Pines Golf Club

JUNIOR BOYS SQUAD

Willy Bishop | Victoria, B.C. – Victoria Golf Club
Félix Bouchard | Otterburn Park, Que. –  Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu
Malik Dao | Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Qué. – Summerlea Golf & Country Club
Ashton McCulloch | Kingston, Ont. – Cataraqui Golf & Country Club
Owen Mullen | Shortts Lake, N.S. – Truro Golf Club
JP Parr | St-Célestin, Qué. – Club de golf Ki-8-eb Golf
Hunter Thomson | Calgary, Alta. – Glencoe Golf & Country Club

Click here to read full player bios.

Team Canada Coaching Staff Announced 

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2021 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.

For the amateur squads, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg returns as men’s head coach with support from assistant coach Andrew Parr of London, Ont. On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont., returns as head coach.

On the junior side, Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C., will lead the centralized Junior Squads at the National Training Centre in Bear Mountain for the fourth year. He will receive support from newly named coach Jennifer Greggain, also of Comox, B.C.

Players will have access to Team Canada’s sport science staff, which includes physiotherapist Greg Redman and Psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood supporting the men’s team with physiotherapist Andrea Kosa and mental performance consultant Christie Gialloreto supporting the women. The Junior Squads will continue to receive sport science support from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific in the areas of strength & conditioning, physiotherapy, mental performance, and nutrition.

“Team Canada has shown tremendous success and the coaching staff is well-positioned to lead the increased roster of athletes along with the centralized training program at Bear Mountain,” said Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada Chief Executive Officer. “Along with every area of the business, we will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 to ensure the health and well-being of the athletes and coaches. We now look ahead to helping shape the bright futures of Canada’s top up-and-coming athletes looking to follow in the footsteps of graduates such as Brooke Henderson, Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes.”

Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe, Greggain and Parr are all PGA of Canada members.

Golf Canada will announce the selection of the 2021 Team Canada Young Pro Squad in January.