GJAC Virtual Summit presented by RBC – Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum
Terry Lenyk
The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) Virtual Summit presented by RBC on the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum took place May 12, 2021, which is part of an ongoing GJAC series intended to help membership stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.
GJAC Virtual Summits presented by RBC are one hour in length and are recorded for public viewing. You can watch this one below. The format consists of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees.
Panelists for the event included:
- Cathy Sherk – Honourable CGHF Member
- Ted Fletcher – Son of Late Honourable CGHF Member Pat Fletcher
- Meggan Gardner – Director, Heritage, Golf Canada
- Garry McKay, GJAC Moderator
Enjoy!
The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum will be holding a virtual gala on June 8 as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. The FREE event will be co-hosted by Bob Weeks and Gail Graham.
Calgary’s Stephen Ames shoots 66 to take Mitsubishi Electric lead
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) – Canada’s Stephen Ames shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic.
The 57-year-old Ames had an opening bogey and seven birdies for a one-stroke lead over Paul Goydos.
“I don’t think I had one highlight, I think I was very steady Eddie,” Ames said. “I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens to give myself a lot of opportunities.”
A naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad, the four-time PGA Tour champion who calls Calgary home won the 2017 tournament at TPC Sugarloaf for his lone senior title.
“I think a combination of everything,” Ames said. “Hitting the ball really nicely and been working on my putting, a couple things on my putting that came through today, which is nice.”
Goydos played the back nine in 5 under, closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th. The 56-year-old Goydos has five senior victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour.
Gene Sauers followed at 68, and John Huston and Billy Andrade shot 69.
Jim Furyk, 2019 winner Scott McCarron, 2014 champion Miguel Angel Jimenez and Kenny Perry were in the group at 70. McCarron also won two PGA Tour events at TPC Sugarloaf.
Alex Cejka shot 71. He won the Regions Tradition last week in a playoff for his first senior victory, beating Steve Stricker in a playoff.
Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz had a quadruple bogey on the par-4 17th and a double bogey on 18 in an 84. He was 79th among the 80 finishers.
Wes Short Jr. shot 85, making five straight double bogeys in the middle of the round.
Team Canada’s Brigitte Thibault Advances to NCAA Women’s Golf Championship
OAKVILLE, ONT. – Team Canada member, Brigitte Thibault has advanced to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.
Thibault, a senior at Fresno State, secured her spot in the Championship, shooting 2-under par 211 (70-73-68) at Standford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.
The Rosemère, Que. native shot her best round on Wednesday with a 3-under 68 driving her to a qualifying spot at the National Championship.
Thibault’s 211 was the lowest score by a Fresno State Bulldog at an NCAA regional event, beating her own record of 216 set in 2019.
“Coming here, I wanted to beat myself from two years ago so it was nice to keep on that. I finished with a birdie when, last time, I finished with a bogey. I am super happy with it and I am glad that I got it.”
Brigitte Thibault
Brigitte won the 2020 Women’s Western Amateur Championship and was T3 up at the 2020 Arizona Wildcat Invitational.
The 2021 NCAA Women’s Golf National Championship will be played at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. on May 21-26.
Ontario’s stay-at-home order extended to June 2 — golf courses not exempted
TORONTO — Ontario is extending its stay-at-home order until June 2 to bring down high rates of COVID-19, a move Premier Doug Ford said was necessary to bring infection cases down and “save the summer.”
That means thousands of businesses and public schools will remain closed until the order is lifted. Outdoor recreational facilities will also remain closed, a decision public health experts have said is misguided and has consequences for people’s physical and mental health.
The government’s science advisers have said banning outdoor activities will not control COVID-19 and disproportionately harm children and those who don’t have access to their own green space. And Golf Ontario has told the Ford government that “golf is safe” and urged it reopen courses.
Ford acknowledged the criticism but said that measure would stay in place to limit mobility and other behaviour that could contribute to spread of the virus.
“They pick up another buddy, two or three go out, go golfing, there’s nothing wrong with golfing,” he said. “The problem is, then after golf they go back, they have some pops. That’s the problem.”
Ford said the goal was to vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19 in the next few weeks.
“These are precious weeks,” he said. “By June 2, so long as we stay the course, we will be able to reopen outdoor recreation. And by then, we will provide more details on our plan to carefully and safely begin to reopen.”
The premier blamed Ottawa for the third wave of the pandemic, suggesting a significant number of cases of the COVID-19 variants had entered Ontario through its land, air and water borders a claim that has been disputed by experts.
“The reality is, existing border measures have failed to keep the contagious variants out of Canada,” Ford said. “This brutal third wave is fuelled almost entirely by variants that pass too easily through our borders.”
Ontario declared a state of emergency and invoked the stay-at-home order in early April amid skyrocketing cases.
It initially gave police sweeping new powers to enforce the order but rolled those back amid intense backlash.
Canadian Stephen Ames one shot back of leaders at Regions Tradition
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Defending champion Steve Stricker birdied the final hole Friday for a 3-under 69 to move into a four-way tie for the lead halfway through the Regions Tradition, while Canada’s Stephen Ames is one stroke back.
Stricker joined Madison, Wisconsin, neighbour Jerry Kelly, Monday qualifier Alex Cejka and first-round leader Darren Clarke atop the leaderboard in the first of the PGA Tour Champions’ five majors.
Cejka, who made the field as the first alternate when Jay Haas withdrew, followed his opening 68 with a 69 at Greystone Golf & Country Club. Kelly had a 70 and Clarke shot 71 to get to 7 under.
“I’m just grateful for every start I get,” said Cejka, who was born in Czechoslovakia and grew up in Germany. “I know it’s tough. There’s only 80 guys every week in the field. So many old great players who are privileged out here to play. And I got to prove myself. And if I have to go back to Monday qualifier or do a top 10 to get me in next week, I will do whatever (it) is necessary to do.”u
Stricker had four birdies and a bogey. In 2019, he pulled away for a six-stroke win and his first senior major title. The event was cancelled last year.
“I didn’t do anything dumb today, just hung around,” Stricker said. “We’re only halfway home, so we have a weekend to go.
“Someone’s going to probably bust out of this pack, I would imagine. The wind is supposed to switch directions for the weekend, so that will shake thing up probably a little bit, too.”
Cejka tied for second at the Chubb Classic after winning the Monday qualifier.
It was a huge turnaround from a rocky PGA Tour Champions debut in February when he closed with a 78 in Arizona.
Ames, from Calgary, is one of three players one stroke off the lead. The others are Dicky Pride and Ernie Els.
Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., who won his first career PGA Tour Champions event last week, is eight shots off the lead at 1 over.
Two-time champion Bernhard Langer’s 69 put him only two strokes back in pursuit of his 12th PGA Tour Champions major title.
Ames, who started on No. 10, held the lead going into the final two holes. He fell back with a double bogey on the par-4 eighth hole after making only one bogey on the first 34.
“Scoring was really tough today, with the wind blowing around and stuff like that,” Ames said. “But I had an unfortunate break on 8, where my ball ended up on top of one of those acorns and it ricocheted and made double.”
Pride, who lives about an hour away in Tuscaloosa, hasn’t finished better than 12th in nine PGA Tour Champions events.
He cycled through an adventurous round to move into contention. Pride, son of former University of Alabama golf coach Dick Pride, had four bogeys and five birdies.
He sandwiched two of the bogeys around an eagle on the par-5 No. 2 hole and finished with another misfire. Pride had struggled on the PGA Tour’s developmental Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, finishing 62nd in the only tournament he completed and earning $1,588.
“I need to cut out the bogeys,” Pride said. “I need to play a little bit more consistent.”
Statement: Cancellation of the 2021 NextGen Ontario & NextGen Western Championships
With province-wide restrictions currently in place in Ontario through May 20 and in Alberta through May 26, Golf Canada has cancelled the 2021 NextGen Ontario and Western Championships.
The NextGen Ontario Championship was scheduled for May 27-30 at Saugeen Golf Club in Port Elgin, ON, while the NextGen Western Championship was slated for June 3-6 at Leduc Golf Club in Leduc, AB. The latest restrictions in each province rule out regional travel and also prohibit sport competitions of any kind.
In consultation with provincial health officials and our event partners, Golf Canada will continue to evaluate provincial health and travel restrictions related to COVID-19 to make informed and responsible decisions related to our 2021 championship schedule. The safety and well-being of our championship competitors, tournament staff and volunteers along with event stakeholders and our host community at large is paramount to Golf Canada.
The feasibility of conducting each NextGen Championship will be evaluated no later than 3-4 weeks prior to the start of the competition. An updated list of Golf Canada’s 2021 competitions is available here.
NAGA announces new golf rules for Alberta
The National Allied Golf Association (NAGA) Alberta chapter has informed industry stakeholders of new rules for golf in the province that go into effect Sunday, May 9th at 11:59 pm.
To be part of the solution and battle the third wave of COVID-19, golfing in Alberta will be limited to members of your household or if living alone, to two close contacts.
“With the recent announcements based on surging case numbers, we are fortunate to have been provided with an opportunity to remain open for the enjoyment by Albertans. However, this needs to be done responsibly,” said Erica Beck, the president of NAGA Alberta, in her letter to stakeholders. “Today, we were informed that golf was on the list of industries to be closed, however, the industry’s commitment to being responsible and ensuring protocols were put into place to maintain the safety and well-being of golfers were the key deciding factors in the industry being permitted to remain open. We strongly urge all golf courses to continue to remain vigilant as the safety of staff and guests remains our utmost priority and we ask that all facilities do their part to adhere to all AHS guidelines.”
To read the full statement from May 6th, click here.
Megan Osland and Noémie Paré qualify for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open
OAKVILLE, ONT. – Canadians Megan Osland and Noémie Paré clinched their spots in the field for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open by capturing one of the precious tickets available in their respective qualifying events.
Noémie Paré, member of Team Canada’s amateur squad, won the 2020 Québec Women’s Amateur Championship and was runner up at the 2020 Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship.
Native of Victoriaville, Que., Paré qualified in Massachusetts on May 5th after tying Christina Kim with 137 total strokes at Dedham Golf & Polo Club.
In a post round interview with MassGolf.org, Paré said:
“This is amazing, it’s just the right step in the right direction. I haven’t had time to process it yet, but I just can’t wait to experience the whole thing.”
The 2021 U.S. Women’s Open will be Paré’s first major championship appearance.
After making her first appearance in 2019, Osland will be returning to the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021 as a result of placing second at a qualifying tournament in Ormond Beach, Florida.
The Kelowna, B.C. native remained close behind Kim Metraux of Switzerland, shooting a pair of 71s and finishing second at the 36-hole qualifier held at Oceanside Country Club.
The U.S. Women’s Open takes place from Thursday, June 3 to Sunday, June 6 at The Olympic Club in San Fransico, Calif.
Canada to host U.S. Junior Amateur & Girls’ Junior Qualifier
Golf Canada is pleased to announce it will host a U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior Qualifier at the Oshawa Golf & Curling Club on Monday, June 21st.
Held for the first time in Canada, the Qualifier will offer an opportunity for Canadian players to qualify for the respective USGA Championships.
Eligibility to compete in the Qualifiers and details on the Championships can be found below.
73rd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
The Country Club of North Carolina
Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina
July 19th – 24th
U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier Eligibility
Handicap Index Limit: 4.4
Age Limit: Cannot be 19 on or before July 24, 2021
Entry Fee: $100
Entries Close: May 26th at 5:00pm EDT
72nd U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
Columbia Country Club
Chevy Chase, Maryland
July 12th – 17th
U.S. Girl’s Junior Qualifier Eligibility
Handicap Index Limit: 9.4
Age Limit: Cannot be 19 on or before July 17, 2021
Entry Fee: $100
Entries Close: May 19th at 5:00pm EDT
Eligible players can register here.
For any questions pertaining to entry or registration, please contact the USGA at champs@usga.org or (908) 326-1950.
***Golf Canada championships only proceed with the authorization of local and provincial health authorities***
VIDEO: Mackenzie Hughes is paying the rent
With a win in his rookie season, it seemed success came easy for Mackenzie Hughes, yet that is anything but the case. The Canadian has overcome hardships at every level of his career, most notably last season with his first trip to the TOUR Championship, thanks to a simple mindset that is prominent in all aspects of his journey from Canada to the United States.