Josh Whalen normally tees off as an amateur on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada, but on Saturday, July 20, he’ll be teeing it up for a cause close to his heart.

Whalen’s girlfriend, Jennie Griffin, was diagnosed with a form of Leukemia in March 2018. Jennie won her battle with the disease thanks to a bone marrow transplant with her sister serving as the donor, and has returned to working as a teacher.

With the cancer in remission, Griffin hasn’t forgotten all those who were by her side through the battle and is now giving back.

“It came to me that I wanted to host a golf tournament last year when I was in the hospital,” Griffin said. “Because I wasn’t back at work, I had a lot of extra time, so I decided to host the tournament for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.”

“She just really wanted to find a way to give back to everyone who helped her along the way,” said Whalen, who plays on the Team Canada National Amateur Squad. “From doctors and nurses and all the little things that are set up for people who are going through cancer.”

Both worked at Napanee Golf & Country Club, the same course where Whalen learned the game as a youngster. Hosting the tournament at the nine-hole course just outside of Kingston, Ont., was a natural choice.

The 72 spots available for the tournament didn’t take long to fill up. Napanee Golf & Country Club members, friends of Jennie, her family and some of Whalen’s college teammates from Kent State University will be teeing off at Napanee on July 20.

“I’ve had a lot of support from the golf course and the members,” Griffin said. “It filled up quickly, which was really exciting. It will just be a fun day. Even people who aren’t necessarily golfers are coming out to enjoy it.”

“The members know her and they were behind it right away,” said Whalen. “It was nice to see the members of the club wanting to be involved. Within two or three days it was full, right away.”

In addition to entry fees, a silent auction will take place. All proceeds from the tournament and silent auction are going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.

“I’m hoping this will become an annual tournament,” Griffin said. “I’m hoping this can continue.”

On an annual basis, there are over 37,000 charitable golf events held in Canada that help raise over $533 million for various causes.

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – Min A Yoon and Kum Kang Park, both of the Republic of Korea, as well as Canadians Nonie Marler (Vancouver) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) earned exemptions to the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the sectional qualifier held at Seymour Golf & Country Club in North Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday.

Yoon carded a 2-under-par 70 to take medallist honours. Five birdies, including two on her last five holes, secured an exemption for the Korean.

Yoon, the No. 104-ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is slated to play the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and the Canadian Junior Girls Championship later this summer.

Four front-nine birdies put Park in a good position to earn an exemption, but she nearly fell out of contention on the back-nine. She was able to work around three straight bogeys on holes No. 14 through 16 to finish one stroke behind Yoon.

Park made her first career start on the LPGA Tour in April 2019. She missed the cut at the LOTTE Championship, an event that was won by Brooke Henderson.

Marler and Kim both shot 1-under-par 73, earning the final two exemptions. At only 13 years old, Kim will be one of the youngest competitors among the 156 players teeing off at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

This will be the first time playing the U.S. Women’s Amateur for all four players.

Angel (Mu Chen) Lin of Surrey, B.C., finished in fifth place at 2 over, earning an alternate spot for the tournament.

It doesn’t get better than having 13-time BC Amateur Champion Doug Roxburgh doing scoring for the ⁦@USGA⁩ Women’s Am qualifier ⁦@seymourgolf⁩ pic.twitter.com/sDy9hwcgyv

— BC Golf (@bc_golfer) July 16, 2019

The sectional at Seymour was the only such qualifier in Canada. A total of 24 qualifiers are taking place across North America from July 1-17. The 119th U.S. Women’s Amateur will be held from August 5-11 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss.

Full results can be found here.

A qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championship is taking place Monday, July 22 at The Thornhill Club in Thornhill, Ont. More information can be found here.

PORTRUSH, Ireland – Brooks Koepka’s biggest asset during this year’s British Open won’t be in his bag, it’ll be on his bag.

The four-time major winner will be walking around Royal Portrush, a course new to most of the players in the field, with a native expert helping him negotiate the sharp elevation changes of the century-old links course on the northern coast of Northern Ireland. His caddie, Ricky Elliott, is a local lad.

“Every hole I just step up on, ‘You tell me what to do. You’ve played it more than anybody,”’ said Koepka, who is on such a roll at majors he may be one of the few players who doesn’t need extra help. “So just let him figure it out. He knows his spots to miss it. The spots to come in from, with different hole locations and different winds.”

Elliott grew up in Portrush, and grew up playing at Royal Portrush. The pair started working together shortly after the 2013 British Open, when Phil Mickelson won at Muirfield.

It only took a phone call to put things in motion.

“We had about a 30-minute phone conversation. I liked the way he went about things,” Koepka said. “He was kind of light. He was joking on the phone. And that’s somebody I want, I want somebody that’s not going to be so focused in all the time. My personality, I laugh and joke on the golf course. I know it doesn’t look like it, but the camera is not on us all the time. He’s pretty laid back.”

Koepka has excelled over the last couple of years with Elliott on his bag, particularly at the major tournaments. After winning his second straight U.S. Open title last year, Koepka won his second straight PGA Championship this year. And he didn’t do badly at the other two majors this season either, finishing second at the Masters and at the U.S. Open.

“The whole reason I show up is to win. That’s what I’m trying to do,” Koepka said of his major results. “It’s incredible. But at the same time, it’s been quite disappointing, you know? Finishing second sucks. It really does.”

Koepka will play his first two rounds at Royal Portrush alongside 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Shubhankar Sharma.

And like many great champions in all sorts of sports, Koepka is full of self-belief heading into the final major of the season.

“I think you always have to have a chip on your shoulder, no matter what it is,” Koepka said. “Every great athlete and every major sport always has one.

“Over the last year and a half, I just felt like if other guys had done what I had done it would be a bigger deal. Now it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got my own chip on my shoulder for what I’m trying to accomplish. … How many majors I want to win, how many wins, my own accomplishments.”

With his trust in his own ability to deliver the big shots and his trust in his caddie’s ability to deliver that little bit of extra insight on a course that hasn’t hosted the British Open since 1951, Koepka is on the short list of favourites this week.

“Definitely have a little bit more confidence having him on the bag this week,” Koepka said of Elliott, “knowing this golf course so well.”

It is with great sadness that Golf Canada, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Museum as well as the entire golf community mourns the loss of Margaret (Sutcliffe) Todd, who passed away July 15, 2019 at the age of 101.

Born May 31, 1918 in Montreal, Todd was a pioneer in Canadian women’s golf. A natural at the game, she won three British Columbia Amateur titles, two Canadian Women’s Senior titles and played on a host of teams, including Canada’s first international team to Great Britain. She also won the Victoria Golf Club championship an astonishing 14 times.

But beyond the fairways, Todd gave back to the game three-fold, through administrative work with the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association (CLGA). She served the CLGA in many capacities, including stints as National Course Rating Director, National Teams Director and National Director of Rules. Her most significant contribution has perhaps been in the realm of enhancing player development opportunities whenever possible. The CLGA amalgamated with Golf Canada (then the Royal Canadian Golf Association) in 2006.

In 2010, Todd donated $100,000 to her alma mater, the University of Victoria, for the creation of the Jack and Margaret Todd Women’s Golf Award, an athletic scholarship awarded annually.

Her contributions to the game earned her induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1973, when she became the first female golfer to earn the honour. She was called to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1997 and the BC Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. Additionally, the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship trophy is named in her honor.

Predeceased by her husband of 65 years Jack Todd, Margaret will be missed by her three sons John, Rick and David, as well as her many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Statement from Meggan Gardner, Golf Canada’s Director of Heritage Services

“On behalf of the entire golf community, we are saddened by the passing of Margaret Todd. Margaret’s accomplishments on the golf course and her contributions to the game were outstanding and although we are mourning her loss, her tremendous legacy will live on and continue to be celebrated.”

Margaret Todd’s competitive accomplishments across the provincial, national and international golf landscape included:

• 1947-49 B.C. Ladies Amateur
• 1950 and 1953 Canadian Team vs Great Britain
• 1961 Canadian Ladies’ Amateur Semi-Finalist
• 1975-76 B.C. Senior Ladies
• 1976-77 Canadian Ladies’ Senior Champion
• Eight-time member of the B.C. Ladies’ team
• Eight-time member of the B.C. Senior Ladies’ team
• Five-time Commonwealth and World Amateur Delegate

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Margaret Todd. Margaret was inducted in 1997 and was also a member of the @BCSportsHall and @BCGolfHouse. Margaret passed at the age of 101. Here she is with Ada Mackenzie and @MarleneStreit pic.twitter.com/ln7WE8YTWA

— Can Golf Hall Fame (@CGHF) July 15, 2019

With a top-10 finish at the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., locked up his PGA TOUR card for the 2020 season, the first of his career.

The top 25 players on the Korn Ferry Tour points list secure their PGA TOUR card for the upcoming season.

Gligic earned 70 points by finishing in a tie for tenth in Colorado this weekend, bringing his total on the season to 876 points. With seven events remaining on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule, it was determined that no players from outside The 25 can catch Gligic.

The 29-year-old’s 11 under par performance at the TPC Colorado Championship marked his second top-10 finish of the season—he won the Panama Championship in February earning himself 500 points in the process.

Gligic has teed off on the PGA TOUR four times, with all his starts coming at the RBC Canadian Open. He failed to make the cut on each occasion. He has spent the majority of his professional golf career on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada, finishing second on the Order of Merit in 2012.

This will be the fourth straight year a Canadian has earned their PGA TOUR card through the Korn Ferry Tour, with Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton (2016), Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont. (2017) and Adam Svensson of Surrey B.C. (2018) all now playing on the top circuit.

The Korn Ferry Tour’s The 25 rankings can be found here.

If a ball subsequently moves after a player has marked, lifted and  replaced the the ball on the putting green, the player must always replace the ball back on its original spot.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. – The new Titleist U-Series utility irons offer two unique models – U•500 and U•510 – designed to expand a player’s shot options at the top end of the bag. Called “utility irons” for a reason, the new U•500 and U•510 models produce more distance than a standard iron and less spin than a hybrid – delivering that one shot a golfer needs precisely when it’s needed.

Available for fittings beginning Aug. 8 (and in golf shops Aug. 30), Titleist U-Series utilities combine forged L-face technology with extreme amounts of high-density tungsten to deliver higher launch and faster ball speeds for game-changing long iron performance:

The U•500 is the player’s utility iron designed for superior shot making. The extremely versatile, low loft utility features a compact shape that delivers high launch with a soft landing and precise distance control.

The U•510 provides hybrid-like performance in a forgiving, muscular iron shape. The high-launching, easier-playing utility offers a larger, wide-sole design for consistent shot-after-shot performance. U•510 creates such a powerful combination of distance, launch and forgiveness that Titleist engineers were able to create a 16-degree 1-iron that is very playable from both the tee and turf.

Already the most played utility irons on the PGA Tour – and in the bags of Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker – the new U-Series will be prominently on display this week at the Open Championship, where U•500 and U•510 will be the #1 utilities in play at Royal Portrush. Bernd Wiesberger, winner of last week’s Scottish Open, played a U•500 3-iron.

“There are a lot of golfers out there who don’t want to play a hybrid, but are still searching for that kind of performance at the long end of their iron set,” said Josh Talge, Vice President, Titleist Golf Clubs. “They want to be able to launch it higher and farther, they want to be able to shape shots, they want to be able to land it close to the hole – they just want to do it with an iron in their hands. Everything that went into U•500 and U•510 was geared towards giving these golfers the performance, look and feel they’ve always hoped for in a long iron, and maybe didn’t think was possible.”

Beginning Aug. 8, golfers can experience the launch and speed of U-Series utilities by attending a Titleist Fitting and Trial event (including Titleist Thursdays) being held at hundreds of locations nationwide. To find an event, or book a free fitting with a Titleist Product Specialist, golfers should visit www.titleist.ca/events​.

U•500 TECHNOLOGY & PERFORMANCE

• The U•500 is a highly technical utility iron with a compact shape that delivers versatility, speed and precision distance.
• Strategic High Density Tungsten Weighting (98 grams on average) produces a low CG for increased launch with trajectory control, and a high MOI for balance and stability through the shot.
• Our thinnest, forged SUP-10 L-Face Insert maximizes ball speed for more distance.
• Player’s shape provides shot-shaping confidence at address.
• Loft Options: 2I (17º), 3I (20º), 4I (23º).

“U•500 is the incredibly versatile utility iron that tour players have been asking us for,” said Marni Ines, Director of Iron Development, Titleist Golf Club R&D. “It shares a similar size and shape to our prior generation T-MB iron, but has been completely reimagined to give players specialized long iron performance. It’s faster, launches higher, lands softer, and feels better through impact. As you go up in the set and down in loft, everyone eventually can use help with launch. But from what we’re seeing on tour, it’s a club that can be hit almost as high as you want or as low as you want, and players are really gravitating toward that versatility.”

U•510 TECHNOLOGY & PERFORMANCE
The U•510 is a muscular, wide-soled utility iron that provides hybrid-like performance with incredible forgiveness.

• The Larger, more forgiving blade features a wide sole that promotes easy launch from the tee or turf.

• Strategic High Density Tungsten Weighting (95 grams on average) produces a low and deep CG for maximum launch with shot-stopping control, and a high MOI for stability and forgiveness.

• A forged SUP-10 L-Face Insert maximizes ball speed for more distance.

• Loft Options: 1I (16º), 2I (18º), 3I (20º), 4I (22º)

Titleist U-Series U•500 and U510 utility irons will be available worldwide on Aug. 30, 2019, at Titleist authorized golf shops. MAP $329.99 CAD. Learn more at www.titleist.ca

HARTLAND, N.B. – Golf Canada continues its 2019 Future Links championship season as the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is set to take place at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club from July 16-18.

With support from Golf New Brunswick, the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is the sixth regional junior championship presented in partnership with Acura this season. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on July 15 before the tournament gets underway with round one on July 16.

First opened in 1993, Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club overlooks the Saint John River Valley. An above-average slope rating of 132 and strategically located ponds and bunkers makes it a challenging course. The architectural design of the clubhouse, the tee-box markers and the usable covered bridge for carts on hole No. 17 pays homage to the longest covered bridge in the world, which is located in Hartland, N.B.

“Golf Canada and Golf New Brunswick are excited to present the 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship,” said Bari Gourley, the Tournament Director with Golf New Brunswick. “We look forward to seeing how Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club tests Canada’s premier junior golfers while giving them an opportunity to showcase their skills.”

The field will consist of 69 junior golfers in the Junior Boys Division with the top five earning exemptions into the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship August 11-15, also at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club. Should there be a tie for the fifth position, a playoff will be conducted following the conclusion of play.

The Junior Girls Division consists of 14 golfers with the top five (including ties) earning an exemption into the 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Championship July 29-August 2 at Lethbridge Country Club in Lethbridge, Alta.

Due to winter damage sustained at Mactaquac Golf Course, in Mactaquac, N.B., the 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship was moved to Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club. Additional information about the 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship can be found here.

The 2019 Future Links championship series will resume in September with the Future Links, driven by Acura Fall Series. The Fall Series will take place on consecutive weekends; September 20-22 at Club de golf Lachute in Lachute, Que., and September 27-29 at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay, B.C.

Results from the previous 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Championships can be found here: Pacific, Ontario, Western, Quebec, Prairie.

NOTABLES

Haley Baker, Halifax, N.S.
The defending champion in the girls division, Baker has won two tournaments this year and is the highest-ranked Martimer on the Golf Canada Future Links Order of Merit.

Owen Mullen, Truro, N.S.
The 15-year-old returns to defend his Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic championship. Mullen finished third at the 2018 East Coast Junior Championship.

Heather McLean, Port Williams, N.S.
McLean finished in a tie for fourth at the 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Québec Championship in June, meaning she will tee off in the Canadian Junior Girls Championship for the fifth straight year.

Malik Dao, Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que.
The younger brother of 2018 Canadian Junior Girls champion Céleste Dao, Malik won the boys golf gold medal at the 2018 Québec Summer Games.

FAST FACTS

In 2019, Golf Canada is conducting its eight regional Future Links, driven by Acura championships in conjunction with the Provincial Associations.

Top five finishers in the Boys Division earn exemptions into the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Top five finishers (including ties) in the Girls Division earn exemptions into the 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Owen Mullen shot 6 over par to earn the victory last year in the Junior Boys Division.

Haley Baker won the Junior Girls Division in a playoff in 2018.

Calvin Ross of Fredericton, N.B., won the Junior Boys Division three consecutive years from 2015 through 2017. Ross also captured the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, becoming the first New Brunswick golfer to win the title.

More information on the event can be found here.

CALENDON, Ont. – Paul Barjon proved Sunday why he’s been so tough to beat this year.

With his second victory of the season, Barjon sits on top of the Order of Merit with a focus on the Korn Ferry Tour that’s as sharp as his play was this week.

The native of Dumbea, New Caledonia shot a 5-under-par 67 Sunday at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates to win by three shots over Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

“I knew 25-under would have a pretty good chance out here and it worked out,” said Barjon. “My putting was good, everything, overall, was pretty solid. Nothing incredible, but nothing was poor either … just made the putts towards the end at the right moments.”

Barjon and Pendrith traded birdies on the par-5 No. 1 before Barjon flinched first, making a bogey on the par-3 No. 7. He bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 and added another birdie on the par-4 No. 9. From there, Pendrith had to play catch up, despite being buoyed by the near-hometown crowds Sunday.

“It was awesome … all the support out here. A lot of my buddies, family and friends and a lot of local support too,” said Pendrith, who is from Richmond Hill, Ont., less than an hour from TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “It was definitely a fun week and I played pretty good. I have to be happy.”

It wasn’t good enough to top Barjon this week, however. Barjon made three birdies in the last eight holes, combined with a handful of clutch par saves.

Pendrith made two birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 but made a costly bogey on the par-4 No. 17 after hitting his tee shot into the trees on the right side of the fairway. That was the difference, in the end.

“Honestly I played really well, I hit the ball great. I didn’t make a bogey until No. 17, which was kind of unfortunate, but it’s a hard hole. I thought I could miss the tree with my back swing but I kind of got it and didn’t hit it how I planned to and made an unfortunate bogey,” said Pendrith. “Overall I played really well, so I have to be happy with the result. It was pretty fun.”

Barjon had a two-shot lead heading into Sunday but he wasn’t resting on his laurels. He said he had some tension Saturday night and had trouble sleeping. He alluded to Greyson Sigg, who shot 59 in the final round of the GolfBC Championship as an example of how anyone can have a chance to win on the Mackenzie Tour.

“It was a little stressful, but you’re ahead. But I felt good. It was different than chasing someone,” said Barjon, who heaped the praise on Pendrith after Sunday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley turned into a match-play scenario between the two.

“I’ve never played with him before but people told me ‘oh yeah, he hits it a mile.’ He does hit it far and he’s got great hands around the green. I was playing behind him yesterday and I was like, ‘this guy is scary. He can make a lot of birdies. But it was fun. We had a good match.”

With the runner-up finish, Taylor Pendrith wins his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award of the season.

Next week the Mackenzie Tour heads to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the inaugural HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar.

Full results can be found here.

SILVIS, Ill. – While the rest of the leaders faltered, Dylan Frittelli surged to his first PGA Tour title.

Frittelli won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, closing with a 7-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Russell Henley. The South African earned a spot next week in the British Open, finishing at 21-under 263 after the bogey-free final round at TPC Deere Run.

One of eight players within two strokes of the lead entering the lead, Frittelli was looking forward to the tournament’s charter flight to Royal Portrush.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a fun flight,” Frittelli said.

A two-time winner on the European Tour, Frittelli birdied the par-5 17th after blasting out of a greenside bunker to 11 feet, and closed with a par on the par-4 18th.

Frittelli had tied for 46th in each of his last two starts.

“I don’t want to say it was easy out there. It just felt a whole lot easier than it has been the last few weeks,” Frittelli said. “I calmed my nerves down.”

Henley shot a tournament-best 61. Andrew Landry, who opened Sunday in a two-way tie for the lead, was 18 under after a 69.

Rookie Collin Morikawa (66), the runner-up last week in Minnesota, and Chris Stroud (67) followed at 17 under. Morikawa hit all 18 greens in regulation.

Roger Sloan (69) of Merritt, B.C., was the low Canadian, tying for 10th at 15 under. Adam Svensson (68) of Surrey, B.C., tied for 18th at 13 under and Nick Taylor (71) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 33rd at 11 under.

Henley’s career-low effort included six birdies on the back nine, capped by one on No. 18 – the same hole he double-bogeyed Friday. Henley made six putts of at least 7 feet, including 26- and 46-footers.

“If you would have told me at the start of the day, ‘We’ll give you 66,’ I’d have said, ‘That’s pretty good.’ So to get five better than that is really awesome,” Henley said.

But Henley, who finished well before Fritteli hit the turn, could only watch from the clubhouse as Frittelli surpassed him and everyone else in the field.

Frittelli, who opened with rounds of 66, 68 and 65, started the final round with three straight birdies. He matched Henley with a chip-in on No. 10 and took the lead for good with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole.

Landry birdied No. 14 to pull within two shots. But Landry went with his putter 30 feet from the pin while off the green on the par-4 15th hole, and left his try short on his way to his third bogey of the day.

Moments later, Frittelli got out of a bunker by using the green’s downward slope to his advantage, where he made a birdie putt that effectively ended the drama in the Quad Cities.

“You can’t give up shots to the rest of the field,” Frittelli said. “When I saw the leaderboard, putting downhill, I thought, if I make this (I’ll get) a little bit of breathing room with Russell in the clubhouse already.”

Frittelli, who made the winning putt for the University of Texas in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, became the second player from that Longhorns team to win at TPC Deere Run. Jordan Spieth won in 2013 and 2015.

Full results can be found here.