Youth on Course – the non-profit organization providing young people with subsidized golf, college scholarships, caddie programs and paid internships, in partnership with Golf Canada and Alberta Golf – breaks international ground and brings affordable junior golf to Canada.

Initially, Youth on Course will be launching as a two-year pilot in the province of Alberta and will be recognized under the umbrella of Canada’s National Junior Golf Program – Future Links. With 17,000 junior member golfers and nearly 1,400 Golf Canada member clubs from coast to coast, Golf Canada will evaluate the results of the pilot prior to expanding the program nationwide.

In Alberta, the list of courses offering junior golf rounds for $5 or less are:

• Goose Hummock Golf Resort
• Westlock Golf Course
• RedTail Landing Golf Club
• Whitetail Crossing Golf Club
• Eagle Rock Golf Course
• Olds Golf Club
• River Spirit Golf Club
• Heatherglen Golf Course
• Serenity Golf Club
• McCall Lake Golf Course (18 & par 3)
• Shaganappi Golf Course (18 & 9)
• Banff Springs Golf Club (Tunnel 9)

“Golf Canada and Alberta Golf continually inspire and nurture a new generation of golfers by providing access to affordable rounds,” says Adam Heieck, CEO of Youth on Course.  “With the highest per-capita golf participation in the world, Youth on Course’s expansion will benefit the sport’s sustainability.”

Youth on Course will be a significant addition to the existing Future Links suite of programs and offers an on-course application for facilities to offer to youth, eliminating golf’s barrier of affordability and providing more opportunities for kids to play golf. Golfers, ages 6-18 will be able to join the Youth on Course international network, getting access to 1,000 golf courses in 27 different states.

“When first introduced to Youth on Course, we felt it was a very strong initiative to advance junior golf and we are pleased to be involved in this pilot stage for the program in Canada,” says Jeff Thompson, Chief Sport Officer of Golf Canada. “Together with Alberta Golf and our participating partner courses, we are eager to give community access to golf at an unprecedented level of affordability.”

Golf Canada runs a variety of grassroot level programs under the Future Links brand, aimed at introducing and developing the game of golf amongst Canadian youth. A national junior program conducted in partnership with the PGA of Canada and Canada’s 10 provincial golf associations, Future Links is focused on three primary pillars of engagement – an in-school program, facility programs and outreach programming, all of which have contributed to the success of Future links, which has eclipsed the mark of 1.7 million youth engaged in golf.

Operating in every U.S. region, Youth on Course has more than 50,000 active members. Since 2006, juniors have played more than 10 million holes and 765,000 rounds while the organization has helped generate more than $5.2 million in tee-time revenue reimbursed back to individual golf courses. In addition to subsidized rounds, Youth on Course also facilitates paid internships, a caddie program and nationwide scholarships. They have awarded 223 students with college scholarships totaling more than $1.4 million in financial support. The current Youth on Course scholarship retention rate is ninety-four percent, with 80 students already graduated.

A safe space for Canadian athletes and kids who participate in sport has been a long time coming.

That was part of Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan’s message in announcing both an investigation unit and a toll-free confidential helpline on Wednesday, major measures in an effort to combat harassment and abuse in sport.

“This was Week 1 my priority, as an athlete, coach, and judge all my life,” Duncan told The Canadian Press. “When you train athletes your No. 1 job is to protect their health and safety. It’s your No. 1 job.

“So when I came into the role, I wanted to put our athletes at the centre of everything we do. And I knew we needed to help our athletes from the beginning – that there be a confidential safe place where they could go.”

The investigation unit is an arm’s-length, third-party program set up through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, an independent organization that already functions in helping resolve disputes in the national sport community. Canadian sport organizations can access the unit for independent investigations on reports of harassment, abuse or discrimination in sport.

The helpline – 1-888-83SPORT (77678) – is for victims and witnesses of harassment, abuse or discrimination. The line, which is already up and running, will be staffed by counsellors, psychologists and psychotherapists, seven days a week, 12 hours a day.

“I have been clear there can be bystander effect. If you see a child being hurt or harmed, it’s all of our jobs to speak up,” Duncan said. “So having this confidential phone line where you can report cases, they are professionally trained people . . . who will listen. It’s safe, confidential, in both official languages, and they will say where you can go next, whether it’s to the police, whether it’s to child protection services, it’s to provincial or territorial resources, but you will actually have someone say ‘This is where you go next.”’

Wednesday’s announcement is the latest move by Duncan, who appointed a working group on gender equity to study issues such as sexual abuse and harassment after she was appointed sport minister in January of 2018. The government also recently partnered with Canadian athletes rights group AthletesCan for a study on abuse and discrimination and sport.

Duncan also unveiled a gender equity secretariat and a code of conduct – “which has never existed” – is being written that can be used in sports of all levels.

“This is so important to me that we get this right,” Duncan said. “We’ve got to do this for our athletes and our children.”

Canadian sports groups applauded Duncan’s efforts on Wednesday.

“Minister Duncan is dedicated to improving safe sport and is making serious, deliberate investments, not just words but actions,” Swimming Canada CEO Ahmed El-Awadi said in a statement. “These are impressive initiatives and the whole sport system will be safer as a result of her efforts.”

Canadian Paralympic Committee president Marc-Andre Fabien said: “These new processes are critical towards combating harassment, abuse, and discrimination in sport.”

There have been several high-profile sexual assault and harassment stories recently in Canadian sport. In June, Allison Forsyth was among several former members of Canada’s ski team who spoke publicly about the abuse suffered at the hands of former coach Bertrand Charest in the 1990s. Charest was convicted last year of 37 offences of sexual assault and exploitation.

“As a victim of sexual abuse, I am extremely encouraged by these two new programs,” Forsyth said in a statement Wednesday. “It is critical that our sport system has a safe place for athletes to report instances of abuse and an ethical and legal investigation process. These is a strong sense of urgency to take action. We are not seeking perfection; we are seeking progress to ensure a safe, healthy sport environment for all athletes in Canada.”

Safe sport had been governed through the Sport Canada Accountability Framework since it was implemented in 1996 in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving former junior hockey coach Graham James. National sport organizations were required to have a safe sport policy – and a designated individual to handle complaints – in place to receive government funding.

But there had been major inconsistencies in how it was applied, and in recently months, and in light of a handful of high-profile cases in Canada, athletes and administrators – including Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe and Sheldon Kennedy, a retired NHL player and sex abuse victim – publicly called for an independent party to handle cases.

Following a successful seeding and validation period on the PGA Tour, the new 2019 Pro V1 and Pro V1x Yellow golf balls will be available in golf shops this week – beginning Friday, March 15.

The introduction of a high-visibility yellow colour option to the Pro V1 family – the most played golf balls at every level of competitive golf and the best-selling models in the game – answers the growing demand from members of Team Titleist and golfers around the world.

“I’m loving the new Pro V1x Yellow. When the R&D guys sent me the first batch of them for testing, I couldn’t wait to get them in play,” said Watson, who currently leads the PGA Tour’s average driving distance category at 316.6 yards.

“I played some really good golf with the [prior generation] Pro V1x, but it’s clear the 2019 ball is even better. It’s faster, I can work the ball exactly how I want, and the short game performance is as good as ever. The ball feels great, plus there’s just something about that bright yellow finish where I feel like I can see it better. For me it was a no brainer.”

On Sunday, Kirk Triplett, playing Pro V1x Yellow, eagled the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the PGA Tour Champions’ Hoag Classic, marking the first victory for a Pro V1 or Pro V1x Yellow golf ball on the worldwide professional tours.

The new ProV1 and ProV1x in High Optic Yellow are available in ?? on March 15 ?? @TitleistCA

➡️ https://t.co/ECk4rRFM36 pic.twitter.com/m821VPon2W

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) March 13, 2019

Pro V1 and Pro V1x Yellow models have also been played on the PGA Tour by Kyle Jones (Pro V1x) and Rory Sabbatini (Pro V1x), on the Web.Com Tour by Scott Gutschewski (Pro V1) and Zac Blair (Pro V1x), and on PGA Tour Champions by Mark Calcavecchia (Pro V1x) and Ken Tanigawa (Pro V1).

2019 PRO V1 PERFORMANCE

Faster from core to cover, new Pro V1 and Pro V1x Yellow have been precisely engineered to deliver the same performance improvements as their 2019 counterparts – delivering more ball speed and lower long game spin for more distance, while retaining the consistent flight, Drop-and-Stop short game control, soft feel and long-lasting durability that golfers depend on. Click here for complete details.

Pro V1 provides optimal flight and spin for most golfers, flying lower than Pro V1x with a penetrating trajectory, with very soft feel. Pro V1x flies higher, spins more on iron shots and has a slightly firmer feel.

GOLF BALL SELECTION TOOL

Playing a properly fit golf ball will help golfers shoot lower scores. The Titleist golf ball selection tool starts the fitting process by suggesting a recommended and alternative ball for golfers to test on the golf course.

AVAILABILITY

New 2019 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls are available now in golf shops worldwide, with yellow models available beginning March 15. $64.99 CAD MAP.

ORLANDO, Fla. – British Open champion Francesco Molinari delivered another big moment on the 18th green at Bay Hill, without wearing a red shirt and leaving the flag stick in the cup. His 45-foot birdie putt capped off an 8-under 64 to come from five shots behind Sunday and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Molinari watched the birdie putt kiss off the pin and into the cup, and the normally reserved Italian raised his fist and hammered it down in celebration, knowing that would make him hard to beat.

He started so far back that Molinari finished nearly two hours before the round ended. It gave him a two-shot lead at 12-under 276, and no one got closer than two shots the rest of the way.

“To do it here at Arnie’s place, knowing my wife and kids are watching from home, it’s very special,” Molinari said.

He won for the fourth time in the last nine months, and in his first start since signing a new equipment deal.

Tiger Woods, who missed this week with a sore neck, has delivered so many birdie putts over the year on the 18th, usually to win and with Palmer on the side of the green waiting to congratulate him. Molinari’s was longer than anything Woods ever made, from a slightly different angle. But he knew the history from so many highlights.

“It’s a pretty iconic putt,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’m the first guy to make it with the flag in, though, so that’s the real difference.”

The new Rules of Golf allow the flag to be left in for putts in the green, and most players leave it there on long putts.

“Obviously, you’re trying to lag it close to the hole and it came out on a great line and maybe a little firmer than I wanted, but the line was just right and incredible to see it going in,” he said. “I’ve seen so many putts on TV like that and to do it yourself it’s really amazing.”

Matt Fitzpatrick managed only two birdies in his round of 1-under 71 and made a 3-foot par putt to finish alone in second. Rory McIlroy started the final round one shot behind and never got anything going. He had two birdies, two bogeys and a 72 to tie for sixth.

Perhaps it was only fitting that the claret jug was at Bay Hill, which served as part of the Open Qualifying Series. Sung Kang also had a big putt on the 18th hole, this one from 12 feet for par that sewed up the third and final spot offered for the British Open at Royal Portrush this summer.

The other two spots went to Sungjae Im, the 20-year-old South Korean who closed with a 68 and tied for third; and Honda Classic winner Keith Mitchell, who made eight birdies in his final round of 66 to tie for sixth.

Tommy Fleetwood, who shared the 36-hole lead at Bay Hill, recovered from a 76 that knocked him out of contention by closing with a 68 to join Im at 9-under 279 along with Rafa Cabrera Bello (69).

Roger Sloan (71) of Merrit, B.C., was the top Canadian at 4 under while Adam Hadwin (73) of Abbotsford, B.C., was 2 under.

“I was just trying to hit good shots, give myself chances,” Molinari said. “I knew it was not going to be easy. The course was firm and fast yesterday and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for the guys in the lead, so I thought there was an outside chance. And yeah, just started making putts, one of my best putting rounds ever.”

It was another disappointment for McIlroy, who has played in the final group in three of his five PGA Tour events, and for the ninth time without winning dating to the start of 2018. He rallied from two back to win at Bay Hill a year ago.

This time, he was in good position just one shot behind Fitzpatrick. But after a 25-foot birdie putt on the third hole to briefly tie for the lead, McIlroy played the next 12 holes with two bogeys and 10 pars.

Fitzpatrick didn’t have much going, either. He regained the lead with a birdie on No. 4, un aware of all the action on the other side of the course.

Molinari tied for the lead with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, took the lead with a two-putt birdie on the 16th and then set the target with his big birdie on the 18th. It turned out to be too much for anyone to catch him.

No one got closer than one shot to him the rest of the day.

Molinari has four victories worldwide in his last 17 starts over the last nine months, and the Italian pointed to the first of those victories for sparking his turnaround. He played in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth tied with McIlroy, closed with a 68 and won by two.

“It’s hard to point a finger at one thing,” Molinari said. “I think obviously confidence has to do a lot with it. When I won last year, playing with Rory in the last few groups, it wasn’t easy at all. So from there I started building my confidence and just saying I could get it done.”

And he did.

Molinari closed with a 62 to blow away the field in the Quicken Loans National. He played bogey-free on the final day at Carnoustie for his first major. He became the first European to win all five matches at the Ryder Cup. And he delivered a charge that was most appropriate on Palmer’s home course.

“I got everything out of it,” he said.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy seems to have everything going his way at Bay Hill except for recent history.

With three birdies over the last four holes, McIlroy had a 6-under 66 on Saturday that left him one shot behind Matt Fitzpatrick and in the final group of a PGA Tour event for the third time in five starts this year, and the ninth time dating to the start of 2018.

That’s a sign of consistently good play.

There’s also some frustration from not having won from the final group since the Irish Open in 2016.

And by the look of Bay Hill in the warm, late afternoon – greens that looked yellow, fairways feeling tighter in such firm conditions – it won’t be any easier.

“Just what I needed,” McIlroy said. “I did everything I needed to do today to get myself back in the golf tournament, and excited to have another chance tomorrow.”

Fitzpatrick managed to avoid bogeys on a Bay Hill course so firm he could barely find any pitch marks on the greens Saturday. It led to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead as he goes for his first PGA Tour title.

He was at 9-under 207, which spoke to the difficulty of a fast, fiery course that would have made Arnie proud. It was the highest 54-hole score to lead at Bay Hill since Ben Crenshaw was at 210 in 1993.

That would have surprised no one who had to play it, especially late in the warm afternoon.

Fitzpatrick wasn’t aware that Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood, the co-leaders after 36 holes, had quickly gone in reverse. But it didn’t take him long to figure it out. He hit a sand wedge from 115 yards to just inside 10 feet, and he couldn’t even find where the ball landed.

“So when you see that, you know it’s going to be in for tough, fiery greens,” Fitzpatrick said. “But the condition of the greens is fantastic and they have been all week, so I think that that’s what make it’s so great. You can still hit to 30 feet, 40 feet and just have a perfectly great putt, just because they’re so good.”

McIlroy started quickly and was just hanging around until his big finish. He hit pitching wedge that settled a foot away for a tap-in on the 15th, hit a pitch over the bunker from right of the green on the par-5 16th for a 4-foot birdie, and then finished with another pitching wedge to 10 feet for one last birdie.

Those birdies were big. The pars weren’t bad, either.

“I felt for part of the round today that I was hanging on,” McIlroy said. “You hit it up to 25, 30 feet, you take your two-putts, you move on and know you’re not going to lose any ground on the field.”

That finished put him where he wanted – the final group.

McIlroy also was in the final group at Kapalua to start the year, three shots behind Gary Woodland. He was in the final group in Mexico City two weeks ago, four shots behind Dustin Johnson. This presents a better opportunity against Fitzpatrick, a five-time winner on the European Tour over the last four years.

But there are plenty of others still in the mix.

Fitzpatrick looked at the electronic leaderboard next to him and figured every name had a chance.

Fifteen players were within five shots of the lead.

“There’s water around here, the greens are firm, the rough’s thick,” Fitzpatrick said. “Today someone was saying it’s a bit like a U.S. Open, which I could totally see. It only takes a couple of water balls from the top five guys, a few dropped shots early and all of a sudden you sort of are not looking like you’re in a great position.”

The list included Fleetwood, who made a 6-foot putt on the 18th hole for his first birdie of the day and a 76. He also was five back.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 68 to sit at 3 under and tied for 23rd along with fellow Canadian Roger Sloan (74) of Merrit, B.C.

Bradley didn’t have a par until the sixth hole, and only one of those was a birdie. He missed the fairway on No. 1 (bogey), hit into a bunker on No. 2 (bogey), three-putted for bogey on No. 3 and had another bogey from the bunker on No. 5.

He rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 75, and while that big fist pump seemed out of place for someone who endured such a tough day, he had reason to cheer. After all that, Bradley was just three shots behind.

Aaron Baddeley and Matt Wallace each had a 69, while Kevin Kisner had a 70. They were at 7-under 209, still very much in the game.

“The golf course is playing brutal, and just nowhere to get it close to the pin,” Kisner said. “Greens are firm, hitting a lot of long irons, and it’s a true test.”

McIlroy sees some similarities to his victory last year at Bay Hill. He started slowly and began to hit his stride, playing a little bit better each day. He also went to one of the Disney parks after finishing early Friday, just like last year when he was at Magic Kingdom and rode Space Mountain.

This year’s ride?

“Tower of Terror,” he said, and that might be appropriate if the conditions at Bay Hill stay this way.