LAS VEGAS – It was a far cry from a normal workweek for Andrew Pittam, but it was one of those experiences he’ll be talking about for a while.

That’s because most Fridays don’t conclude by shaking Tiger Woods’ hand.

Pittam, from London, Ont., is the VP of Project Management for Toronto-based Astound Group, a global design and events agency. The company was in charge of all aspects of signage and event development for ‘The Match’ in Las Vegas on Friday, pitting Woods vs. Phil Mickelson in a $9-million 1:1 showdown.

Pittam had worked previously at IMG and had experience as the Tournament Director for the former Telus Skins Game. He was heavily involved in a handful of LPGA Tour and PGA Tour properties – including the made-for-TV Tavistock Cup in Florida.

But nothing, he says, was like Friday.

“When I worked at IMG years ago, we always talked about what it would be like to get Tiger and Phil together and it just never really made sense for both of them and where they were in their careers,” says Pittam. “If you’re a golf enthusiast, you have to appreciate how amazing it was to see them go head-to-head and to end in a playoff.

“For the people to witness on site, in person… that’s something that’s never happened before.”

There was a small Canadian contingent onsite at The Match on Friday. Comedic legend Norm MacDonald – who walked Shadow Creek using an old putter as a cane and tried to get as close to Woods as possible to take photos on his iPhone – joined Pittam and his wife Colleen, their friends Andrew and his wife Stephanie (“It’s hard to put into words,” says Andrew of the once-in-a-lifetime experience), Pittam’s boss, and two journalists as part of the group.

That group of eight was part of the approximately 1,000 people watching The Match in person, and Pittam was tasked with making sure everyone was going where they should be. There weren’t ropes, like a traditional event. Instead there was a rope (singular) that was constantly moved by a group of volunteers led by Pittam.

Astound, says Pittam, was part of the production of the event – from signage and branding to event management – and he says this was a unique experience.

“You didn’t rope (the whole course) and at a (normal PGA TOUR event) the players are basically safe the whole time. You get them to the driving range and they’re good, because they don’t leave the rope line. But something like this… it was kind of tricky,” he says.

“But I think the experience for the spectator on site must have been one of the best ones I’ve ever witnessed. They got an incredible experience being that close to both players.”

Pittam moved to Astound seven years ago after starting his career with IMG. At the conclusion of the Telus Skins Game, Pittam began working on the fashion and figure skating business at IMG and he had lost his passion, he says.

He started at Astound – one of his vendors while at IMG – and has been involved in all facets of the business ever since including events, tradeshows, branding installations (the company was part of Nike’s branding during the NBA All-Star weekend in Toronto a few years ago, for example) and he manages a team based in Oakville, Ont.

Astound has a 350,000 square-foot facility in Las Vegas, so the efficiencies was perfect for this kind of event, he says.

Although there wasn’t much needed in terms of spectator infrastructure – with only 1,000 people, all of whom wanted to just get as close to Woods and Mickelson as possible – he says the event was still “huge” for Astound.

“To get called on to work on an event that had such a high magnitude of interest… this event was a really big deal for us out of Toronto,” he says. “It was a great week for our company, but it was just really awesome to be part of an event like this.”

Winter Park, Fla. – Global Golf Post today announced its sixth annual All-Amateur teams for men and women.

This annual effort is intended to recognize individual performance during the past 12 months for men and women amateurs, mid-amateurs, and senior amateurs.

All told, 199 players from 24 nations are honoured. And among all those players, two stood out as The Post’s Amateurs of the Year – Matt Parziale, 31, and Jennifer Kupcho, 21.

Nine Canadians were honoured in the 2018 list:

Men’s Mid-Amateur

• Garrett Rank (Elmira, Ont.) – Second team

Women’s Amateur

• Jaclyn Lee (Calgary, Alta.) – Honourable mention

Women’s Mid-Amateur

• Julia Hodgson (Unionville, Ont.) – First team

Women’s Senior

• Mary-Ann Hayward (St. Thomas, Ont.) – First team
• Judith Kyrinis (Thornhill, Ont.) – First team
• Jackie Little (Proctor, B.C.) – First team
• Terrill Samuel (Etobicoke, Ont.) – First team
• Allison Murdoch (Victoria, B.C.) – Second team
• Marie-Thérèse Torti (Candiac, Que.) – Honourable mention

Among the 199 players, there were five golfers to have won Canadian national championships in 2018:

• Zach Bauchou (Forest, Va.) – 2018 Canadian Men’s Amateur | Second team
• Joseph Deraney (Lexington, Ky.) – 2018 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur | First team
• Brady Exber (Las Vegas, Nev.) – 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior | First team
• Sue Wooster (Australia) – 2018 Canadian Women’s Mid-Am & Senior | First team
• Atthaya Thirikul (Thailand) – 2018 World Junior Girls Championship medallist – First team
• Yealimi Noh (Concord, Calif.) – 2018 Women’s Amateur Champion – Honourable mention

Click here for the full list.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry of Belgium lifted the World Cup of Golf trophy on Sunday. They may have won it on Friday.

The Belgians had a few anxious moments on the back nine Sunday but held on to shoot a 4-under 68 and claim a three-stroke win, despite a determined late run by Australia and Mexico.

The sunny skies and lack of wind on Sunday was a far cry from Friday, when driving rain and gusty winds meant there were more scores in the 80s than in the 60s.

Belgium shot 71 on Friday, tied for the low score of the day and one of only four scores under par, and shared the lead going into the third round. Many golfers said the Friday conditions were the worst they had ever played in.

Pieters and Detry shot 63 in much-improved weather on Saturday in the fourballs (best ball) and took a five-stroke lead into the final round of foursomes at Metropolitan.

From there, it was a case of hanging on for the $1.12 million in prize money they each received.

“It was a long back nine” Pieters said while surrounded by family, friends and fans, some with Belgian flags stuck on their heads, just off the 18th green.

Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith pulled to within two strokes late in the round, thanks to holing out from the bunker for a birdie by Smith and a 12-foot par save on the next hole by Leishman.

If there was any doubt, Pieters’ approach to four feet on the 18th set up a final birdie by Detry to give the Belgians a 23-under total of 265.

“We were both nervous at times, but to finish with a birdie was special,” said Pieters.

Leishman and Smith shot 65. Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and his partner Roberto Diaz, playing in the last group with Belgium, shot 66 and also pulled to within two strokes of the lead but finished tied with the Australians for second.

Defending champions Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark shot a 65 to finish tied for fourth with Canada’s Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, who shot 66. They were six strokes behind.

The performance marks the best finish for Canada since Dave Barr and Dan Halldorson won it for Canada in 1985.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley shot a final-round 68 and finished at 9-under, 14 strokes behind the winners and tied for 16th among the 28 teams.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry had a mid-round stretch of 5-under-par in four holes for a 9-under 63 Saturday to give Belgium a five-stroke lead after three rounds of the World Cup of Golf.

Pieters and Detry, who both play on the European Tour, started the day level with South Korea after a steady 71 in terrible rainy conditions in the foursomes (alternate shot) format of Friday.

On Saturday, they took advantage – along with the 27 other teams – of much improved weather conditions at Metropolitan and the fourballs (best-ball) game.

Belgium, which completed the front nine with two birdies and an eagle, then birdied the 10th, had a three-round total of 19-under 197.

Three teams were tied for second – Mexico, Italy and South Korea.

Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and his partner Roberto Diaz, shot 65. Italy’s Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore dropped two shots on the par-5 14th when both players had balls run back down off the green from slopes just off the putting surface, but recovered for a 66.

South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim, who chipped in for eagle from just off the green on the 16th, finished with a 68.

Three teams were tied for fifth – Sweden, Australia and England, six behind Belgium.

Sweden’s Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren shot 64 and Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith 65.

Leishman and Smith let an opportunity slip on the back nine. They shot 6-under 30 on the front nine – four birdies and an eagle – but had six pars to start the front nine before a birdie on 16.

“Probably a story of two different nines,” Leishman said. “Got off to a great start obviously but cooled off a bit on the back nine.”

England’s team of Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter shot 67.

Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, both from Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 64 to finish the day tied with Ireland and Scotland for eighth at 11 under.

The final round Sunday will be played in the foursomes (alternate shot) format.

Bjork said he and Lagergren combined well to shoot one of the best rounds of the day.

“When I was off, Joakim was on, and when he was off, I was on,” Bjork said.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley, who were one of the weather casualties on Friday with a 79, improved to a 66 Saturday but were 14 strokes off the lead and in 21st place.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Teams from Belgium and South Korea emerged from the rain, gusty winds and generally miserable conditions after a demanding round of foursomes to share the 36-hole lead at the World Cup of Golf on Friday.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry shot 1-under 71 and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim had a 72 for two-round totals of 10-under 134. Teams from Italy, India, Malaysia and England were tied for third, two strokes behind.

Rain showers fell all day on Metropolitan, heavy at times, and tested the players’ patience levels in the alternate-shot format.

Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 73 – one of the better rounds of the day considering the weather – to rise nine spots to enter a tie for 14th at 3 under.

On the 10th hole, when England’s Tyrrell Hatton’s tee shot went into the woods, he angrily smashed a tee marker with his driver. His partner, Ian Poulter, had to take a penalty drop out of the woods and the English bogeyed the hole.

On the 13th, Hatton maintained his patience when he had to take a drop out of casual water in a bunker. The drop took about 10 minutes while officials determined whether the drop was legal. Hatton then hit the lip of the bunker and the ball ended up in casual water – again. Poulter played it out of the water and England bogeyed that hole but finished with a 74.

Anirban Lahiri combined with Gaganjeet Bhullar to keep India near the top of the leaderboard after a 72.

“I think it’s one of the toughest rounds of golf I’ve played in my career,” Lahiri said. “I think we both did really well out there and it wasn’t easy.”

Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith shot 76 and went from a tie for first to a tie for eighth.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley shot 79, including bogeys on their last five holes, playing like they were in a hurry to get out of the rain. That was a 13-shot turnaround from their opening 66, moving them to a tie for 21st in the 28-country field, a drop of eight places.

There were only four rounds under par, but five in the 80s.

The format reverts to fourballs (best ball) on Saturday before a return to foursomes for the final round on Sunday.

The Mexico team of Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and Roberto Diaz, had the low round of the day – 70, including a bogey on the last, their only dropped shot of the day. They finished about an hour before the later groups, when the rain became heavier.

Ancer was impressed with Metropolitan’s ability to stay in decent shape despite all the rain.

“I thought it was just absolutely (going to be) probably unplayable, but it was good,” Ancer said. “There were a little bit of puddles here and there, but the fairways are phenomenal. The golf course can take a lot of rain.”

Temperatures were just 13 Celsius (56 Fahrenheit) when play began and only went a degree higher the rest of the day. And with winds gusting to 35 kilometres an hour (20 mph) it appeared much cooler.

For many of Canada’s up-and-coming junior golfers, mid-November sets the stage for an important milestone in their career.

The NCAA’s National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing period opened on Nov. 14, with Canadian golfers officially committing to Division I and II programs in the U.S.

Among the Canadians to sign were recently-named National Team athletes and Quebec natives Céleste Dao and Christopher Vandette.

Dao, 17, of Notre-Dame-de-LÎle-Perrot, Que., committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

“Celeste has played in the U.S. Open and the CP Women’s Open in the same the year, which is an incredible achievement,” head coach Brewer told the Bulldogs. “Her golf game, since I’ve known her, continues to improve every year. Not even every year, but kind of every three months she becomes better and better. It’s kind of exciting to have signed someone that’s already good but continues to improve. On top of that, she is from just a wonderful family who loves the game of golf.”

Vandette, of Beaconsfield, Que., signed the dotted line to join the Kent State Golden Flashes. The reigning Canadian Junior Boys champion joins a lineage of Canadians who have entered the program including Corey Conners, Mac Hughes, Taylor Pendrith and Jennifer Ha.

Team Canada athletes who have already committed are Monet Chun (University of Michigan), Ellie Szeryk (Texas A&M) and Sarah Beqaj (SMU).

 

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Other Canucks to sign National Letters of Intent are:

• Isabella Portokalis (London, Ont.): Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles
• Robbie Latter (Mississauga, Ont.) : Hattiesburg Golden Eagles
• Jenn McKay: Brigham Young University Cougars
• Susan Xiao (Surrey, B.C.): University of Pennsylvania Quakers
• Luc Warnock (McGregor, Ont.) – Northern Illinois Huskies
• Anabelle Ackroyd (Calgary, Alta.) – University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Hailey McLaughlin (Markham, Ont.) – Wingate University Bulldogs
• Tristan Renaud (Sudbury, Ont.) – Sam Houston State Bearkats
• Sean Buckles (North Vancouver, B.C.) – Utah Valley University Wolverines
• Remi Chartier (Montreal, Que.) – East Tennessee State Buccaneers
• Kayla Burke (Port Colborne, Ont.) – Arkansas State Red Wolves
• William Duquette (Laval, Que.) – University of Kansas

Did we miss someone? Let us know at communications@golfcanada.ca

MELBOURNE, Australia – World Cup or Ryder Cup: Put Ian Poulter into a team event and he never seems to disappoint.

Poulter’s approach to less than a foot helped set up one of England’s six birdies on the back nine Thursday to give him and Tyrrell Hatton a share of the lead with South Korea and Australia after the first round of fourballs at the World Cup of Golf.

Cameron Smith made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to ensure he and Australia teammate Marc Leishman were in a tie atop the leaderboard with South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim, all with 10-under 62s at Metropolitan.

Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., are the Canadian entry in the event. They combined for a 68 to sit in a tie for 23rd at 4 under.

“We didn’t have one hole where we were both on the green,” said Taylor. “We were just out of position on the back nine. It sucks to finish with a bogey.”

Best of luck to #TeamRBC and ??’s @ntaylorgolf59 and @ahadwingolf at the @WorldCupofGolf pic.twitter.com/n5HqxbyBdF

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) November 22, 2018

On Friday, the format switches to foursomes, or alternate shot, and again for the final round.

“This tournament’s won and lost on Friday and Sunday,” Poulter said. “Foursomes is the day when you can take yourself out of the tournament pretty quickly. In fourballs you’re always going to make birdies and hopefully you don’t make any mistakes.”

Poulter has picked up 15 career points in Ryder Cup events for Europe over the United States. He had two in Europe’s win in Paris in late September – one with Rory McIlroy in foursomes (he also lost with McIlory in foursomes) and a singles victory over Dustin Johnson.

He was happy with the way he and Hatton combined for the fourballs on Thursday.

“We dovetailed nicely, when one was out of position, the other one was in position and that’s exactly what you have to do.”

Leishman said he and Smith, who will play in the next-to-last group Friday with Malaysia, need to avoid any early mistakes

“If you get off to an average start in foursomes, things can start going the wrong way pretty quickly,” Leishman said.

An said he and Kim combined well to keep South Korea atop the leaderboard.

“I think we saved each other pretty good,” An said. “When he was struggling, I made some birdies, and when I was out (of the hole) he made some good par saves.”

Three teams were tied for fourth, one stroke behind – Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry), Malaysia (Gavin Green and Ben Leong) and Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who won the title for Denmark by four strokes two years ago at nearby Kingston Heath.

India (Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar) and Ireland (Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne) were tied for seventh after 64s. The U.S. team of Kyle Stanley and Matt Kuchar was in a large group tied for 13th among 28 teams after a 66.

Officials moved up tee times for Thursday because of expected storms and showers which didn’t eventuate. When the last group finished, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped off.

Rain is in the forecast for both Friday and Saturday, with a high temperature expected of only 14 Celsius (57 Fahrenheit) on Friday.

Will Ghesquire closed out his six years of caddying at Hamilton G&CC (HGCC) in style, winning Caddie of the Year honours at the club’s annual Caddie Banquet earlier this month.

“Caddying at HGCC has been a great experience and I have really enjoyed it,” says Will, who split his time between caddying 98 rounds this year and working in the back shop. “I really like talking with the members and spending time out on the golf course. It’s such an awesome place.”

On good days in the summer, you would find him here at 6 am and carrying for both a morning and afternoon.

The 18-year-old, who l is finishing up at Glendale Secondary School, is planning on returning to HGCC in 2019 to work solely in the back shop. His favourite part of working at HGCC, would have to be golfing here on Mondays, where the nine-handicap played about 20 rounds in 2018.

Caddie Master, Josh Ryglewicz thanked all caddies for their hard work throughout the season with a total of 1,300 caddie rounds for 2018. He also presented awards to individual category winners including: Wyatt Rapson – C Caddie of the Year; Chris Ghesquire – B Caddie of the Year; Nick Kenney – A Caddie of the Year and Lucas Gatto – AA Caddie of the Year.

“There’s no better place to work, it’s a great summer job,” says Lucas Gatto. Caddies at HGCC are paid from $26 to $38 per 18-hole round depending on their category from C to AA.

The Grade 12 Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary School student is wrapping up a four-year caddie career this season. Lucas caddied 63 rounds this past season and worked in the back shop for the first time. He’ll return to the back shop in 2019, but his caddying days are done. On the golf course, he’s a six-handicap who had a membership at Flamborough Hills GC this past summer where he played about 25 rounds, plus another 10 rounds here at HGCC.

Both Will, and Lucas have little brothers who are following in their footsteps. Chris Ghesquire concluded his second season at HGCC winning B Caddie of the Year honours after looping 75 rounds in 2018.

“It’s very cool to get the caddie bonus. I worked hard throughout the summer to get more rounds. I wanted to be Caddie of the Year,” the 13-year-old says. At the end of the season caddies with at least 30 rounds in the books earned an $11 bonus per round from the club as a thank-you for their dedication and commitment.

Nicholas Gatto, 13, enjoyed his first-year caddying at HGCC and is looking forward to moving up the caddy ladder after finishing the season as a B Caddie with 41 rounds.

“I went out with my brother for my first caddie round and he showed me the ropes,” says Nicolas, who is playing Minor Bantam A hockey in Ancaster this winter to keep busy.

He was at the club most Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends by 6:30 am throughout the summer. “I just like being out on the golf course, in the good weather with the members. The member events are very cool and lots of fun. The toughest part of the job is the extreme heat in the summer, especially if you’re trying to caddy twice in a day.”

Over the past two seasons Nick Kenney has caddied 120 rounds at HGCC and that went a long way to earning him A Caddie of the Year honours for 2018.

“It’s a cool job. You come in, walk around the golf course for a few hours with a member and get paid for it,” said the second-year caddie. “It feels good to win the award. I’m surprised. It’s not something I was thinking about while I was walking around the golf course this summer. It’s a lot of fun, a great job.”

The 14-year-old Bishop Tonnos student played high school football, is playing single A Major Bantam travel hockey in Ancaster and is enjoying sleeping in for now!

Wyatt Rapson, 12, is saving up his caddy earnings from his first season at HGCC to buy a laptop. The 12-year-old, Dundas Central PS is off to a good start with nearly 50 rounds this season.

“After the first couple of rounds where you learn a lot, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I started pulling and then pushing and mixed in a bit of carrying,” Wyatt says.

Along with receiving their bonus cheques and a prime rib dinner at the dapper jacket and tie Caddie Banquet, members donate prizes to a raffle. Everyone one went home with a prize ranging from Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Hamilton Tiger Cats tickets to movie and SportChek gift cards.

First year caddie Andrew Varrasso had his name selected first in the raffle draw. With little hesitation, and the biggest smile you can imagine, the 12-year-old Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School student walked up to the table with the prizes and picked the HGCC logoed carry bag. What you need to know about Andrew, is that his father, Paul caddied as HGCC as a youngster and now Andrew is following in dad’s footstep – very cool. You should know that Andrew saved all his money from caddying this summer, except for $40 that he used to purchase an HGCC logoed head cover for his driver. He says it was an awesome summer caddying 36 rounds at HGCC as he moved from a C to a B caddie over time. He squeezed in four nine-hole rounds on the course with that head cover and next year he’ll have the HGCC golf bag to go with it!

“Caddies have been an integral part of the history and traditions of HGCC for more than 100 years and we appreciate your efforts,” said Caddie Liaison, David Gilroy. “You play an important part in a program that makes HGCC unique in Canada. Invite your friends to give it a try next year. Tell them how much fun it is, that it’s a really great experience because we would like to see more of you.”

Will Ghesquire, 2018 Caddie of the Year at HGCC, along with Caddie Master,  Josh Ryglewicz.

Jan Dowling, a native of Bradford, Ont., was selected to coach the international team at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup in Roland, Ark., from June 7-9.

The former Canadian Women’s Amateur champion (2000) is in her sixth year of coaching the Michigan University Wolverines, having led the team to two appearances in the NCAA championship in 2016 and 2017.

“I’m grateful the WGCA, GCAA and the Arnold Palmer Cup have entrusted me with this incredible honour to coach the International Team this summer,” Dowling told the University of Michigan. “With the addition of women last year, the tournament is unique and creates an incredible arena of world-class golf and competition.”

As a collegiate golfer, Dowling led the Kent State Golden Flashes to four straight Mid-American Conference Titles. She also represented Canada at the World Amateur Team Championships in 2002.

MELBOURNE, Australia – The World Cup of Golf is getting an early taste of Melbourne’s fickle weather.

Organizers of the 28-team event at Metropolitan Golf Club have moved up tee times by an hour for Thursday’s first round of the 72-hole stroke-play tournament that features fourballs (best ball) and foursomes (alternate shot) over two rounds each.

Heavy rain is in the forecast beginning in the early afternoon Thursday. Wednesday was mostly sunny after a big storm hit the course on Tuesday evening, bringing with it hail, high winds and plenty of rain.

The forecast is even worse for Friday, with cool temperatures and more rain.

Teams from Malaysia and Zimbabwe will tee off in the fourballs competition on Thursday at 7:20 a.m. with the top-ranked teams of Australia (Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith) and the United States (Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley) off last about three hours later.

Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who won the title for Denmark by four strokes two years ago at nearby Kingston Heath, are back for another attempt to win on a sandbelt course in southeast Melbourne.

“Obviously we’ve picked up a few things two years ago, what worked and what didn’t work, mainly what worked,” Kjeldsen said Wednesday. “I think we’ve got a good idea what we need to do, but like Thorbjorn says, it’s going to be very difficult. I think there are a lot of strong teams this year as well.”

Stanley said he’s not too worried about the weather.

“It’s one of the best golf courses in the world so it’s a great venue for this week,” he said. “I know we’ve got a little weather coming in but I live in Seattle so that’s no big deal for me.”

Martin Kaymer, who will represent Germany with Maximilian Kieffer, was in the same frame of mind.

“The weather forecast is what it is and we all have an umbrella and rain gear so off we go,” Kaymer said.

The format will switch to foursomes on Friday and Sunday, with Saturday returning to fourballs.