GREENWOOD, S.C. – Brittany Marchand carded a 5-under-par 67 to finish T7 at The Links at the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic on Sunday at Stoney Point.

Marchand, an Orangeville, Ont. native, played an impressive bogey-free round to jump four spots up the leaderboard in Greenwood. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member currently sits at No. 10 on the Volvik Race to the Card money list.

VICTORIA, B.C. – Team Canada Development Squad member Monet Chun held on to her second-round lead, while Cole Wilson made a hard-fought comeback to earn medallist honours in their respective divisions at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific championship at Bear Mountain Golf Resort.

Seventeen-year-old Chun, who led going into the final round, carded a 3-under on the front nine. The Richmond Hill, Ont., product ended the day scoring a 2-over-par 74 to secure her place in the 2018 Junior Girls Championship being held from July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

“It’s my first tournament winning in B.C.,” said Chun of her third Future Links Championship win. “I think just being able to win a tournament in Quebec, Ontario and the Pacific just shows I have been improving a lot over the last few years, so I am happy.”

Two of Chun’s fellow Team Canada Development Squad members – Ellie Szeryk and Céleste Dao – are also headed to the 2018 Junior Girls Championship after placing second and T5, respectively.

Sixteen-year-old Szeryk posted the low-score of the day, a 3-under-par 69, ending the tournament only two strokes behind the champion. The London, Ont. native was the only player in the girls division to score in the red after firing an impressive seven birdies.

Rounding out the players qualifying for the 2018 Junior Girls Championship are Chaewon Baek, Phoebe Yue, Lauren Kim and YanJun(Victoria) Liu.

Victoria, BC – 13 May 2018 – Cole Wilson winner of the Boys Division of the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship, at Bear Mountain Golf Resort, Victoria, BC. (Photo: Chuck Russell/Golf Canada)

In the boys division, Wilson, who entered  the final round two shots-behind the lead, battled it out to earn back his position at the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s been an amazing, life-changing experience for my golf career,” said the 17-year-old when asked what this tournament meant to him. “It’s really special to me to be able to get a Future Links win as my last Future Links before I graduate.”

Wilson, a native of Kelowna, B.C., posted a 1-under-par 70 to secure an exemption to the 2018 Junior Boys Championship from July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Vandette, a member of the Team Canada Development Squad, led going into today’s round. The Beaconsfield, QC, native posted a 3-over-par 74 to end the tournament in second, just one-shot behind the champion.

Rounding out the players qualifying for the 2018 Junior Boys Championship are last year’s champion Jeevan Sihota and three other Team Canada Development Squad members – Nolan Thoroughgood, Johnny Travale and Peyton Callens .

Full scoring can be found here

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Starting with the largest Sunday lead ever at The Players Championship was harder than Webb Simpson imagined. Hearing one big roar after another from Tiger Woods playing four groups ahead of him didn’t help. Through it all, Simpson managed his game and his nerves.

Only when he had the crystal trophy did he start to crack.

He looked out at his wife, Dowd, a big supporter during the past few years of frustration as Simpson coped with the ban on the anchored putting stroke he used to make two Ryder Cup teams and win the U.S. Open.

And he thought about his mother at home in North Carolina, her first Mother’s Day since Simpson’s father died in November.

“It’s been a tough few months for my mom, my brothers and sisters,” Simpson said as his voice began to crack. “This is a little beacon of light for my mom, to get this done on Mother’s Day.”

There was never any doubt.

Simpson navigated his way through a few mistakes, but not too much stress in his four-shot victory Sunday at the TPC Sawgrass. Staked to a seven-shot lead, no one got closer than four shots, even after Simpson made double bogey on the 18th hole when his only remaining task was to finish the hole. He closed with a 1-over 73 to end more than four years without winning.

Woods made another big run that revved up the crowd and revived hopes that he was close to winning. So did Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker and Danny Lee. None could do enough to catch Simpson during a week of low scoring at the final Players Championship in May. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., finished tied for 57th.

“It was harder than I thought,” Simpson said. “There’s so much noise in front of us with Tiger, and you wonder what everybody is doing.”

The key moment for Simpson was hitting just short of the green on the par-5 11th to set up a two-putt birdie, and then finding the island green on the 17th when he had a six-shot lead.

“Once I got to 17 and the ball was on the green,” he said, “internally I was celebrating.”

Justin Thomas left the TPC Sawgrass as the No. 1 player in the world. He closed with a 66 to tie for 11th, more than enough to end Dustin Johnson’s 15-month reign at the top of the ranking. Thomas is the 21st player to reach No. 1 since the ranking began in 1986, and the seventh American.

“I’m very proud to have gotten there, but it means more to me how long I can hold it,” Thomas said in a text message.

Jimmy Walker closed with a bogey-free 67 and tied for second with Charl Schwartzel and Xander Schauffele, who also shot 67s. Walker, who struggled all of last year with Lyme disease, had his best finish since he won the 2016 PGA Championship.

Woods made the cut on the number – helped by Thomas and Jordan Spieth making bogey on the 18th hole Friday – got back to the first page of the leaderboard with a 65 on Saturday and ran off six birdies through 12 holes in the final round. He was tied for second at one point, still four shots behind, but that was as close he got. Woods made a soft bogey on the 14th hole when he missed the green with a sand wedge, and was well short of the island green in making double bogey on No. 17.

He shot 69 and tied for 11th.

“I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday, and I obviously didn’t end up with the score I needed to,” Woods said.

The final edition of May was one for the record books. Simpson tied the course record with a 63 in the second round when he seized control – even with a double bogey from the water on the 17th – and he tied Greg Norman’s 54-hole record from 1994 at 19-under 197. Simpson set a record for the largest margin through three rounds. Brooks Koepka became the eighth player with a 63 on Sunday, making an albatross 2 on the par-5 16th.

And there 1,754 birdies for the week, breaking by 136 the record from 1996.

But this ultimately was all about Simpson, who had missed the cut in four of his previous eight appearances at the TPC Sawgrass and had gone 107 starts on the PGA Tour since his most recent victory in Las Vegas toward the end of 2013.

He had struggled with the ban on the anchored stroke he used for his belly putter. He finally settled on a longer handle that ran up the left side of his arm, and then Tim Clark gave him the missing link. It was at The Players a year ago when Clark suggested he also use a claw grip, and Simpson had been working his way back to golf he expects to play.

“It’s pretty special that a year later, I got this victory,” he said.

Simpson won for the fifth time and moves to No. 20 in the world. He won $1.98 million, the second-largest tournament payoff behind only the U.S. Open.

The rest of the tournament would have been plenty exciting had Simpson decided to call in sick for work this week. At one point, Dufner made a birdie to break out of a 10-way tie for third place.

“I feel like all of us were just trying to make as many birdies as possible while he was trying to run away from everyone else,” Schauffele said. “So it was an interesting week.”

Canadians Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes both finished T57 with 4-under.

VICTORIA, B.C. –  Christopher Vandette and Monet Chun come from behind to lead their respective divisions in the second round of the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship at Bear Mountain Golf Resort.

Team Canada Development Squad member Vandette, who entered round 1 T5, fired an impressive eight birdies, five of which were consecutive. The Beaconsfield, Que. native carded a 6-under-par 65 and is headed into the final round at the top of the leaderboard with a comfortable three-stroke lead.

“I’ve learned a lot from just a few weeks ago when I had the lead and things didn’t go to plan,” said the sixteen-year-old from Beaconsfield, Que. “This time I want to just stay aggressive and make calculated risks.”

Tied for second, three-strokes behind Vandette, are Pincher Creek, Alta. Resident Ethan Choi and yesterday’s leader Cole Wilson.

Two other members of Team Canada’s Development Squad, Nolan Thoroughgood and Johnny Travale, head into the final round T4.

Monet Chun moved to top the leaderboard with 1-under-par 71, heading into the final round with a one-stroke lead in the girls division.

The 17-year-old member of the Team Canada Development Squad was the only player in the girls division to score in the red with five birdies in this round.

Round one leader Phoebe Yue fell one shot behind the lead after posting a 4-over-par 76 to T2 with Langley, B.C. native Chaewon Baek.

Ellie Szeryk and Céleste Dao, two of Team Canada’s Development Squad members, both posted 3-over par 75. They remain in the top ten at 4 and T7, respectively.

The top six finishers in the junior boys’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. The top six finishers in the junior girls’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

The current leaderboard can be found here

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Mackenzie Hughes (68) of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Hadwin (71) of Abbotsford, B.C., were tied for 33rd at 5-under after todays round at the Players Championship.

Webb Simpson isn’t aware of the records he has tied or broken at The Players Championship. He saw that Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth each made a big charge before he teed off Saturday, and it didn’t rattle him at all.

“I think it helped me a little bit continue to think about making birdies,” he said.

Simpson had a plan and didn’t back off until he holed an 18-foot par on the final hole for a 4-under 68. He stretched his lead to a record seven shots, tied Greg Norman’s 54-hole score at The Players that had not been touched in 24 years and left himself one more round to capture the richest prize in golf.

Simpson started with an 8-foot birdie. He holed a 100-foot bunker shot for eagle.

And that island green on the par-3 17th that ruined his bid for the record score at the TPC Sawgrass the previous day? With a front pin in the bowl, he hit sand wedge and listened to thousands of fans surrounding the green cheer as the ball trickled down the slope to 3 feet for birdie.

It added to a 19-under 197, the score Norman had after three rounds in 1994 on a rain-softened course.

And the 32-year-old Simpson has history on his side: No one has ever lost a seven-shot lead in the final round in PGA Tour history.

“All those things that have happened, I’d love to know them if I win tomorrow,” Simpson said. “But I’m trying not to dwell there. I’m trying to just look forward, do what I always do on a Saturday night of a golf tournament and get ready tomorrow morning. And that’s kind of where I’m at.”

Danny Lee was leading the B-Flight with a bogey-free round of 70, but with birdies only on the two par 5s on the back nine. He will be in the final group.

“Just got to keep my hat down and play my own game and … I don’t know, where is he at?” Lee asked. Told that Simpson was 19 under, Lee digested that and responded, “That’s an impressive three rounds, I think. It’s going very, very well for him.”

Woods had his best round on the Stadium Course with a 65 despite playing the final six holes in 1 over. Spieth made two bogeys in his round of 65 as both charged up the leaderboard in the morning with big crowds and loud cheers.

They went from a tie for 68th to a tie for ninth. But they made up only three shots on Simpson and were 11 shots behind.

Dustin Johnson at least improved his chances of staying for No. 1 with four birdies over his final 10 holes for a 69. He was in third place, nine shots behind and figured all he could do Sunday was go as low as he could and see where it led.

Johnson is among six players to lose a six-shot lead in the final round, last fall in Shanghai. And with danger lurking at every corner on the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course, that would suggest that the crystal and largest paycheque in golf – just shy of $2 million – doesn’t belong to Simpson just yet.

He just hasn’t shown any signs of cracking.

Lee was at 204, a score that would have led The Players in all but three of the years since it moved to May in 2007.

“If you take Webb out of the equation, the golf course is playing about like it always does,” Johnson said. “He’s the only one that’s going really low.”

Jason Day, among those at 9-under 207, had a four-shot lead when he won The Players two years ago. He knows what it’s like to play with big leads, to win big.

“The good thing about Webb is he’s played well, he doesn’t have to do too much out there, he has to keep it in front of him,” Day said. “Don’t take unnecessary risk and just kind of shoot 72 or somewhere in between 70, 72. You don’t really need to go into the 60s.”

Simpson hasn’t won since Las Vegas in the fall of 2013, most of that due to struggles with the ban on the anchored stroke he used with his belly putter. The big break came a year ago when Tim Clark suggested that along with a putter grip that rested along his left forearm, he use a claw grip.

“I’m thankful that I’ve put together a year of pretty solid putting, and it’s really helped my golf kind of get me to the player that I want to be,” Simpson said.

For one morning, Woods created the biggest buzz of the week.

He ran off four birdies in five holes at the start of his round, made the turn in 30 and then added a two-putt birdie at No. 11 and a pitch to 8 feet on the short 12th. He was in range of the course record that eluded Simpson on Saturday. Woods didn’t do anything spectacularly wrong the rest of the way, he just didn’t convert and dropped his lone shot on the 14th with a drive into thick rough that kept him from reaching the green.

“Eventually I was going to put all the pieces together and today, for the most part, I did that,” Woods said.

It was his lowest round on the PGA Tour since a 65 in the second round of the Wyndham Championship at the end of the 2015 regular season. That was a month before he was sidelined with three more back surgeries. He played only one PGA Tour event since then until returning this year.

But this is Simpson’s show until further notice.

VICTORIA, B.C. – The first of six regional Future Links, driven by Acura Championship kicked off today with the Pacific edition at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria, B.C.

Cole Wilson and Phoebe Yue both shot a 68 to lead the Junior Boys and Junior Girls Divisions, respectively.

Kelowna native Wilson, who played in last year’s Pacific Championship, started off the first round strong, firing six birdies to top the leaderboard.

Cole Wilson shot a 68 and is currently the leader of the Boys Division after day 1 of the #FutureLinks Pacific Championship @BearMountain 💪

Recap of the first day: https://t.co/Uhux4KlAsF pic.twitter.com/Ln2zWMShH3

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) May 12, 2018

17-year-old Nolan Thoroughgood, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, posted a 69 to sit one stroke behind the lead.

The defending champion, 14-year-old Jeevan Sihota, shot an even 71 to tie for third alongside Team Canada Development Squad member Peyton Callens.

Callens’ fellow Team Canada Development Squad members Christopher Vandette (72) and Johnny Travale (73) both sit inside the top ten.

In the girls division, Yue topped the leaderboard after carding a 68 in her stellar opening round.

“The greens are pretty tricky,” said the 18-year-old, from West Vancouver, B.C. “I’m going to still try to play as consistent as I can and not try to force any birdies.”

Team Canada Development Squad member Monet Chun scored a 70, two shots shy of the lead.

Ellie Szeryk (73) and Céleste Dao (76), both fellow Team Canada Development Squad members, are currently in the top ten.

The top six finishers in the junior boys’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. The top six finishers in the junior girls’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

Round one results can be found here.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top Canadian through two rounds, sitting in a tie for 34th at 4-under at the Players Championship. He shot a 68 on the day. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot a 67 and Nick Taylor, who also hails from Abbotsford, had a round of 74 and are both tied for 68th.

Webb Simpson didn’t miss anything except the island green. On the verge of shattering the course record Friday at the TPC Sawgrass – even a 59 was in play – Simpson hit sand wedge into the water on the notorious par-3 17th and made double bogey that ruined his round, but not his day at The Players Championship. He still tied the record with a 9-under 63, and he had a five-shot lead, the largest in the 45 years of this tournament.

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Simpson said. “Just the wrong club.”

He was in no mood to let that sour his mood. Simpson simply couldn’t miss, whether it was a 35-foot eagle putt on his second hole or a 30-foot birdie putt up the slope and into the cup on the 15th . At that point, all he could was laugh.

And then he reached the 17th, playing 147 yards to a back pin, the light wind playing tricks with him. He kept backing off, trying to decide between sand wedge and pitching wedge. He said a few fans were telling him to hit it.

The ball hit the wooden frame on the front of the green, caromed high in the air and landed on the back of the green with so much momentum that it rolled through the light collar of rough and disappeared into the water.

“Everything is going in,” he said. “You feel like no matter what, you’re going to make it, and I grew up on an easy golf course so it reminded me of being back home, shooting low numbers. But at the same time, you’re at the TPC Sawgrass, so you know that trouble is everywhere, as you guys saw with me on 17.”

And it will be there over the next two rounds.

Simpson was the seventh player to shoot 63 on the Stadium Course – five since 2013 – and his 15-under 129 tied the 36-hole record set two years ago by Jason Day.

Charl Schwartzel (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Danny Lee (66) were five shots behind.

Tiger Woods at least gets to return on the weekend. He made the cut on the number (1-under 143) after a 71 in the easier morning conditions. Woods was outside the cut line until Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each made bogey on the 18th. Spieth three-putted from 35 feet, though he shot 68 and ended three straight years missing the cut. Rory McIlroy wasn’t so fortunate. He was inside the cut line until hitting into the water on the 17th and making double bogey.

Conditions were ideal for scoring for the second straight day. Simpson took that to another level.

He ended the front nine with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth for a one-shot lead, and then he took off. Starting with an up-and-down at the par-5 11th, Simpson ran off six straight birdies – three straight from the 20-foot range, the most unlikely birdie with the one from behind the 15th green, and another up-and-down from left the of the green on the par-5 16th.

Spieth was 5 under on his round through 11 holes and wondered if he had the low round of the day. And then he saw a leaderboard.

“It was just amazing,” said Spieth, who played with McIlroy and Thomas. “We were talking about it throughout the round, all three of us. We were like, ‘Man, I hope he shoots 59.’ And at the same time, we’re saying if he shoots 59, can you imagine how hard the setup is going to be tomorrow?”

The real challenge will be catching Simpson.

Only three other players have led by as many as three shots through 36 holes at The Players – Lanny Wadkins (3) in 1979, Greg Norman (3) in 1994 and Day (4) in 2016. All of them went on to win.

“If you’re off a little bit, you make bogeys or double bogeys as easy as you can make birdies,” Simpson said. “I don’t think any lead is safe. … There’s no defensiveness in my game tomorrow.”

Schwartzel never came close to a bogey, only missing two greens, and just barely. Cantlay only had one bad swing and one bad break, both on the par-5 ninth, that led to bogey. Lee shot a 31 on the back nine with a double bogey on the 11th hole.

Simpson left them all in his wake.

“The most entertaining golf in our group was watching Webb’s score,” said Justin Rose, who played behind Simpson and shot 72. “It’s a miracle round. To be 11-under par, it’s a shame he doesn’t finish it off. But 17 is a hard hole to get through. I’m sure he was nervous playing that hole. We’re all nervous playing that hole, but an 11-under par round, that green I’m sure looks even smaller.”

Woods had wedges in his hand on his opening three holes and never got it close for birdie, and it was like that all day. He was in the feature pairing with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, and Woods was the only one to make the cut.

Mickelson went 79-73 and missed the cut for the fifth time in the last six years. Fowler was in good shape until losing a ball in a tree on the sixth hole for the first of consecutive double bogeys. He shot 71 and missed by two shots.

National Amateur Squad members Maddie Szeryk and Jaclyn Lee both earned T2 performances at 2018 NCAA Regional events to advance to the NCAA Women’s National Championship from May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club.

Szeryk, a Texas A&M senior, finished second at the NCAA Regional in Austin, Texas after carding rounds of 68-69-72 to close the 54-hole event at 7 under par. The London, Ont., product finished one stroke back of medallist Maria Fassi after holding the 36-hole lead.

Her second-place finish, the best for an Aggie at NCAA Regionals since 2012, advances her as an individual to the NCAA Women’s National Championship. The Aggies finished seventh, and failed to advance as a team.

Meanwhile, Ohio State junior Jaclyn Lee followed her Big Ten Championships medallist honours with a tie for second at the 2018 NCAA Women’s Regional at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc. Lee, a Calgary native, closed the 54-hole event two shots behind the champion at 8 under.

Collectively, Lee and the Ohio State women’s golf team tied for fourth to advance to the NCAA Women’s National Championship.

The NCAA Women’s National Championship gets underway from May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Click here for scores of the Texas Regional.
Click here for scores of the Wisconsin Regional.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Canada’s Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 22nd at the Players Championship after opening with a 3-under 69 on Thursday. The 30-year-old’s round was highlighted by a stretch of five birdies through six holes on the back nine at TPC Sawgrass.

Canadian Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, recorded an even-par 72. Fellow countryman Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., struggled out of the gate with a 4-over 76.

Phil Mickelson was all dressed up for his first PGA Tour pairing with Tiger Woods in five years, wearing a long-sleeved, button-down shirt in 85-degree heat.

He might be hesitant to put it on again.

Mickelson shot a 7-over 79 in the opening round, his worst score at TPC Sawgrass since 2000. Woods (72) wasn’t a whole lot better on a day when 68 guys were under par.

The mega pairing turned out to be a mega dud.

Mickelson and Woods, along with Rickie Fowler (74), drew huge crowds as the featured group at the Stadium Course. Their golf didn’t match the hype.

The threesome delivered so few highlights that Mickelson’s shirt was the talk of the town for much of the afternoon.

“I actually really like it,” said Mickelson, who is brand ambassador and equity holder in the menswear brand Mizzen and Main. “I think nobody does kind of slightly overweight, middle-aged guy better than me, and this says exactly who I am. I don’t know what to say. I’m really happy with it.”

Those in the galleries had mixed reviews.

“He must have a meeting after this,” one fan said at the famed 17th hole. “Yeah, at a used car lot,” added another.

He got a lot of “love the sleeves” and “love the button-down” during the round. Some of those seemed a little tongue-in-cheek, too.

Regardless, the real problem was his play.

Mickelson hit two balls in the water and found eight bunkers, poor shots that made scoring tough. He said the bigger issue was a lack of energy.

“I knew it was going to be a concern this week,” said Mickelson, who finished tied for fifth last week at the Wells Fargo Championship. “I knew that I was going to have issues late in the day. I tried to offset it this week by taking it easy, not doing too much, and tried to eat right, tried to do all the right things to hopefully not have it be an issue.

“But I was concerned that that was going to be the case, and it was.”

Mickelson really struggled on the back nine, shooting 7 over during a four-hole stretch.

“I just kind of ran out at the end,” he said. “I had a lot of fun, enjoyed being with the guys. I just had a poor finish, 7-over the last five. That’s the day.”

It might be his tournament, too.

Barring a significant turnaround Friday, Lefty will miss the cut at the Players for the fifth time in the last six years.

Woods is in much better shape thanks to an eagle on the par-5 ninth, two par saves on the back and a bogey that could have been worse at No. 18.

Woods reached the par-5 ninth, which was playing downwind, in two and made a 20-footer that got him back to even at the turn.

“Boy, it was nice to turn the round completely around there,” he said.

Woods made an 8-footer to save par at No. 10 and a 15-footer at the 14th. He knew the one on the No. 14 was good, delivering his classic fist pump as the ball neared the hole.

His final putt was equally clutch. After hooking an iron off the tee into the water, Woods took a penalty drop and flew the green from 270 yards out. His chip came up short, but he drained a 10-footer to end the day at even par.

“I knew I was going to drop a shot, but didn’t want to shoot an over-par round,” Woods said. “I was playing better than that. So it was nice to make that putt.”

Woods said the warm temperatures caused balls to carry longer than he expected, often leaving him on the wrong side of pins.

Playing with Mickelson had fans craning for views and snapping pictures all afternoon. Well, most of the afternoon anyway. The massive crowd thinned out on the back nine before picking back up at 16, 17 and 18 – the most raucous holes at the Stadium Course.

“They were into it early,” Woods said. “Towards the back nine it started getting a little sparse. I think they might have tipped back a couple and got a little sleepy.”

VICTORIA, B.C. – Golf Canada’s first regional junior golf championship of 2018 is set to take place this week as the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship gets underway at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria, B.C., from May 11-13.

With support from British Columbia Golf, the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship is the first of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with Acura. The 54-hole stroke play tournament begins with a practice round on May 10 before the tournament gets underway with round one action on May 11.

Established in 2009, Bear Mountain Golf Resort is home to the Official Training Center for Golf Canada’s Team Canada program. Designed by Nicklaus Design Group Inc., the Valley Course meanders through forest, borders lakes and traverses creeks throughout its 18 holes, while offering spectacular views of Vancouver Island’s beautiful landscape.

“We are looking forward to opening the 2018 championship season in Victoria,” said Susan White, the Tournament Director and Senior Manager of Field Operations for B.C Golf. “The Future Links, driven by Acura Championships, are fantastic opportunities for Canadian junior golfers to demonstrate their skills. We look forward to seeing this substantial field of juniors challenge the Valley Course.”

The field will consist of 88 junior golfers in the junior boys’ division with the top six earning exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta.

The junior girls’ division will consist of 32 golfers with the top six (including ties) earning an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

Five additional Future Links, driven by Acura Championships will span the country this summer.

• May 25-27 – Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario – Otterville, Ont. – Otter Creek Golf Club.
• June 1-3 – Future Links, driven by Acura Western – High River, Alta. – Highwood Golf & Country Club.
• June 8-10 – Future Links, driven by Acura Québec – Lachute, Que. – Club de golf Lachute.
• June 15-17 – Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie – Portage la Prairie, Man. – Portage Golf Club.
• July 17-19 – Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic – Port Blandford, Nfld. – Twin Rivers Golf Course.

Additional information regarding the 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship, including participants, start times and up-to-date results can be found here.

NOTABLES
Jeevan Sihota of Victoria, B.C.
At just 14-year-old, Sihota comes in as the event’s defending champion. He finished tied for 25th at the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont.
Team Canada Development Squad member ranked No. 2 on the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Girls Order of Merit. Won both the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Championship and 2017 Junior Spring Classic.
Peyton Callens of Langton, Ont.
The Team Canada Development Squad member finished T8 at last year’s Canadian Junior Boys Championship. Won the 2017 New Era Junior Championship and the 2016 Ontario Junior Boys Championship.

FAST FACTS
In 2018, Golf Canada is conducting its six regional Future Links, driven by Acura championships in conjunction with the Provincial Associations.

Top six finishers in the boys’ division earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Top six finishers (including ties) in the girls’ division earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Canadian LPGA Tour star Brooke Henderson won the Future Links Pacific Junior Girls title in 2013.

Defending champion Jeevan Sihota went wire-to-wire in his 2017 victory.

Mary Parsons won the junior girls tournament in 2017.

Friday’s opening-round pairings.

More information on the event can be found here.

Admission to the event is open to the public at no charge.

ABOUT THE COURSE
Bear Mountain’s Valley Course opened in 2009 and was designed by Nicklaus Design Group Inc.

The signature features of the course are elevated tee-boxes, large undulating greens and striking views of Vancouver Island.

Junior Boys: 6,691 yards, Par 71
Junior Girls: 5,985 yards, Par 72