CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Woody Austin made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished with a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead in the Senior British Open.

The 52-year-old Austin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies on 11, 12, 14 and 16. He has struggled after winning three times in four events this year on the PGA Tour Champions.

“It seems, I forgot how to play after that,” Austin said. “It’s been really bad since. It’s been unfortunately a long stretch of really ugliness.”

Mark O’Meara was a stroke back along with Carlos Franco, Esteban Toledo, Joe Durant, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Peter Fowler. Franco, from Paraguay, qualified Monday.

The wind was 10-15 mph at Carnoustie Golf Links with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the 60s.

“I think the rain yesterday softened the course a little bit,” O’Meara said. “We were pretty fortunate. The wind laid down just a little bit in the middle of our round out there, so it was a little bit more playable. But Carnoustie is a very demanding golf course. You have to drive the ball well. You have to be accurate with your iron shots, and then you’ve got to putt well.”

Austin won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship.

“I’m not into grinding,” Austin said. “I’m not into beating a bunch of balls anymore. I did that for my 40 years. I’m done. So, I go home, I play with my kids, I play with my family. I own a golf course. I help run the golf course. I try to do the things I need to do there. You’ll find me sometimes weeding, jumping on a mower and mowing. I hit balls usually maybe Saturday and Sunday the week before I go back out. That’s it. That’s my preparation. The only time I work on is when I get to the golf course.”

Bernhard Langer, the winner in 2010 at Carnoustie, had a 71.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames and defending champion Marco Dawson opened with 72s. Dawson won last year at Sunningdale.

Michael Bradley had a 74 in his senior debut. He won four times on the PGA Tour.

ABILENE, Tex. – Development Squad member Kathrine Chan delivered a convincing nine-stroke victory on Thursday at the Bob Estes Junior. The Richmond, B.C., product carded a final-round 72 (E) to finish at 2-under-par at the Abilene Country Club en route to recording her first American Junior Golf Association win.

The 16-year-old Chan distanced herself from the field with a second-round, tournament-low 69 (-3), highlighted by seven birdies. The Team Canada rookie ended the 54-hole event with a cumulative score of 214 (73-69-72).

With the win, Chan hopes to improve on her current No. 17 standing in the CN Future Links Junior Order of Merit. She is slated to tee-it-up at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship from Aug. 2-5 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S.

Click here for full scoring.

Andrew Gyba knew that taking the superintendent’s position at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., came with a series of unique challenges. First of all, Glen Abbey, a Jack Nicklaus design that opened 40 years ago, was partly built on a flat plain, with the most interesting holes plunging into a river valley where air circulation and light have been a challenge since the course’s inception. But more than that, Gyba had no experience preparing a golf course for a PGA Tour event, and, as practically anyone who follows golf in this country knows, Glen Abbey was created for the RBC Canadian Open, and has hosted the tournament regularly throughout its history.

“You hear the horror stories about how difficult the tour will be to deal with,” Gyba says. “And they knew I was coming in with zero experience at a PGA Tour event. But they offered a lot of help. They just want to put the best product out there for the week the tournament is here.”

This year Gyba faces interesting challenges. A spring with little rain has turned into a summer with nearly no precipitation. And water use is always a delicate balancing act for the Canadian Open.

“There was a time, I think, when the science of using water wasn’t really understood,” Gyba says. “What we’ve learned is that water can kill a course if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

How to create a playing surface—greens and fairways—that measure up to the consistency of what the PGA Tour’s best expect, while also allowing the course to be played in corporate events leading up to the tournament is a challenge. And how and when water is used is a key.

Bill Paul has seen it all when it comes to the Canadian Open. The long-time tournament director, who now works trying to locate or create venues for future tournaments, has attended or been part of every Canadian Open held at Glen Abbey since its first in 1977. Paul says the course’s conditions have always been a challenge, but they’ve improved as the years have passed.

“I think in the early days the guys were experts in their time,” says Paul. “But now the superintendents are better educated. The tour guys are better. And there’s more of a science to maintaining the course. They’ve certainly taken a really thoughtful approach to how water is used.”

Water has long been an issue for Glen Abbey, which is set in a residential community, with Sixteen-Mile Creek running through the valley holes. The course has a mix of holes that have poa greens, and others where newer bentgrass was used following the ice damage of 2014. It makes for an interesting mix and raises the question of how Gyba gets consistency out of two different types of grasses.

“How do you get a new bentgrass green to react the same as a 40-year old poa green?” he asks. “Speed comes from firmness. So everything is done by hand. We rarely water the greens—especially the low spots—by hand so we don’t overwater them.”

He says proper water management throughout the course is key.

“There’s a time when the science wasn’t understood—it was water all the time,” he says. “But what we’ve learned is that water can harm a course and we’ve got more appreciation for consistency. If you’re just turning the sprinkler heads on mindlessly, no golf course will hold it and the water distribution of your sprinklers will make the low points wet. You’re watering now for your wettest spot on a hole. You want just enough so a player won’t stand on it and find it squishy.”

Instead Gyba wants to water for the driest parts of the course. That means instead of watering at night, he irrigates at a minimum in the dark hours, with significant hand watering during the day. Then he uses he carefully monitors any watering in the morning. “I light up only the areas that are dry and get them to match up,” he says.

Paul says there were opportunities for the RCGA, which owned Glen Abbey until 1998, to redo the course’s greens with a newer bentgrass. For some reason they never pulled the trigger, and now Gyba deals with the mix of turf. Adding to the challenge is the microclimate created in the river valley where holes 11 through 15 run. Air circulation has long been a problem in the area, though Gyba says he manages the troublesome greens—namely the par 4 11^th and par 3 12^th—by using the alternate greens built for both holes.

One of the key issues facing Gyba is how he balances the demands on the course for the tournament with that of the regular members and corporate outings that dominate Glen Abbey for most of the year. How do you grow rough without turning a company outing into a six-hour blood bath where no one is happy? How do you keep the greens in the shape you need and be able to push them to speeds of more than 12 on the stimpmeter?

Gyba has most of this down. To deal with pitch marks on greens he keeps the putting surfaces relatively firm. He grows the rough to three inches for Monday of tournament week and allows it to naturally lengthen from that point.

“We are dialing the moisture percentages down and there’s a point where the green plays firm and fast, still has an adequate amount of water for the plant, and are resistant to ball marks,” he explains.

On the actual tournament week Gyba has a staff of 80, including other ClubLink employees and additional superintendents, to assist with his efforts. The PGA Tour sends Harry Schuemann, one of its agronomists for competitions, to the Abbey regularly. While many pundits and outside observers feel the PGA Tour has mishandled club courses by forcing them to grow the rough too high—only to cut it down tournament week, Gyba hasn’t any issue. He says the tour spent more time with him when he was new to the Abbey, but that they’ve helped him put forward the best course available.

“They want the best possible product they can put out there, and they are incredibly understanding,” he says. “They look at the means you have, and say what they’d like. But then they work within those parameters.”

What does Gyba want? He wants the course to be a little brown, with the fairways turning colour as the week goes on.

“You want to have some aesthetic appeal,” he says. “But in a perfect world on Monday you’d be green tee to green. And then we turn the water off and as the day goes, some of the humps and mounds start to turn. That’s not the end of the world. We’re never going to be Chambers Bay at the U.S. Open. I think the players appreciate how we keep the golf course.”

Sure he hears criticism when Bubba Watson or Jason Day smash a drive 350 yards on 17 or 18, but Gyba says that’s balanced out by the firmness of other areas of the course.

“I’ll have people say ‘Are you kidding me, Bubba hit it 380 on 18?’ But that makes no difference,” he explains. “If you make him respect the approach shot and worry about the downhill putt, then you’re making the course work the way it should.”

In the end, Gyba says running the tournament at Glen Abbey remains a thrill, even if tournament week is tiring. Paul, who has seen numerous superintendents work the tournament, says the experience is invaluable, and benefits both the course and the golfers who play it.

“One thing is clear,” Paul says, “when the Canadian Open leaves a tournament, the super will be better at his job and his members will have a better golf course.”

This article appears courtesy of the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association and initially appeared in the organization’s magazine, On Course. www.ogsa.ca.

Blind Bay, B.C. – Harry Ferguson of Invermere, B.C., won his first British Columbia Senior Men’s title at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club in a playoff over 4-time winner Gudmund Lindbjerg of Port Moody on the first extra hole.

Ferguson & Lindbjerg tied at even par over 54 holes and Ferguson’s two-putt par when they replayed the 18th was enough to overcome Lindbjerg who nevertheless still took home the Super-Senior Title.

B.C. golf legend Doug Roxburgh finished alone in third spot to take the final spot on the B.C. Team that will compete at the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, which goes Sept. 6-9 in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Dream Becomes A Reality For Ferguson

Harry Ferguson had a dream about Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Senior-Super Senior Championship. Trouble was, he woke up early Thursday morning before finding out how it ended.

It turns out there was no nightmarish ending, just a happy one for the 59-year-old oilfield worker from Invermere.

Ferguson beat Gudmund Lindbjerg of Pitt Meadows on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win his first provincial championship.

Ferguson and Lindbjerg both finished the 54-hole event at even-par on a Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club track that played tough.

“It’s funny, I had a dream last night,” said Ferguson, who closed with a one-over 72. “I told Shelley I thought it was going to come down to the 18th hole, but I never found what the ending was. Now I know.”

Shelley is his caddie and partner, Shelley Thomsen, who happens to be a club pro at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Invermere. And it did end on the 18th hole, which happened to be the first playoff hole.

Ferguson said Thomsen helped keep him calm when things didn’t go their way. An example of that came on the very first hole when Ferguson put his first shot of the day into water. They scrambled to make a bogey after the worst possible start to the round.

“You know you are going to make bogeys out there somewhere,” Ferguson said. “It just happened to be on the first hole. You just don’t want to make a double. That is all we were playing for after that.

“I hit some bad shots out there, but Shelley just settled me down. She’d say, ‘let’s go find it, get it in play and try and get it up and down.'”

Lindbjerg, a 67-year-old who won this event four straight years starting in 2008, started the day with a two-shot lead on Ferguson. But he struggled with his ball-striking all day.

“I didn’t hit the ball very good today,” said Lindbjerg. “On that par 5 (his 10th hole of the day) I had a 7-iron in and ended up with a par. I hit three inches behind the ball. That is the story. It was not there today.”

Lindbjerg did not make a birdie all day and ended up shooting a three-over 74. “That never happens,” he said. “I can’t recall any time I don’t make at least one birdie. That is the way the green rubs sometime. It’s his time, I guess.”

Ferguson drew even on the par 3 16th hole (the leaders started on the back nine Thursday) when he drained a 15-footer for birdie. “I said to Shelley, we have to make something and get the pressure on him, otherwise he is just going to waltz in and run us out of holes,” Ferguson said.

“It just happened to go in and it was kind of a momentum shift there. I was pumped when I made that one.”

The playoff ended when Ferguson two-putted for par from the left fringe and Lindbjerg missed a 10-foot putt for par after putting his tee shot in the front bunker.

Ferguson called the win the biggest of his life. He did place third in a previous Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship. “Well, I do have a bronze medal in Canada, but to win a B.C. championship is special,” he said. “I am going to be driving home and I am just going to be pumped. It’s good to have my name on that trophy. It’s something I will always cherish.”

Ferguson will lead B.C.’s three-man team to the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, which goes Sept. 6-9 in Niagara Falls, Ont. Joining Ferguson and Lindbjerg on that team will be Hall of Famer Doug Roxburgh, who finished alone in third place at four-over par after shooting a two-over 73 on Thursday.

“I played better today, I just didn’t make any putts,” Roxburgh said. “And I made kind of a sloppy bogey on the last hole.”

Roxburgh and other competitors had high praise for Shuswap Lakes, a course many of them had not seen until this week. “It’s a great course,” Roxburgh. “It is a good test of golf. Even-par won and that’s always a sign of a good course. They had 75 volunteers come out to help, everyone was so friendly and the staff were great. It’s a really nice spot.”

Lindbjerg had to settle for his second straight Super-Senior title, which goes to the top player aged 65 and over. He beat second-place finisher John Gallacher of Burnaby by 11 shots.

For complete scoring CLICK HERE.

NEW MINAS, N.S. – Ken-Wo Golf Club will host the world’s premier female amateur golfers from July 26-29 for the 103rd playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

Thirteen of the Top-100 players on the World Amateur Golf Ranking will take part in the championship’s return to Ken-Wo, which previously hosted the tournament in 2002. World No. 17 Hye-Jin Choi of Paju-si, Korea will compete alongside No. 40 Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, Calif., No. 45 Hannah Green from Perth, Australia and No. 60 Maria Fassi of Pachuca, Mexico. Choi, Green and Fassi represented their countries at the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa with Choi collecting medallist honours in leading Korea to the team title.

Established in 1921, Ken-Wo is one of the oldest clubs in Nova Scotia. Its challenging layout developed by course designers Robbie Robinson, Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson boasts a rich golfing history which includes four previous national championships.

“We are thrilled to have the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship return to Ken-Wo and the province of Nova Scotia,” said Host Club Tournament Chair Rene MacKay. “The challenge and beauty of our course will bring out the best in this impressive field. We look forward to welcoming these players with all the care and hospitality of Ken-Wo and the East Coast.”

Montreal’s Lisa Meldrum won the second of her three consecutive Canadian Women’s Amateur titles 14 years ago at Ken-Wo. A new generation of Canadian and international amateurs will now look to continue their legacies by pursuing the Duchess of Connaught trophy.

“This tournament has proven to be a stepping stone for many amateurs working towards joining the professional ranks,” said Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “Eight of our past nine winners, including 2013 champion Brooke Henderson, have gone on to find success as professionals. We are very excited to write the next chapter of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Ken-Wo.”

The complete contingent of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad will be in attendance. World No. 37 and top-ranked Canadian amateur Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., will be joined by teammates Josée Doyon (St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que.), Naomi Ko (Victoria), Michelle Kim (Surrey, B.C.) and Jaclyn Lee (Calgary).

A final-round 4-under earned Szeryk a T6 result in last year’s competition at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. The 20-year-old – who claimed her first-career NCAA victory this year at the Florida State Match-Up – and Ko have qualified for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship from August 1-7 at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa.

Doyon is hoping to build upon a season in which she has already claimed victory at the 2016 Women’s Porter Cup and successfully defended her title at the 2016 NIVO Quebec Women’s Amateur Championship. Lee earned a wire-to-wire nine-stroke win at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship. Kim, a University of Idaho Vandal, posted five Top-10 results in nine tournaments to garner Freshman of the Year honours and a first-team all-Big Sky Conference selection.

Grace St-Germain of Orleans, Ont. – the newly crowned Ontario Women’s Amateur champion – and Chloe Currie from Mississauga, Ont., who is coming off a successful title defence at the Ontario Junior Girls Championship will compete in the competition. The pair will be joined by Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.), Tiffany Kong (Vancouver) and Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C.) to represent the entirety of Team Canada’s Development Squad.

Returning from last year’s Top-5 are Sarah Burnham of Maple Grove, Minn., and Peru’s Lucia Gutierrez; the pair will attempt to improve upon the T3 results they claimed in 2015.

A practice round will be conducted on July 25 prior to the championship’s opening round. Following the first two rounds of play, the field will be reduced to the low-70 and ties. An inter-provincial team championship will take place in conjunction with the first two rounds of play. Team Alberta comprised of Calgarians Jennifer Ha, Jaclyn Lee and Sabrine Garrison claimed the team title in 2015.

In addition to the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn exemptions into the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and two LPGA events: the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary from August 22-28 and the Manulife LPGA Classic at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont., from September 1-4.

For more Information on the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship including the full field, starting times and live scoring, click here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – The 107th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship gets underway Thursday with 155 of the world’s best golfers, including 14 Canadians, set to challenge defending champion Jason Day for the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.

Day’s victory in 2015 began an incredible stretch that saw him win six tournaments and climb to No. 1 in the world. He returns to Glen Abbey Golf Club introspective of how his victory in Canada 12 months ago kicked off the best run of golf in his career.

“Coming into this event last year, I felt confident about my game, but knowing that this event would spring board me to six wins, a major championship, getting to No. 1 in the world, I’d be very surprised by that,” said Day. “It’s amazing how important this event was to me to really get my career going and get it off in the right direction that I’ve always thought it was going to go.”

“You know, it’s been a pretty crazy last eight months or so, and yeah, it’s exciting,” added Day. “Sometimes I don’t have enough time just to sit down and realize what I’ve accomplished and it’s great and everything, but I know that I can’t get too far ahead of myself, because there are a lot of great golfers behind me that are willing to put in the effort and take that No. 1 spot away from me, and then obviously beat me at tournaments like the RBC Canadian Open.”

The opening round of the 2016 RBC Canadian Open gets underway at 7:10 a.m. off the 1st and 10th tees.

Pairings for the opening two rounds of the 107th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship on Thursday, July 21 and Friday, July 22 are available online here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – David Hearn said yes with a smile every time.

Hearn signed every hat, tee flag and ticket handed to him. He took off his sunglasses and put them behind his cap for every photo and asked the name of every young fan as he made his way off the 18th green at Glen Abbey Golf Club on Wednesday at the pro-am tournament ahead of the RBC Canadian Open.

The PGA regular from nearby Brantford, Ont., takes the time because he remembers what it was like to be on the other side of the rope.

“As a young kid I used to come to Canadian Opens and I remember waiting for a lot of golfers I admired,” said Hearn, who looked up to Fred Couples, among others. “I would’ve been so disappointed if none of them stopped to speak to me.”

Hearn finished third at last year’s RBC Canadian Open, two strokes back of eventual winner Jason Day of Australia and a shot behind American Bubba Watson. The Canadian caught fans’ attention with a 64 in the second round and had a two-shot lead after shooting a 68 in the third.

A 72 and the solid play of Day and Watson in last year’s fourth round put the PGA Tour win just beyond Hearn’s reach. Still, he remembers the ovation he got from Canadian fans as he approached the 18th tee after Day’s three consecutive birdies had won the event.

He hopes moments like that can help grow the game in Canada.

“At the time I was just in the moment,” Hearn said. “But looking back, I hope I inspired some young golfers, some junior players across the country.”

Hearn believes that memorable moments like his near win last year at Glen Abbey or the upcoming Rio Olympics – where he, Graham DeLaet, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp will represent Canada – are an opportunity to create new fans.

Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., is also playing in the RBC Canadian Open this week and has seen the impact his Canadian Golf Hall of Fame career has already had on younger players.

“I know Graham DeLaet has talked about it, that I was somewhat of an inspiration for him,” said Weir, who has eight career PGA Tour wins including the 2003 Masters. “I guess when you’re going along you just don’t think about those kind of things but at the same time, hopefully, some of the younger guys can draw inspiration and know that you can be from a winter country a lot of the year and still make it.”

Hearn, Weir and DeLaet are the three biggest Canadian names playing at the tournament, but they’ll be joined by players from across the country: Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Adam Cornelson, Corey Conners, Brad Fritsch, Dave Levesque, Branson Ferrier and amateurs Blair Hamilton, Hugo Bernanrd, Garrett Rank and Jared du Toit.

A Canadian hasn’t won the tournament since Pat Fletcher in 1954, with Hearn and Weir (2004, runner-up in a playoff) coming the closest.

This year’s field also includes world Nos. 1 and 2, Dustin Johnson and Day as well as former champions Brandt Snedeker (2013), Jim Furyk (2006, 2007), Sean O’Hair (2011), Carl Pettersson (2010), Chez Reavie (2008), and Vijay Singh (2004).

Also on Wednesday, the PGA Tour, Golf Canada and the Heritage Classic Foundation jointly announced that RBC has signed six-year extensions as title sponsor of both the RBC Canadian Open and RBC Heritage, held annually in Hilton Head, S.C. The new agreements take effect in 2018 and run through 2023.

The 2016 RBC Canadian Open runs at Glen Abbey Golf Club from Thursday to Sunday.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – The PGA TOUR, RBC, Golf Canada and the Heritage Classic Foundation jointly announced today that RBC has signed six-year extensions as title sponsor of both the RBC Canadian Open and RBC Heritage. The new agreements take effect in 2018 and run through 2023.

“Since assuming sponsorship of Canada’s National Golf Championship in 2008, RBC has been a tremendous partner of the PGA TOUR,” Jay Monahan, Deputy Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, said during a press conference at Glen Abbey Golf Club, site of this week’s RBC Canadian Open. “RBC became passionately involved with the tournament from the outset and since that time, has increased its involvement in golf by sponsoring the RBC Heritage, supporting PGA TOUR and LPGA players through Team RBC, and funding youth and amateur golf initiatives in Canada. We couldn’t be happier to continue our relationship with such a strong advocate of golf through these two long-term extensions.”

“We are excited to extend our commitment to both the RBC Canadian Open and RBC Heritage for an additional six years,” said Dave McKay, President and CEO, RBC. “As the largest company in Canada, our sponsorship of the RBC Canadian Open reflects our leadership position in our home market, while our support of the RBC Heritage demonstrates our strong and growing presence in the U.S., particularly following our recent acquisition of City National Bank. We know many of our clients around the world have a passion for golf. With two PGA TOUR stops and a roster of world-class golfers representing our brand, RBC is proud to promote this great game and to have the opportunity to give back where we live and work, helping our communities prosper.”

The RBC Canadian Open is among the oldest tournaments on the PGA TOUR, dating back to 1904. Since becoming title sponsor, RBC has worked closely with Golf Canada to elevate the tournament in a variety of ways, including the implementation of a rotation of golf courses throughout the country and enhancing the tournament experience for fans and players.

“RBC is playing a major role in supporting excellence in Canadian golf and we are honoured to have them continue on as title sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons.  “RBC is one of Canada’s most respected corporations and as a partner in golf and its continued commitment to conducting a world-class event has elevated the status and prestige of Canada’s National Open Championship.  On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff and Canadian golf fans from coast to coast; we thank RBC for its continued investment in Canadian golf.”

The RBC Heritage debuted in 1969 at Harbour Town Golf Links, a Pete Dye design at the Sea Pines Resort that quickly became a favorite course among TOUR members. In June of 2011, RBC was introduced as the new title sponsor of the PGA TOUR’s annual stop on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

“The Heritage Classic Foundation is pleased to continue our relationship with RBC,” Steve Wilmot, Chief Operating Officer and Tournament Director for the Heritage Classic Foundation said. “RBC’s sponsorship means the Heritage will be able to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018. RBC and its team of ambassadors have helped the Heritage Classic Foundation continue to elevate the event year after year. We look forward to the next seven years and the positive impact we will be able to provide to the State of South Carolina.”

The RBC Canadian Open begins Thursday with Jason Day, the No. 1 player in the world and one of 14 touring professionals who make up Team RBC, defending his title.

TORONTO – This year’s RBC Canadian Open is once again set to be the most sustainable Canadian Open to date. Each year we aim to push the environmental programming to be better and better. This year we have built off of a successful pilot program, and increased the number of Zero Waste Sorting zones.

“RBC is excited to again work with Golf Canada and our partners to host one of the most sustainable golf tournaments on the PGA tour and continue to improve our environmental programing year over year.” says Andrew Craig, Director Corporate Environmental Affairs, RBC.

“We are excited to support these new initiatives to ensure the environmental impacts of the RBC Canadian Open continue to decrease,” said Brent McLaughlin, tournament director for the RBC Canadian Open. “Glen Abbey is a great location to reinforce these initiatives, and the golf course itself has been certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2004.”

Here are the 2016 RBC Canadian Open key environmental initiatives:

Hosting a carbon-neutral event

RBC and Golf Canada have taken responsibility for GHG emissions where possible through the following initiatives:

• The event will be bullfrogpowered with 100 per cent green natural gas and green electricity. Across Canada, Bullfrog Power’s green electricity comes exclusively from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power sourced from new Canadian renewable energy facilities. Bullfrog’s green natural gas is a climate-friendly alternative to conventional, polluting natural gas, and is sourced from the Rive-Nord green natural gas facility in Quebec, a unique, ground-breaking methane-capture project.
• GHG emissions associated with the use of diesel generators and event vehicles will be neutralized through the purchase and retirement of high quality carbon offsets. The carbon offsets will be acquired through RBC’s carbon emissions trading group in RBC Capital Markets.

Reducing waste sent to landfill

The event’s goal is to divert waste from landfill using the following initiatives:

• Three zero waste sorting stations located in high traffic concession areas will improve waste sorting at the point of disposal and increase waste diversion.
• Visible and well-marked recycling and organics collection receptacles throughout the course will reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.
• For the sixth consecutive year, Event Water Solutions is providing free filtered water at water stations located across the grounds. In 2015, more than 57,000 bottles were filled at the water stations. That’s more than 114,0000 plastic bottles diverted from landfill. Collapsible water bottles will be available for purchase at the tournament with proceeds benefiting the official charity partner, Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada.
• Concession service provider Bingeman’s is reducing waste by using compostable or recyclable food packaging and condiments will be served in bulk where possible.
• Unused food will be donated to a local food bank
• Food items not suitable for donation will be separated for composting.
• Volunteers, including a large contingent from the Burloak Canoe Club, will ensure waste is properly sorted and that the golf course remains litter free.

Sustainable transportation options

Steps have been taken to reduce the environmental impacts of transportation and provide sustainable transportation options such as:

• Complimentary bicycle valet for ticket holders and tournament volunteers near the main gates.
• The event is accessible by public transportation with shuttle bus service from Bronte and Oakville GO Stations.

Sustainable golf course operations

Since 2004, Glen Abbey has been certified as an Audubon International golf course by Audubon International. Only five per cent of Canadian golf courses have this prestigious environmental designation. To earn this designation, golf courses are subjected to an audit and certification program covering six categories: Environmental Planning, Chemical Use Reduction & Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, Wildlife & Habitat Management, and Outreach & Education.

Cle Elum, Wash. – Team Canada National Team member Naomi Ko won a three-way playoff to earn medalist honors and No. 1 seed after two rounds of stroke play qualifying at the Prospector Course at Suncadia in Cle Elum, Wash. at the 115th Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur; while Christina Proteau earned the No. 1 seed in the 15th Pacific Northwest Women’s Mid-Amateur

Both championships are conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA)

Three giants in the Women’s Amateur field tied at the top – Jisoo Keel, Princess Superal and Naomi Ko – with Ko winning the playoff for the No. 1 seed honors going into tomorrow’s match play format.

Ko, of Victoria, B.C., was named the 2014 PNGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year, and qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open.

Superal, of Sun City, Calif., won the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 2016 Hong Kong Ladies Amateur, and was medalist at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Pauline del Rosario) where she made it to the semifinals.

Keel, of Coquitlam, B.C., recently won the BC Women’s Amateur, and was twice named the PNGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year (2011, 2012).

Of her play today, Ko said, “It’s feels really good to play well, especially on this course. It was playing really tough, especially yesterday.”

The Women’s Amateur will begin its match-play competition tomorrow, July 21, which comprises 18-hole single-elimination match play for the low 32 players, with the final match being contested over 36 holes on July 23.

The Women’s Mid-Amateur field has been cut to the low 16 players who now advance to match play. Their 18-hole final match will also be held July 23.

For tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring for both championships, visit thepnga.org.

“It feels great (to earn medalist honors),” Proteau said. “That was my primary goal at the start of yesterday’s round. Yesterday was really challenging (because of the windy conditions) and I didn’t play my best, so today feels really good.” Proteau shot rounds of 77-70, with her second round being the only round under par of the entire Mid-Amateur field. She enters match play as the No. 1 seed.

Proteau is a three-time PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year (2012-2014).