BEAUCEVILLE, Que. – Sun broke through the morning’s cloudy skies at Club de golf Beauceville for the first round of the 2016 CN Future Links Quebec Championship. Sam Meek snuck through a close group of competitors to top the Junior Boys division by one stroke, while Monet Chun and Alyssa DiMarcantonio shot matching 72s to share the Junior Girls lead.

Meek, a Peterborough, Ont., native, maintained an even-par round through 15 holes before sinking birdies on holes 16 and 18 to finish at 2-under. The 17-year-old tallied five birdies en route to the day’s low round.

Callum Davison from Duncan, B.C., and Marc-Antoine Hotte of Mascouche, Que., sit T2 after matching rounds of 1-under. Davison sunk two eagles on holes 11 and 16, while Hotte led all players in the field with seven birdies.

Charles-Éric Bélanger – a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad – began the day with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. The Québec City native finished in a six-way tie for 4th at even par.

Two players share the Junior Girls division’s top spot, with Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., notching three birdies on the back nine to finish at even-par. Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont., holds a share of first after collecting four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16^th hole.

Ellice Hong of Thornhill, Ont., Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., and Québec City native Sarah-Ève Rhéaume sit two strokes behind the co-leaders. Dao and Hong both tallied four birdies on the day, with Hong sinking three on the back nine.

Exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be awarded to the top six finalists in the Junior Boys division. The event will be contested at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s N.L., from August 1-4. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff. All those in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will gain entry into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., August 2-5.

The second day of competition will see the Junior Girls division tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Boys take to the course at 8:40 a.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

GORMLEY, Ont. — Men’s club champions from across the province were at Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club on June 3 for the playing of the Golf Ontario 2016 Champion of Champions tournament, presented by Turkish Airlines.

It was a beautiful day for the 53 champions who teed it up, as they all looked to be crowned 2016 Champion of Champions. The event had a wide range of ages competing, as the youngest champion was just 15-years-old while the oldest was 68.

Taking the title was Brampton Golf Club’s Russell Bowie. The 24-year-old Mississauga resident fired a two-under (69) to win the title by one stroke. Following the win, Bowie spoke about how honoured he was to be following in the footsteps of other Brampton Golf Club members who have won the Ontario Champion of Champions. “It means a lot to me to win this. It is a collection of club champions, so it’s pretty special to win. For Brampton, we have had a few previous winners: Stu Hamilton won it years ago and just a few years back, a good friend of mine, Binupa Wijesinghe, won it. I’m happy to bring it back to Brampton.”

Bowie credited his win to avoiding any major mistakes during the round. “I think I just avoided any major errors. I was never in any trouble. I hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I was never really scrambling. It was a good straight-forward round.”

This is the first provincial championship for Bowie.

Finishing in second place was Cherry Down’s Golf & Country Club’s Mathew Iceton. Iceton, from Brooklin, shot a one-under (70) to take home the silver.

Rounding out the podium in a tie for third were Deer Ridge Golf Club’s Ryan Kings and St. Catharines Golf & Country Club’s Robert Ellis. Kings, from Kitchener, and Ellis, from St. Catharines, each finished at even par (70).

NEEPAWA, Man. – The CN Future Links circuit is heading to Neepawa Golf & Country Club for the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship. The fourth-of-six events in the series will welcome a field of 57 local and national junior golfers from June 10-12 as they compete in the 54-hole stroke play event.

The CN Future Links Championships are conducted in partnership with CN in an effort to support and develop junior golfers across Canada. Competitors will participate in a practice round on June 9 to prepare for the course’s challenging landscape situated around the Whitemud River.

“Golf Canada is excited to see the field compete at Neepawa Golf & Country Club,” said Dan Hyatt, the event’s Tournament Director. “This scenic track winds around the river to offer fantastic views for spectators and players alike. Neepawa will present an excellent chance for these players to strengthen their games.”

Three competitors from last year’s Top-10 will return in a bid to capture the Junior Boys title, led by Keaton Gudz from Victoria, B.C., who finished tied for fourth at the 2015 competition held at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask. The 17-year-old will be joined by Carson Harcourt of Kipling, Sask., and William Comeau from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., who are looking to build upon their respective seventh and T10 finishes.

Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, B.C., represents one of three returning players in the Junior Girls division. The 16-year-old, who finished third last year, will see a familiar face in the field in Winnipeg product Rebecca Kuik, who claimed 13th.

After recording a 14^th-place result at her home club last year, Kayla Sawchuck of Prince Albert, Sask., completes the contingent of returnees looking to make good on lessons learned throughout the past year.

Two CN Future Links Championships remain to be played this season:

• July 4-6 – CN Future Links Western – Medicine Hat, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club
• July 12-14 – CN Future Links Atlantic – Fairview, P.E.I. – Countryview Golf Club

The top six scorers in the Junior Boys division will gain entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, held August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. A hole-by-hole playoff will determine exemptions in the case of ties. All players in the Top-6 of the Junior Girls division, including ties, will earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.

Additional information on the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship, including a full list of competitors and tee-times, is available here.

Nanaimo, B.C. – June 2nd, 2016 – Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan led wire-to-wire in securing the BC Men’s Mid-Amateur championship today, with Greg Bismeyer of Mission taking home the Mid-Master title.

On the women’s side, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay captured both the Ladies Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master honours after overtaking round 1 & 2 leader Alison Murdoch of Victoria.

Carrigan Goes Wire-To-Wire Winning Mid-Am At Nanaimo Golf Club

In the end, Kevin Carrigan won by six shots, but it was more of a struggle than you might think. Carrigan, who had a nine-shot lead to start Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, saw his huge cushion slipping away after a disastrous beginning to his back nine.

“It didn’t feel like I was going to win by six after I had made three consecutive bogeys and splashed one into the water,” the 29-year-old Victoria native said. “I was thinking that the wheels had fallen off and I didn’t know where they had gone.”

After bogeys on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes, Carrigan then doubled the par 3 13th at Nanaimo Golf Club. Fortunately, he was able to birdie the par 5 14th hole to steady things and he parred the final four holes to post a five-over 77 that left him at four-under for the 54-hole tournament.

Carrigan finished six shots ahead of Victoria’s Scot Kral and Greg Bismeyer of Mission. “I definitely learned some stuff today,” said Carrigan, a 29-year-old member of Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria.

“It’s the first time I have won a tournament when I haven’t played three solid rounds of golf. I guess the fact there wasn’t anybody close after two rounds, I maybe got complacent or something like that.

I came out of the gate and bogeyed three of the first four holes and I’m thinking ‘oh my gosh, here we go.’ It’s one of those games. I always tell the juniors I work with no matter how bad it gets, it can always get worse, so just bear down and try to finish your round. I was fortunately able to do that not playing my best golf.”

The B.C. Mid-Amateur, which is open to competitors 25 and older, was held at the same time as the Mid-Master Championship, which is for players 40 and over. Bismeyer, a 54-year-old retired Vancouver police officer, took the Mid-Master title after closing the tournament with a solid round of one-under 71.

“It was a bit of roller-coaster round,” Bismeyer said. “It was some bad shots, some good shots and I strung three birdies together on 14, 15 and 16. Then the nerves get going on 17 and 18. It was fun.”

Bismeyer finished one shot ahead of Victoria’s Craig Doell and Nanaimo’s Sandy Harper in the Mid-Master category. Bismeyer and Kral will join Carrigan on the three-man team that will represent B.C. at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 23-26 in Bromont, Que.

Carrigan has now won two B.C. Mid-Amateur titles. He is also a two-time winner of the Canadian Mid-Amateur championship. Carrigan and Doell captured the two-ball championship that was also contested during the event. They finished with a score of 21-under par. That was eight shots better than the teams of Harper and Shelly Stouffer and John Gallacher and Gudmund Lindbjerg.

Click HERE for complete scoring

Nanaimo Twice As Nice For Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer

Shelly Stouffer battled more than just her closest pursuers in Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. She also battled the butterflies, which were in full flight as she walked the final few holes at Nanaimo Golf Club.

Stouffer, a Nanoose Bay resident, overcame her nerves and held off Alison Murdoch of Victoria and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni to win the Mid-Amateur title by two shots. “I am pretty happy,” Stouffer said. “I was able to hang in and win coming down the stretch. I was nervous, man.”

Thursday’s final round was something of a roller-coaster ride for Stouffer, who shot a final round of four-over 76 to finish the 54-hole event at 16-over par. That was two shots better than the 66-year-old Murdoch, who closed with an 80. Murdoch, a Victoria Golf Club member, had begun the day with a two-shot lead on Stouffer.

“I was just trying to hit every shot the best I could and it was a much better ball-striking day certainly than the first day, but I just put myself in some awkward spots that I couldn’t get out of,” Murdoch said.

Stouffer also claimed the Mid-Master title for players 40 and over. So she won two provincial championships in one day. Not a bad day at the office. “I’ve never won the Mid-Am before so it’s exciting. In a major tournament like this I have never beat Christina before, so it’s a good feeling.”

Last summer, when the Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master events were contested separately, Stouffer won her first Mid-Master title and finished runner-up to Proteau at the Mid-Amateur. Proteau, the pre-tournament favourite, simply could not buy a putt on Thursday, or most of the tournament for that matter.

She finished alone in third place, three shots behind Stouffer. “I hit a lot of good shots at one point and then I didn’t really pull the trigger the last couple of holes,” Proteau said. “It just happens, I guess.”

Click HERE for complete scoring.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Ian Poulter will be out of golf for the next four months with a foot injury, a big setback for the fiery Englishman in a Ryder Cup year.

Poulter has been dealing with an arthritic join in his right foot for more than two years, and it has reached the point where it is painful to walk and practice. He missed the last two cuts on the PGA Tour in Texas and has fallen to No. 85 in the world, his lowest ranking since 2003.

The 40-year-old hasn’t won since the HSBC Champions in 2012.

“I am obviously disappointed to be in this situation, especially during a Ryder Cup year,” Poulter said. “Right now, rest and rehab take priority in me returning to full strength later this season. I look forward to resuming a full schedule as soon as I am able.”

Poulter was far down the Ryder Cup standings, in European Tour money and world ranking points, though his record in the Ryder Cup would have been difficult to ignore if he had found some form in the coming months.

He has been a catalyst for Europe, notably when he sparked the greatest comeback by a visiting team at Medinah in 2012. Poulter birdied his last five holes in the final fourballs match to turn a loss into a point, and he closed an undefeated week with a singles victory as Europe rallied from a 10-6 deficit to win.

Poulter has a 12-4-2 record in five appearances. He would be an ideal candidate as a vice captain. Darren Clarke last week selected Thomas Bjorn, Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie as three of his five assistants.

Poulter’s doctor, Ara Suppiah, said the arthritic joint has worsened over the last year, and Poulter was able to keep playing after several cortisone shots. Suppiah said further shots would risk thinning the bones and leading to stress fractures, which might require significant time away from golf.

“We feel that the best option at this stage is to take some time off to allow complete recovery and rehabilitation of his foot,” Suppiah said. “This will give him the best chance of returning to the game sooner and preventing further deterioration of the affected joint.”

Poulter would receive a major medical extension on the PGA Tour for the 2015-16 season if he doesn’t play the rest of the year. He remains exempt on the European Tour based on his No. 7 standing on the career money list.

PARKSVILLE, B.C. – Third-round action at the 14^th playing of the Canadian University/College Championship at Morningstar Golf Club saw the teams representing the University of British Columbia (UBC) increase their leads atop their respective leaderboards.

The UBC men’s team continued to show its dominance by posting a collective 2-under 286 for the round. The Queen’s University Gaels occupy second with a team total of 7-over 887 – 43-strokes behind the leaders. The Kingston, Ont., university is being pursued by two institutions located in British Columbia: the University of Fraser Valley Cascades and the University of Victoria Vikes, who trail the Gaels by four and five strokes, respectively.

The Thunderbirds were led by a 3-under 69 from Jack Wood of Banff, Alta. The third-year kinesiology major collected five birdies and added an eagle on the par-5 13^th hole to move to 5-under in the competition. Tied with Victoria’s Lawren Rowe of the Victoria Vikes, Wood trails individual leader and teammate Scott Secord by four strokes. The Calgary product carded a 73 after opening the competition with consecutive 67s.

For the third consecutive day, Thunderbirds Evan Holmes of Calgary and Victoria’s Nate Ollis registered matching rounds. The pair have now shot 72-71-72 and sit T5 at 1-under alongside British Columbians Connor McLellan of Chilliwack who plays for the Cascades and Richmond’s Chris Crisologo, a member of the Simon Fraser University Clan.

Completing the Thunderbird contingent is Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., who sits fourth following a 1-over performance. The 19-year-old tallied five birdies, but sees the round as a missed opportunity. “Today was a little bit disappointing,” commented the kinesiology major. “I had a good chance to shoot a good number, but made some bad bogeys. It’s a nice course, but it’s very tricky. There are lots of dog-legs that can trick you into trying to cut some corners. You have to be patient and lay back on those.”

The team’s rookie reflected pensively on his first year donning the blue and gold of the Thunderbirds. “It’s been pretty good. Jack and Evan have been great. I’ve known them for a very long time from Alberta, so it wasn’t too hard fitting in with them. We have a pretty young team and they’re great guys – easy to talk to; easy to be around – so it’s been fun.”

“College is very different, it’s interesting,” added Harrison, when asked about the experience of playing in this competition. “You’re playing against men unlike junior, where you’re playing against kids. I’m really taking it all in and learning a lot from all the older guys.”

After opening the third round with a five-stroke advantage, the UBC women’s team tallied a 16-over total on the day and now lead the Université de Montréal Carabins by 12 strokes. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues climbed into third at a combined 64-over 712, led by the T6 standings of Ontarians Sarah Dunning of Waterloo and Etobicoke’s Laura Upenieks, who made a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth hole.

Thunderbird Kat Kennedy made a significant climb up the standings for the second straight day. The native of Okotoks, Alta., carded a round of 5-over 77 and at 11-over-par, leads the competition by one stroke. After holding the 18- and 36-hole leads, the Université Laval Rouge et Or’s Alexandra Pelletier now sits one-stroke shy of the leader. The native of Montréal was 13-over on the day after opening 71-72 in the competition. Porto, Portugal’s Barbara Neto-Bradley of the Thunderbirds moved into third-place at 13-over.

The competition opened with 20 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from across the nation vying for team and individual honours. With the conclusion of the third round, the field has now been reduced to the top 10 men’s teams and the top six women’s teams, in addition to any individuals within 15 shots of the lead.

The final round of competition will see both the men’s and women’s sides begin the day at 7:30 a.m. off split tees. Additional information regarding the championship, including pairings and up-to-date scoring can be found here.

CHENGDU, China — Canada’s Justin Shin shot a final-round 69 at last week’s United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open to earn a top-10 in defense of his 2015 title. That final round, apparently, was a harbinger of things to come.

At the Cadillac Championship, Shin avoided bogeys all afternoon, made six birdies and added an eagle on his way to a first-round, 8-under 64—matching the career-low score he shot in the second round during his 2015 victory in Wuhan. Shin holds the 18-hole lead at Chengdu Poly Golf Club by two strokes over Americans Jarin Todd and Sejun Yoon, South Korea’s Geon Ha Kim, China’s Zihao Chen and Australia’s Mitch Davis. Chen continued his strong start to the season after finishing runner-up a week ago in Wuhan.

Zecheng Dou is going for this third consecutive title to win the season, and he did nothing to hurt his chances. Dou, the Tour’s leader in birdies made, made an additional six Thursday with a lone bogey on his way to a 5-under 67. He’s tied for eighth with nine others on the bunched leaderboard.

If Dou had one flaw in his 2016 season, it was slow starts. He opened with a 1-over 73 in his first tournament and a 2-over 74 in Wuhan. No such problems to start the Cadillac Championship.

Yet the day belonged to Shin, who was inside the top five on the Order of Merit for a considerable period of 2015 before finishing No. 6 and just missing earning Web.com Tour membership. Shin is following his pattern of a year ago, with another solid start to his season. In 2015, his victory and one of his two other top-10s came in his first six tournaments.

“After the final round last week, I was feeling pretty good heading into this week,” Shin said. “On the range before my round, I was hitting it well. I hit a lot of straight shots today and gave myself a lot of birdie chances out there.”

Shin birdied his first hole of the day and added three more, on Nos. 6, 7 and 9. His chip-in birdie to close his front nine was particularly noteworthy, Shin explained. After missing the green and facing a difficult chip, making bogey on the par-4 entered his mind. “The key thing for me was chipping in from the front of the green. I was thinking being only 2-under going to the back nine, and that got me to 4-under. So it was a turning point for me.”

The South Korea native, who spent his formative years outside Toronto and played collegiate golf at New Mexico State, kept his momentum going on the par-5 12th when he nailed an 18-foot eagle putt to push him to 7-under. “I just wanted to keep patient out there. There is more room off the tee (than in Wuhan), so it’s all about second shots out here because the greens are pretty undulated,” Shin added. “You have to put [your approach shots] in the right spots, and that will make it a lot easier. I was pretty good with my distance control out there, and that gave me a lot of good chances for birdie.”

Indonesia’s Rory Hie was one of the nine who posted a 5-under 67. He felt like his score could have been a stroke or two lower. Despite the six birdies he made Thursday, he still missed three 10-foot birdie putts on his back nine, a 12-footer at No. 7 and a three-footer at No. 8.

“I was just misreading the greens in the afternoon,” Hie noted. However, the former University of Southern California player also rolled in a 40-foot downhill putt on No. 6 for birdie, a happy outcome when he gladly would have walked away from that hole with a par.

“I was really thinking about two-putting it. But that’s the way it is in golf. I missed some good putts for birdie but made that one. So it sort of evened out.”

Hie was in contention through 54 holes last week at the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open. He was in fourth place ready to make a run at Dou until the sixth hole of his final round. Hie made a 10 on the par-4, and he tumbled all the way into a tie for 18th. “I made a mess there,” he said with a laugh. Even with that disappointment from a week ago, Hie walked away Thursday in good spirits. “I’m playing pretty well, and I’m happy.”

China’s Huilin Zhang made a back-nine push and briefly held the lead until a 17th-hole double bogey knocked him back into a tie for eighth.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Dustin Johnson set the pace early with 10 birdies on his way to an 8-under 64 at the Memorial.

Jason Day avoided his aggressive nature to try to catch him Thursday.

One day after Jordan Spieth referred to Johnson as the most talented player on the PGA Tour, Johnson opened with three straight birdies, made three straight birdies to close out the back nine, added four in a row on the back and wound up with his best score in his nine years at Muirfield Village. He had a one-shot lead over Brendan Steele, who holed out for eagle on the 18th for a 65.

For a short time, the big hitter took some of the attention away from the Big Three.

But not all of them.

Day, the No. 1 player in the world and a member at Muirfield Village, played in the afternoon as the clouds began to gather. He rallied on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle, and he wound up two shots behind. That was fine with him. His 66 was his best score in competition on the course Jack Nicklaus built.

“Mr. Nicklaus told me early, ‘Just play within yourself.’ Being patient is key out here,” Day said. “When you see an 8 under, it’s hard to be patient. But pleased.”

Spieth’s putter saved him in a scrappy round of 70.

Rory McIlroy, playing with Spieth, changed back to a conventional putting grip. That helped only so much in his round of 71.

So much attention was on the top three players in the world because of their ranking, having won five of the last seven majors, and because all three arrived at the Memorial coming off victories.

Johnson, with his power and on Thursday his putting, showed why Nicklaus and others think this “Big Three” will only get larger.

“I just played well right out of the gates,” Johnson said. “This year, I’ve felt like I’m playing well. I just haven’t quite played up to my potential. With me, it has everything to do with the putter. I rolled it well today. I’ve been working pretty hard on the putter, and I felt like it’s finally starting to pay off.”

Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn is in a four-way tie for third place after a 6-under 66 day. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. is tied for 44th.

Matt Kuchar holed a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole to join the group at 66 that included Hudson Swafford, who did all his damage on the front nine when he tied the course record with a 29.

Luke Donald was among those at 67, while Phil Mickelson survived a few wild shots for a 68. Mickelson caught a flier out of the rough on the 14th, and it hit off the grandstand and went so far over the green that his best option was to take a penalty and return back to the original spot. He made a 20-foot putt for bogey. Then, he beaned a marshal in the head on the 15th, and it kicked back across the fairway and led to birdie on the par-5 15th.

“I’ve hit a lot of people – a lot of people,” Mickelson said. “Nobody’s taken it as well as that marshal did on 15.”

Day, a 28-year-old Aussie who lives in Columbus after meeting his wife in Ohio, has never finished better than a tie for 27th. He took a big step toward changing that with a patient approach and converting enough opportunities to get his name prominently on the leaderboard.

Johnson’s round was similar to Spieth’s in terms of putting. The difference is Johnson had more putts for birdie. Four of his 10 birdies were from at least 10 feet, including a 30-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole. He also failed to birdie two of the par 5s in his round of 64.

He hasn’t won since Doral in 2015, though he has had 14 top-10 finishes since and only one missed cut.

“Every week, I feel like I’m up there and I’ve got a chance to win,” Johnson said. “With this game, you’ve got to make putts. I mean, it’s just what you’ve got to do.”

Spieth hit only two fairways and three greens on the back nine, but he didn’t pay for it. He holed a 12-foot par putt to start his round on No. 10, and his short game was superb as ever. Dating to his victory at Colonial on Sunday, he had 16 consecutive one-putt greens. The streak ended when he missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

“Just didn’t get off to a good start on the first few holes striking, and from there it got me thinking about stuff,” he said. “But my putter made up for it for the most part. To shoot 1 under on my front nine was by far the best that I could have possibly shot.”

The biggest change for McIlroy was going back to a conventional putting grip, even though he won two weeks ago at the Irish Open. He said he took 127 putts at The K Club – his ball-striking was superb – and felt he needed a better pace that the convention grip allows.

Victoria, B.C. – Five players shot matching rounds of 6-under 64 on Thursday at Uplands Golf Club to share the first round lead at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, the second event of the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

Rockford, Illnois’ Brad Benjamin and Victoria, B.C.’s Ben Griffin – a PGA of Canada member and Assistant Pro at Uplands – both recorded albatrosses on the par-5 seventh hole to reach 6-under, tied with Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson, Cibolo, Texas’ Jeff Rein and Shelton, Washington’s Chris Evans.

Griffin and Benjamin’s deuces mark the first time two albatrosses have been recorded in the same round in Mackenzie Tour history.

“It reminded me of when I made my first hole-in-one,” said Benjamin, a first-year Mackenzie Tour member. “You’re just kind of mentally out of it. I just tried to use that experience, because you’re just trying to stay focused for eight and nine. Those holes are just as important as any others.”

Griffin, a 36-year old Victoria native with more than 20 years’ worth of experience playing at Uplands, was treated to a hero’s welcome from fans at the 18^th hole.

“I just kept saying to myself, ‘Why not me? Someone’s got to play well.’ It was a little bit of a steer job on the last couple of holes just trying to get it into the clubhouse, but it was great to see people out here – it’s like a second family to me.”

Rein matched Benjamin’s 64 playing in the same group, while Cornelson and Evans posted their scores in windier conditions Thursday morning to take the early lead.

“It’s a nice, but we all know on this Tour how the guys can go low, so I’m focused on getting some rest and hitting that first tee shot and seeing how it goes,” said Cornelson.

One shot behind the group at 6-under were Seann Harlingten, Aaron Cockerill, Scott Vincent and Hank Lebioda with rounds of 5-under 65.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – The storied legacy of Canadian golf courses has been collected and presented through a new interactive website designed to map out 143 years of Canadian golf course history in communities from coast to coast.

Through the combined efforts of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation, the Canadian Golf Course History website traces the journey that golf has undertaken in this country since Royal Montreal Golf Club – the nation’s first golf course – established in 1873.

The interactive website map, presented as a timeline, serves as both a historical tool and an extensive database of many golf courses – both historic and current – that have formed the Canadian golf landscape in the past 143 years. A ‘search-for-people’ function allows users to discover the course architects who have built the game in Canada along with the many PGA of Canada professionals who continue to shape it.

“While the Canadian Golf Course History website is an excellent resource to discover our many golf facilities, it also celebrates the roots of the game and maps out golf’s footprint in communities across Canada, “said Karen Hewson, Golf Canada’s Managing Director, Membership and Heritage Services.. “The interactive map helps to tell the story of golf in this country and provides a historical lens to examine the state of the game and it’s evolution over the past 143 years. Perhaps the best feature is that this map is designed to encourage participation from golfer’s across Canada; feedback, recommended edits, stories and photos are all great contributions to the map. The scope of this project depends on user engagement to ensure the best content available. There is no doubt many people will see an opportunity to contribute.

“A snapshot of the development of golf in Canada reinforces the important contributions of so many individuals—from renowned architects to talented professionals—along with the historic landmarks and breathtaking destinations that define the Canadian golf landscape,” added Hewson. “The website takes an in-depth look at not only where we are as a golfing nation, but where we have been, the steps that were taken, and the individuals who have developed the game for more than a century.”

Numerous golf courses have hosted the RBC Canadian Open, the CP Women’s Open and Golf Canada’s national amateur championships or welcomed provincial or PGA of Canada championships to their facilities. The historical database recognizes the role that hosting these championships has played in writing the story of Canadian golf.

While the Canadian Golf Course History website launched with a wealth of information, it is also a social hub to foster interaction and conversation among golf enthusiasts. Individual course profiles will allow users to share their personal tales, tips, and information. Golf clubs and individuals are invited to share in the compilation of Canadian golf history by submitting stories, photos and/or updates for golf courses in their community.

“This initiative will enhance the historical compilation of Canadian golf through crowd sourcing from within the golf community,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “We invite courses and individuals to be a part of this living, evolving hub for Canadian golf by sharing photos and stories of their favourite facilities.”

At the time of launch, the Canadian Golf Course History website maps the information of more than 1,800 courses across Canada with new content, facts and images added daily.  Each club page includes a ‘suggest an edit’ function along with an area for individuals to share their stories and provide pivotal history.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame would like to acknowledge Scott Burke, Dave Daye, Emily White and Laura Di Nicola for their generous contributions of time and effort that made the Canadian golf course history website possible.

Find out more or make a contribution to the Canadian Golf Course History Website by visiting www.golfcanada.ca/coursehistory.