Members often wonder how dues paid to Golf Canada and their provincial golf association are being invested back into the sport. More than 305,000 members comprise Canada’s largest community of golfers and their fees are invested into programs and services designed to enhance the golfer experience. Their contribution to the game is extraordinary.

Here’s a sampling of what your dues support:

• The Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) guide for Canadian golf provides golfers of all ages and abilities with a comprehensive plan to reach their competitive potential or enhance their recreational enjoyment of the game.
• In partnership with the provincial golf associations and the PGA of Canada, more than one million youngsters have participated in CN Future Links junior golf activities since 1996.
• The Golf in Schools program, designed to increase participation at the grassroots level. Launched in 2009, nearly 2,800 schools nationwide are introducing golf to students of all ages and demographics.
• In partnership with Canada’s National Allied Golf Associations, Golf Canada and the provincial golf associations are advocating to federal and provincial legislators on behalf of our member clubs and the Canadian golf industry — communicating the economic, health, tourism and charitable benefits that golf provides in communities across Canada.
• Since its inception in 2004, Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru has welcomed more than 100,000 female golfers and helped to raise more than $5.4 million in the fight against breast cancer.
• The next generation of Canadian golf stars, which is a product of world-class athlete training as well as the operation of national and provincial amateur championships. Each provides the highest level of competition and resources for Canada’s best amateur golfers of all ages.
• The CP Women’s Open and the RBC Canadian Open, which allow golf fans to experience the highest level of professional competition while inspiring our golfing youth.
• The Rules of Golf education program is available to all members online. Learn more about the game, test your skills and consider attending an in-person seminar.
• Preserving and celebrating the game, including the new online interactive map of Canadian golf through the ages at golfcanada.ca/coursehistory.

But what do I get from membership?

Your joint membership in Golf Canada and your provincial association, introduced in 1948, has always provided you with access to competitive tournaments and the opportunity to maintain an Official Handicap Factor, as well as home delivery of this magazine. But in recent years, a number of new benefits have been added to thank you for your support:

New Score Posting Experiences

The Golf Canada smartphone scoring app provides players with an easy way to track their stats, post scores and keep track of their golfing history. The new mobile-friendly site provides a variety of new features with more coming throughout the season.

Golf Equipment Identification System

Losing your golf equipment can certainly cut into your enjoyment of the game. The new Golf Equipment Identification System is designed to reunite golfers with equipment that has been left behind on the course. Protect your gear by ordering your membership card.

Rewards for playing golf and posting scores

Through the generosity of partners such as TaylorMade-adidas and others, members are eligible to win prizes with every score posted to the Golf Canada Score Centre. In 2015 more than 600 prizes, such as equipment, merchandise and achievement bag tags, were awarded.

Check out the full list on the benefits tab next time you log in to the Score Centre or visit golfcanada.ca/join.

Thank you for being a member!

Investing in our game This article was originally published in the April 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

UXBRIDGE — Golf Ontario is pleased to announce the launch of a new Ontario Junior Ranking system. The new system features numerous changes from previous years including: the inclusion of results from all partner regional and national junior tours, updated points allocation for junior events meeting minimum standards, and an updated placing points allocation chart for different field sizes and competition types.

The Golf Ontario Junior Ranking system is structured with events that are categorized into maximum point values according to competition scope, length of event and relative strength of field.  Point distribution for a given event will vary based on the total number of players in the field.

For 2016, the Golf Ontario Junior Ranking will include eligible events from April 30 to August 31. The top eight points scored will count towards the player’s respective age division 2016 Golf Ontario Ranking.   Public rankings will be maintained for Junior, Juvenile, and Bantam age divisions.

A key feature of the new system allows players to play ‘up’ an age division in events where separate recognized age divisions are contested, while still scoring points across all age divisions they are eligible for.  This will better support players finding events that are best suited for their competitive needs, without sacrificing potential placement on their age-eligible season rankings.

In order to be eligible for the 2016 Golf Ontario Junior Ranking, players must be a permanent resident of Ontario, holding a valid OHIP card; be a member in good standing of Golf Ontario at a minimum level of a bronze membership; and have unquestioned status as an amateur golfer.

For junior tours to be partners on the Junior Rankings System they must sign on as partners with Golf Ontario, and adhere to the Golf Ontario ‘Tour Standards’.  A list of recognized Golf Ontario Junior Tour partners will be maintained on the Golf Ontario website.   Partner tours will receive marketing and operational support from Golf Ontario.

“This an important day for Junior golf in Ontario.  After years of work by Junior tour operators, and a workforce led by Mary Ann Hayward, we are now in a position to welcome all of our Regional and National Junior Tour partners into the Golf Ontario competitive pathway.   We know it takes great experiences at every stage of an athlete’s development to allow them to reach their fullest potential.  The new rankings system and partnership with the Regional Junior Tours will help Golf Ontario better promote and celebrate these experiences.” said Golf Ontario High Performance Director, Andrew Moss.

More information about the new Junior Ranking system can be found on Golf Ontario’s website at: https://gao.ca/new-junior-rankings

PGA TOUR – In response to the wildfires ravaging Fort McMurray, Alta., the Graham and Ruby Delaet Foundation put into place this week a plan to assist in the battle against the devastation.

For each birdie Graham makes at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, he will donate $500 to the Canadian Red Cross to help those affected by the fires.

“In all honesty, I didn’t see a lot of news about it here, but began looking more into it and found that it’s really a crisis, a disaster,” DeLaet said. “We just thought this may be a way to raise not just money, but also awareness for the people down here, who may not know much about what’s going on up there.”

As of Thursday night, more than 210,000 acres had fallen victim to the wildfires in Fort McMurray, an 800 percent increase from the night before. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it the “largest fire evacuation in Alberta’s history.” By Thursday evening, upwards of 90,000 people had been forced to evacuate, with 70 percent of the homes in nearby Beacon Hill having been lost to the fires.

Fort McMurray is northwest of where DeLaet grew up in Weyburn, Sask.

“The support has been unreal,” said DeLaet. “Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor have also agreed to jump on board and donate $500 for each birdie. So, hopefully, it will raise both funds and awareness. That’s important to us.”

In Thursday’s first round, DeLaet posted a pair of birdies en route to a 1-under 71, while Hadwin and Taylor each made three birdies, worth a total of $4,000.

Not only has the inferno ripped the heart out of community and country, but it has also reduced to a charred terrain the Fort McMurray Golf Club, where the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada had contested the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON the last five years.

“The region has been a wonderful host for the Mackenzie Tour, displaying the strong community spirit and hospitable demeanour of the people there, particularly the volunteers and the staff at Fort McMurray Golf Club,” said Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday. “To assist with upcoming relief efforts for the community, the Mackenzie Tour and the Syncrude Boreal Open will be making a donation to the Canadian Red Cross in Alberta.”

Though the dollar amount may be no match to that of DeLaet, Hadwin and Taylor, but the symbolic gesture being made this week by Arizona native Conrad Shindler in this week’s Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canda Q-School is every bit as significant. For each birdie he makes in Courtenay, B.C., Shindler will donate $10 to the Canadian Red Cross and $25 for each eagle. Shindler is the same individual who, in 2013, donated his entire $15,000 winner’s paycheck from anAdams Tour event to the relief efforts after an EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma.

“It’s just devastating to see. I played up there in Fort Mac a few years ago, and I stayed with a really nice family that week. I’m pretty sure their house is gone,” said Shindler, who is tied for second place at 10-under through three rounds this week. “I just felt like it was the least I could do, because when you see something like that it’s so much bigger than golf. When I played there a few years ago, I could really tell how much the people up there cared about their city, so this is the very least I could do.”

This week’s call to action is nothing new to the DeLaets, either. In 2013, Graham and Ruby spearheaded a similar campaign to help the victims of flooding in Alberta and Calgary.

The Graham & Ruby DeLaet Foundation is encouraging others like Shindler to help in the fight against the wildfires with donations of their own.

For more information or to donate, go to www.myevent.com/grahamdelaet.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR Champions and Pacific Links International announced today that the 2016 Pacific Links Championship, originally set to be contested in Tianjin, China, has moved to Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C.. The tournament dates will remain September 19-25, with the field increasing from 60 players to 81 players, and the purse remaining $2.5 million.

“Bear Mountain Golf Resort is an incredible property, offering not only great golf, but an impressive variety of activities and accommodations,” said Mr. Du, Owner & Chairman of Pacific Links International. “Western Canada is a prime travel destination with attractions that include the internationally prized wine region of the Okanagan Valley, the cosmopolitan coastal city of Vancouver, Vancouver Island and to the east Jasper and Banff National Parks in the Canadian Rockies. We are proud to showcase Bear Mountain and the entire travel destination of spectacular British Columbia by bringing this special event to Victoria.”

Tournament play at the Pacific Links Championship will be held on the Mountain Course at Bear Mountain Resort, which opened for play in 2003.

The Jack & Steve Nicklaus co-design sits just minutes from Victoria’s downtown harbor, and is one of two Nicklaus Design courses at the resort. The Mountain Course sits at the base of Mount Finlayson, and features panoramic city, ocean and mountain views throughout.

“We are delighted that PGA TOUR Champions and Pacific Links have chosen Bear Mountain to host this event, and at such an important time of the year in the Tour’s schedule,” said World Golf Hall of Fame member Jack Nicklaus. “Players and fans will find that this is an incredible backdrop for golf, with gorgeous mountains framing the resort and spectacular vistas from many holes. It also made for a terrific canvas on which Steve and I could create a challenging but memorable resort golf experience. I hope the competitors will enjoy the experience as much as Steve and I did designing it.”

“Bear Mountain is honored to be a part of Pacific Links’ PGA TOUR Champions event,” said Dan Matthews, President and CEO, Ecoasis Developments LLP. “Hosting The Pacific Links Championship at Bear Mountain will enable us to showcase Canada’s only 36 holes of Nicklaus Design golf and go a long way in supporting our goal to demonstrate why we are fast becoming the finest golf resort community in Canada.”

The tournament will give PGA TOUR Champions two events in golf-rich Canada during a four-week stretch, pairing with the Shaw Charity Classic on September 2-4 to provide an exciting late-season run up to the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs this fall.

In addition to the Pacific Links Championship, Victoria serves as host of the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, a Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada event operated by the Island Open Golf Society for 33 years. The event’s past champions include Steve Stricker (1990), who is set to make his PGA TOUR Champions debut in early 2017, and current PGA TOUR Champions member Mike Grob (2006). Victoria native and Tour member Jim Rutledge has served as the event’s Honorary Chairman since 2014.

“Pacific Links International has been a wonderful partner for PGA TOUR Champions, and we are confident that Bear Mountain Resort will provide a championship-caliber setting for one of our premier events,” said PGA TOUR Champions President Greg McLaughlin. “The passion for golf is strong in British Columbia, and should make for a wonderful tournament week atmosphere for our fans and players.”

From 2012-14, PGA TOUR Champions held the Pacific Links Hawai’i Championship at Kapolei Golf Club on Oahu. Following the 2014 tournament, Pacific Links announced it was moving the 2015 tournament to Tianjin, China, to be played at the company’s flagship course in Asia, The 27 Club. Tragically, in August, a factory explosion in the port area of Tianjin forced the cancellation of the event, with officials making the decision just weeks prior to tournament week out of respect for the hundreds of victims of the tragedy.

Pacific Links and the PGA TOUR remain committed to holding a PGA TOUR Champions tournament in Tianjin, but due to ongoing challenges in the city associated with the explosion, the joint decision was made to move the 2016 event to British Columbia.

Tournament week in Victoria will begin with pro-ams on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by 54 holes of tournament play from Friday through Sunday, with no cut. All three rounds will be broadcast on Golf Channel.

In November of 2015, Bear Mountain was named Golf Canada’s official training centre.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe each shot 7-under 65 on Thursday in rain and steady wind to share the first-round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship, while Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler dodged a thrown golf ball with an earplug attached to it.

As if battling a lengthy and saturated course wasn’t enough, playing partners McIlroy and Fowler endured a bizarre event on the sixth tee box when a spectator hurled the dressed-up golf ball their way as Fowler was preparing to hit.

“So random,” Fowler said. “The guy tried to say it was a gift. I don’t know why you would give a gift of a golf ball with an earplug attached to it.”

The fan was escorted from the property by police.

“It was one of those things,” McIlroy said. “It was a golf ball with an ear plug stuck on it, so it was sort of strange.”

Fowler, the 2012 winner, finished with a 71, leaving him six shots behind Wheatcroft and Loupe, who were also paired together. McIlroy, the only two-time winner of the tournament, shot a 73 after a bogey-plagued start to his title defence. He won by seven shots last year, finishing at 21 under.

India’s Anibarn Lahiri was a shot back after a 66.

Phil Mickelson, who has finished in the top five six times in 12 starts at the Wells Fargo Championship but never won, opened with a 69.

“I have been able to play well here over the years, but just haven’t been able to breakthrough and get a victory,” Mickelson said. “But I will keep knocking on the door and hopefully keep giving myself a chance.”

But the talk of the tournament came after McIlroy hit his tee shot on the green on the 250-yard, par-3 sixth hole. When Fowler stepped up to the tee he saw something fly by his left side, startling him for a moment.

He didn’t know what it was until it stopped rolling.

McIlroy wound up with a birdie, while Fowler and the other member of their threesome, Hideki Matsuyama, carded 3s.

The 27-year-old Loupe, who has three top-10 finishes this season, shot 31 on the front nine. Wheatcroft did his work on the four par 5s, playing them in 6 under with two eagles and two birdies.

“Kind of felt like I was trying to keep up the whole time with Steve,” Loupe said. “We both had it rolling early. Just solid golf for the most part, just looking to keep that momentum going.”

McIlroy has some work to do to get into contention if he hopes to become the first three-time winner.

He called his first competitive round since the Masters a “tale of two nines.”

The world’s No. 3-ranked player shot a 4-over 40 while starting on the back side, then got things headed in the right direction with four birdies on the front.

“I was sort of still in range mode on the front nine,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t really have my scoring head on.”

McIlroy, who turned 27 on Wednesday, wasn’t pleased with how he played in the soggy conditions but said the strong finish gave him something strong to build on for Friday.

“I need to go out and shoot a good round, something in the 60s, and get myself back into the tournament going into the weekend,” said McIlroy, who has spent the last three weeks working to fix his swing.

Jim Furyk shot a 73 in his return from an eight-month layoff because of a wrist injury.

Furyk had “no pain, no apprehension,” but said he wasn’t planning to hit many practice balls after the round – which didn’t exactly upset him.

“I don’t enjoy hitting balls, so actually it’s kind of fun,” Furyk said. “I’m not really allowed to or can’t, so I’m enjoying that part of it.”

Top-ranked Jason Day and No. 2 Jordan Spieth did not enter the event, and No. 8 Dustin Johnson withdrew earlier in the week because of unspecified reasons.

PRATTVILLE, Ala. – Laetitia Beck took the first-round lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, dodging some of the wind Thursday morning in a bogey-free 7-under 65.

The 24-year-old Beck, the first Israeli player to qualify for the LPGA Tour, was in the first group of the day off 10th tee. She birdied four of the final five holes on her opening nine in calmer conditions, and had three more – two on par 5s – on the windier second nine.

“I think the winds picked up for us only like the last five, six holes, so we played the front nine without much wind,” Beck said. “That front nine was 4 under, so it really helped.”

Annie Park and Minjee Lee were tied for second at 67. They played in the afternoon.

Beck hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens and had only 26 putts on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.

“I think here on this golf course it’s all putting, because it’s a very scorable course,” Beck said. “Hitting a lot of greens, hit the right part of the green, and I think I was doing well making putts, even though I did miss birdie opportunities, but I made good putts for birdies.”

Normally held in hotter and firmer conditions late in the summer, the tournament was moved up because of the Olympics.

“The conditions are great,” Beck said. “The greens are softer than what I played last year. They were softer so we can attack more, so I think that’s why it’s a scorable course this year, especially because we can just go for it, especially with having short irons.”

The former Duke player is winless on the tour and has made only two cuts in eight events this season.

Park birdied five of the first seven holes. The 21-year-old former University of Southern California player won three times last year on the Symetra Tour and topped the circuit’s money list.

“It was definitely not easy out there with the wind picking up, but I hit some good shots,” Park said. “There were some lucky shots out there, too, and then I think putting was kind of difficult, especially with the wind and the slopes. There were some really scary putts out there, especially when it’s helping wind downhill, but I had a good round.”

Lee had four straight birdies on her first nine and birdied three of her last five. The 19-year-old Australian won last month in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.

“It was pretty chilly,” Lee said. “I had my jumper on warming up and long pants and long sleeves. … Just the wind makes it cold.”

Mexico’s Alejandra Llaneza opened with a 68.

“I’m pretty happy,” Llaneza said. “I didn’t know what to expect today. I have been actually really sick this week, so I was just like, ‘OK, one shot at a time.’ I think that helped. I got on a roll for a little bit there, so that was exciting.”

Morgan Pressel, Vicky Hurst and Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot 69.

“It was tough out there,” Pressel said. “Once we made the turn, around 10, my hat blew off, I lost my ball marker. The wind played really tough. It was tough to get it close to the hole, really, so when you end up 40 feet on some of these greens, it’s just good to two-putt.”

Michelle Wie had a 71. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 34 events.

Fourth-ranked Stacy Lewis, the 2012 winner, had a late bogey in a 71. She’s winless in 48 events.

No. 5 Brooke Henderson had a 72. The 18-year-old Canadian has eight top-10 finishes this year.

“It wasn’t one of my best days today, but I hung in there really well and was happy to get two birdies kind of late in my back nine to get it back to even par,” Henderson said. “Definitely some opportunities out there, but the conditions are pretty tough. The wind is pretty strong today.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura also shot 72. She has two victories this season.

Defending champion Kris Tamulis had a 76.

Golf’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) guide encompasses all aspects of athlete progression—from early childhood through to adulthood. The framework is at the core of Golf Canada’s mission to develop players that can compete at the highest level within the sport.

While serving as a measurement tool for performance, the LTPD guide also focuses on continued efforts to foster life-long engagement with the sport. The 2015 release of the guide’s second iteration elevated the experience for those that utilize the guide by incorporating new interactive elements to separate it from its earlier version (released in 2006).

In addition to the printed document, the LTPD guide is offered through a mobile app, available for free on the app store. To compliment the mobile experience, LTPD also streamlined its own dedicated web portal, providing instant access to up-to-date research and insightful video interviews from industry experts and professionals.

Although specifically targeted at golf professionals, athletes and parents, LTPD also contains valuable information for Golf Course Owners and Superintendents.

Click here to download the mobile app.

Augusta National is the carrot. The Masters Tournament, United States Golf Association (USGA) and PGA of America dangle it like a winning lottery ticket, like a sweepstakes for junior-aged golfers and their families.

Can you blame them? Having Augusta as the centrepiece of America’s Drive, Chip & Putt initiative helps make it the junior golf development windfall it has become. That and Golf Channel providing tour-level coverage, players in the Masters field and Augusta National members handing out medals, and finalists invited to stay over for Monday’s Masters practice round.

Let’s not kid ourselves (apologies for the pun): This is a juggernaut. As a grassroots development platform, the Drive, Chip & Putt profile has no equal. It’s unparalleled.

But it wasn’t the first. From a curriculum standpoint it might not even be best.

Five years before Drive, Chip & Putt, there was the Junior Skills Challenge. Ever heard of it? CN sponsors the program. Golf Canada administers it. The PGA of Canada and provincial golf associations deliver it.

The Canadian version actually uses a fourth category — iron play — to join putting, chipping and driving as the skills pillars. Regional qualifiers are held across the country with winners converging at Glen Abbey GC the Saturday prior to the start of the RBC Canadian Open for the finals. Up to $500 in travel subsidies are available. Did I mention Acushnet Canada provides qualifiers with more than $300 worth of prizing? Not bad, right?

“The national finals during RBC Canadian Open week is a wonderful stage for these talented kids,” says Scott Simmons, Golf Canada’s CEO. “It’s an inspirational and exciting atmosphere for them and their families.”

Wait, there’s more. On Sunday, kids participate in a nine-hole Golf Canada Junior Open tournament after the skills finals. They also get an opportunity to walk with a PGA Tour pro during the Wednesday pro-am and attend junior clinics. The clinics are hosted by Team Canada Young Pro squad members during RBC Canadian Open practice round days.

“This program is community-based. Families do not need to invest significant money to travel to regional qualifiers and PGA of Canada professionals represent the front-line delivery for these quality golf experiences. What separates our Skills Challenge is the depth and quality of the CN Future Links program in its entirety. It really is an exciting platform to motivate Canada’s junior golfers,” adds Simmons.

Look, I’m not here to apologize for being a proponent of Drive, Chip & Putt. It’s an amazing program. Canadians sign up and a few have even gone on to compete at Augusta. Simmons says discussions are ongoing about CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge one day becoming a qualifier for it.

“They (USGA & PGA of America) certainly recognize the quality of our program up here,” he says. “I think there is strong potential to somehow align Junior Skills Challenge with Drive, Chip & Putt in the near future.”

Until then, however, I need to pay better attention to my own backyard. Truth is, CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge has, rather quietly, been quite a success story in this country. Last year 3,400 kids signed up at cnfuturelinks.com to try qualifying at 168 regional events, a year-over-year increase of 28 more sites from 2014. Of those 3,400 juniors involved, 40 per cent were ages nine to 11. That’s a key target demographic Golf Canada is trying to engage. It’s promising and it bodes well for the game’s future.

For kids who participate in the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge there’s plenty of motivation and reasons to take part.

No, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey is not Augusta and the RBC Canadian Open will never be confused with the Masters. But that’s okay.

They’re still great carrots.

Canada’s Drive, Chip & Putt This article was originally published in the April 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

Courtenay, B.C. – California’s Aaron Wise shot a 3-under 69 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to maintain his lead heading into the final round at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old stumbled to a 1-over front nine, but carded four birdies without a bogey coming in to reach 14-under for the tournament, three shots ahead of Dallas’ Conrad Shindler and San Antonio’s Jeff Rein with one round to go at Crown Isle.

“I didn’t have my best stuff on my front nine, and my short game kept me in it. I had a lot of great up-and-downs. When I got to 10, I kind of re-set my goals and wanted to make six birdies on the back nine. I didn’t do that, but it was still a pretty solid back nine,” said Wise.

The University of Oregon sophomore, who currently ranks no. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said he kept calm after a wobbly start and set about his business to rebuild his lead on Thursday afternoon

“It’s just knowing your own golf game,” said Wise of making a mid-round correction that paid off. “I’ve worked with my coach long enough to where I know what my swing does and my tendencies under pressure. I knew what I was doing out there; it was just a matter of me fixing it, and it took a few holes, but I did it.”

Wise will turn professional later this spring after completing his collegiate career, but said he isn’t getting ahead of himself even with a huge slate of tournaments on the horizon, instead choosing to focus on the round in front of him on Friday.

“We have a good game plan. It’s just a matter of me going out there and hitting the shots. I didn’t do such a great job on the front nine, so I hope to get off to a better start tomorrow, and I’m excited,” said Wise.

Courtenay, B.C. – Lake Elsinore, California’s Aaron Wise shot a 4-under 68 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the second round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old, currently ranked No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, carded six birdies against one double bogey, his only dropped shots of the week, to lead by four shots over Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick through 36 holes at Crown Isle.

“I played well,” said Wise. “I’ve got a good strategy going and I’m executing all my shots correctly. I had a costly double bogey there on 16 which I’m a little irritated about right now, but I’ll get over it and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days.”

With four wins to his name in his two seasons at Oregon, Wise has flourished in his sophomore year. This spring, he was named a semi-finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top player in college golf, and credited an improvement in his putting to his strong second-year performance.

“My set-up was a little off and my stroke wasn’t very good, so I was making a lot of compensations. Since I’ve gotten a little drill that shows my hip and shoulder alignment and makes sure I’m putting a good stroke on it, and that’s really helped me score a lot better because I’m making the putts I need to make,” said Wise, who owns four collegiate victories and has twice been named Pac-12 Player of the Month.

Former Ducks to have success on the Mackenzie Tour include 2015 ATB Financial Classic Daniel Miernicki and two-time winner Eugene Wong, both of whom preceded Wise at the University of Oregon. Wise said their success on the Mackenzie Tour influenced him to follow their path when he turns pro following the college season.