Vancouver’s Ryan Williams join Team Freedom
LONDON, Ont. – Vancouver’s Ryan Williams is the latest golfer to sign with Freedom 55 Financial as brand ambassador.
Williams joins current Freedom 55 Financial Team Freedom ambassador golfers Albin Choi, Matt Hill, Mackenzie Hughes, Augusta James, Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson.
Williams, a 35-year-old Vancouver native, won the 2014 Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s season-ending event, and finished as the top Canadian on tour that year. Williams was introduced to golf at age seven and has been a member of the Mackenzie Tour since 2008. Before turning to professional golf, he played junior hockey in B.C. and Michigan.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Team Freedom,” Williams said. “The support Freedom 55 Financial has provided the Mackenzie Tour and its players has been instrumental to the growth of golf in Canada. This is a tremendous partnership for me on my road to the PGA TOUR and I am proud to be part of an incredible group of talented athletes on Team Freedom!”
To keep track of Williams and his teammates on their journeys, follow Freedom 55 Financial on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #TeamFreedom.
Development Squad readies for Toyota World Cup Qualifier
MOKA, Trinidad & Tobago – Four members of Team Canada’s Men’s Development Squad are set to compete in the qualifying event at St. Andrews Golf Club from Apr. 6–8 to secure one of two available spots into the 2016 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup.
The qualifying format will be a 54-hole stroke-play event, with each team’s three lowest daily scores contributing to the aggregate total. The Canadian foursome will square off against Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico.
The Canucks will be led by Vaughan, Ont., native Tony Gil, who returns to the qualifier for a second straight year after posting Canada’s lowest total score in 2015. He will be joined by teammates Charles-Éric Bélanger (Québec), A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.).
The Canadian contingent will be under the guidance of Lead Development Squad Coach, Robert Ratcliffe.
“We’ve had some strong success in this qualifying event in the past and the boys have practised hard to continue that trend,” said the PGA of Canada Class “A” member. “The course is set up well for our game and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
In last year’s qualifier, Canada cruised to a six-stroke victory and went on to place sixth at the World Cup. The best Canadian finish came in 1994 when the team took home runner-up honours.
The 2016 event will be contested in Japan from June 14–17. It is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 20 national teams—including winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and 60 national teams—compete for the world championship trophy.
Click here for live qualifier scoring.
McCann readies to get back to work
With the end of hockey season in sight for the McCann Family, it’s time to drop the sticks and pucks in favour of golf clubs and balls.
While Carter, 10 and Cameron, six, won’t be making any money for the McCann Family anytime soon, their dad is looking forward to getting back on course and playing some competitive golf.
“I love watching them play. I always wanted to be a pro hockey player but I was too small, so to be back in the rink watching both my guys playing the game gives me a lot of joy,” says McCann, who will be looking to make it three in a row in 2016, when it comes to PGA of Ontario Player of the Year honours.
After sharing the shuttling duties of taking the boys to the rink six days a week with his wife Wendy, Brian, who also plays men’s league hockey, will be back on the tee May, 2nd for the first scheduled event of the season, playing with Kieran Harris in the two-person scramble Assistants’ Team Series at King’s Riding GC – one of the few PGA of Ontario events that McCann doesn’t have his name etched as a winner.
“Every time I go out there and tee it up, I’m there to win. I developed that mentality when I was playing junior golf and when I attended Arkansas State University and that hasn’t changed over the years,” says the 41-year-old, who is entering his third season as an associate professional at Brampton Golf Club, where he works in the golf shop and on the range giving lessons and coaching.
“I think I have just learned to manage my game better. When I play well, I don’t make a lot of mistakes. I’m not going to go out there and have six birdies and six bogeys, maybe just one or two bad shots. For me the difference between winning and losing really comes down to putting. If I shoot a 65, the putter is working, when I shoot a 71, the putter doesn’t work.”
McCann certainly had his fair sharing of the winning feeling in 2015 with victories in the PGA of Ontario Assistants Championship in August at Pen Lakes Golf Club, 2015 PGA of Ontario Fall Classic in September at Lora Bay Golf Club and Georgian Bay Club and the PGA of Ontario Player of the Year Championship in October at Legends on the Niagara. He also settled for T2 at the Assistants’ Team Series and PGA of Ontario BIRDIE SHOOTOUT and T3 at the 2015 PGA of Ontario Spring Open. Internationally, Brian also enjoyed a huge win in December at the Goslings Invitational at Belmont Hills in his ninth trip to Bermuda. He was back in Bermuda in March for the Grey Goose World par 3 Championship where he settled for T15.
“Overall I was very happy with my play throughout 2015, the only disappointments were the PGA of Ontario Championship (T8) and the PGA of Canada Championship where I didn’t make the round of 16,” says McCann, who led the PGA of Canada order of merit standings in 2011 and 2012, before dropping out of the top spot in 2013. “My goal is to get back to the No. 1 position in Canada, to go head-to-head against all the best players in the country, and we’ll see if I can get back on top in 2016.”
McCann says that now that he works full-time in the golf shop at Brampton Golf Club, it’s more challenging to get time away from the club to play competitive golf and then there are lessons on top of that. Brian also says he’s very lucky to have a head professional, Emerson Mahoney, who recognizes that McCann loves to compete and arranges a flexible schedule that works.
“I’m really looking to try to find a balance between work at Brampton GC, competitive golf and time with my family,” says McCann, who admits to not having practiced hitting balls on the range for more than 10 consecutive minutes in the past five years. “What I have come to realize over the last couple of years is why so many professionals say they don’t have time to play tournament golf. It’s just a very busy schedule, and difficult to be everywhere you’d like to be.”
McCann says he’s excited to see how the new partnership with the PGA of Ontario and Kenesky Murray Golf Services (Jim Kenesky and Colin Murray) when it comes to tournament play in 2016 and beyond. The two veteran PGA of Ontario members will be managing all of the non-team events for the PGA of Ontario this season, as well as Great Lakes Tour events, which McCann is considering playing, as well as the Mandarin Tour.
Five years from now, McCann says he can see himself as a head professional at a club in the Greater Toronto Area, and until then, there’s lots of golf to be played. “Playing golf for fun doesn’t get my juices going. I still love the competition. Whether it’s the PGA of Ontario or the PGA Tour the goal is to win,” says McCann who played on the Web.Com Tour from 2004 to 2006.
Two-timers: winners of the Canadian Open and The Masters
Only 12 players have emerged victorious at both the Canadian Open and the Masters, though none have done so in the same year. As we prepare for the 2016 editions of the two events, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum looks back at these 12 players and the elite company they hold on this elusive list.
The 2016 RBC Canadian Open will be played at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. from July 18-24. Additional information regarding the event can be found on the official site.
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Sam Snead |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Craig Wood |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Byron Nelson |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Arnold Palmer |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Doug Ford |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Art Wall Jr. |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Billy Casper |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Tommy Aaron |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Gay Brewer Jr. |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Mark O’Meara |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Tiger Woods |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Vijay Singh |
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Canadian Open
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The Masters
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Couples pulls out of Masters with bad back
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples is out of the Masters because of acute back pain – the first Masters the 56-year-old former champion has missed since 1994.
Couples won the green jacket in 1992 and remains relevant at Augusta National. He shared the 36-hole lead in 2012 and was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2013.
His career has been slowed by back problems the last two decades. Couples says the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.
Couples has played only three times this year, once on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at Riviera while visibly struggling with his back.
With Couples not playing, the field is 89 players, the fewest since 2002.
Team Canada’s St-Germain signs on with Daytona State College
Development Squad’s Grace St-Germain has signed a letter of intent to join the Daytona State Falcons in August of 2016.
The Falcons are listed as a Div I school under the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)—an association dedicated to America’s two-year collegiate programs.
“This is a great fit for Grace all-around,” said Ann Carroll, Women’s Development Squad coach. “The training facilities at Daytona are phenomenal and it will compliment her game perfectly as she looks to take her game to the next level.”
Hailing from Ottawa, St-Germain will carry a long list of accomplishments to the Falcons, including a runner-up finish at the 2015 Quebec Women’s Amateur and a pair of victories at the 2014 Quebec Women’s Amateur and Canadian Junior Girls Championship.
She will fall under the guidance of long-serving Head Coach and well-known teaching professional Laura Brown, who has been at the helm for all 16 of the team’s seasons.
Click here to learn more about the Falcons.
Officially a Falcon!So excited to have signed with Daytona State College! Thank you to everyone who has supported me pic.twitter.com/2nXh6nsggD
— Grace (@gracestgermain) April 3, 2016
Ko wins ANA Inspiration; Henderson earns sixth LPGA top 10
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lydia Ko took advantage of Ariya Jutanugarn’s late collapse to win the ANA Inspiration on Sunday for her second straight major victory and second LPGA Tour win a row.
The top-ranked Ko hit an 88-yard wedge shot to a foot on the par-5 18th to set up her winning birdie – and an unlikely victory leap into Poppie’s Pond. She closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 12 under.
“This is an unbelievable moment,” Ko said before jumping into the pond.
Jutanugarn had a two-stroke lead at 13 under with three holes to play. The 20-year-old Thai player bogeyed all three holes, three-putting the par-4 16th, failing to get up-and-down from a bunker on the par-3 17th and hooking her drive into the water on 18.
“I really get nervous, especially being my first time leading,” Jutanugarn said. “Next time, it’s going to be so much fun to be there.”
Charley Hull and In Gee Chun finished a stroke behind Ko, and Jutanugarn ended up fourth at 10 under.
Ko won the final major last season, the Evian Championship in September in France, and took the LPGA Tour event last week in Carlsbad. The 18-year-old New Zealander has 12 LPGA Tour victories, five last year when she was the tour’s player of the year.
“It has always been my dream to play on the LPGA Tour,” Ko said. “For these amazing things to be happening it is unbelievable, but it also motivates me to work harder.”
Ko had a bogey-free round, also holing a 22-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth and a 40-footer on the par-3 eighth. She made three key par saves on the back nine, the first with a 15-foot putt after crisscrossing the par-5 11th. She ran in an 18-footer on the par-4 13th, and a 10-footer on 17.
“Obviously, making those putts on 11 and 13 was crucial, too, but just not knowing anything, I wanted to focus on my game and just what I could control,” Ko said. “But on 17, I knew what I needed to do. Something like a miracle needed to happen, so I think 17 was probably the most crucial putt.”
Until Sunday, best known for blowing a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey at age 17 in the 2013 LPGA Thailand, Jutanugarn made four birdies in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the round to move into position for a breakthrough victory that slipped away. She finished with a 71.
“I got a lot of experience from this week,” Jutanugarn said.
Hull birdied the 18th for a 69 and her best finish in a major.
“I know I can play well under pressure now when I have to get it going,” the 20-year-old English player said. “I’m happy I holed that putt on the last, and I’m proud of myself. It feels great. Lydia hit a great shot into the last, and she should be proud of herself.”
Chun also closed with a birdie in a 70. The U.S. Women’s Open champion was making her first start after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.
Lexi Thompson, the third-round leader, eagled the last hole for a 73 to finish fifth at 9 under. The 2014 winner had three front-nine bogeys and failed to make a birdie.
“Just overall tough day,” Thompson said. “I struggled today, ball-striking, and the bad ball-striking didn’t give me many birdie chances, so I struggled a bit with the putter as well.”
Michelle Wie, tied for seventh entering the round, shot a 77 to drop into a tie for 36th at 5 over. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 31 events.
Brooke Henderson shot a 67 for the best round of the day. The 18-year-old Canadian tied for 10th at 7 under and to run her LPGA top-10 streak to six events.
Team Canada’s Ewart and Chan notch first CJGA victories
VANCOUVER – Development Squad member A.J. Ewart birdied his final two holes on Sunday to earn a one-stroke victory in the U19 division at the Canadian Junior Golf Association’s (CJGA) B.C. Junior Open presented by Pacific Rim Intercollegiate Golf.
Holding the 18-hole lead, the Coquitlam product kept up the pace in Sunday’s final round to close out the wire-to-wire victory at 4-under par (70-70). The Team Canada rookie fended off the battling Henry Lee of Coquitlam, who closed the tournament one-stroke back of Ewart at 3-under. Both competitors ended as the only two athletes to finish under-par at the University Golf Club.
The win marks Ewart’s first CJGA victory of his young career. The Pitt Meadows Golf Club member will look to ride his momentum into action next week when he joins Team Canada teammates to compete at the Toyota World Junior Qualifier in Trinidad.
On the girls’ side, Delta native Amanda Minni led the pack with a closing score of 2-over par (73-73) to lock up the victory in the U19 division. She built up a two-stroke cushion over co-runner-ups Mary Parsons—also of Delta—and Ye Ji Lim of Langley.
The Women’s Development Squad were also in action in Vancouver. In the Juvenile group (U17), Richmond’s Kathrine Chan ran away with a score of 1-under par for a five-stroke victory over teammate and Surrey native Hannah Lee. The win also marks the first CJGA win for the 16-year-old Chan, who currently sits at No.14 on the CN Future Links National Junior Order of Merit .
Hometown native and Development Squad member Tiffany Kong finished the U19 division tied for sixth at 7-over par (78-73).
Click here for full scoring.
Herman wins Houston Open, gets spot in Masters
HUMBLE, Texas – Jim Herman delivered a masterful performance at just the right time Sunday in the Shell Houston Open.
Herman, winless in 105 previous starts on the PGA Tour, chipped in for birdie on the par-3 16th and finished with two solid pars for a 4-under 68 and a one-shot victory that sends him to the Masters for the first time in his career.
Herman tapped in for par and thrust both fists in the air after his one-shot victory over Henrik Stenson.
“Sorry for the tears, but I’m pretty happy,” Herman said in his TV interview. “We really did a good job keeping our game plan. We wanted to give ourselves as many birdie chances as we could and keep it low stress. And geez, look what happened. Never thought it was possible.”
The Houston Open was the final opportunity for players to get into the Masters, and Herman seemed like a long shot at No. 191 in the world whose only professional victory was six years ago at the Moonah Classic in Australia.
Stenson missed an 18-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 68 to finish one shot behind. It was the Swede’s eighth runner-up finish since his last victory in Dubai at the end of 2014.
Dustin Johnson tried to overcome a double bogey on the 11th hole. He made three birdies coming in, but had to settle for a 69 and was two shots back.
Jordan Spieth made four straight birdies early in his round, but two shots into the water led to double bogeys and a 70. He was seven back in a tie for 13th.
It was the third time since 2008 that a player won the Houston Open to get into the Masters, and Herman might be the most unlikely candidate.
Ten years ago, Herman was working as an assistant pro at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey when he played one day with course owner and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who wanted to know why he was folding shirts instead of competing against the best. Trump encouraged him to give it another shot, and Herman eventually made it out to the PGA Tour.
This is his fifth full season in the big leagues, and he still wears “Trump” on his golf shirts. Within the past month, Herman has changed from block letters of “Trump” to a logo from Trump’s course.
He was artful in closing the deal at the Golf Club of Houston.
Herman and Jamie Lovemark were tied for the lead going into the final round. Lovemark was 4 over through six holes and was never a factor. Herman hung around during Spieth’s early charge, and even after Stenson took the lead.
Stenson fell back with a bogey from the bunker on the 14th hole, only to get that stroke back on the par-5 15th.
Herman, however, never flinched. Tied for the lead, he missed the green to the left on the 16th and was in thick grass near the bunker. His chip came out perfectly and dropped for a surprising birdie and a one-shot lead, and he held it.
He faced a long wait at the 18th to hit his tee shot, with a bunker to the right and water all the way down the left. Herman drilled it 316 yards down the middle, hit a safe shot to the middle of the green, and two putts later he was on his way to Augusta National.
The victory also gets Herman into the PGA Championship for the first time.
Graham DeLaet was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 27th. The Weyburn, Sask., native shot a 5-under 283 for the tournament. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., tied for 46th at 2 under.
Jimenez shoots 64 to win Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic
SAUCIER, Miss. – Miguel Angel Jimenez shot an 8-under 64 to win the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic by two strokes on Sunday.
Jimenez started the day in third place, three shots behind the leader Scott Dunlap. But the 52-year-old from Spain took control on the tournament’s final day thanks to a bogey-free round that included four straight birdies from No. 10 to No. 13.
It is Jimenez’s third victory on the PGA Tour Champions in just 10 starts dating back to 2014. He was 14 under for the tournament at Fallen Oak.
Dunlap couldn’t keep up with Jimenez, but finished in second place after shooting a 69. Tom Pernice Jr., Jeff Maggert and Jerry Smith were five shots behind Jimenez to finish in a tie for third.
Rod Spittle was the lone Canadian in the field. The St. Catharines, Ont., native tied for 58th at 8 over.