Canadian Aphrodite Deng holds individual lead following a 5-under 67
on Wednesday

Mississauga, Ont. – The Republic of Korea sits atop the team leaderboard by one-shot over Team Canada 1 following the opening round of the 2024 World Junior Girls Golf Championship at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club in Mississauga, Ont.

Sumin Hong and Soomin Oh both shot rounds of 3-under 69 to help lead the Republic of Korea (Korea) on Wednesday. Hong recorded four birdies before bogeying the 18th. Oh began her round with back-to-back bogeys but went on to record five birdies to help contribute to the team lead. Teammate Seojin Park shot a 1-under 71. The top two individual scores count towards the combined team score each day.

“They played well today but the start of the round wasn’t as good but they finished strong so that was a good part of today,” said Republic of Korea Coach Naon Min.

“I told them not to think about the team but just think about their individual play and it will finish well for everybody,” said Min following the first round.

Defending champions, Team Canada 1 are one shot back of Korea. Aphrodite Deng of Calgary, Alta. shot a 5-under 67 to help lead her team and the individual standings. Clairey Lin of Langley, B.C. shot an even par 72 and Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont. shot a 3-over 75 on Wednesday.

“They got off to a really good start today, we were cruising early which was nice to see, lots of putts going in and it was awesome because they were sticking to the game plan just hitting to the right spot,” said Team Canada 1 Coach Jeff MacDonald.

“It’s always nice in these events when all three players are playing well so it gives you more chances or opportunities and they did that today and it was fun to watch,” added MacDonald.

Belgium sits in third at 3-under with a trio of teams including Sweden, Colombia and Hong Kong, China tied for fourth at even par. Iceland and Italy are tied for seventh at 1-over with seven teams tied for ninth at 2-over, including Team Canada 2.

Team Canada 2 is comprised of 14-year-old Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont. (Even par 72), 15-year-old Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta. (2-over 74) and 17-year-old Lindsay McGrath of Oakville, Ont. (4-over 76).

The following are the opening round standings at the 2024 World Junior Girls Golf Championship:

Click here for the team leaderboard following the opening round of the 2024 World Junior Girls Golf Championship.

In the individual competition, Deng of Team Canada 1 leads by one shot over Sixtine De Cordes of Belgium. Deng’s 5-under 67 on Wednesday was highlighted by seven birdies in her round, including five on the front nine.

“I was just trying to play it safe and miss in the right spots,” said Deng. “I was able to hit my shots really close and make the putts today.”

De Cordes is alone in second at 4-under with Oh and Hong of Korea tied for third at 3-under. Arianna Lau (Hong Kong, China), Paris Appendino (Italy), Ebba Lundqvist (Sweden), Lu Valero (Colombia) and Alexis Lamadrid (Mexico) all tied for fifth at 2-under.

The individual champion will receive an exemption into the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open being held at Mississaugua Golf & Country Club in Mississauga from August 19 – 24, 2025.

Click here for the individual leaderboard following the opening round of the 2024 World Junior Girls Golf Championship.

This year marks the largest field in tournament history, with a total of 72 athletes comprising 24 teams and representing 23 countries competing for the team and individual titles.

Several players who have competed in the World Junior Girls Golf Championship have gone on to great success on the LPGA Tour. Canadian Brooke Henderson, a 13-time LPGA Tour winner and Canada’s winningest professional golfer, finished fourth in the individual competition at the inaugural championship in 2014.

Other notable competitors who went on to become LPGA Tour winners include Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand who won back-to-back World Junior titles in 2018 and 2019 as well as Yuka Saso of the Philippines who won the 2016 World Junior title. 2023 CPKC Women’s Open winner, Megan Khang of the United States competed in the inaugural tournament in 2014. Other former World Junior competitors who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Hannah Green of Australia and Maja Stark and Linn Grant of Sweden. Hye-Jin Choi from the Republic of Korea won both the 2015 team and individual championship at the World Junior Girls Golf Championship and has earned several top five finishes on the LPGA Tour.

For second round tee times, please click here.

Edmonton’s Wil Bateman has learned to ride the waves of being a professional golfer in his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Bateman is one of three Canadians competing in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the finale of the second-tier circuit’s season. He’s 54th on the tour’s points list with a card for next year all but assured.

He said that’s in large part to his steady approach to golf, seeing the larger picture of his career.

“I’m just trying to stay positive throughout the weeks and throughout the year,” said Bateman. “Just conserving my energy, especially in those really long stretches, I think I’ve done really good job at that.

“Just mentally staying positive and realizing that there’s still lots of opportunity in front of me. Obviously you want to get a tour card, you want to be on the PGA Tour, but everybody’s path is different.”

Bateman was the overall winner of the PGA Tour Canada — now PGA Tour Americas — in 2022, winning two events after making all 10 cuts on the third-tier circuit. That moved him up to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he finished 68th overall last year.

This year, Bateman’s more balanced approach, including taking some events off, has paid off.

Bateman tied for 62nd at this year’s RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club on June 2, his only PGA Tour event of the year. 

He made 12 of 20 cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour, with one runner-up, two top 10s and five top 25s. His best stretch was six consecutive cuts made — five on the Korn Ferry Tour and the Canadian Open result — from the Club Car Championship on April 7 to the Compliance Solutions Championship on June 23.

“I feel like the game’s close and I’m there. It’s just a matter of a little bit of momentum going my way and then putting it together for four rounds,” said Bateman. “Some of those tournaments where I’m making the cut five straight weeks and not having a top 25. 

“You’re playing good golf, and you’re super close, you’re just kind of not putting it all together.”

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is the top-ranked Canadian on the Korn Ferry Tour at No. 41 on the points list. He’ll join Bateman and Etienne Papineau (No. 65) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., at French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind., for the championship tournament.

Bateman, in good shape to return to the Korn Ferry Tour next year, will continue his steady approach at this week’s event.

“I knew coming into this week that I have to finish first or second to get a PGA Tour card,” he said. “I don’t really have much to lose, because I’m going to definitely finish inside the top 60, so I’ll be able to have another opportunity to get my PGA Tour card at Q-School final stage if I don’t finish first or second this week.”

PGA TOUR — Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., returns to play just four days after competing in the elite Presidents Cup. He’s one of three Canadians in the field at this weeks Sanderson Farms Championship, which he won in 2022. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. He’ll be joined at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., by Adam Svensson (73rd) of Surrey, B.C., and Roger Sloan (168th) of Merritt, B.C.

DP WORLD TOUR — Toronto’s Richard T. Lee is the only Canadian in the field at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the storied Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. He’s unranked on the European-based DP World Tour, having played most of his golf on the Asian Tour this season. He’s 12th on the Asian Tour’s order of merit.

EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the top-ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif. She’s 55th on the second-tier women’s circuit. She’ll be joined at Indian Wells Golf Resort — Players Course by Maddie Szeryk (83rd) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que.

Mississauga, Ont. – The 2024 Junior Skills Challenge National Event will take place on Saturday, October 5 at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club in Mississauga, Ont.

A total of 31 golfers from four age groups will compete in the 15^th edition of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event, which brings together the top-scoring juniors from coast-to-coast.

The participating junior golfers will compete in a three-part skills challenge (putting, chipping and driving) with one overall winner per age group and gender.

Golf Canada, in partnership with COBRA and PUMA Golf, along with the PGA of Canada will host the 2024 Junior Skills Challenge National Event. The event is the culmination of more than 1,600 Junior Skills Challenge participants who competed at 92 qualifying events held across Canada. The field is comprised of 31 golfers from across Canada, all selected from the top of the Junior Skills Challenge National Leaderboard. 

Format

Driving: Each competitor receives three drives. Points are awarded and dependent on distance and aim of the drive. The drive must come to rest within the 30-yard width to qualify for points. The number of points is dependent on the distances completed.

Chipping: Each competitor receives three shots. Points are awarded and dependent on the distance of the chip from the target.

Putting: Each competitor receives one putt each from each distance of 5, 10 and 20 feet. Points are awarded for holing the putt and for proximity to the hole.

The winners of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event will receive prizing courtesy of program partner, COBRA PUMA Golf. On Sunday, October 6, Junior Skills Challenge National Event participants will also have the opportunity to play Lionhead Golf Club in Brampton, Ontario in an exciting match play format, outfitted by program sponsor COBRA PUMA Golf.

For more information on the Junior Skills Challenge National Event, click here.

Participants

Girls 7 to 9

Girls 10 to 11

Girls 12 to 13

Girls 14 to 15

Boys 7 to 9

Boys 10 to 11

Boys 12 to 13

Boys 14 to 15

Each week we write to Golf Canada members who record a hole-in-one, congratulating them and asking if they’d tell us how it happened. These are their stories (edited for length and clarity).

Have you recently accomplished the feat of a hole-in-one? Tell us about it! Share your story, picture / video and course information with us at holeinone@golfcanada.ca.

Graham Robertson, Cobble Beach Golf Links, Hole #14

My first hole-in-one! A five-iron, on the 172 yard, 14th hole at Cobble Beach. I knew it was a good shot but never saw it go in as it’s a blind shot, up hill over a bunker. As I got up to the green, there was a ball three feet from the flag. I assumed it was mine. I even joked about it being a gimme, but as I got closer to the ball, I saw it was a different ball, not mine. I then assumed I must have hit long so I started to look in the rough behind the hole. One of the guys said, “did you check the hole?” I looked in the hole and there was my beautiful golf ball at the bottom of the cup. After playing golf since 1977, this is my first ever! A surreal feeling, more stunned silent than celebrating like crazy. Wow.

Alana MacLeod, Digby Pines, Hole #2

I made the mistake of not taking the ball out of play and lost it in the woods on the fourth hole. When I played the next day, I found the sacred ball. It’s ready for a display case now. What a joyful exciting experience. I have golfed for 25 years and this is my first hole-in-one.

Janet Laus, St. Catharines Golf & Country Club, Hole #7

Was playing with Shane Davis and Ford Lake. The yardage was 110 and I used a Callaway 7 club. 

Ron Kimmel, Blue Mountain Golf & Country Club, Hole #14

The most amazing thing is that my wife, Elaine, had a hole-in-one on the same hole earlier in the season in May. What are the odds, a husband and wife both having a hole in one on the same hole in the same season!

Peter MacLachlan, Willows Golf & Country Club, Hole #15

Bridges course, hole #6, 175 yards, 7 iron straight into the cup. Player partners, left to right in the picture were Kevin Eggum, Kevin Carswell, myself and Dean Proski.

Connor Raedeke, McKenzie Meadows Golf Club, Hole #15

I was playing with my buddies Bobby, Justen and Kyle at McKenzie Meadows. A course I’ve played many times. Nice little twilight round. The hole was playing 194 yards, a tad down wind. Hit a 7 iron that I thought was going to be just at the front of the green to a middle pin. I didn’t think it had a chance to get all the way to the pin but it was straight at it. I was last to walk up to the green thinking where is my ball. Bobby went and checked the cup and we all went wild. A few beverages followed after the round. 

Lyndsey Teschke, RiverEdge Golf Club, Hole #4

It was quite a shocker when the ball disappeared. I didn’t believe it until I saw the ball in the cup. I was playing with my friends Sharon Owen and Caren Maurer (we play in the ladies league at RiverEdge). It was 110 yards and I hit my 7 iron. It was a tougher pin placement and the ball landed on the green on top of the hill and rolled towards the pin and disappeared! I actually had a shadow box made with the ball and scorecard too.

Owen Turner, Green Gables Golf Club, Hole #8

I went out after work with a few buddies, Mike and Sahib. It was a beautiful evening round with no wind. I decided to play from the white tees with them and on hole #8 I chose my trusty Gap wedge from about 130 yards to a front middle pin. I saw it tracking towards the hole and I knew it was close. As we drove up towards the green, I saw the ball pinned between the pin and the cup for my first career ace! The adrenaline was rushing throughout my body and I laid down on the green for a brief moment to take it all in. It was a phenomenal day as it was my first ever hole-in-one. 

Kevin Meagher, Orchard Beach Golf & Country Club, Hole #4

The distance from the white tee to pin on that day was about 162 yards and I hit a 7 iron. My group consisted of Mike Morris, Wally Beck and Rick Hyle.

Kerry Quail, Victoria Park East Golf Club, Hole #15

My fifth lifetime hole-in-one. 6 iron from 167 yards and played with Craig Walker, Derek Brown and Douglas Blair. 

South Korea’s Si Woo Kim missed a birdie putt on No. 18 to lose to Keegan Bradley as the United States clinched an 18 1/2 to 12 1/2 win over the International team at the Presidents Cup.

Bradley’s victory gave the Americans the 15 1/2 points required to win the tournament with five matches still on the course Sunday at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

It’s the U.S.’s 10th consecutive win at the elite biennial tournament.

The Presidents Cup sees 12 Americans play 12 golfers from around the world, excluding Europe. 

All 24 golfers played in individual matches in the final round, with the Internationals entering the day trailing by four points.

Each match is worth a point and a score of 15 1/2 is needed to win the tournament. The Americans held an 11-7 lead heading into the final round, meaning the Internationals needed to take at least eight matches and earn one tie out of the 12 pairings to win.

The largest final-round comeback in Presidents Cup history was when the Americans rallied from a two-point deficit at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2019.

Medinah Country Club outside Chicago will host the next Presidents Cup in 2026.

Xander Schauffele got the first match of the day done quickly, beating Australia’s Jason Day 4&3.

South Korea’s Tom Kim, easily the most outspoken member of the International team, backed up his words with a birdie on No. 15 to earn a draw with Sam Burns.

World No. 7 Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, the highest-ranked member of the Internationals, eked out a 1-Up win over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. 

At almost the same time, Russell Henley completed a 3&2 victory over South Korea’s Sungjae Im.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., breathed life into the Internationals’ cause with a 5&3 win over Tony Finau in the Canadian’s best performance of the week.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., conceded to Patrick Cantlay on the 16th green for a 3&1 loss to move the Americans to within a point of winning the tournament.

Si Woo Kim could have tied his match against Bradley if he’d sunk his birdie putt on No. 18, but he missed for the 1-Up loss.

After the Americans clinched their victory, play continued. 

Australia’s Min Woo Lee birdied the par-4 No. 18 to earn a tie with Wyndham Clark. Sanith Theegala missed his birdie putt on the 18th green to tie South Korea’s Byeong Hun An.

Collin Morikawa then earned a 2&1 victory over Australia’s Adam Scott before South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout topped Brian Harman 2&1.

Max Homa beat Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 2&1 in the tournament’s final match. It was the first time that three Canadians played in the event.

The line between showmanship and bad sportsmanship was blurred a little more on the third day of the Presidents Cup.

Si Woo Kim ran on to the 16th green after he drained a chip in from the deep rough, cradling his head on folded hands, emulating the go-to-sleep celebration of Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, as he celebrated he and fellow South Korean Tom Kim tying their match with Americans Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Two holes later, Cantlay drained a birdie putt to help the United States build an 11-7 lead over the International team in a long day at the Presidents Cup. Tom Kim — no stranger to exuberant celebrations — said a line was crossed by his American opponents during the match.

“Towards the end, it got a little feisty out there,” said Tom Kim. “I could hear some players cursing at us. I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there.

“But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it.”

Cantlay’s nearly 17-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole at Royal Montreal Golf Club gave the U.S. back-to-back 3-1 rounds on Saturday and a four-point lead on the overall scoreboard.

The elite biennial tournament sees 12 Americans face 12 golfers from around the world, excluding Europe. The final round will have all 24 golfers playing individual matches.

Each match is worth a point and a score of 15 1/2 is needed to win the tournament. The Internationals have lost nine Presidents Cups in a row.

Whipping the fans at Royal Montreal into a frenzy has been one of the strategies employed by the Internationals as they try to end their losing skid and overcome a stacked American roster that features five of the top 10 players in the world.

Tom Kim has been the International team’s conductor on the course, playing to the fans the most of any of the tournament’s golfers. Still, he maintained a line was crossed Saturday.

“I do it, too. You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green. It’s all part of it, I get it,” he said. “I just don’t think there’s a need to look at someone and curse at them. I just don’t think there’s a need for it.”

Schauffele and Cantlay said they didn’t swear at their opponents and didn’t hear any of their American teammates — trailing behind the group in golf carts — curse either.

“I felt like Pat and I, we treated the Kims with the utmost respect,” said Schauffele, adding that he and Cantaly both tried to quiet the crowd whenever they or their opponents were about to swing.

“I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”

A fog delay that lasted nearly 100 minutes early in the morning session backed up the entire day’s proceedings. Players were on the course for more than 12 hours.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Australia’s Adam Scott were starting their second match of the day with Max Homa and Brian Harman as Cantlay and Sam Burns were on No. 17, finishing a 2&1 victory over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s Sungjae Im from the first wave.

The other afternoon matches were delayed 30 minutes to allow the golfers time to refresh after playing all morning.

Pendrith and Scott traded holes with Harman and Homa to emerge with a 2-Up win for the Internationals’ only point of the afternoon’s fourth round.

“It was a quick turnaround, but we all knew that we were potentially going to play 36 today,” said Pendrith. “It was a long day out there. I’m pretty tired, yeah.

“I was happy to put a point on the board this afternoon for the International Team, but it’s been a long day.”

Collin Morikawa and Burns eked out a 1-Up win over the all-Canadian duo of Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., in the afternoon. That match was tied after 17 holes, with Conners and Hughes combining for a bogey on the final hole.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley won their final three holes for a 3&2 victory over Matsuyama and Im.

The score was tied 5-5 at the start of play Saturday and the U.S. recaptured the lead after a 3-1 third round of four-ball play in the morning.

Scheffler and Morikawa earned a 2&1 win over Scott and Pendrith, then Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim picked up the lone point for the Internationals in the morning session with a 4&3 victory over Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.

Tony Finau and Schauffele then dispatched Conners and Hughes 3&2. Cantlay and Burns earned the Americans’ third point of the day with their win over Matsuyama and Im.

South Korea’s Tom Kim and Canada’s Taylor Pendrith called on International team fans to be louder at Royal Montreal Golf Club after a disappointing first round at the Presidents Cup.

The spectators answered that call on Friday.

A boisterous gallery chanted “I-N-T,” sang “O Canada!”, and generally made their presence known at virtually every hole as the Internationals stormed back with a 5-0 second-round shutout to tie the United States 5-5 in the overall score at the elite biennial men’s golf tournament.

Resounding wins by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s Sungjae Im, Australia’s Adam Scott and Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and the all-Canadian pairing of Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

“The fans really brought it. We felt that from the get-go,” said Hughes, who did not play in Thursday’s first round. “Corey mentioned that the first tee felt a lot different today than it did yesterday. Just electric all day.

“I joked to Corey on No. 2 tee, I said ‘how many times will we hear ‘O Canada’ today? What was the over-under?'”

Whatever line Hughes and Conners settled on, the galleries at Royal Montreal almost certainly were over. Kim and Pendrith had both said on Thursday that fans needed to make as much noise as possible to boost the International squad against a U.S. lineup that features five of the top 10 players in the world.

A day later, Kim said the fans were “unbelievable.” 

“I think the reason why we were able to play so good today, other than these guys going out and performing, was our fans backed us up,” said Kim, who did not play on Friday. “I think that gives you momentum, that gives you energy. 

“They played a huge factor in our win today.”

The elite biennial tournament sees 12 Americans face 12 golfers from around the world, excluding Europe. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., selected four-ball as the first-round format and alternate ball foursomes for Friday. Saturday will have two rounds, four-ball and foursomes.

Each match is worth a point and the first team to 15 1/2 wins the tournament, which made the U.S. 5-0 first-round lead seem insurmountable before the comeback.

“No doubt yesterday was a tough day for us,” said Scott. “The scoreboard, which is the only thing that matters, looked terrible.

“It was closer than the scoreboard showed. Our spirits were high going back on the bus last night, some time together in the team room last night, kept the energy going, the spirits high.”

Hughes agreed.

“We’re just having fun. This is like the most fun group to be a part of. We sang. We laughed the whole way home last night,” said Hughes, grinning. “We were on the bus this morning, and the vibe was great. We just knew we had a lot of golf in front of us.”

Unlike the Americans’ 5-0 four-ball sweep in Thursday’s first round, the Internationals’ victories were not close.

Matsuyama and Im set the tone early with a 7&6 win over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the day’s opening match.

Pendrith and Scott kept things rolling with a 6&5 victory over Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa.

Although the fourth match of the day, the all-Canadian team of Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., won next with a 6&5 triumph over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau.

“It obviously helped that a few guys went out early and got some leads,” said Hughes. “It just felt like the momentum was really infectious. You hear the cheers around the golf course, and you knew which cheers were for which team, which was really cool today.

“It felt like the crowd really pulled us through those matches. We need more of that the rest of the week.”

Nearly an hour later, Australia’s Jason Day made a 55-foot chip shot to get partner Christiaan Bezuidenhout to within 17 inches of the 18th hole. The South African made the putt to preserve their 1-Up win over Max Homa and Brian Harman.

“I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to be able to hit a shot like that under those conditions because what we’re doing right now, playing in this team format, is going to help us in the future playing down the stretch in other tournaments,” said Day. “So this is great experience for me.”

A 15-foot putt by South Korea’s Si Woo Kim sealed the fifth match of the day. He and fellow Korean Byeong Hun An beat world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley 1 Up.

By John Chidley-Hill

The United States has jumped out to a 5-0 over the International team at the Presidents Cup.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and partner Russell Henley earned a 3&2 victory over the South Korean pairing of Sungjae Im and Tom Kim in 16 holes in a match that featured lots of gamesmanship.

After Kim loudly celebrated a birdie putt, Scheffler made a point of pumping his fist and yelling in a similar way, glaring at the South Korean. On the next hole, Kim and Im walked off the green and went to the next tee before the Americans had finished their putts.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and South African partner Christiaan Bezuidenhout were the closest International team to earning a tie but ultimately lost to Americans Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley 3&2.

The Presidents Cup is a biennial best-on-best tournament that sees 12 American golfers face 12 players from around the world, excluding Europe. Three Canadians are playing in it for the first time ever.

Conditions were soft and wet to start the day at Royal Montreal Golf Club but the course quickly dried as the sun came out during the noontime tees.

There were five four-ball matches in the first round. Each match is worth one point and the first team to get up to 15 1/2 points in total wins the tournament.

World No. 2 Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau gave the U.S. an early lead with an 1 Up victory over Australia’s Jason Day and Byeong Hun An in the opening match. 

Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala added to the American lead with a 1 Up win over the all-Australian pairing of Adam Scott and Min-Woo Lee.

Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns finished off Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in 17 holes for a 2&1 win.

Seattle, Wash. – Shelly Stouffer finished as the runner-up after falling in the final 3 and 2 to Nadene Gole at the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle, Wash. on Thursday.

Stouffer, of Nanoose Bay, B.C. finished atop the leaderboard in a field of 132 players at 4-over following rounds of 71 and 73 to grab the top seed heading into the knockout round and earned stroke-play medalist honours.

Stouffer defeated Shelly Haywood of Laguna Woods, Calif. 6 and 5 in the Round of 64. On Tuesday, Stouffer won both rounds, defeating Corey Weworski of Carlsbad, Calif. 5 and 4 in the Round of 32 and then Stephanie Kiefer of Germany, 3 and 2 in the Round of 16.

On Wednesday, Stouffer continued her run defeating Kathy Hartwiger of Pinehurst, N.C. 4 and 3 in the quarterfinals and Ellen Port of St. Louis, Mo. 2 and 1 in the semifinals.

In the final, third ranked Gole of Australia took the lead following the second hole. Stouffer squared the match with a par on the very next hole, before Gole regained her lead on no. 4. She went on to increase the lead to two following a par on no. 7. Stouffer battled back to tie the match through 10 holes after back-to-back birdies on nos. 9 and 10. Gole regained the lead with a birdie on no. 12 and increased it with a par on no. 14 and birdie on no. 15 to go three up. Both Stouffer and Gole recorded par on no. 16, ending the match in favour of Gole.

As a finalist, Stouffer has earned exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur, August 4-10, at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes) in Bandon, Ore., the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, August 21-24, at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif., and the 2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at September 13-18, at Troon Country Club and Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Stouffer has enjoyed a successful season, winning the 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur, Mid-Master and Inter-Provincial Team titles in July at Crowne Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, B.C. She also won the B.C. Women’s Mid-Master Championship and the B.C. Women’s Senior Championship and added a bronze medal from the 2024 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship. Stouffer won the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

Fellow Canadians Judith Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont. and 2024 Canadian Women’s Senior Champion, Terrill Samuel of Etobicoke, Ont. finished the stroke-play portion of the tournament inside the top 10, with Kyrinis finishing T4 at 7-over and Samuel in 6th at 8-over. Samuel was eliminated by Dawn Woodward of Greenville, S.C. 3 and 2 in the Round of 16. Kyrinis was eliminated by Ellen Port by one stroke in the Round of 32.

The Presidents Cup begins on Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club. The best-on-best match-play tournament sees 12 American golfers take on 12 players from around the world, excluding Europe.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the elite men’s golf event:

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME — Despite the high quality of the golfers in the tournament, the Presidents Cup is unique on the PGA Tour because there is no prize money. Mackenzie Hughes, one of three Canadians on the International team and a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council, said he is OK with that arrangement.

“I love these competitions. I love the game,” said Hughes, who is playing in the Presidents Cup for the first time. “If you said, ‘hey, you have to pay to play in this,’ I would love to pay to play in this. 

“There would be guys, I’m sure, on the other side that have won multiple majors and maybe feel like they deserve to be paid to be here. I never feel that way. I feel like it’s an honour that doesn’t need to come with any monetary value.”

POUTINE IS UNREAL — The International team is made up of golfers from five countries: Canada, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and South Africa. To overcome the cultural and linguistic differences, captain Mike Weir has introduced the golfers to Canadian culture, like hockey and poutine. Australia’s Min Woo Lee tweeted that Quebec’s signature dish was “unreal” and elaborated at a news conference on Wednesday.

“It looked amazing, and I tried it, and it was even better than it looked,” said Lee. “I thought it was a bit more complicated, but it was just fries, cheese curds, and gravy. It was unbelievable.”

DARK CLOUDS — A thunderstorm is forecast for the Montreal area on Thursday, with heavy rain expected through the daylight hours at Royal Montreal on L’Ile Bizard, Que. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 21 Celsius, despite the rain. The weather is expected to clear on Friday, but the temperatures will remain relatively cool.

SCOTT IS DUE — Australia’s Adam Scott had been a mainstay on the International team, participating in 11 Presidents Cups. However, the Internationals are winless in that span, last winning in 1998.

“I absolutely do not feel bad for Adam Scott,” said American Xander Schauffele. “I like Adam Scott a lot, but I do not feel bad for him at all. 

“I’m stubborn, and the more I get knocked down, the harder I push back up. If I had lost 10 times in a row, I’d come back champing at the bit even harder than ever. I’m sure that’s what they’re doing.”

PRIME MINISTER’S CUP — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was named the honorary chair of the Presidents Cup on Sept. 9. It’s expected that he’ll be at Royal Montreal on Sunday to hand the trophy to the winning team as part of the tournament’s championship ceremony.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.