For the third time in the tournament’s history, the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and the stars of the LPGA Tour will return to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, August 22-28, 2016.

“We are excited to announce the return of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in 2016,” said Canadian Pacific Women’s Open Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin. “The venue is outstanding; the city of Calgary is a world-class hosting community; and we are confident that Alberta golf fans will once again rally around the LPGA Tour’s return to Western Canada.”

The championship, which typically draws arguably the strongest field on the LPGA Tour, will once again make a significant charitable contribution to the host community through the CP Has Heart campaign.

“CP and our 2,000 Calgary-based employees and their families are thrilled to bring world-class LPGA Tour golf back to our hometown,” said CP’s VP Corporate Affairs Mark Wallace. “In addition to some great golf, we look forward to working with the tournament as we raise funds for pediatric cardiac care and research at Alberta Children’s Hospital.”

The 44^th playing of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship will return to the formidable venue which had previously hosted in 1999 and 2009. The 2009 edition of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship saw Norway’s Suzann Pettersen card a final-round one-under par 70 and tournament-total 269 (15-under) to claim the title. Among those in the five-way tie for second that year was World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, who claimed victory in 1999 when Priddis Greens hosted the LPGA Tour for the first time.

“It is an honour to welcome back the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Calgary and the province of Alberta,” said Rod McBride, President of Priddis Greens. “Hosting the CP Women’s Open provides us with another opportunity to showcase our course as one of the premiere golfing experiences in Canada and to further demonstrate Calgary’s love of the game.”

The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., will play host to the 2015 edition of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship will be contested August 17-23. First conducted in 1973, Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship has allowed the brightest stars of the LPGA Tour to shine on Canadian soil and inspire the nation’s next generation of female golfers.

Additional information regarding tickets, volunteer opportunities and corporate hospitality for the 2015 or 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open can be found at www.cpwomensopen.com.

BELEK, Turkey – England’s Melissa Reid won the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open on Wednesday, leading wire-to-wire for her fifth career Ladies European Tour victory.

The 27-year-old Reid closed with an even-par 73 at Carya Golf Club for a four-stroke victory over France’s Gwladys Nocera. Reid also won the 2010 tournament at National Golf Club.

Nocera finished with a 71 in the unique Sunday-Wednesday event.

England’s Laura Davies tied for third at 6 under with Scots Kylie Walkerand Sally Watson. The 51-year Davies finished with a 72. Walker also shot 72, and Watson had a 75.

The old adage, “practice makes perfect” has fooled many golfers.  How you practice makes a difference.  We all develop habits based on doing something repeatedly, but formed habits can be good or bad.  Many times I have been asked why a player cannot translate time spent on the practice area into results.  Volume is usually not the issue.  If you are dedicated to the game, and want to spend time practicing, I want you to get the most out of your time.  Let’s look at practice in detail and try to make a plan so you can improve every time you practice.  Practice has five core elements:

1. WARM UP
2. MAINTENANCE
3. TECHNICAL AWARENESS
4. TARGET / RESULT AWARENESS
5. REFLECTION

1. Warm up: During your warm up, focus not only on your body, but also on your mind. Tune in to how each stretch or exercise feels and spend longer in areas that need more time. The goal is to prevent injury but also ready yourself to perform your best; that means also being mentally alert.
2. Maintenance can have many meanings. When I talk of maintenance, I am talking about what happens before the shot. Almost every player in the game has certain tendencies – or bad habits – they need to remind themselves of at set up.  It may be your grip, your ball position or your alignment.  Your set up has a tremendous effect on your technique; I want you to gain the benefits from your technical practice because you are consistent in set up.  Write down, or have someone photograph your tendencies in set up, and try to find a way to keep an eye on these positions.
3. Technical awareness. This is the area players spend the majority of their time, but unfortunately without significant improvement. Taking the time to warm up and maintain areas you commonly get a little away from allows your technique to gain traction.  When I think technique I think positions, feelings and reference points. I focus on the feel or the movement and rate myself on how close I got to where I wanted.  Use a scale of 1 to 5 for how close you got to your ideal positions through feel rather than solely the result.  Ideally, each session will have a technical element, but it will be a par t of your practice rather than the sole ingredient.
4. Results. When I talk about results, I talk about learning your tendencies. If I aim at a target and hit 2 0 balls, I w ant to know how many were close, left , right, short, or long.  Every time I do this I want to know more about my game.  This gives me fantastic information I c an use on the course.  Or, if I am not happy with my play, it gives me information to talk to my coach about.  Use this section to test yourself: how many fairways can you hit between two imaginary points?  How many balls c an you land within 20 feet of a target?  Can you hit different shaped shots into a flag?  Record your test results to help guide future course decisions.
5. Reflection. How was your session? After each and every session, ask yourself the following: “If I had that time over again, what would I have done differently?”  It may be that you did not warm up consciously, something within your maintenance felt a little strange or within the results section you focused on technique instead of just performing the task.  Something always crops up.  Use this information and write notes to guide your next session.  Driving to and from practice you should know exactly what you are going to work on and how you are doing afterwards.

Remember, how you spend your time forms habits.  If you can warm up, be consistent in set up, practice technique and know more about your game each time you practice you will form the type of habits that produce results.  Perfection is unattainable in golf but consistently paying attention and doing the right things allows you to gain the best results more often.  Practice, after all, should make a permanent improvement.

CALGARY—Three of golf’s top stars, and most colourful characters, are the first three players to book their tickets to Calgary this summer to compete in the third annual Shaw Charity Classic August 5-9, 2015.

Mark O’Meara, who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in July, will make this third appearance at the Shaw Charity Classic. Calgary golf fans will also welcome Welshman Ian Woosnam and American Peter Jacobsen to the fairways at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club for the first time this year.

“The Shaw Charity Classic remains committed to improving our field and event experience each year. Mark is one of the hottest players on Tour this year, and having Ian and Peter in Calgary for the first time helps us achieve that goal,” said Sean Van Kesteren, tournament director, Shaw Charity Classic. “These three names are synonymous with the greatest golf names in the world, and I can’t think of a better way to officially kick off the golf season here in Calgary then by adding these international stars to our field.”

One of the most popular figures in international golf, O’Meara is off to a strong start in 2015. The two-time major winner has three top-five finishes on the Champions Tour this year and was the top player over 50 at the Masters where he placed T22. A winner of 16 victories on the PGA TOUR, O’Meara has won twice on The Champions Tour including one major in 2010 – the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship

“There is still a tremendous buzz on Tour about the success of the Shaw Charity Classic. Calgary is a wonderful place, an incredible city. I love the Rockies and I’m excited to return this year,” said O’Meara. “The crowds are so enthusiastic that come out and support this event in Canada. I know all the players are excited to have the opportunity to come there and play, and I hope the fans will come out and support us again.”

O’Meara will be joined by two first-timers to Calgary.

Former European Ryder Cup Captain, Ian Woosnam, will make his first trip to the Stampede City. Woosie, who won his first Champions Tour title earlier this month at the Insperity Invitational, brings an impressive resume with him to Calgary. The Wee Welshman, who was recognized as one of Europe’s ‘Big 5’ with Ballesteros, Faldo, Langer and Lyle who dominated world golf in the 1980’s and 1990’s, has racked up 48 victories worldwide including the 1991 Masters. A two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Woosnam was a member of nine European Ryder Cup Teams, Vice-Captain of the 2002 winning squad, and also Captained the Europeans to victory in 2006.

“I have had a goal to play more in America and get into the top-30 so it was nice to get the win in Houston,” said Woosnam. “I knew my game was coming around. I have played some great golf and I was fortunate to hole that long putt on the first playoff hole, and now be exempt for the next year. I’m excited to build on this success and have a shot at getting my first win in Canada.”

Another Calgary first-timer will be Peter Jacobsen. One of the most humerous characters on the Champions Tour, Jacobsen was a member of two American Ryder Cup teams who captured seven victories on the PGA TOUR. His last PGA TOUR win came in 2003 at the Greater Hartford Open when he was 49. Since turning 50, Jacobsen won the U.S. Senior Open during his rookie season. He backed that up with a win at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship the following year. One of the most colourful characters on Tour, Jacobsen regularly entertains fans with his impressions of other players. A self-taught guitarist, he is also known to keep galleries laughing with his comical stories.

The Shaw Charity Classic is giving one lucky fan – and three friends – the chance to feel like a professional golfer for just one day. Canadian golfers who record a hole-in-one during the 2015 contest period must register through the tournament web site at www.shawcharityclassic.com for a chance to win the grand prize. The hole-in-one must be attested by the golf facility’s general manager, chief operating officer, club president, head professional or director of golf. Participants between the ages of 13 and 18 must also have parental consent. The Shaw Charity Classic will aim to profile each hole-in-one on its social media platforms.

Some of the greatest names in the game will play for a purse of $2.35 million, an increase of $100,000, when they return to Calgary’s Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club for a third straight year. Tickets and corporate packages for the Shaw Charity Classic are available online at www.shawcharityclassic.com. Youth 17 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.

Athletes from the country’s top university and college golf teams will put their games to the test at Cutten Fields in Guelph, Ont., from May 25-29 for the 13th playing of the Canadian University/ College Championship.

Conducted by Golf Canada, the Championship was created to provide an opportunity for Canada’s best university and college golfers to compete in a national event. This tournament also serves as a qualifier for the 2015 World University Golf Championship. The global competition will be played between July 8-11 in Gwangju, South Korea.

The University of Guelph Gryphons will play host to this year’s event for the first time at their home club of Cutten Fields located in downtown Guelph, Ont. Established in 1931, Cutten Fields is a Stanley Thompson design recognized for its changes in elevation that provide scenic views to golfers. While adding to the course’s natural beauty, the hills and valleys also thoroughly test competitors with uneven lies in the fairways and challenging putts on the contoured greens.

“As the home of the University of Guelph Gryphons, Cutten Fields is honoured to be hosting this championship,” commented Steve Bryant, Director of Golf for Cutten Fields. “Our membership is extremely proud to share the history and legacy of Cutten with the Canadian golf community. We are thrilled at the opportunity to showcase our course to the best university and college students in the country.”

The 72-hole stroke play competition will feature 20 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from universities and colleges across the country. These athletes will be competing for both team and individual honours. Following the third round, the field will be reduced to the top 10 men’s teams and the top six women’s teams; in addition, any individuals within 15 shots of the lead will move on to the final round.

“The Canadian University/ College Championship is a great stage to display the talented athletes playing collegiate golf in Canada,” said Tournament Director Russell MacKay. “These student athletes will proudly represent themselves and their schools as they battle for the right of representing their country in South Korea this summer.”

The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s team is looking to defend its national title. In 2014, the Bisons won by 12 strokes on home soil at Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Man. Returning players from the winning squad include Charlie Boyechko, Brodie Gobin and Scott Mazur.

In individual play, University of British Columbia Thunderbird Scott Secord went wire-to-wire to claim victory. He will be in the field this year to defend his title and assist his teammates in their quest to improve upon their runner-up finish from 2014.

His fellow Thunderbirds on the women’s side have their sights set on defending their 2014 win. Winnie Hyun and Kat Kennedy will return for the Thunderbirds in an attempt to capture the university’s 11th national women’s title in this competition.

Megan Woodland – now graduated after having completed her studies at the University of Victoria – won the 2014 women’s individual title.

The following teams will be competing in the 2015 Canadian University/ College Championship. Additional information on the tournament and full team rosters are available here.

Men’s Teams:
University of Manitoba Bisons
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds
University of Victoria Vikes
University of Calgary Dinos
University of Alberta Golden Bears
University of Waterloo Warriors
University of Ottawa Gee Gee’s
Brock University Badgers
Western University Mustangs
University of Toronto Varsity Blues
University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks
Queen’s University Gaels
University of the Fraser Valley Cascades
Humber College Hawks
Université Laval Rouge et Or
Université de Montréal Carabins
Concordia University Stingers
École de technologie supérieure Piranhas
University of Guelph Gryphons
Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks

Women’s Teams:
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds
University of Victoria Vikes
University of Alberta Pandas
University of Toronto Varsity Blues
University of Waterloo Warriors
Western University Mustangs
Queen’s University Gaels
McMaster Marauders
Université de Montréal Carabins
Université Laval Rouge et Or
St. Clair College Saints
University of Guelph Gryphons

Canadian Amateur Christina Foster of Concord, Ont., has qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open hosted at the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa., July 9-12.

The 19-year-old stamped her ticket to the major championship with a two-round score of 145 at her sectional qualifier on Monday held at the Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill. Foster’s score gave her a one shot edge as she beat out the competition to claim one of two spots.

The golfer’s best finish came at the GAO – Women’s Match Play Championship, when she was runner up to Robyn Doig.

Foster joins fellow Canadian Brooke Henderson, as the only Canucks in the field to date. There are sectional qualifiers running until June 15^th.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Minjee Lee shook off a three-putt bogey on her first hole with two finishing pars and won the Kingsmill Championship by two shots Monday, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

Lee, an 18-year-old Australian, finished at 15-under 269. She surged into the lead on Sunday with a round highlighted by a five-hole stretch that she played in 5 under and returned to the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course on Monday morning with a four-stroke lead.

She three-putted her first hole, the 16th, but rallied with a pair of pars.

So Yeon Ryu started her day with three consecutive birdies and finished second, with Alison Lee another shot back.

Third-round leader Perrine Delacour of France finished fourth after a closing 71.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson tied for 25th at 3 under par.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rory McIlroy was more methodical than electrifying Sunday.

It was still effective.

Always in control, the top-ranked McIlroy became the first two-time winner in the Wells Fargo Championship with a seven-shot victory over Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers.

McIlory closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 21-under 267, shattering the tournament record by five strokes. He entered the day with a four-stroke lead over Simpson after a course-record 61 on Saturday.

“Everything is firing on all cylinders for me,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy also won Match Play Championship two weeks ago in San Francisco and has 11 PGA Tour titles. He has six top-10 finishes in his last eight PGA Tour starts.

McIlroy won at Quail Hollow in in 2010 for his first PGA Tour title, shooting 15 under. Anthony Kim set the previous tournament record of 16 under in 2008.

“The golf course just sets up really well for me,” McIlroy said.

Phil Mickelson called McIlroy’s performance this week “impressive.”

McIlroy had another word to describe his play on the back nine.

“Boring,” he said with a laugh.

Unlike his win in 2010, McIlroy didn’t finish in a flurry by carding 3s on the last six holes. On Sunday he played the last half-dozen holes in 1-under.

Then again, he didn’t really need to shoot lights out with nobody chasing him.

“It was a more controlled run,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I’m a more controlled player these days. I’ve learned how to finish things off.”

Rodgers, playing on a sponsor exemption, was the only player to mount any type of a challenge, getting within three shots after a birdie at No. 15. But there was too much ground to make up, and he played the final two holes in 3-over and finished with a 68. Simpson shot a 72.

McIlroy almost didn’t play at Quail Hollow this week, but decided he needed to play more because he needed the FedEx Cup points after the Masters.

The win moved him into third place in the standings.

McIlroy got off to a shaky start with a three-putt bogey on No. 2 – his first in 167 holes – but quickly pulled it together. He didn’t have another bogey until the 17th hole, when he had built a seven-stroke lead and outcome was already decided.

Simpson failed to capitalize on McIlroy’s early mistake, shooting 37 on the front nine that included a double bogey on the par-3 sixth when he three-putted from 8 feet. That dropped the Charlotte resident six shots back and he was never in contention again.

“He’s our best player right now and I wish more than anything I could have shot a couple under on the front to make it more exciting,” Simpson said. “Just didn’t have it today.”

McIlroy reached 20 under on No. 12 when he knocked his approach shot from 132 yards to 2 feet of the cup for a tap-in birdie and it looked as if he might coast the rest of the way.

But Rodgers, who earned his first top-25 finish on the PGA Tour, made it interesting when he played a seven-hole stretch in 6-under par, sparked by an eagle on the par-5 10th hole. But McIlroy didn’t flinch when Rodgers drained a 15-foot putt on No. 15 to pull within three shots of the lead.

Instead, McIlroy countered by rolling in a birdie putt on his own on No. 14, moving to 21 under and regaining a four-shot cushion.

McIlroy then put an exclamation point on the win by drilling his approach shot from 145 yards to 3 feet on No. 16 for his tournament-record 27th birdie.

“I had a goal to go out there and birdie the par 5s and the two drivable par 4s and I knew if I made six birdies there was pretty much no chance that anybody could catch me,” McIlroy said. “With my length and the way I’m driving it, it’s a big advantage around here and it showed this week.”

It also helped having a big lead.

“You can pick and choose where you want to be aggressive,” McIlroy said.

Rodgers ran out of gas on No. 17 when he dunked his tee shot in the water and took a double bogey to fall seven shots back. Still, it was a solid finish for Rodgers, who earned an automatic berth in The Colonial next week by virtue of his top-10 finish.

“It has given me a lot of confidence moving forward,” Rodgers said.

Mickelson finished in a three-way tie for fourth place at 12 under with Gary Woodland and Robert Streb.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Jeff Maggert didn’t let the missed putts haunt him when he faced the most pressurized one of the day.

Maggert won the Regions Tradition on Sunday for his first Champions Tour major title, beating Kevin Sutherland with a 3-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff. He missed from a similar distance on No. 17 and failed to hole other modest putts over the final nine holes in a day-long, back-and-forth Shoal Creek scramble.

“No one likes to miss 3-footers,” Maggert said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a 20-handicapper or a golf pro. When you miss a few of them, you start to second-guess yourself. On 18, I said, `Hey, you missed it, no big deal, on 17. Let’s just go to your routine and your game plan and try to put a good stroke on it.’

“I was nervous, shaking a little bit.”

It didn’t show in his stroke on the straight-on putt.

Sutherland two-putted for bogey to set up Maggert for the winning shot on the 18th hole.

Maggert closed with an even-par 72 to match Sutherland at 14-under 274. Sutherland had a 71.

Maggert’s only previous Champions Tour win came in Mississippi last year in his first start on the 50-and-over tour. He won three times on the PGA Tour, the last in the 2006 St. Jude Classic.

Sutherland had his second runner-up finish of the year and remains stuck at one career win in 544 tournaments spread across the PGA, Champions and Web.com tours.

Maggert won $345,000 and moved into the points lead after the first of five majors.

Sutherland’s tee shot on the playoff hole dropped into the left bunker a few feet from the lip and about 130 yards from the green. His next shot landed near fans lining the fairway and he was left needing a long putt to make par.

Sutherland said a nearly day-long struggle with his driver “reared its ugly head at the last moment and got underneath the lip of the bunker and didn’t have much of a play really. Couldn’t get it to the green.”

He said jitters weren’t a problem, though.

“I was as relaxed as you could possibly be,” Sutherland said. “I was much more relaxed on the 19th hole than I was on the first hole.”

Jeff Hart and Gene Sauers both shot 69 to tie for third at 11 under, three shots back. Michael Allen (68), Bernhard Langer (70), two-time winner Tom Lehman (69) and defending champion Kenny Perry (70) were 9 under.

Both players parred the 18th hole the first time to force the playoff. Maggert needed to make a three-footer to stay alive, similar to the one he missed on the previous hole.

“Second time’s the charm,” Maggert said, adding that the shot on 17 “was a putt that I was expecting to walk up and tap it in.”

It was a change-up after Maggert had birdied the final two holes each of the previous two days.

Maggert’s the first 36-hole leader to hold on for the win at the tournament since Tom Watson in 2003.

Maggert and Sutherland traded birdies on No. 15 to remain deadlocked after jockeying for position the past two days and then set up similar tap-ins on 16.

Sutherland had reclaimed the edge with an eagle on the par-5 third hole, while Maggert bogeyed for a three-stroke turnaround. He regrouped with a birdie on No. 6 while Sutherland had three bogeys on the first nine holes for a 1-over 32.

Maggert had three-putted from five feet on No. 12, saying he had trouble gauging the speed of the greens after overnight rains.

Hart, meanwhile, managed his first top-three finish on the Champions Tour, having finished no better than 29th in his three previous events this season.

He extended his string without a bogey to 54 holes and finished with a birdie. Hart’s two bogeys was the fewest in a Tradition.

“At that point, I didn’t care where I finished,” Hart said. “But I didn’t want to blow the non-bogey string on the final hole.”

Sauers ended with back-to-back birdies. He has finished in the top three over the last two majors he’s played, losing a playoff to Colin Montgomerie in last year’s U.S. Senior Open.