In June 2013, the Golf Canada Calgary Centre was severely impacted by the mass flooding of the Bow River and the disaster that resulted from one of the worst floods in Alberta’s history. Among the many golf clubs and area business affected by the flooding, the Golf Canada Calgary Centre experienced an estimated $2.3 million in damages including a submerged 9 hole par 3 golf course, driving range and a completely destroyed 18 hole natural grass putting course.

On Friday, May 30th the Golf Canada Calgary Centre will show its appreciation for the many volunteers who worked incredibly hard last summer and over the past year to assist in the flood recovery. Without the efforts of these dedicated volunteers, the Golf Centre would not have been able to rebuild and recover so quickly.

“We are thrilled to be where we are today and we recognize we wouldn’t be here without the generous support from our community of volunteers” said Chad Rusnak, Director of Golf Operations at the Calgary Centre. “We cannot put into words how thrilled we are to see all our loyal patrons returning to the facility and its fully restored golf course. Our programs are in full swing and the sun has brought the traffic flow we have long awaited for through the challenging months”.

In addition to representatives from the Golf Canada Calgary Centre, Alberta Golf and the Alberta PGA, a pair of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympians will be on hand to celebrate the grand opening:

Alex Gough:
oTwo-time Winter Olympian in Luge
o2011 & 2013 World Championship bronze medalist (women’s singles)
o2013 World Championship silver medalist (team relay)
o2012 World Championship bronze medalist (team relay)

Mark Arendz:
oTwo-time Winter Olympian in Biathlon & Para-Nordic skiing
o2014 silver medalist (Men’s Biathlon 7.5 km) at 2014 Sochi Paralympics
o2014 bronze medalist (Men’s 12.5 km) at 2014 Sochi Paralympics
oFormer World Cup Paralympic Biathlon champion
o2013 World Champion in 7.5 km biathlon sprint

The celebration will run from 4-7pm and will feature a catered barbeque, free access to PGA of Canada professionals, as well as complimentary gifts from the team.

To read more on the Golf Canada Calgary centre, visit the website

BRAMPTON, Ont. – PGA of Canada professionals Jon Roy and Jeff Overholt have teamed up with Brampton Golf Club to officially launch the first ‘girls only’ National Junior Golf Development Centre (NJGDC).

NJGDCs are a joint initiative between Golf Canada and PGA of Canada professionals to offer juniors a permanent home to develop their skills and golfing interests. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, each centre accommodates those pursuing the competitive stream as well as those practicing for a more recreational approach to the sport.

In this case, Overholt & Roy are focused on providing young females the opportunity to focus on golf in a girls only setting. The welcoming atmosphere should help address any concern of a barrier for girls to enter the sport.

“We found there was an opportunity to create a structure to take girls’ golf games to the next level,” explained Overholt. “There’s a gap between the number of girls, especially at the competitive level, and we thought this program will help fix a disconnect we’ve seen. Other programs are already in place for different sports like hockey or baseball, but this is the first for golf.”

Brampton Golf Club will host an information night on June 2^nd between 6:30-8:30pm for all interested parents and juniors. Brittany Marchand, member of the National Women’s Amateur team, will be in attendance to endorse the program. Marchand is also a member at Brampton GC and is fresh off of competing at the NCAA Championship to close out her collegiate career at N.C. State.

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If you are a parent looking for a golf program in your area, consider using the look-up tool on the Golf Canada Juniors website. All NJGDCs, CN Future Links Facilities, and corresponding programs are listed based on proximity to the user’s postal code.

FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf Association today announced that 25 additional golfers, including 2000 U.S. Open runner-up Miguel Angel Jimenez, have earned full exemptions into the 2014 U.S. Open Championship, to be played June 12-15 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2, in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. These exemptions bring the number of fully exempt players to 75.

All 25 exemptions were awarded to players who earned a place in the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 26. Jimenez, who tied for second with Ernie Els, 15 strokes behind Tiger Woods in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, is ranked No. 27. He has played in 12 previous U.S. Opens and has two top 10s, including a tie for sixth in the 2008 U.S. Open, also won by Woods, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

The other players who earned full exemptions through the current Official World Golf Ranking are: Thomas Bjorn, Jonas Blixt, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Harris English, Matthew Every, Stephen Gallacher, Russell Henley, Thongchai Jaidee, Matt Jones, Chris Kirk, Pablo Larrazabal, Joost Luiten, Francesco Molinari, Ryan Moore, Ryan Palmer, Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed, John Senden, Kevin Stadler, Richard Sterne, Brendon Todd, Jimmy Walker and Lee Westwood.

Todd moved up six positions in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 57 by tying for fifth in the PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, which ended May 25. Larrazabal climbed seven spots to No. 59 in the OWGR after tying for seventh in the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship last weekend. The number of fully exempt golfers may increase with the inclusion of the top 60 players from the OWGR as of Monday, June 9.

The first two sectional qualifiers for the 2014 U.S. Open were held May 26, in Japan, where six spots in the 156-player field were determined, and in Surrey, England, where 14 players qualified. Those 20 players are in addition to the 75 fully exempt players listed below.

Sectional qualifying in the United States, at 36 holes, will take place at 10 sites on Monday, June 2. The sites are: Lake Merced Golf Club & The Olympic Club (Ocean Course), Daly City, Calif.; Quail Valley Golf Club, Vero Beach, Fla.; Ansley Golf Club (Settindown Creek Course), Roswell, Ga.; Woodmont Country Club (North & South Courses), Rockville, Md.; Old Oaks Country Club & Century Country Club, Purchase, N.Y.; Brookside Golf & Country Club & Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio; Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ohio; Emerald Valley Golf Club, Creswell, Ore.; Colonial Country Club (North & South Courses), Memphis, Tenn., and Lakeside Country Club, Houston, Texas.

Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2 is hosting the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open in back-to-back weeks in June, the first time the championships will be held in consecutive weeks on the same course. The U.S. Open was previously held at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999 (won by Payne Stewart) and 2005 (won by Michael Campbell).

A list of the 75 golfers fully exempt into the 2014 U.S. Open as of May 26 (not including the 20 international sectional qualifiers) is below. It can also be found here.

It is with great sadness that Golf Canada, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and the entire golf community mourns the loss of Richard (Dick) Grimm, who passed away on May 26, 2014 at the age of 91.

Born April 29, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, Dick Grimm was affectionately known as ‘Mr. Canadian Open’ during his involvement with Canada’s National Open Championship from 1965 to 1993. One of Canadian golf’s finest ambassadors, Grimm put his heart and soul into the game, giving much of the credit for his own success to the thousands of volunteers that he believed were the driving force in Canadian golf.

“On behalf of the entire golf community including the golfers, associations, sponsors, employees and volunteers whose lives he touched, we are extremely saddened by the passing of Dick Grimm,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “Dick’s contributions to the game of golf were outstanding and his legacy will forever live on as a leader, a gentleman, a mentor, a supporter of the game and one of the finest ambassadors Canadian golf has ever known. Although it’s a sad day for Canadian golf, his friends and his family, we join in celebrating the life and the many deserving accomplishments of ‘Mr. Canadian Open’.”

Grimm was a former governor and past president (1974) of the Royal Canadian Golf Association (now operating as Golf Canada) and had also served as commissioner of the Canadian Tour (now operating as PGA Tour Canada).

In 1993, Grimm was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and since that time has been acknowledged with countless awards, honours and accolades across sport and Canadian golf.

Credited with a vision for the Canadian Open, he served as Chairman of the Open in 1965, 1979, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981. He became Director of Professional Tournaments for the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1983, a position he continued in until 1993 when he left to take on the role of Commissioner of the Canadian Tour.

Along with (former RCGA governors) Bruce Forbes and John Marshall, Grimm worked with Genstar Corporation to build Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. and establish it as the home of the Canadian Open from 1977 to 2000. He was a key driver behind retaining golf legend Jack Nicklaus as the architect, Jack’s first solo design.

He also worked closely with the Leonard Shore Foundation to bring about the building of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, located on the grounds of Glen Abbey Golf Club.

After retirement, he continued to be very active in the game, serving on a number of committees with the RCGA and the Golf Association of Ontario while also representing local golf courses and staying actively involved with the Golf Historical Society of Canada. His many awards and recognition includes being a member of the Captain’s club at the Memorial, a member of the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame and the Oakville Sports Hall of Fame.

“On behalf of the PGA of Canada’s 3,700 members, I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dick Grimm,” said PGA of Canada CEO Gary Bernard. “For his entire career Mr. Grimm was a huge proponent of the PGA of Canada professional and we will all miss him very much.”

The GAO introduced the Dick Grimm Award for Volunteer of the Year in 2011 and the PGA of Canada presented Dick with the inaugural George Cumming Distinguished Service award in 2012. Among his many other acknowledgements, Grimm has also been honoured by the Golf Journalist’s Association of Canada as well as Sport Media Canada.

His wife, Karen, has been a true companion for their 40 year marriage, working with him at the Canadian Open and tirelessly assisting him through his recent illnesses and passing.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 30^th at 12:30pm at Temple Har Zion on Bayview Avenue in Thornhill, Ont.

Temple Har Zion
7360 Bayview Ave.
Thornhill, ON
L3T 2R7

With the golf season in full swing, Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada and title sponsor CN are anxiously awaiting the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event.

Taking place on Sept. 27^th, the National event brings together the top juniors from across Canada who have achieved the highest scores in their respective age groups. All results are uploaded to a national leaderboard, making the results public so that juniors and parents can see how they stack up against the competition.

The CN Future Links team will invite 24 of the top scorers to attend the event at The Angus Glen Golf Club in Toronto, the site of the 2014 World Junior Girls Championship. The list of invitees will be split up as follows:

• Girls 11 and under (5 players)
• Boys 11 and under (5 players)
• Girls 12 to 14 (4 players)
• Boys 12 to 14 (4 players)
• Girls 15 to 18 (3 players)
• Boys 15 to 18 (3 players)

CN is proud to give juniors the chance to partake in friendly Skills Challenge events through the safe, affordable programming of CN Future Links. The National Event is a celebration for juniors across Canada to be involved with the experience of friendly competition against some of the country’s top juniors.

Each participant will receive a travel subsidy from CN of $500, along with a welcome package from Titleist valued at $200. The winners of each age group will also receive an additional package from Titleist, valued at $300.

In addition, the male and female winner of the 15-18 event will be given an exemption into their local 2015 CN Future Links Championship event. So far this season, Golf Canada has hosted two CN Future Links Championships (Pacific, Ontario), boasting some of the best junior talent from across Canada.

PGA of Canada instructors running CN Future Links are encouraged to host Skills Challenge events to help their aspiring juniors earn a ticket to the National Event.

For more information on the event, visit the website or contact Adam Hunter, program coordinator at Golf Canada.

Earlier this season we shared the story of a Collingwood woman who recorded 2-holes-in one back in March at the Renaissance Golf Club in Fort Myers, Fla. 

Against all odds it happened again this past Thursday for a Victoria Man at Bear Mountain resort.

The 67-year-old Bear Mountain Resort member first conquered the 163-yard par-3 10th hole on the Valley Course with his 6-iron. Just four holes later, he brought the 135-yard 14th to its knees with an 8-iron, both struck crisply and witnessed by partners Keith Walsh and Gordon Barnes.

“It was an exceptional day today, I guess you can say – two holes-in-one in one day, in one round, is unbelievable.” said Swonell.

The odds of it happening are also astronomical. Back in 1999, Golf Digest reported that one insurance company placed the odds of an amateur making two holes-in-one in one round at 9,222,500 to 1.

The National Hole-In-One Registry currently has those odds at 67 million to 1.

Read more here from the Times Colonist >>

I travelled to Nova Scotia in early May, just as many clubs were opening or had opened and still faced some winter weather conditions as winter dragged its feet transitioning to spring. Courses for the most part wintered fairly well considering the snow and severe cold of this past winter.

There are some exciting events and programs going on in this province to encourage more women to join in the fun of playing golf. Sara Wilson, a PGA of Canada professional, has started the Metro Ladies Golf Group and now has approximately 50 ladies ready to learn about the game from Wilson who will teach them swing skills and other components of the game such as scoring and tracking their progress with GolfFun, as part of a Golf Canada’s pilot project. They will also learn about playing the game at a club from the moment the women step out of the car to finishing and posting scores at the end of the round. It is time to take the intimidation factor out of this game and provide a great golf experience for women and an opportunity to meet women with like interests in taking up the game. During my visit, I had an opportunity to meet and speak with some of the prospective league players, and this league I believe will fill such a void in women’s golf. I look forward to hearing about all the fun and successes by these women this season. More information on the league can be found here via their website. They can also be followed on Twitter @LadiesGolfHFC.

On Saturday, May 24^th the Nova Scotia Golf Association hosted a “Women’s Learn to Golf Summit” which sold out in a couple of days. The attendees passed through several learning stations encompassing swing skills and other facets of playing the game so that women will feel comfortable driving into a golf course to play a round. Karen Furneaux, 3-time Olympian, 2-time World Champion Kayaker, and relatively new golfer was on hand to share her experiences as an elite athlete, tips for success and taking up golf. Hopefully this Summit will be the first of many to expose more women to learn about the game and meet friends that they can enjoy the game with for life. Congrats to all the participants who braved the cold temperatures that keep reminding us it is just May.

I also had an opportunity to meet with several clubs during my stay onsite and through a focus group to discuss various topics around membership. I had a chance to make it up to the Northumberland coast for the first time and visited Northumberland Links and Fox Harb’r Golf Resort. Both clubs are built on beautiful rolling terrain with incredible coastal views. Actually, every club that I have seen boasts great geography and fine layouts. Great golf and seafood…sounds like the start of a perfect summer vacation plan.

In addition, the Nova Scotia Golf Association held their annual Spring Meeting on May 4^th at Hartlen Point Golf Club. With the hiring of Andrew Noseworthy, PGA of Canada Professional, to head up sport development the NSGA players will be ready to take on this season with some fresh perspective.   A new adult event, The Atlantic Championship, will be held at Bell Bay in August of this year with individual and team categories. It sounds like players will be eagerly gearing up to qualify for this event to take on New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland. The NSGA is working diligently throughout the province to provide players with value for their membership and a great golf experience…why not be a part of it???

Minett, Ont. – The competition proved to be tough in the second CN Future Links championship of the 2014 season, CN Future Links Ontario. Team Canada Development Squad member Naomi Ko, 16, of Victoria, B.C. and Sun Kim, 16, of L’Ile-Perrot, Que. claimed their division titles at The Rock Golf Club in Minett, Ont. on Sunday.

Ko claimed the Junior Girls title in a playoff after trailing runner-up finisher Selena Costabile, 15, of Thornhill, Ont. by one stroke over the course of the championship’s first two rounds. Ko finished the championship with a final score of 2-over-par 215 after rounds of 70-73-72. 

“I know that Selena is a great player so you never know what could happen in this kind of situation,” Ko said. “I think I had an advantage on the playoff hole because I was going for the green on two, so that was definitely a game changer. But they put some tough pin placements out there this week too.”

Ko has proved to be an exceptional amateur competitor, claiming third in the CN Future Links Pacific Championship, as well as a top-10 finish on the Canadian Women’s Tour earlier this month. Grace St-Germain , 15, of Ottawa placed third in this weekend’s championship, followed by Team Canada Development Squad member Valérie Tanguay in fifth. 

In the Junior Boys division, Kim faced equally tough competition. A tie with Tyler Saunders of Sturgeon County, Alta. in Friday’s first round then led to a lead by Saunders in yesterday’s second round of play. Kim continued his strong play during the final round, scoring 1-under-par 70 for a final 212 total after rounds of 69-73-70. 

“Off the tee it’s very challenging on this course,” Kim said, “Once you miss the fairway it’s really tough to recover, but I just stuck to my game plan and I think I played really well.” 

Trent Abraham, 18, of Burlington, Trevor Ranton, 17, of Waterloo, Ont. and Bryce Evon, 18, of Windsor, Ont. shared second place at 3-over-par 216.  Saunders shared fifth with Tyler Nagano, 15, of Toronto.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each of six regional CN Future Links Championship being held in 2014 earn exemptions into the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested July 28 – August 1 at the Legends on the Niagara (Battlefield Course) in Niagara Falls, Ont. The Junior Girls champion from each 2014 CN Future Links Championship earns an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship which runs July 28 – August 1 at Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont. In addition, the Junior Girls champion receives an exemption into a 2014 Canadian Women’s Tour event.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Colin Montgomerie won the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday, finishing with a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory over 64-year-old Tom Watson.

It marked Montgomerie’s first victory as senior, his first win in seven years and his first in an official event in the United States. He also claimed a senior major in his fifth attempt, something he didn’t accomplish in 71 majors in his regular tour days.

The 51-year-old Scot finished at 13-under 261 at Harbor Shores. The victory was his first since he took the 2007 European Open for his 31st European Tour title.

Watson also closed with a 65.

Jay Haas and Bernhard Langer tied for third at 7 under. Haas had a 67, and Langer shot 70.

Montgomerie offered some comic relief on the final hole when he pulled his final approach some 20 yards only to get a bounce off the grandstand. The ball rolled to the middle of the green to set up a tap-in par.

Watson put a charge in the tournament when he made birdies on the second and fifth holes and started the back nine with consecutive birdies to pull within one shot of the lead. He missed a 4-foot birdie putt at the short par-5 15th hole that would have put him within one shot again.

Montgomerie made a charge of his own. He birdied Nos. 8, 9 and 10 and, with precise iron shots and clutch putting, also made birdies at 12, 14 and 15 to pull away.

He will head home to Scotland for a few weeks with a first-place check of $378,000 and his name will go on the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy. The win also netted him a lifetime exemption to the Senior PGA Championship, and 2014 exemptions for the PGA Championship, Senior British Open and U.S. Senior Open.

Watson, who made a bid to be the oldest player to win a senior event of any kind, had five consecutive pars to end his round while missing several birdie chances.

Stephen Ames carded 71 on the final day to claim 15th place.

MOBILE, Ala. – Jessica Korda won her first LPGA Tour title two years in Australia and opened this season with another victory in the Bahamas. On Sunday, the 21-year-old Florida got one on her home turf with a back-nine charge in the Airbus LPGA Classic.

“It’s very sweet,” Korda said. “Finally on U.S. soil and somewhat close to Florida. I definitely wish that I could have at least shared it with my parents, but I know that they’re watching. My brother’s playing a tennis tournament right now and my sister’s trying for a U.S. Open qualifier, so we’re kind of scattered all over the place, but I can’t wait to go home and share this with them.”

Korda, whose father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open tennis tournament and mother, Regina Raichrtova, also played pro tennis, birdied four of the final five holes, making a breaking 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke victory over Anna Nordqvist.

Korda played the back nine in 6-under 30 to finish at 20-under 268 on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove complex.

“It just sets up great for my game,” said Korda, who shot 20 under in this event last year and tied for second. “I can be aggressive. I can read the greens. My confidence just was rising every single day. I just love it here. I love Alabama, I love this golf course, and hopefully we’ll have this tournament for a very, very long time.”

Nordqvist also birdied the 18th and finished with a 69.

Michelle Wie, 18-year-old Charley Hull and 44-year-old Catriona Matthew tied for third at 18 under. Wie and Hull shot 67, and Matthew had a 69.

Wie played alongside Korda and Hull.

“I love playing with Korda,” Wie said. “It’s also really great playing with Charley as well, too. You feel old but it was a lot of fun.”

Wie, the winner last month in Hawaii, has seven top-10 finishes in 10 starts this year.

“I knew I needed a low score,” Wie said. “I got hot starting on and just didn’t quite get it together on the back nine, but still I shot 5 under today and there’s really nothing I can do. I’m just really happy for Korda. I had a lot of fun playing with her and I knew I needed a low number and I just didn’t hit it low enough.”

Korda started the day three strokes behind 54-hole leader Nordqvist and managed only one birdie on the front nine.

“Yesterday was a little frustrating because I was always around the hole and same thing actually on the front nine, watching Michelle make putt after putt after putt and mine were just kind of missing,” Korda said. “I was like, OK, it’s time to drop now. Then they started dropping on the back nine. It was a really relaxed day, so I really enjoyed the walk.”

She birdied Nos. 10 and 12 to join a six-way tie for the lead, with three more players just one shot off the pace in the birdie-fest.

“Charley was making birdies, Michelle was making birdies and everybody behind us was making birdies, so I knew I had to keep making birdies,” Korda said.

Korda broke out of that logjam with a curling downhill birdie putt at the 14th hole, then took the lead for good with a 25-foot birdie on No. 15.

She protected that small lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th and her closing birdie on the 18th.

“That last putt broke really hard,” Korda said. “I probably played it about a yard out and I was just trying to get it down there close and it went in. I have not played well since I won in the Bahamas but I’ve been working hard and it finally paid off here.”

Second-ranked Stacy Lewis had a 71 to tie for 10th at 15 under. She needed a solo third or higher to take the top spot in the world from Inbee Park.

Young Pro Squad Member, Jennifer Kirby, shoots 70 in the final round to end the Airbus LPGA Classic tied for 43rd.