Minett, Ont. – The Rock Golf Course in Minett, Ont., will play host to the second CN Future Links Championship event of 2014 – the CN Future Links Ontario Championship – which will be held May 22-25, with a practice round being staged on Thursday, May 22.

The 54-hole stroke play championship will feature the country’s top junior golfers aged 11-18. Players will vie for titles in a Junior Boys and Junior Girls division, respectively.

“We are excited to be in Muskoka for the CN Future Links Ontario Championship,” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Cam Crawford. “With so many Team Canada Development Squad members, as well as other CN Future Links veterans, this championship should prove to be both exciting and challenging for the competitors.”

In the Junior Girls division Team Canada Development Squad members Valérie Tanguay, 18, of St. Hyacinthe, Que. and Naomi Ko, 16, of Victoria will look to continue their strong play from the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. Earlier this month, Tanguay captured the season-opening event in a playoff, while Ko finished third. On the Junior Boys side, Team Canada Development Squad member Carter Simon of Sutton, Ont., returns to defend his CN Future Links Ontario title from 2013. Tyler Saunders of Sturgeon County, Alta., will also look to improve on his third place finish at CN Future Links Pacific.

The Rock Golf Club opened in 2004 and was Nick Faldo’s first Canadian design course. The Rock has previously played host to the Ontario PGA Class ‘A’ Championship in 2009 where golfers battled for a coveted spot on PGA Team Ontario.

“The Rock takes pride in helping to build the game of golf in Canada, and in doing so we recognize that growing junior golf is imperative to that,” said Spencer Morland, Director of Instruction and Associate Golf Professional at The Rock Golf Course. “There is nothing better than hosting competitive junior events to carry on our tradition of being family-friendly and a great home for junior golfers.”

Team Canada’s Development Squad will be well represented at The Rock in both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls divisions. The men’s side will be represented by defending champion, Carter Simon, 18, of Sutton, Ont., along with Étienne Papineau, 17, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and Matt Williams, 18, of Calgary, Alta.

From the Women’s Development Squad, the field includes Tanguay, Ko and Sabrine Garrison, 18, of Calgary, Alta.

In 2013, Carter Simon won the CN Future Links Ontario Championship at the Listowel Golf Club, while Matt Williams placed first in the 2012 championship at the Loyalist Golf and Country Club in Bath, Ont. Maddie Szeryk , the 2013 CN Future Links Ontario Junior Girls champion, will not be in the field at this year’s event.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championship will 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 CN Future Links Championship will earn an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, which runs July 28 – August 1 at the Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont.

The CN Future Links Junior Golf Championships are part of CN’s ongoing partnership with Golf Canada and their commitment to junior golf. Focused on supporting safe and fun activities that have a positive impact on children’s health and well being, CN’s investment in CN Future Links is helping to increase grassroots junior golf participation in communities across Canada. In addition, the Junior Girls champion will receive an exemption into a Canadian Women’s Tour event.

The CN Future Links tournament schedule also includes the CN Future Links Prairie Championship (May 29 – June 1 at Shilo Country Club in Westman, Man.), the CN Future Links Western Championship (July 1- 4 at Birchbank Golf Course in Trail, B.C.), the CN Future Links Quebec Championship (July 7 – 10 at Club de Golf Continental in Ste-Victoire de Sorel, Qué.), and the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship (July 13 – 16 at Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, N.L.).

For more information on the 2014 CN Future Links Ontario Championship, click here. 

UXBRIDGE, Ont. — Vaughn, Ont.’s Tony Gil and Thornhill, Ont.’s Selena Costabile each earned comeback wins this long weekend at the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) 2014 Investors Group Junior Spring Classic.

Gil entered the final round tied with fellow Team Canada National Development Team member Carter Simon. Gil went on to score one of the best rounds of the day, a 4-under 68, to finish the tournament at 7-under. As for Simon, the Sutton, Ont. resident carded an 1-under 71 for a tournament total of 4-under.

“My iron play was right on throughout the week.  I made a lot of good putts and didn’t make any big mistakes, so it was a good week for me,” said Gil. “The first three birdies on 10, 11 and 12 was a confidence booster and turned my game on. I was a little nervous on the first tee and cold topped it but I just thought to myself that there were 17 holes to go and anything could happen.”

At 16-years-old, Gil also captured the juvenile division title.

Finishing in a tie for third at 3-under for the tournament were Waterloo’s Trevor Ranton and Cayuga’s Charles Corner. In fifth was Mississauga’s Conner Watt.

Over at Sleepy Hollow, in Stouffville, Ont., Alyssa Getty of Kingsville, Ont. began the day with a single shot lead going into the final round. Selena Costabile edged the lead from her with a birdie-birdie start. Costabile continued on to birdie four on the back nine and finished with a confortable three-shot victory. She ended the day 3-under for a tournament total of 2-under.

“I played really well today which helped me close the victory,” said Costabile. “My putts were rolling really well the past three days and most of the credit for my win is because of my putting. After nine holes I was behind but once I started making those birdies on the back nine I knew I had a good chance to win. Birdieing my first two holes, especially the second, was a huge confidence boost, even though I double bogeyed six. I was able to make a few good putts later and it all turned out ok.”

Finishing third was Toronto’s Ana Peric. Pickering’s Crystina Kertsos and Markham’s Stephanie Chu tied for fourth.

The Investors Group Junior Spring Classic Championship is a 54-hole stroke-play competition contested annually over the Victoria Day long weekend that features many of Ontario’s best male and female junior golfers. The field of competitors gained entry to the competition through a qualifying process earlier in the season.

Full Leaderboard and Scorecards – Investors Group Junior Spring Classic, Boys

Full Leaderboard, Info and Scorecards – Investors Group Junior Spring Classic, Girls

MANAKIN-SABOT, Va – Canada’s Sue Kim, Rebecca Lee Bentham, Jessica Wallace and amateurs Brooke Henderson and Elizabeth Tong qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open on Monday.

Henderson, playing at the qualifier in Manakin-Sabot, Va., totaled a score of 140 through two rounds en route to capturing medalist honours. This year’s U.S. Women’s Open will mark the third LPGA major tournament for the Smiths Falls, Ont. native – she played in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open and this year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Joining Henderson are Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. and Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ont. Both Kim and Lee-Bentham were recently named to Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad. Kim, 23, carded a 142 and Lee-Bentham, 22, was three strokes behind with a 145.

Wallace, a Langley, B.C. native, became one of three who qualified at the Dunwoody, Ga., event. The 23-year-old finished with a 148 through two rounds.

Tong, a Thornhill, Ont., native, qualified with 148 at the Winnetka, Ill., event. The 21-year-old Indiana University student will join Henderson in the field as an amateur.

Also to note, Canada’s A. Ram Choi of Surrey, B.C., will be listed as an alternate player after carding a 151 at the Seattle, Wash., qualifier. Choi is a junior for the Portland State Vikings.

All five Canadians will head to North Carolina from June 17-22 to tee-it-up at the famous Pinehurst No. 2 golf course.

For all sectional qualifier results, click here.

To cap off the week, Henderson got word on Tuesday that she earned a sponsor exemption to play in the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic for a second straight year. In 2013, the National Squad member fared well with a promising T35 finish.

With the announcement, Henderson becomes the seventh Canadian set to compete at the Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ont., from June 4-8. She will be joined by veteran professionals Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc. Also in attendance will be the three members of the Young Pro Squad – Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Sue Kim and Jennifer Kirby.

BETHESDA, Md.— Tiger Woods still doesn’t know when he’ll return. For a while, he didn’t know whether he would return at all.

Woods said Monday his back injury became so debilitating this year it caused him to doubt his ability to play golf again.

“Forget about playing golf at the highest level. I couldn’t get out of bed,” Woods said. “I was certainly doubtful at that point. What’s it going to feel like? Am I going to be pain free? Am I going to be able to actually do this again, where I can to get out of bed, and go out there and play with my kids and play golf? All those things were up in the air.”

Woods said the doubt was erased after microdiscectomy surgery March 31. He said the procedure, which relieved pain from a pinched nerve, provided immediate relief, although he said there’s still “no timetable” for his return to golf – or even for taking a full swing. As of now, he remains limited to chipping and putting.

“It’s not going to be up to me whether I play or not, it’s going to be up to my docs,” Woods said. “Obviously, I want to play now.”

Speaking at Congressional Country Club in his role as host of next month’s Quicken Loans National, Woods even joked that he wished he could join reporters on the course for their media day rounds – “even though I don’t like to play with you guys.”

But he offered no hint that he might be anything more than an onlooker for the Quicken Loans tournament on June 26-29 – or at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst two weeks earlier. He’s already missed the Masters for the first time.

To hear Woods, known for unyielding resolve, give voice to doubts is certainly unusual. But this injury is different from those he has endured before. He said rehab has been tedious and it’s a challenge simply not to join in when his children want to play sports.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, “I am damn good at video games.”

When Woods does return, he’ll resume his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories. Woods, 38, sounded as if the surgery has given him a new lease to keep playing for a good while.

“I would like to, as all athletes, go out on my own terms,” Woods said. “And ultimately I want to continue playing at an elite level as long as I deem I want to do it. For some guys it’s in their 60s and 70s, and other guys it’s in their 40s and 50s.

“But prior to the surgery, I didn’t think I would have much of a playing career if I felt like this. … Now that I’ve had the procedure, I’m excited about what the prospects hold, and if I’m able to feel this way, I’m excited about my career. I’m able to do what I want to do for as long as I want to.”

ROANOKE, Va. – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson captured the Scott Robertson Memorial on Sunday with a one-stroke advantage over runner-up Emily Campbell of Carrollton, Tex.

Henderson, a Smiths Falls, Ont., native, carded a four-under 209 (68-72-69), recording nine birdies at the Roanoke Country Club on her way to the title. She was the lone Canadian playing in the girls 15-18 event.

Henderson joins an impressive list of past Scott Robertson champions, including professional stars Paula Creamer, Webb Simpson and Hunter Mahan.

With the win, Henderson adds to an impressive year that features a win at the South Atlantic Amateur and a T26 finish at the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 16-year-old entered the tournament as the No. 3 ranked female amateur in the world according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). This finish could see her catapult to the top.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

GREER, S.C. – Max Homa won the BMW Charity Pro-Am on Sunday for his first Web.Com Tour title, closing with an 8-under 63 at Thornblade Club for a one-stroke victory over Jonathan Randolph.

Homa, the NCAA individual medalist last year for California, finished at 20-under 266 in the three-course event and earned $117,000 to jump from 64th to ninth on the money list with $142,155.

“It’s surreal. It’s emotional,” Homa said. “I didn’t win a lot in college and to come out and do it quickly means a lot to me and gives me a lot of confidence for wherever I may wind up at the end of the year.”

Homa turned professional last year after the helping the United States win the Walker Cup. He eagled the par-5 second hole and had six birdies in his bogey-free round.

“This course fit my eye better than the others for some reason,” Homa said. “It was a huge start. It really set the tone because I didn’t have to play catch-up too much. It really calmed my nerves. I knew I had to keep my emotions in check.”

Randolph also finished with a 63.

Blayne Barber, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the South Georgia Classic, tied for third with Jon Curran and Kyle Reifers. Barber had a 67, and Curran and Reifers shot 66.

Homa and celebrity partner Janet Jones-Gretzky tied for ninth in the pro-am portion of the event at 35 under. Canadian pro Adam Hadwin and hockey great Wayne Gretzky won at 44 under. Individually, Hadwin finished at 10-under and tied for 36th. The only Canadian in the field to top Hadwin was Roger Sloan. Sloan finished tied for 18th at 13-under.

“She was so nice and it was cool playing with her,” Homa said about Jones-Gretzky. “It was fun to compete with her. It was great playing with someone so famous because I got to fly under the radar while she was getting all of the attention from the television cameras and fans.”

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Marissa Steen won the Friends of Mission Charity Classic on Sunday for her second Symetra Tour victory of the year.

The 24-year-old former University of Memphis player closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 8-under 208 at the Country Club of Asheville.

“I’m on Cloud 9,” Steen said. “Just to see all of the hard work pay off because my motto has always been, `Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’

“I’ve always kind of been the underdog. I wasn’t the most highly ranked college player or amateur player but I’ve always worked my butt off. All of the sacrifice my family has made, my swing coach, the whole support system around me has been unreal and I couldn’t do anything without them.”

Also the Guardian Retirement winner in April in Florida, she earned $15,000 to jump from second to first on the money list with $50,467. The final top 10 will earn 2015 LPGA Tour cards.

“It’s huge,” Steen said. “I was joking before that money talks, but it does and that’s what it’s about at the end of the day out here as much as we don’t want it to be it is so to get two wins and a couple of more top 10s on top of it has been huge.”

Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu was second, four strokes back after a 70. She won the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Charity Classic last week in South Carolina and was in position to win a $1 million bonus with a victory Sunday and another next week in the Symetra Classic in Charlotte.

Canada’s Natalie Gleadall finished at 1-under and tied for 6th at 215. The other Canadian to make the cut was Jessica Wallace. She finished at 4-over  220 and tied for 36th.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.– Lizette Salas won the Kingsmill Championship on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, finishing with even-par 71 for a four-stroke victory.

The 24-year-old former Southern California player was never really challenged in the final round on the River Course. She started the day with a three-shot lead and doubled it with birdies on the par-5 third and par-3 fifth. A bogey on the par-4 eighth was her only hiccup – and only her third bogey in four rounds – until she three-putted the par-3 17th.

She finished at 13-under 271 and earned $195,000.

Salas, who has had several near misses, cupped her head in her hands and covered her face in celebration after the final putt fell, but her winning moment was quickly interrupted by a champagne, water and wine shower from fellow competitors.

“I was patient, I was happy, and I was ready most importantly,” she said on the green. “I took a different approach this week of not thinking so much and trying to be perfect.”

This year, Salas tied for third in the season-opening event in the Bahamas and shared the lead after three rounds in the Kia Classic in California, but Anna Nordqvist closed with a 5-under 67 to win by one.

Last year, playing alongside winner Inbee Park in the final group of the Kraft Nabisco, Salas shot 79 to tie for 25th. Two weeks later, Salas lost a playoff to Suzann Pettersen in the LPGA LOTTE in Hawaii. Salas chunked her approach into the water on the first extra hole after closing with a tournament-record 62.

Yani Tseng, seeking her first victory since 2012, got within three with three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, but she finished with two pars and a double bogey for a 69, expanding Salas’ lead to five shots.

Tseng tied for second with Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson and Sarah Jane Smith. Thompson had a 69, and Smith shot 66 – the best round of the day.

Tseng nearly made it very interesting at the par-5 15th, but her eagle putt stopped just short of the cup.

“One more roll it will be in,” she said. “I know if I make that I have a good chance.”

Alena Sharp finished as top Canadian. The Hamilton, Ont. native finished 5-0ver and tied for 60th. Lorie Kane was a shot back at 6-over. She tied for 62nd. Maude Aimee LeBlanc finished 74th at 11-over.

GIRONA, Spain – Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Spanish Open on Sunday after a three-way playoff to become the European Tour’s first winner over the age of 50.

Jimenez extended his own record as the oldest European Tour winner at 50 years and 133 days old.

“There is no secret,” Jimenez said. “Good food, good wine, good cigars and some exercise.”

Jimenez beat Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Australia’s Richard Green in a playoff after he was the only one to make par on the first extra hole. All three players finished on 4-under 284.

It was the Spaniard’s 21st European Tour win and his second of the season after he won at Hong Kong in December, also following a playoff, at the age of 49 years, 337 days.

Pieters led by two shots going into the final round at the PGA Catalunya Resort but only managed a 3-over 75 despite an eagle on No. 15. Jimenez shot a 73, while Green carded 72.

It was the first win for Jimenez at the tournament in 27 appearances.

“There’s no words to describe what it means to me, you need to be into my skin but I’m not going to let you,” joked Jimenez. “It’s amazing. I have been close a couple of times. Today it was very tough out there but I got it in the end.”

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kenny Perry won his third Champions Tour major in the past year with a one-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia on Sunday in the Regions Tradition.

Perry closed with an even-par 72 at Shoal Creek to finish at 7-under 281, while other contenders had up-and-down days and John Cook lost the lead with a double hit.

Perry bogeyed No. 15 but retook the lead with a birdie on the next hole and lined up an easy par putt on the closing hole.

Calcavecchia finished with a 70. Two-time winner Tom Lehman closed with a 67 to tie Jay Haas at 5 under. Haas closed with a 71. Cook’s closing 72 put him three strokes back.

Perry got his sixth victory and became the second player to win in three consecutive Champions Tour major starts, joining Gary Player, who did it in 1987-88.

Perry won the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year, then skipped the Senior British Open.

It was the highest score for a Tradition winner.

Fred Couples was disqualified Sunday after missing his tee time. He was 9 over after a 73 Saturday, his best round. Couples also withdrew from the Senior PGA next week at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Cook’s double bogey on No. 14 cost him the lead.

Cook’s ball was buried deep in the right bunker just under the lip, and appeared to ricochet backward before winding up a couple of feet out of the sand.

Tour officials reviewed the bunker shot using phone video shot by an event staffer and determined that Cook hit it again on his back swing.

“Golf Channel didn’t have a great view of it but there was someone with the event who was shooting social media video of it that had a face-on angle, and it was clear that he double hit it,” said Brian Claar, the Champions Tour’s vice president for competition.

Cook declined a chance to review it himself and said he hadn’t been sure what happened.

“That was bizarre,” he said. “I told Todd, my caddie, `You better move that bag because if this ball hits the lip it could go anywhere.’ And that’s what I thought it did. I didn’t hear anything. All I felt was my club hitting the lip of the bunker and then the sand catching the club.

“Evidently in all that, it hit my club head. I’m good with that. If it shows on TV, I can honestly say I didn’t feel anything but I don’t want to take something that wasn’t there.”

Cook returned a couple of weeks ago after a 10-week layoff because of a fractured rib in his back.

“If someone would have said that I’d have a one-shot lead with five to play this week, I’d have said, `You’re nuts,'” he said.

Calcavecchia had another near-miss at Shoal Creek. He had bogeys on Nos. 9 and 13 after missing short putts, and said he missed five during the week of 3 feet or less.

“I’ve never won a tournament doing that and I don’t think anybody has,” Calcavecchia said

He led after 36 and 54 holes at Shoal Creek in 2011 before a final-round 75 cost him a lead that had ballooned as high as six strokes.

Calcavecchia was plagued by nagging rib problems that pained him after swings.

“I was hurting all day,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure if he’d play in the Senior PGA.

On the Canadian front, Rod Spittle claimed a share of 31st at 4-over 292. Jim Rutledge was 10-over and tied for 53rd.