Garrett Rank, the 2014 Men’s Mid-Amateur champion, will be officiating his first NHL game on January 15, 2015, between the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild.
The Elmira, Ont. native signed an NHL officiating contract in late July and has been working American Hockey League (AHL) games since the start of the 2014/15 season.
Having spent the entire 2013/14 campaign officiating in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the 27-year-old seems both excited and nervous for his debut at the pro level.
“The nerves are going to be flowing for sure but I’m really excited for it,” said Rank. “It’s something I’ve been working on for the past four or five years and I’m sure I’ll have a smile on my face and be pretty happy when I’m out there.”
According to Rank, his aspirations of becoming a professional golfer have not expired.
“I’ll have my summers off and I still play a bunch of tournaments. … I haven’t given up on the golf dream; it’s just taking a back seat at the moment.”
The former National Amateur team member is expected to tee it up at next year’s RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, having earned an exemption for the PGA Tour event with his Mid-Am victory earlier this year.
Scott soon to be a father:
Adam Scott announced on Friday that he and his wife, Marie Kojzar, are expecting their first child in February 2015.
Following this week’s Australian PGA, the 2013 Masters champion plans to take a break from competitive play until the birth of his child.
The 34-year-old understands that certain challenges exist with raising an infant, while touring the globe.
“We’re not going to be in one place very long, at the moment, so it’s going to be a traveling baby and have to do with a makeshift bed for the time being,” said Scott.
Iconic cypress topples on Pebble Beach’s 18th hole:
One of the most famous trees in golf took a tumble yesterday, as 40 mile per hour winds swept through the Monterey peninsula.
The cypress tree on the right side of the 18th fairway, which was planted in 2004, will no longer frame the tee shot for golfers as they come down the stretch.
This marks the second time in as many years that an iconic golf course tree has been destroyed by a storm.
Last year, Augusta was forced to remove its beloved Eisenhower tree on 17, after an ice storm ripped through the area.
The Range Ball Bandit:
Nathan Brown, 27, was taken into police custody last week, after he admitted to stealing a large amount of golf balls from the Golfport driving range in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Police have since released details concerning the case, claiming that Brown purportedly stole 42,000 range balls from the site, using the veil of nighttime to accomplish the task.
According to the report, 2,000 of the balls have been recovered and returned, leaving 40,000 balls unaccounted for in the general Missouri area.
Hoosier Madness:
Jeff Overton just cannot stop getting into trouble around NCAA basketball games.
The Hooisers alumnus was allegedly thrown out of the Dec. 9 Indiana-Louisville basketball game at Madison Square Garden for causing a disruption.
This is not the first time that the 31-year-old has gotten into trouble for disorderly conduct.
According to the Evansville Courier and Press, the Evansville, Ind. native was arrested and released on $500 bail for resisting law enforcement, public intoxication and disorderly conduct, following an Indiana-Kentucky game in 2011.