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EUROPEAN TOUR
Johannes Veerman overcame a five stroke deficit to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge after hometown favourite Aldrich Potgieter bogeyed the final hole, giving the American his second career European Tour title. It is his first win since 2021 when the 209th-ranked player in the world captured the title at the Czech Masters. Potgieter, who got a free drop after putting his approach shot into the rough near the grandstand on No. 18, missed a 10-foot birdie putt for the win and the subsequent short par putt which would have forced a playoff. Potgieter finished in a tie for second with Matthew Jordan and Romain Langasque. …Mackenzie Hughes recorded his fourth top-10 result in his last five starts and career best finish in a European Tour sanctioned event. …Corey Conners notched his second straight top-10 finish and his best career result in a European Tour sanctioned event.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T6 | Mackenzie Hughes | 71-73-70-72 | -2 |
T6 | Corey Conners | 72-76-67-71 | -2 |
T52 | Aaron Cockerill | 76-74-70-77 | +9 |
NEXT EVENT: Alfred Dunhill Championship (Dec 12)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Aaron Cockerill
ASIAN TOUR
Joaquin Niemann made birdie on the second playoff hole to defeat Cam Smith and Caleb Surratt and win the PIF Saudi International, the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series. It was the second win of the year in Saudi Arabia for the LIV golfer who claimed the LIV Golf Jeddah in March. The victory in the most lucrative event of the season also gave Niemann the International Series title over Peter Uihlein. John Catlin finished in a tie for 34th, which earned him $36,000 and pushed his season earnings past $1.456 million, setting a new single-season earnings record that had stood for 16 years by just over $4,000. Catlin had already clinched the Order of Merit two weeks ago. Despite leading the International Series Rankings for most of the year, he ended the season in fourth, denying him a spot on the LIV Golf Tour next year. He will have another chance at next week’s LIV Golf Promotion event. …Richard T. Lee finished a career best third on the Asian Tour of Merit, his first top-10 finish since 2015. He was also fifth in the International Series Rankings, one spot shy of his career best in 2022.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T50 | Richard T. Lee | 67-72-69-67 | -9 |
NEXT EVENT: Asian Tour. Qualifying School Final (Dec. 17)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Max Sekulic, Henry Hyoun Ho Lee, Ty Campbell, John Barker
PGA TOUR
Scottie Scheffler equalled the tournament record with a final round 63 to successfully defend his title at the Hero World Challenge, winning by six shots. The six shot margin of victory is the largest in the nine year history of the tournament. It is his ninth win in 21 starts, which includes the Masters, an Olympic gold medal and the FedEx Cup title. Scheffler is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to spend the entire calendar year as the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Scheffler started the final round one shot behind Justin Thomas but took the lead with a birdie on the third and never looked back after dropping a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 4. Tom Kim finished solo second after Thomas made bogey on the final hole. Scheffler earned $1 million for winning the unofficial event – his smallest paycheck of the year, not including the Olympics. There were no Canadians entered in the tournament.
NEXT EVENT: Grant Thornton Invitational (Dec. 13)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Corey Conners, Brooke Henderson, Nick Taylor (alternate)
PGA TOUR Q-SCHOOL
Two Canadians will join four others in the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School next week. Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Sebastian Szirmak were among the top 17 players who advanced from a second-stage qualifier in Georgia. They have guaranteed themselves at least eight starts on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. Chris Crisologo (T26) and Brandon Lacasse (T26) missed qualifying in Georgia by three strokes while Thomas Giroux (T35) was four shots outside the cut line. …Canadians who did not advance from the four second stage events: Cougar Collins, Johnny Travale, A.J. Ewart, Carter Graf, Etienne Papineau, Stuart MacDonald and Joey Savoie.
NEXT EVENT: PGA Tour Q-School (Dec. 12)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Matthew Anderson, Wil Bateman, Myles Creighton, Roger Sloan, Sebastian Szirmak, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen birdied four of the last six holes to cruise to an eight-stroke win at the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament. Kjeldsen, who doesn’t turn 50 until May 2025, carded the lowest total score since 2006 when the final stage of Q-School returned to 72 holes from 108 holes. His eight-stroke margin of victory is the largest in final stage history. Kjeldsen will be joined on the Champions Tour by Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson, who finished runner-up, and Mark Walker, Felipe Aguilar and Brendan Jones who all finished tied for third. They are all fully exempt next season. Dicky Pride, Scott Barr and Andre Stolz finished a stroke out of a playoff which would have been for full status. …Gordon Burns finished three shots out of the top 30 which would have made him eligible to play in open qualifiers in 2025.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T40 | Gordon Burns | 73-72-70-68 | -1 |
T48 | Alan McLean | 71-68-74-72 | +1 |
T53 | Danny King | 72-72-71-73 | +4 |
T67 | Dennis Hendershott | 77-72-73-71 | +9 |
NEXT EVENT: PNC Championship (Dec. 20)
Canadians play 100 holes of golf to help subsidize green fees for junior golfers
This summer, nearly 50 golfers raised over $80,000 to provide 10,000 subsidized golf rounds to youth across the country.
The 100 Hole Hike is a challenging opportunity where participants play 100 holes of golf on foot in one day, raising funds for Youth on Course, a program that offers green fees of five dollars or less to Canadians 18 and under.
Golf Canada partnered with Youth on Course in 2019 and has since offered nearly 70,000 subsidized rounds to junior golfers.
Golf Canada members 18 and under receive complimentary Youth on Course memberships to play affordable rounds of golf at participating golf courses across Canada.
“The 100 Hole Hikes are instrumental fundraising events for us,” said Golf Canada’s Manager, Grow the Game, Justin McKenzie. “The support we received was amazing. Through people’s willingness to take on the 100-hole challenge and help fundraise, we can provide more affordable access to the game for juniors across the country.”
Out east, the Atlantic’s 100 Hole Hike had a special participant. Canadian U15 Boys Champion, Carter Lavigne, of Moncton, New Brunswick, helped fundraise and led the group of hikers alongside his father. Lavigne has been an active Youth on Course participant since the program expanded to the Atlantic provinces in 2023.
“It was cool to give back to a program and the game that has done so much for me,” said Lavigne. “I was fortunate to grow up playing golf, so to help give more kids the chance to play and contribute to the growth of the sport across Canada is awesome. I look forward to helping Youth on Course make a positive impact in 2025.”
Golf Canada and Youth on Course also hosted the first Canadian Premier 100 Hole Hike, where individuals who raised a minimum of $10,000 experienced an all-inclusive stay and play at the world-renowned Cabot Cape Breton. The hikers tackled 100 holes on the Nest par-3 course and played a bonus round at the top-ranked Cabot Cliffs 18-hole course.
There are over 100 participating golf courses offering Youth on Course in Canada and plans to grow that number next year with the expansion into Quebec, making the program operational in every province.
“Together, we are helping break down financial barriers to accessing the sport,” said McKenzie. “Thanks to the individuals and communities who support this great cause, Youth on Course will provide deserving youth with opportunities to learn more about golf and build their confidence in the sport. We are excited for the exponential growth of Youth on Course across the country in 2025.”
To learn more about Youth on Course in Canada, how to participate in a 100 Hole Hike, or how to donate, please visit https://www.golfcanada.ca/youthoncourse/ or email yoc@golfcanada.ca.
Team from Larters at St. Andrews wins RBC PGA Scramble National Final at Cabot Cape Breton
The full leaderboard is available here.
The team comprised of PGA of Canada professional Devon Schade and amateurs Ethan Hunter, Kayle Tosh, William Middleton and Tanner Chamberlin, who originally qualified from Larters at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in Manitoba, were dominant the past three days at Cabot Cape Breton, firing net -64.1 (gross rounds of 58-55-56) to win by 4.1 strokes over the team from Niagara National Golf Club at the RBC PGA Scramble National Final.
With the win, the full team wins special Cabot Cape Breton RBC PGA Scramble headcovers produced by Dormie, as well as a trip to the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto.
The runner-up was the team from Niagara National Golf & Country Club which included PGA of Canada professional Keaton Jones and amateurs Ryan Nagy, Mike Formica, Shane Belanger and Mike Maloney, while the team from Pinegrove Country Club featuring PGA of Canada professional Louis-Alexandre Pitre and amateurs Luc Guevremont, Laurence Guevremont, Amelia Guevremont and Charles Guevremont rounded out the top 3.
For the second-straight day, the roar of a team who made an ace could be heard across the property. Darcy Myers made an ace on the 7th hole of the Links, joining Jason Sikrtanc who aced the 12th hole on the Cliffs on Monday.
In total, the 2024 RBC PGA Scramble featured over 12,000 players from across the country looking to earn a spot at Cabot Cape Breton at over 180 local qualifiers hosted by PGA of Canada professionals. The tournament also set a record with over 1,200 women participants.
If you are a PGA of Canada professional interested in hosting a local qualifier next season, email RBC PGA Scramble Manager Wayne MacPhee at Wayne@PGAofCanada.com.
2025 RBC PGA Scramble qualifying information will be available in the coming months.
Stouffer finishes as runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
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.
Golf participation continues to enjoy growth in Canada and abroad
St Andrews, Scotland & Oakville, Ont. – The R&A announced new participation figures that show an increase of more than three million adult golfers playing the sport.
According to new research undertaken for the governing body, there are now 42.7 million on-course golfers (9 and 18-hole) in R&A affiliated markets (outside the USA and Mexico).
The research figures for 2023 indicate a growth of 3.1 million on-course golfers since 2022. The growth trend began before the onset of Covid-19 and is now accelerating faster than the 2020-2022 pandemic period when there was an average of 2.5 million new on-course golfers per annum. The sport continues to increase in popularity, now up 44% from 29.6 million on-course players in 2016.
The new data is provided by national federations in The R&A’s affiliated markets in Asia, Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.
The research also shows that 62.3 million adults (outside the USA and Mexico) consume the sport in some format, an increase of 1.1 million since 2022. It is just the second time an estimate has been made beyond on-course activity to include alternative-only formats, such as pitch & putt, indoor simulator golf and driving range use.
“Golf’s popularity continues to grow with a significant increase in the number of people playing the sport both on and off the course,” said Phil Anderton, Chief Development Officer at The R&A. “There are now 13 million more golfers playing on the course since 2016 in R&A affiliated markets, while there are also millions of others enjoying alternative formats of golf, such as driving ranges, adventure golf and simulator golf, which are vital to the growth of the sport.
“New golfer participation programmes with appealing propositions, promotion and imagery are important for encouraging more people into the sport and retaining them in greater numbers. This is why we continue to work collaboratively with our affiliated national federations and stakeholders to build on this momentum and ensure golf continues to thrive.”
The top five on-course adult golfer markets overall reported are in:
- Japan (11.4 million)
- Republic of Korea (8.7 million)
- Canada (6.3 million)
- England (4.2 million)
- Germany (2.4 million)
Asia is the leading region for people engaging with golf among R&A affiliated regions, with total adult engagement in golf of 26.2 million. Europe is next highest with 19.7 million adults having some form of golf engagement.
The number of adult registered golfers (those members of a golf club within their national association or affiliated through a direct subscription) increased from 8 million in 2022 to 8.2 million in 2023, with an overall growth of 10% since 2020. Registered women golfers have grown from 1.5 million in 2020 to 1.6 million in 2023.
There was a decrease in those adults who only played formats other than 9 or 18-hole golf – 21.6 million in 2022 to 19.6 million in 2023 – but this is likely to positively reflect on those moving instead to full-length on-course golf. The percentage of golfers only using alternative formats that are women did grow from 47% in 2022 to 52% in 2023, specifically in key golfing markets.
World Junior Girls Golf Championship coming to Credit Valley Golf and Country Club in Mississauga
Golf Canada has set an impressive stretch goal of having 30 professional golfers at the highest levels of the sport by 2032.
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is a huge part of that target.
Credit Valley Golf and Country Club will host the international tournament from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, with 24 teams representing 23 nations — Canada gets two squads — competing. Lindsay McGrath, a 17-year-old golfer from Oakville, Ont., said she’s excited to be representing Canada and continue to develop her game.
“I’m really grateful to be here,” said McGrath on Monday after a news conference in Credit Valley’s clubhouse in Mississauga, Ont. “It’s just such an awesome feeling being here and representing our country, wearing all the logos and being on Team Canada.
“I’ve always wanted to play in this tournament, so it’s really special to me.”
McGrath will be joined by Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont., and Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., on Team Canada 2. All three earned their places through a qualifying tournament last month.
“I love my teammates so much,” said McGrath. “I know Nobelle and Eileen very well. I’m just so excited to be with them. We have such a great relationship.”
Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., Calgary’s Aphrodite Deng and Clairey Lin make up Team Canada 1. Liu earned her exemption following her win at the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship while Deng earned her exemption as being the low eligible Canadian on the world amateur golf ranking as of Aug. 7.
Deng was No. 175 at the time, she has since improved to No. 171 and is Canada’s lowest-ranked player.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity,” said Liu. “We don’t really get that many opportunities to play with people from across the world, so it’s really great to meet new people and play with them.
“It’s great to see maybe how they play and take parts from their game that we might also implement our own games.”
Golf Canada founded the World Junior Girls Golf Championship in 2014 to fill a void in women’s international competition and help grow its own homegrown talent. The hosts won for the first time last year when Vancouver’s Anna Huang, Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos and Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang won team gold and Huang earned individual silver.
Medallists who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who was fourth in the individual competition at the inaugural tournament. She was on Canada’s bronze-medal team in 2014 with Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee.
Other notable competitors who went on to become LPGA Tour winners include Angel Yin and Megan Khang of the United States, as well as Yuka Saso of the Philippines, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.
“It’s not if, it’s when they’re going to be on the LPGA Tour,” said Garrett Ball, Golf Canada’s chief operating officer, of how Canada’s golfers in the World Junior Girls Championship can be part of the organization’s goal to have 30 pros in the LPGA and PGA Tours by 2032.
“Events like this, like the She Plays Golf festival that we launched two years ago, and then the CPKC Women’s Open exemptions that we utilize to bring in our national team athletes and get the experience has been important in that pathway.”
The individual winner of the World Junior Girls Golf Championship will earn a berth in next year’s CPKC Women’s Open at nearby Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.
Both clubs, as well as former RBC Canadian Open host site Glen Abbey Golf Club, were devastated by heavy rains through June and July as the Greater Toronto Area had its wettest summer in recorded history.
Jason Hanna, the chief operating officer of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, said that he has seen the Credit River flood so badly that it affected the course’s playability a handful of times over his nearly two decades with the club.
Staff and members alike came together to clean up the course after the flooding was over, with hundreds of people coming together to make the club playable again.
“You had to show up, bring your own rake, bring your own shovel, bring your own gloves, and then we’d take them down to the golf course, assign them to areas where they would work, and then we would do a big barbecue down at the halfway house,” said Hanna. “We got guys, like, 80 years old, putting in eight-hour days down there, working away.”
Junior Presidents Cup teams finalized for 2024 competition
MONTREAL, Québec, Canada – The Presidents Cup and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) announced today the final teams for the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup, with the event’s fourth edition set to tee off on Sept. 22 at Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac – Blue Course in Montreal, four days before the 2024 Presidents Cup begins play at nearby The Royal Montreal Golf Club. The 12th and final Junior Presidents Cup players for the U.S. Team and International Team were finalized as of Sept. 5, with Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California, and China’s Hanjie Yu earning the final spots on the U.S. and International teams, respectively.
The Junior Presidents Cup is a two-day, team match-play competition featuring the top 24 junior boys, 19 years old and younger. The juniors are split into teams of 12, half from the United States and the other half from around the world, excluding Europe. Taking place just days before the start of the biennial Presidents Cup, the Junior Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European juniors a unique playing opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.
Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac was founded in 1917 and is considered to be one of the most prestigious clubs in the country, ranking among the Top 100 golf courses in Canada. The Junior Presidents Cup will be played on the Blue Course, which was redesigned in 2013 by 2024 International Presidents Cup Captain Mike Weir and Ian Andrew, who had also worked as the restoration architect of the Green course at Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac for some time prior.
Hanjie Yu is the third player from China to join the 2024 International Team. He is No. 229 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and has two wins in international competition this year. He gained entry to the team as the highest-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) who was not otherwise qualified as of Sept. 5.
Eight countries are represented on the International Team, with China fielding three players and Vietnam and Thailand each with two representatives. Indonesia, New Zealand, India, Canada and Colombia are also represented. The International Team is led by 2013 Presidents Cup alumni Graham DeLaet as they seek their first victory in the Junior Presidents Cup.
For the United States team, Riebe, a Vanderbilt University verbal commit, has three top-10 AJGA Invitational finishes this season, including a fourth-place finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. He also had top-five finishes at the Boy’s Junior PGA Championship and the Western Junior Championship on a national junior golf stage. Riebe makes his first appearance on the United States team as the highest-ranked player on the Rolex AJGA Rankings who was not otherwise qualified as of Sept. 5.
Riebe also competed in the Wyndham Cup in July for the West Team. He will look to bring that match play experience into the Junior Presidents Cup. The U.S. Team is represented by eight different states, including two players from Florida, Texas, North Carolina and California. Additionally, eight players are Rolex Junior All-Americans (Miles Russell, Tyler Watts, Blades Brown, Will Hartman, Ronin Banerjee, Tyler Mawhinney, Jackson Byrd, Michael Riebe).
2017 Presidents Cup participant Charley Hoffman will captain the U.S. Team as they look for their fourth-consecutive victory in the competition after lifting the cup at Plainfield Country Club (2017), The Royal Melbourne Golf Club (2019) and Myers Park Country Club (2022).
The 12-player teams for the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup are listed below:
International Team – Captain Graham DeLaet
Player | Country | Grad Year |
Xihuan Chang | China | 2026 |
Nguyen Anh Minh | Vietnam | 2025 |
Rayhan Abdul Latief | Indonesia | 2024 |
Thanawin Lee | Thailand | 2024 |
Joshua Bai | New Zealand | 2025 |
Kartik Singh | India | 2028 |
Le Khanh Hung | Vietnam | 2026 |
Liangliang Gu | China | 2027 |
Warut Boonrod | Thailand | 2026 |
Antoine Jasmin | Canada | 2024 |
Samuel Gonzalez* | Colombia | 2026 |
Hanjie Yu | China | 2025 |
United States Team – Captain Charley Hoffman
Player | State | Grad Year |
Miles Russell | Florida | 2027 |
Tyler Watts | Alabama | 2026 |
Blades Brown | Tennessee | 2026 |
Pennson Badgett | North Carolina | 2026 |
Asher Vargas | Texas | 2026 |
Luke Colton | Texas | 2026 |
Will Hartman | North Carolina | 2025 |
Ronin Banerjee | California | 2027 |
Tyler Mawhinney | Florida | 2026 |
Jackson Byrd | Georgia | 2025 |
Logan Reilly* | Virginia | 2025 |
Michael Riebe | California | 2025 |
*Captain’s Pick
Click here for complete Junior Presidents Cup Team Standings.
The 2024 Presidents Cup will be held at The Royal Montreal Golf Club, Sept. 24-29. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com. For 2024 Junior Presidents Cup information, visit AJGA.org.
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About the Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a biennial global team competition between the United States and an International team that represents the rest of the world excluding Europe. The competition, which is contested by the PGA TOUR, alternates between venues in the U.S. and overseas. The Presidents Cup will return to The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Québec, Canada, September 24-29, 2024. Since the event’s inception in 1994, more than $56 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds, as well as contributions made on behalf of the Presidents Cup. 1Password, Cognizant and Rolex are the exclusive Global Partners of the Presidents Cup. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or visit PresidentsCup.com for more information.
Momo Sugiyama takes lead after day one of 110th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship
Team Alberta leads the Inter-Provincial Team Championship by four shots over Team Ontario
Victoria, B.C. – Cloudy and overcast weather conditions made for an outstanding start at Royal Colwood Golf Club as the opening round of the 110th Canadian Women’s Amateur presented by BDO officially began on Tuesday. The leaderboard fluctuated throughout the day, but Australia’s Momo Sugiyama shot a 6-under 66, positioning herself as the leader by one shot after the opening round.
Sugiyama of Gold Coast, Australia, carded a total of seven birdies. After an opening nine of 1-under 35, she birdied holes 10, 12, and 14 before back-to-back on 16 and 17 to come home in 5-under 31 as she paces the field into round two.
“It feels great. I played solid today and made lots of putts, I am happy with that and obviously this is a big tournament and I played it last year and enjoyed it so it’s a huge honour to be the leader,” said Sugiyama. “I am going to try to do the same thing for round two as there is a lot of golf left and keep hitting fairways and making as many putts as I can.”
Caitlin Peirce from Adelaide, Australia carded a total of seven birdies firing a 5-under 67 to sit in second place, only one stroke back of Sugiyama after the opening round.
“I was hitting it pretty close so I had a lot of short birdie putts but these greens are pretty slick so if you are in the wrong spot, it can be pretty tricky,” said Peirce. “Hopefully I play tomorrow like I did today, keep holing some putts, hit it good and see how it goes.”
Casey Weidenfeld (Pembroke Pines Fla.) and Ashley Kozlowski (Littleton, Colo.) are both heading into the second round tied for third place following rounds of 4-under 68.
Six Canadians ended their round inside the top-10. Team Canada NextGen member, Anna Huang of Vancouver sits in a tie for fifth with Ashleen Kaur of Cypress, Texas, three shots back of the lead following rounds of 3-under 69. Reigning Canadian Junior Girls champion and Team Canada NextGen member Shauna Liu (Maple, Ont.) is currently in a six-way tie for seventh after shooting 2-under 70. Team Canada member and defending champion Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. is one of those tied with Liu after carding five birdies, to also sit at 2-under 70. Team Canada NextGen member Swetha Sathish of Oakville, Ont. is also among those tied for with Liu and Kim at 2-under.
Team Alberta, consisting of Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., Jenna Bruggeman of Edmonton, and Grace Bell of Calgary lead the Inter-Provincial team competition at even par. Team Ontario, looking to defend their national title currently sit four strokes back of Alberta at 4-over.
The 2024 champion of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship will earn direct exemption into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.
For the full leaderboard, following Tuesday’s opening round of the 110th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, click here.
For more information on the 110th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, click here.
GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit https://www.golfcanada.ca/competitions-calendar/
International Thank a Superintendent Day Coming September 10, 2024
Mississauga, Ont. The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA), in conjunction with other global superintendent groups, is recognizing those who are essential to golf’s success with an international “Thank a Golf Course Superintendent Day,” encouraging all golfers, those who are in the golf business or anyone who benefits from the game to thank superintendents for their hard work and dedication to the game.
“Thank a Golf Course Superintendent Day” will be celebrated September 10, 2024.
In addition to CGSA, other groups taking part in the global event include the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), the Australia Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA), and The Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers Associations (FEGGA). All together the groups represent more than 31,000 golf course management professionals in 78 countries around the world.
The celebration will include commercials that will appear on the Golf Channel, print advertisements and social media messages sharing the many ways that superintendents benefit the game and their communities.
Golfers and others are encouraged to join in the conversation on social media using the hashtags “#ThankASuper” or “#ThankAGreenkeeper” depending on their country’s nomenclature. In addition, golf courses and other groups are encouraged to provide special recognition for their superintendent and course maintenance staff on Sept. 10. A social media tool kit will be available on golfsupers.com with materials to aid in the celebration.
During the 2023 Thank A Golf Course Superintendent Day, social media messages reached more than 14.7 million followers around the world while broadcast media reached an additional 18 million people.
The R&A appoints Mark Darbon as new Chief Executive
Mark Darbon has been appointed Chief Executive of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Darbon will succeed Martin Slumbers in the role leading the governing body and the organisation, which runs The Open and AIG Women’s Open and invests in developing golf around the world in November. He will also become Secretary of the 270 year-old Club which has a global membership of more than 2,400.
A former senior member of the team leading the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012, Mr Darbon is leaving his role as CEO of Northampton Saints, the Premiership Rugby club, to take up the St Andrews-based position.
Darbon (45) led Northampton Saints to their first Premiership title since 2014 last month and implemented a commercial strategy which enabled the rugby union club to bounce back from the pandemic to achieve record revenues in consecutive seasons.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be taking up these positions with The R&A and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and to be moving into golf, a sport I have always loved,” he said. “The R&A is a globally renowned organisation and does so much to ensure that golf prospers from grassroots through to the professional game. I am looking forward to working with a hugely talented team of staff, the Club membership and such an impressive array of partner organisations to achieve even more success in the years to come.”
Darbon started his career as a management consultant at Marakon Associates, before joining Diageo plc where he held a number of strategic and commercial roles, living and working in markets all over the world, including the USA, Russia, China and Australia.
“Golf Canada proudly welcomes Mark Darbon as the new Chief Executive and Secretary of the R&A, said Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada’s CEO. “We look forward to our continued great work between our organizations growing and developing the game of golf.”
Having transitioned into sport event organisation in 2009, Darbon held several senior roles with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and was latterly Head of Olympic Park Operations, overseeing the Olympic Park which housed nine competition venues with 20,000 employees and welcomed 250,000 spectators a day throughout the 2012 games. He went on to serve as an Expert Adviser to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2013 to 2018.
Following London 2012, Darbon was Senior Vice President of Tough Mudder Inc in New York and was involved in planning, promoting and staging mass participation events in North America, Latin America, Europe and Australasia.
Before joining Northampton Saints as CEO in 2017, Darbon served as CEO of Madison Sports Group, a sports events and content company which created an award-winning international series of professional track cycling events and, in doing so, brought a series of new sponsorship arrangements and media rights deals to the sport.
Darbon is a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford University, where he read geography.
As well as being a keen golfer, playing to a Handicap Index of 3.1 as a member of Northamptonshire County Golf Club and Saunton Golf Club, Darbon is a former Under-21 England hockey international and a Full Blue for hockey at Oxford University. He is a non-executive director of England Hockey and Women’s Premiership Rugby.
Darbon is married with two children and plans to move his family to St Andrews when he takes up his new role.