MARKHAM, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada in partnership with the Golf Association of Ontario is pleased to announce the six players who will represent Team Canada’s two squads at the inaugural World Junior Girls Golf Championship September 26th to October 1st at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont.

Representing the first of two Canadian squads competing are Brooke Henderson, 17, of Smiths Falls, Ont., Grace St-Germain, 16, of Ottawa, Ont. and Naomi Ko, 17, of Victoria, B.C. Canada’s second team in the event will include Jaclyn Lee of Calgary, Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. and Alisha Lau of Richmond, B.C.

The Canadian contingent will be coached by Team Canada Development Squad Women’s Coach Ann Carroll, alongside Reggie Millage the provincial Head Coach for the Golf Association of Ontario.

The inaugural international junior girls championship – which will be contested on the South Course at Angus Glen Golf Club – will be conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the Golf Association of Ontario.

The championship features three-player teams of athletes under the age of 19 representing 15 countries. As host country, Canada will field two teams in the competition. A full listing of rosters for each country can be found here and full bios for the Canadians selected can be found below.

The 16-team field will compete over 72 holes for both individual and team honours. Qualifying countries for the inaugural championship were invited based on their performances at the 2012 World Amateur in Turkey.

The 2014 World Junior Girls Golf Championship will mark the first official playing of a female junior championship of its kind – the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup is a boys’ only event that has been contested for almost 20 years.

The event – which is supported by the International Golf Federation, received grant funding by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Other funding partners include the Golf Canada Foundation (Women’s Fund) and the R&A as well as Central Counties.  Funding was also provided from the Federal and Provincial governments in preparation for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.

In addition to a 72-hole competition, the championship will include skills competitions, an international golf coaches’ summit and golf clinics outside of tournament play in the spirit of establishing an interactive junior golf festival around the championship.

The Angus Glen Golf Club will also play host to the debut of golf at the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games from July 16-19, 2015. The World Junior Girls Golf Championship will provide training opportunities for officials and volunteers registered for the historic event that is set for the south course at Angus Glen.

The event gets underway with Opening Ceremonies at Angus Glen beginning at 5:30pm on Saturday, September 27th.

Admission to the World Junior Girls Golf Championship is free for all spectators for the duration of the championship. For more information visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

TEAM CANADA PLAYERS BIOS

Squad # 1

Brooke Henderson
As the No. 1 ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the Smiths Falls, Ont. native has captured seven amateur titles this season and two professional titles (Canadian Women’s Tour Ontario and PGA Women’s Championship of Canada). A member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad, Henderson recently won the individual medal at the World Amateur Championship. Additionally, she finished runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and also finished T10 at the U.S. Women’s Open. She also earned Low Canadian and Low Amateur honours at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open where she finished T46 and while also finishing T45 at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic.

Grace St-Germain
A native of Ottawa, Ont., St-Germain captured the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship by seven strokes. The 16-year-old was also victorious at the Quebec Women’s Amateur Championship and earned medalist honours at the GAO’s Junior Girls’ Match Play Championship. Recently she added another win to her season at the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational.

Naomi Ko
A member of Team Canada’s National Development Squad, Ko is the reigning 2014 B.C. Junior Girls champion. Additionally, the 17-year-old Victoria, B.C. native won the CN Future Links Ontario title and finished fourth at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Squad # 2

Jaclyn Lee
Lee is a three-time winner this season after victories at the CN Future Links Prairie Championship, Alberta Women’s Amateur Championship and Alberta Junior Girls Championship. The Calgary native is also a member of Team Canada’s National Development Squad.

Selena Costabile
A native of Thornhill, Ont., Costabile captured the 2014 GAO Junior Spring Classic and the CJGA World Junior Challenge. The 16-year-old also finished runner-up at the CN Future Links Ontario Championship and notched a pair of third place finishes at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and the AJGA/CJGA’s Junior Championship.

Alisha Lau
A native of Richmond, B.C., Lau was victorious at the CJGA’s Nike Golf Junior Series at Hazelmere, finished second at the CN Future Links Prairie Championship and fourth at the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. Additionally, the 15-year-old posted a third place finish at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship.

The Nova Scotia Golf Association (NSGA) has announced recipients of the 2014 Murray Purcell Bursary Program.

The 2014 winners originate from all areas of the province. This year the NSGA received bursary applications from a variety of Nova Scotian students and eight of these student golfers have been awarded bursaries to a total of $15,000.

With the increasing cost of post secondary education the NSGA decided to create a Bursary program to help its provincial golfers. This endowment program was renamed in 2007 in memory of the late Murray Purcell. Mr. Purcell worked with the NSGA for over 15 years and was instrumental in creating many of the programs that exist today, including the bursary program.

Congratulations to the following recipients:

Jordan Hirtle – $3000
The top bursary of $3000 is awarded to Jordan Hirtle of Grandview Golf and Country Club. Jordan is set to enter his first year of medical school at Dalhousie University in September. Mr. Hirtle has already obtained an undergraduate degree in science, and a Masters of Business Administration both from Dalhousie.

Erin MacIsaac – $2500
Erin is a member of Parrsboro Golf Club entering her 4^th year at St. Thomas University where she is pursuing a science degree. Ms. MacIsaac is a dual athlete competing on the varsity hockey and golf teams.

Brett MacIsaac – $2000
Brett, who is a resident of Dartmouth, and plays at Parrsboro Golf Club is entering his first year of the engineering program at Dalhousie University. Mr. MacIsaac recently graduated from Dartmouth High School where he was a member of the volleyball, rugby, and golf teams.

Jeannine Philpott – $1500
Jeannine is a recent graduate of Hants East Rural High School, who is a member at Oakfield Golf and Country Club. In September Jeannine will pursue and undergraduate science degree in human kinetics at St. Francis Xavier with the intention of pursuing medical school afterwards.

Emily Cyr – $1500
Emily is a member of Abercrombie Golf Club and a recent graduate of Northumberland Regional High School. Emily will be attending Dalhousie University in the fall after being accepted into the Faculty of Science. Ms. Cyr hopes to pursue either pharmacy or occupational therapy during her time at Dalhousie.

Alex Feltmate – $1500
Alex is a member at Oakfield Golf and Country Club and will be returning for his third year of business studies at Acadia in September. Mr. Feltmate is an accomplished golfer competing at both regional and national events. In the future the Fall River resident hopes to open his own business within the sport and fitness industry.

Evan Starratt – $1500
Evan is a Truro resident who plays at the Truro Golf Club. In September Mr. Starratt will head to Acadia University to pursue a business degree where he hopes to one day to pair his business pedigree with his golf background.

Jake Lloy – $1500
Jake is a resident of Windsor and is a member at Avon Valley Golf and Country Club. Lloy is a experienced golfer competing in many NSGA events, and will look to continue his golf at St. Thomas University where he will pursue a degree in economics. Following his time at St. Thomas Mr. Lloy hopes to work in the banking and financial sector.

KARUIZAWA, Japan – The men’s trio of Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson have continued the success for Canada at the World Amateur Championship, firing a 10-under 134 to share the lead with Sweden and Switzerland after Wednesday’s opening round at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.

Conners, the 2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up, carded a 6-under 66 to lead the way for the Canadian contingent. The Listowel, Ont. native posted five birdies on the front nine, boosting him to a tie for second on the individual leaderboard, one back of Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult.

“It was definitely motivating to see the ladies do so well and we want to continue the success for Canada,” said the 22-year-old. “We’re all hoping to play as well as they did and we’re off to a nice start.”

His Team Canada teammate and old roommate at Kent State, Taylor Pendrith, carded a 4-under 68.

“I drove the ball pretty well and my putting was probably the best part of my game today – I made a lot of nice putts and some 15- to 20-footers,” said the Richmond Hill, Ont. native. “Overall I’m pleased with the way I played. It was unfortunate to bogey the last two holes but I’m very happy.”

Adam Svensson, a Surrey, B.C. native, carded a non-counting 3-under 69.

“We put in some really good preparation,” said team captain, Graham Hill. “Derek Ingram, our coach, works very closely with all the guys here. I don’t think we’re surprised that we played well here today. We’re just taking it day by day and we’re happy with the start.”

Canada was one of thirty-seven teams to break par in the first round and contribute towards the 65 sub-par scores, breaking the record of 42 in 2004.

The Canadians opened on the Iriyama Course in the first round – they will alternate tomorrow by playing the Oshitate Course. They are set to tee-off at 10:35 am (JST), grouped with Malaysia and Slovakia.

Click here for team scoring.
Click here for individual scoring.

Corey Conners (USGA/ Steve Gibbons)

KARUIZAWA, Japan – The men’s trio of Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson have continued the success for Canada at the World Amateur Championship, firing a 10-under 134 to share the lead with Sweden and Switzerland after Wednesday’s opening round at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.

Conners, the 2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up, carded a 6-under 66 to lead the way for the Canadian contingent. The Listowel, Ont. native posted five birdies on the front nine, boosting him to a tie for second on the individual leaderboard, one back of Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult.

“It was definitely motivating to see the ladies do so well and we want to continue the success for Canada,” said the 22-year-old. “We’re all hoping to play as well as they did and we’re off to a nice start.”

His Team Canada teammate and old roommate at Kent State, Taylor Pendrith, carded a 4-under 68.

“I drove the ball pretty well and my putting was probably the best part of my game today – I made a lot of nice putts and some 15- to 20-footers,” said the Richmond Hill, Ont. native. “Overall I’m pleased with the way I played. It was unfortunate to bogey the last two holes but I’m very happy.”

Adam Svensson, a Surrey, B.C. native, carded a non-counting 3-under 69.

“We put in some really good preparation,” said team captain, Graham Hill. “Derek Ingram, our coach, works very closely with all the guys here. I don’t think we’re surprised that we played well here today. We’re just taking it day by day and we’re happy with the start.”

Canada was one of thirty-seven teams to break par in the first round and contribute towards the 65 sub-par scores, breaking the record of 42 in 2004.

The Canadians opened on the Iriyama Course in the first round – they will alternate tomorrow by playing the Oshitate Course. They are set to tee-off at 10:35 am (JST), grouped with Malaysia and Slovakia.

Click here for team scoring.
Click here for individual scoring.

Corey Conners (USGA/ Steve Gibbons)

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – Christina Proteau, 31, advanced to the quarterfinals on Tuesday at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Noblesville, Indiana.

The Port Alberni, B.C. native who is competing in her third U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur defeated Pennsylvania’s Katie Miller with a par on the 19^th hole after Miller forced the match into extra holes after winning the 18^th. All three of the 4-time Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur champion’s matches have went into extra holes thus far in the tournament.

Her previous best U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur result was a quarterfinal loss to Laura Coble in 2012

Proteau, winner of the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships, now faces two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, Meghan Stasi of Oakland Park, Fla., in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at 8:25 a.m. EDT. If she advances through the match, the semifinals will be played on Wednesday afternoon.

For scoring from the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, click here.

INNISFIL, Ont. — After finishing the opening round at 1-under, Aurora’s Peter Willis looked to hang on to his lead during the final round of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Baka Wireless Public Player Championship, Sept. 9, at National Pines Golf Club in Innisfil.

It would not be easy for the 36-year-old Willis who had to fend off challengers from his final group along with the second to last group. Willis remained calm and despite all the moves going on around him, was able to tap in for par and the win on the 18^th, finishing the day with a 2-over 74 and the tournament at 1-over 145.

“I played well during the opening round before a slip up at the end,” said Willis. “I think over the two days my ball striking was very good. I was able to make a lot of up and downs to save par, which is pretty much what kept me going.”

Two shots back of Willis were a pair of players: Burlington’s Barrett McCarthy and Oakville’s Derek Dalziel. Barrett finished the day at even par (72), while Dalziel was one-over (73) resulting in them each earning a share of the silver medal at 3-over 147 for the tournament.

“It was a good battle between myself and the two guys I was playing with. But I was able to grind out the win in the end. I was just taking some deep breaths out there and tried to finish off the round,” added Willis.

In the Net A flight, Sarnia’s Nick Powell was able to capture the title after his second straight round of 2-under (70).

As for the Net B flight, Markham’s Fred Bowler fired an eight-under (64) during the final round to move to 5-under for the tournament to take the win.

For the final leaderboard for the Championship Division, click here. And, click here for Net Division results.

The Baka Wireless Public Player Championship has been contested since 1958. It was suspended between 1984 and 1995. This year’s event was a two-round competition with a Championship and Net A and B flight. Former champions include: Ontario Golf Hall of Famer Gerry Kesselring, Ken Trowbridge, Dave Bunker and Lucas Kim. Craig Loughry holds the record for the most victories with four.

KARUIZAWA, Japan – The Men’s World Amateur Team Championship will begin Wednesday when 69 countries from around the world tee-it-up at 72 Golf East in Japan.

Just like the women’s event, the men will alternate rounds between the Oshitate and Iriyama courses. The Canadian trio of Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) tee-off early tomorrow morning on Iriyama, starting at 6:30 a.m. (JST).

The team will be paired with Malaysia and Slovakia to begin the event. The scoring format is four rounds of stroke play, with the best two scores from each day being counted towards the team total.

In 27 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, the Canadian men have captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours four times. Earlier this month, the Canadian women’s team of Brooke Henderson, Brittany Marchand and Augusta James finished as runner-up.

Click here for tee times.
Click here for scoring.

As summer winds down, Golf Canada’s Calgary Centre is enjoying a busy schedule on the facility’s newly recovered grounds. The centre has come a long way, fighting back from over $2.3 million in damages from the mass flooding of Alberta’s Bow River in June of 2013.

Recently, the team in Calgary hosted a junior shootout where 18 lucky qualifiers played for a chance to golf with a Champions Tour player and a local celebrity in the pro-am of the 2014 Shaw Charity Classic.

CBC and Global TV were on hand to cover the action of over 70 juniors vying for one of 18 spots into the Shaw Charity Classic.

Following that, the course played host to the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) Junior Linkster Tournament. Chad Rusnak, Director of Golf Operations, couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of hosting a high-class junior tournament so soon into their recovery.

“The golf course is in fantastic shape, and we are receiving numerous compliments about the conditions,” said Rusnak. “We are hearing positive things on a daily basis, which is a great sign for the future and what’s to come.”

The Calgary Centre, also a Junior Golf Development Centre, has a few key events in the month of September.

The team hosted several of the top juniors in western Canada on Sept. 6^th & 7^th at this year’s Performance Trials powered by Under Armour. The trials are conducted much like a training camp, for talent identification purposes and coaching services provided by leading PGA of Canada professionals.

Following that, the team will be hosting its 6^th annual Golf Fore the Cure event on the 13^th, with a fully registered field of ladies.

To learn more about the Golf Canada Calgary Centre, click here.

PERTH, Australia – Minjee Lee turned professional Sunday, a day after leading Australia to a comeback victory in Japan in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.

The 18-year-old Lee, No. 1 in the world amateur golf ranking and 82nd overall, made the announcement in a light-hearted video with Matthew Pavlich, captain of the Fremantle Australian Rules football team.

Lee will make her first appearance as a professional next week in the Evian Championship in France.

Born in Perth and a member of the Royal Fremantle Golf Club, Lee won the 2012 U.S. Junior Girls’, the 2013 and 2004 Australian Women’s Amateur titles and the 2014 Victorian Open.

She was low amateur at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California in April in her first start in a major championship, and received the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the No. 1 women’s amateur this year.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. will jump from second to first in the amateur ranking. The 16-year-old won the individual title in Japan Saturday, beating second-place Lee by three strokes, and leading Canada to a second-place finish.

Team Canada had history in their sights but it wasn’t meant to be as Australia, with a combined 131 from world no. 1 ranked Minjee Lee and Su Oh in the final round, came from seven strokes back to win the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship (WWATC) at 29-under-par 547 at Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course.

Canada, which led on each of the first three days and was vying for its first Women’s World Amateur victory, finished second at 27-under 549 to capture the silver medal.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. (66-69-66-68–269) and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. (71-70-69-72–282) combined for a final round 4-under 140 but it was not enough to hold off the surging Aussies. Teammate Augusta James of Bath, Ont. (69-76-72-75—292) shot a non-counting final round 75 to round out the trio.

“We did our absolute best out there today and it was just a little bit short,” said team captain, Liz Hoffman. “I look at that leaderboard and I think about what we’ve done the last four days and I am so proud of our girls. They’ve been fantastic and so wonderful to work with.”

Australia, which won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time, took the lead through six holes of the final round as Lee, No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™, was 4 under through five holes on an eagle and two birdies and Oh was 3 under with three birdies. Lee, 18, finished with an eagle and five birdies for a 65 while Oh, who is No.6 in the WAGR™, tallied six birdies for a 66. Neither recorded a bogey in their respective final rounds.

The Australians broke the mark for a final-round comeback of three strokes, which was set by their countrymen in 2002 in Malaysia. Their 72-hole total of 547 was one stroke shy of Korea’s record-low in 2010 and their final-round 131 is second-best all-time.

With her tournament score of 19-under par, Henderson, 16, finished as the low individual at the championship. Ranked No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Henderson finished three strokes ahead of reigning World No. 1 Minjee Lee of Australia and her tournament score of 269 for the championship breaks the Women’s World Amateur mark of 274 set by Lydia Ko in 2012.

“Australia had a great round today, I was really impressed,” said Henderson. “They have very skilled players, including two in the top 10 in the world rankings, which is unbelievable. It’s a little disappointing to finish second but overall we had a really great week and played really well as a team.”

Canada’s runner-up finish marks the fourth time the squad has finished in second place in the race for the Espirito Santo trophy (’04, ’78, ’66). With the win, Australia put an end to Korea’s bid to become the first team to win three consecutive World Amateur titles – Australia also won in 1978 and 2002.

The Republic of Korea finished third, one stroke back of Canada at 26-under par in Saturday’s final. Denmark finished fourth at 556, followed by Sweden and the USA tied for fifth at 557, Mexico in seventh at 560, England and host Japan tied for eighth at 562 and the Philippines in 10th at 563.

The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 137 national governing bodies in 131 countries. The competition, which is being held for the 26th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.

This year’s event is hosted by the Japan Golf Association. The teams play for the Espirito Santo Trophy. The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and will conduct the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.

The 2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship will be played in Cancun, Mexico.

The men’s competition for the Eisenhower Trophy gets underway on Sept. 10. Canada will be represented by Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.).

CANADIAN INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Brooke Henderson, Smiths Falls, Ont. (69-66-69-68)
T20. Brittany Marchand, Orangeville, Ont. (71-70-69-72)
T51. Augusta James, Bath, Ont. (69-76-72-75)

Click here for team results.

Click here for individual results.