NANJING, China – Canada’s duo of Maddie Szeryk and Tony Gil have opened the Summer Youth Olympics team event with a 3-under 69 at the Zhongshan International Club on Sunday.

The opening round, which was better-ball format, saw Gil (Vaughan, Ont.) and Szeryk come in at even par through nine holes before turning it up on the back with three birdies.

Together, Gil and Szeryk sit eight strokes back of Korea’s leading pair, Soyoung Lee (individual gold medalist) and Eun Ho Youm.

Action will resume tomorrow in Monday’s alternate shot format. Gil and Szeryk are set to tee-off in the first group of the day at 8:30 am (CST).

Click here for scoring.

West Vancouver, B.C. – Top male senior golfers from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States will compete at the 2014 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship which will take place from August 25-29 at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C.

The Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, featuring players aged 55 and over, is played over 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes to the low 70 scores and ties. The Super Senior Championship, featuring players aged 70 and over, is contested concurrently over the first 36 holes of the championship. The Senior Inter-Provincial Team Championship, featuring three-player teams representing each of the ten provinces, also runs concurrently with the first 36 holes of the tournament.

Conducted since 1962, the 2014 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship will see 156 players take to Capilano Golf and Country Club.

“The field is incredibly strong at this year’s Canadian Men’s Senior Championship,” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “Capilano is going to challenge these elite competitors from across our country and worldwide and we’re looking forward to another great championship.”

Calgary’s David Schultz will return to defend his title after his one-stroke victory over Chip Lutz last year at The Briars Golf Club. Additionally, Schultz will be joined by a strong contingent of international players ranked inside the top-50 on Golfweek’s Senior Amateur rankings including, No. 2 Steve Sharpe of Greensboro, N.C., No. 8 Cyrus Whitney of Oro Valley, Ariz., No. 15 Jeff Burda of Modesto, Calif., No. 16 Brady Exber of Las Vegas, Nev., No. 25 Pat Thompson of Asheville, N.C., No. 49 Doug Williams of Hong Kong and No. 50 John Hull of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Capilano Golf and Country Club consistently ranks inside the top-10 courses in Canada. The Stanley Thompson designed course has a rich history in competition as the club has previously hosted seven of Golf Canada’s national championships alongside the World Amateur Team Championship in 1992. Additionally, the Pacific Coast Amateur was contested at the club in 2003 and 2013.

“Our membership has come together to support this championship and we are all looking forward to making this an event to remember for the competitors and spectators,” said General Manager, Brad Burgart. “Hosting a national championship is a great honour and we’re excited to watch as these elite competitors vie for a national championship title at our club.”

Locally, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Doug Roxburgh of Vancouver headlines the list Canadian competitors. Roxburgh, a 4-time Canadian amateur champion and a 13-time B.C. Amateur Champion, recently defended his title at the 2014 B.C. Men’s Senior Championship. He will look to add his first Canadian Men’s Senior title to his incredible amateur career. 

In the Inter-Provincial Team Competition, the Team Alberta contingent of Frank Van Dornick, Jim Russell and Pat McGowan will look to defend their title after besting Team British Columbia in 2013 by seven strokes.

The 2014 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship winner will earn an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. September 13-18, 2014. 

More information on the championship can be found here.

CHILLIWACK, BC – Euna Han came from behind to win the 2014 BC Girls’ Bantam Championship at Meadowlands Golf Club, while Andrew Spalti held on to win the 2014 BC Boys’ Bantam Championship after leading thru days of competition.

Han shot a two-under 68 on the second day of competition to overtake the lead from her position in third place after the first round, finishing with a two-day total of 138 (-2) as the only female competitor under par. The 12-year-old Meadow Gardens golfer bogeyed only a single hole during her final round on the way to claiming the title, and boasted a bogey-free back nine for the duration of the Championship, defeating several players her senior for the title, playing with composure beyond her age.

“It felt obviously great,” she said. “I just tried to play my best the whole round. I didn’t know how  they were playing until the last couple of holes. I feel really great about it.

“My putting was working well today, I missed a short putt on 16 but just continued on and forgot about it and I was a bit lucky today, I hit a tree and came back to the fairway, so I was lucky.”

Though it didn’t hurt having a few good bounces on her side, luck likely had very little to do with her round. Han finished eighth in last year’s Bantam Championship at only 11 years old, showing she is a great player even at a young age, and certainly one to watch.

Shirin Anjarwalla 14, led after the first round of the Championship, but dropped back to finish in second place shooting 73 (+3) on day two. The Nanaimo golfer started the day with a double bogey and unfortunately wasn’t able to make up the ground to reclaim the lead, but still finished strong at 1-over par (141) for the tournament.

Burnaby’s Sumie Francois finished third in her final year of eligibility for the Bantam Championship at +2 (142) after two days of tough-fought competition. Francois, 14, made an eagle on number 11 after four bogeys out but was unable to create the momentum she would need to take over the lead.

Last year’s Champion Alisha Lau and Tiffany Kong finished T4 to round out the top five.

Andrew Spalti (British Columbia Golf)

Spalti, 14, led through two rounds of competition to claim the boy’s title shooting 69 both days, finishing 2-under par (138). His second round (-1) was highlighted by five birdies, helping him to hold on to the lead.

This was Spalti’s first year playing in the BC Bantam Championship and his final year of eligibility.

“It feels good,” he said. “Early in the front nine I though I lost the lead and all my group members started making birdies and were coming in strong to the back, but I managed to fight back. I bogeyed the last one, but luckily I still locked in the lead.

Spalti explained that his putting was one of the strongest points of his game and definitely was the biggest contributor to helping him secure the win.

Earlier this summer, the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club member missed the cut at the Junior Boys’ Championship, but showing impressive self-command rebounded to win the Bantam title. Spalti withdrew from the Juvenile Championship next week but is planning to return to provincial championships next summer.

Khan Lee played a bogey-free second round making a strong push for the title finishing -2 on Friday. Lee, 14, finished second with 139 (-1).

Callum Davison finished with the day’s low score -3 to help move him into a tie for third with Daniel Sun, who shot -2 on Friday. The pair finished even for the championship.

Novice Championship

The Novice division was added to the Bantam in 2014 for competitors with less experience in provincial competition. Natasha Kozlowski of Prince George finished in first with 91 points, followed by Sienna Kraus with 81 points and Claire Lovan of Surrey with 78 points in third.

On the boy’s side, Tyler Casper won the Novice Championship with 87 points, closely followed by Stephen Pon with 83 and in third, Jerry Li with 76 points.

Sherbrooke, Qué.  – In a hole-by-hole playoff against Aurora, Ont.’s Mary Ann Hayward, Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, Qué. claimed the 2014 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship at Club de golf Milby in Sherbrooke, Qué. on Thursday.

Chartrand entered the third and final round seven strokes behind Hayward, who led the field at 5-under 141 after Wednesday’s second round. After Hayward made three bogeys on the front nine followed by four more on the back, Chartrand was able to match the 3-time champion with an even-par score of 219 for the tournament, leading to a hole by hole playoff. Chartrand defeated Hayward with a birdie on the second playoff hole.

“Mary Ann is a great player,” said Chartrand who fired a 2-under 71 final round. “Basically I had nothing to lose; coming back from seven strokes was part of the miracle.”

This win comes almost one month after Chartrand claimed the Mid-Master title at the 2014 Canadian Women’s Amateur in Woodstock, Ont.

“I got more confident with my game playing with all of the youngsters and all the superstars,” she said of her Mid-Master win. “I think it built some confidence in my game and I kind of learned that I can come back.”

Winning the 2014 Canadian Women’s Senior has earned Chartrand an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Women’s Senior in Deal, N.J. She’s no stranger to the tournament, having played it twice in 2013 and 2012.

“It feels so great [to have earned an exemption] because I did ask for an exemption and I was rejected,” said Chartrand. “I did play in the last two U.S. [Women’s] Seniors and I just loved it. So for me, it’s a dream come true to be able to go. It will be my third one in a row and I’m very excited.”

Judith Allan-Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont. finished nine strokes behind Chartrand and Hayward to claim third place in the tournament with a score of 9-over 228. Sherbrooke’s own Jocelyn Smith finished one stroke behind at 229 for the championship.

NANJING, China – After three days of stroke play, Canada’s Maddie Szeryk and Tony Gil have finished T15 and T22 in their respective divisions.

Szeryk, a dual-citizen of Canada and the U.S., carded three consecutive rounds of 74 to finish at 6-over par in a tie for 15^th.  The 18-year-old had a steady final round, posting 16 pars to go along with two bogeys, putting her at 2-over par for the day.

The gold medal for the girls went to Korea’s Soyoung Lee, who finished at 14-under par. Silver was won by Ssu-Chia Cheng of Taiwan, and bronze by Supamas Sangchan of Thailand.

In the boys division, Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont. struggled to mirror the success of his Tuesday’s opening round 69 – the 16-year-old posted a 4-over 76. In the end, the Team Canada Development Squad member finished at 4-over (69-75-76), 15 strokes back of the gold medal winner, Italy’s Renato Paratore, the no.5 ranked male amateur in the world.

Team coach, Robert Ratcliffe has identified some areas that they will focus on to improve results heading into the team competition later this week.

“We are really going to be working on some putting in the next few days,” said Ratcliffe, also Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach. “The greens are very soft and a bit slower here, which caused some struggles for both Maddie and Tony.”

Team competition will run for three days, consisting of a different format each round. Sunday’s opening round will be better-ball, followed by alternate shot, and then by combined score.

Team competition will kick off at 8:30 am (CST) on Sunday.

Click here for girls results.

Click here for boys results.

Sherbrooke, Qué. (Golf Canada) – Mary Ann Hayward of Aurora, Ont. held onto her opening round lead in the second round of play on Wednesday at the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, hosted by Club de golf Milby in Sherbrooke, Qué. 

Her second round score of 2-under 71 puts her seven strokes ahead of Pincourt, Qué.’s Helene Chartrand, who sits at even-par for the tournament.

“I felt good going into today’s round,” said Hayward. “It’s a very demanding course so you can’t take much for granted out there. I just wanted to have another good ball-striking day.”

The three-time champion is looking for her fourth win, which would earn her an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Women’s Senior. Hayward was a semifinalist in the international event in 2010. She will enter Thursday’s third and final round with a combined score of 5-under 141 for the tournament. 

“My game plan is the same for tomorrow,” Hayward said. “The key to this course is just keeping it on the right side of the hole.”

In the Inter-Provincial Team Competition, which is contested over the first 36 holes of the competition, the Team Ontario contingent of Hayward, Judith Allan-Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont., and Ivy Steinberg of Stouffville, Ont. claimed the 2014 title with a total combined score of even-par 294. Team Québec’s squad of Marie-Therese Torti of Candiac, Qué., Marlene Desbiens of Clermont, Qué., and Susan Pearl of Ottawa, grabbed the runner-up spot with a final score of 6-over 310. 

Nova Scotia’s Ruth Maxwell of Dartmouth claimed the Super Senior (60+) title, also contested over the first 36 holes of the tournament. Maxwell grabbed first place in the division by one stroke with a combined score of 8-over 154, Teri deLuis of Brockville, Ont. and Holly Horwood of Vancouver shared second place in the division at 9-over for the championship. 

Starting times, post-round results, full field list, and live scoring are available here.

NANJING, China – Canadians Tony Gil and Maddie Szeryk failed to make much ground on Wednesday’s second round at Zhongshan International Golf Club – both athletes are tied for 13^th heading into Thursday’s final stroke play round.

Gil, a 16-year-old Vaughan, Ont. native, posted a 3-over 75, dropping eight spots down the leaderboard. The Team Canada Development Squad member was in good shape early on, sitting at 1-under through eight holes until double-bogeying the par-4 9^th.

Gil was unable to bounce back after that, posting four bogeys on the back nine to sit at even par overall for the tournament. He will look to bring more flashes from his opening round (which featured a hole-in-one) into Thursday’s final. He currently sits eight strokes back of the leader, Viktor Hovland of Norway.

On the girls side, 18-year-old Maddie Szeryk matched her opening round score of 74, leaving her at 4-over par.

The 2013 Canadian Junior Girls Champion caught fire on the back nine, opening with three consecutive birdies. The run didn’t last, however, as Szeryk double-bogeyed the 14^th and 15^th.

Szeryk now sits 11 strokes back of the leader, Korea’s Soyoung Lee.

The third and final stroke play round resumes tomorrow. Szeryk will lead off the girls in the opening group at 8:30 am (CST). Tony Gil will tee-off at 9:30 am (CST).

Click here for boys results

Click here for girls results

Sherbrooke, Qué. (Golf Canada) – Mary Ann Hayward of Aurora, Ont. is in the hunt for her fourth Women’s Senior Champion title after firing an opening round 3-under 70 at Club de golf Milby in Sherbrooke, Qué. on Tuesday.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Famer leads the competition by four strokes after a first round that consisted of five total birdies – two on the front nine and three on the back.

“I played very well,” Hayward said. “It was tough to know how the course was going to play since the greens were so wet from the rain in yesterday’s practice round. I hit the ball very well on a couple holes – the back nine was very good with only a couple hiccups on the front. Overall, I’m really happy.”

The defending champion also claimed the Canadian Women’s Senior title in both 2010 and 2011. She is looking for another win this year to earn an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Women’s Senior.

“I’d really like to get to the U.S. Senior, and since I missed the qualifier for it, this is sort of my second chance,” she said. “But it’s a good field, lots of strong players, and a good golf course. I’m quite happy with a good start, but there’s a lot of golf left to play so we will see how it goes.”

Following Hayward in second is Teri deLuis of Brockville, Ont. Her first round score of 1-over 74 puts her in the lead of the Super Senior division, which is open to players who have reached their 60th birthday by the first day of the competition.

In the Inter-Provincial Team competition – contested over the first 36 holes of the tournament – the Team Ontario contingent of Hayward, Judith Allan-Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont. and Ivy Steinberg of Stouffville, Ont. lead with a combined score of 2-over 148. Team British Columbia, which includes Jackie Little of Port Alberni, B.C., Holly Horwood of Vancouver and Penny Baziuk, of North Saanich, B.C., follow in second at 11-over.

Starting times, post-round results, full field list, and live scoring are available here.

NANJING, China – Canada’s Tony Gil and Maddie Szeryk sit T5 and T16, respectively, following the opening stroke play rounds of the boys and girls divisions at the Summer Youth Olympics.

Gil, a native of Vaughan, Ont., made his first round one for the ages as he fired a hole-in-one on the par-3 3^rd. The ace marks the first time in Olympic history.

“I had to carry the ball 164 yards to the pin, and chose a smooth swing with my 7-iron,” said Gil of the hole-in-one, also the first of his career. “I couldn’t actually tell it went in from the tee,” he said with a laugh.

The Team Canada Development Squad member closed out the front nine with a 1-under 35, crediting his ability to get out of trouble with up-and-downs. The 16-year-old went on to card three birdies on the back, leaving him at 3-under for the day in a tie for fifth.

On the girls side, Maddie Szeryk, 18, posted a 2-over par 74, leaving her in a tie for 16^th, five strokes back of the leaders. In addition to competition, the 2013 Canadian Junior Girls Champion is really enjoying the atmosphere with golf back in the Olympics.

“It’s awesome that it’s finally back in the Olympics and it’s so great to be here,” said Szeryk. “I’m hoping to play better in the next few days but overall the experience has been amazing.”

Team coach, Robert Ratcliffe, is very pleased with the performance so far and will make some slight adjustments to the strategy going forward.

“I want to change a bit of the strategy in regards to course management in the next few days,” said Ratcliffe, also Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad coach. “We are playing some of the highest ranked players in the world here and I think we are in good position to gain on the leaders.”

The second round of stroke play resumes Wednesday. Gil will tee off at 9:50 am (CST) and Szeryk will tee off at 8:50 am (CST).

Click here for boys division results.
Click here for girls division results.

Tony Gil (Golf Canada)

NANJING, China – Canada’s Tony Gil and Maddie Szeryk sit T5 and T16, respectively, following the opening stroke play rounds of the boys and girls divisions at the Summer Youth Olympics.

Gil, a native of Vaughan, Ont., made his first round one for the ages as he fired a hole-in-one on the par-3 3^rd. The ace marks the first time in Olympic history.

“I had to carry the ball 164 yards to the pin, and chose a smooth swing with my 7-iron,” said Gil of the hole-in-one, also the first of his career. “I couldn’t actually tell it went in from the tee,” he said with a laugh.

The Team Canada Development Squad member closed out the front nine with a 1-under 35, crediting his ability to get out of trouble with up-and-downs. The 16-year-old went on to card three birdies on the back, leaving him at 3-under for the day in a tie for fifth.

On the girls side, Maddie Szeryk, 18, posted a 2-over par 74, leaving her in a tie for 16^th, five strokes back of the leaders. In addition to competition, the 2013 Canadian Junior Girls Champion is really enjoying the atmosphere with golf back in the Olympics.

“It’s awesome that it’s finally back in the Olympics and it’s so great to be here,” said Szeryk. “I’m hoping to play better in the next few days but overall the experience has been amazing.”

Team coach, Robert Ratcliffe, is very pleased with the performance so far and will make some slight adjustments to the strategy going forward.

“I want to change a bit of the strategy in regards to course management in the next few days,” said Ratcliffe, also Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad coach. “We are playing some of the highest ranked players in the world here and I think we are in good position to gain on the leaders.”

The second round of stroke play resumes Wednesday. Gil will tee off at 9:50 am (CST) and Szeryk will tee off at 8:50 am (CST).

Click here for boys division results.
Click here for girls division results.

Tony Gil (Golf Canada)