PETERBOROUGH — For the second day in a row, a Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) event needed a playoff to produce a winner. This time it was at the Men’s Champion of Champions, June 12 at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club.

After 18 holes two players carded even-par 71s: Wellesley’s Rob Cowan and Odessa’s Peter Beneteau. For Cowan, the Westmount Golf and Country Club member, he went about his round consistently, paring his first nine holes and continued his consistency on his back nine with a couple birdies to balance out his bogies. As for Beneteau, the Camden Braes Golf and Country Club member was actually two-under late in his round. However, a couple of late mistakes dropped him back to even to finish the round.

On the playoff hole, the 49-year-old Cowan had a nice drive that found the fairway giving him a 140-yard shot to the green. Meanwhile, the 17-year-old Beneteau tried to play it safe by hitting an iron off the tee. He was a bit further back and on his second shot he went right of the green landing just under the branches of trees and in front of a bunker. It was a tough look and Beneteau’s third shot found the sand. Cowan put his second on the green and was able to comfortably two-putt for the win, making him a two-time winner of the event.

Cowan talked about his consistency after the win. “I started off with those nine consecutive pars then finally birdied 11. I made another on 12 from the fringe. I made a couple chunky mistakes and bogeyed 16 and then just ran out of steam on some putts that could have resulted in more birdies.”

The day began for Cowan with a shotgun start on hole two meaning he finished his round with the first hole. Cowan says he played the first very aggressively, the first time, and found the bunker. Yet he learned from that and with the playoff right back on the same hole, he didn’t take as aggressive of an approach, something that worked out for him as he pared it for the win.

The win adds to Cowan’s GAO collection, which includes a 2010 win at this event and an Ontario Match Play Championship. “It’s cool! I knew the first one wasn’t an accident because I won by five but it is nice to get another one. The guys joked around saying ‘You’ve got to keep up with (Dave) Bunker’ who just won the Ontario Match Play. For me, any GAO win is good win!”

Cowan added that he thought the key to his round was that he never really played with any danger. “There was never really a threat of anything really bad happening. When I made my second birdie I just said to myself ‘Don’t make any mistakes’ and I hit well enough to get the job done.”

Cowan will now turn his attention to the Investors Group Mid Amateur in just over a week at Taboo Resort. He says he feels prepared after playing a practice round at the course when he was in nearby Port Carling last week for the Ontario Match Play. After that he will also take part in the Investors Group Ontario Amateur July 8-11 at The Club at North Halton a course he says he feels very good about.

Rounding out the top three was a three-way tie for third. Matthew Wheeler, of Toronto and Beacon Hall Golf Club; Nicholas Striker, of Waterloo and Oviinbyrd Golf Club; and Nicholas Ross, from Dundas and the Hamilton Golf and Country Club, all finished one off the lead at one-over 72.

The Ontario Men’s Champion of Champions was first contested in 1946 and features men’s club champions from Golf Association of Ontario member clubs across the province. Past champions of the event include Ontario Golf Hall of Fame members Bill Morland, Gerry Kesselring, Warren Sye, and Stu Hamilton, as well as Big Break Indian Wells champion David Byrne.

Ian Andrew’s body of work as a golf course architect includes restoring the iconic Highlands Links in Nova Scotia and rebuilding Laval-sur-le-Lac’s Blue course in Quebec with design partner Mike Weir. But amid those grand projects, he has maintained a more modest dream that’s yet to be fulfilled. The Brantford, Ont., designer would like to create a course just for children. He is so passionate about the idea that he’d be willing to reduce or even waive his fee.

Andrew envisages a simple, hazard-free and inexpensive layout that allows young beginners an easy and fun entry into the game. He reasons that kids aged five to 12 will be far more engaged and likely to stick with golf if they start on a playing field scaled to their size and abilities. “If we really want to grow the game, we need stuff like that,” says Andrew, the father of two sons, Cam and James, who are now teenagers. The idea is neither new nor original.

Historic Gullane Golf Club in East Lothian, Scotland, opened its six-hole Children’s Course in 1910, for example. The course policy reads as follows: “Adults are welcome to play although they must be accompanied by a child.”

But such courses are rare, especially in North America. While par-three and executive courses abound, they often include such obstacles as bunkers and forced carries and may not be as kid-friendly as their shortened length might suggest. Andrew would like to change that, if only as an experiment or pilot project. He’d welcome working with a club or municipality, perhaps with the backing of one of Canadian golf’s corporate benefactors, to get a junior track off the ground.

“It needs a bit of a catalyst,” he says, “and I think it can happen.” Andrew has seen first-hand that kidfriendly design can work.

He took his sons in 2010 to Fanshawe Golf Course, the municipal facility in London, Ont., that has a short nine-hole layout in addition to its other, regulation-sized 36 holes. The short course, built in the hollow of an old gravel pit, is not a children’s course per se – it was created more with disabled golfers in mind. But it epitomizes exactly what Andrew imagines. No bunkers, no wildly sloping greens, no water hazards, no chance of losing a ball. Straight holes, each of them minimally maintained.

On their visit to Fanshawe, Andrew started off playing with his sons. Then the boys went off on their own, sometimes playing together, sometimes apart. Andrew estimates they went around the course 32 times in a dizzying afternoon of golf. They usually tired after just nine holes.

“It’s amazing how into the game they can become without all our crap that we sort of hoist on kids and then expect to them to conform to,” says Andrew, arguing that less is more when it comes to golf for kids. “… I didn’t expect the reaction from the kids that we got. It just told me that’s exactly what they need.”

The Fanshawe course opened about 15 years ago. Its holes range from 40 to 110 yards. The green fee? Free. Rob Vincent, Fanshawe’s head professional, says the little track appeals to a wide range of golfers, from juniors to seniors to disabled players in wheelchairs. (The greens were intentionally made firmer to accommodate chairs and the flagsticks are shorter for easier removal.)

The kids who play are typically there with a parent who tags along.

“To have a facility where you can chip and putt and little guys can use their drivers and have no marshals on them and no adults breathing down their necks, I think it’s really unique,” Vincent says.

While Andrew awaits his opportunity – he almost got his chance when he and Weir were speaking with the City of Richmond, B.C., about building a municipal course that had a few holes on the side for kids, but a deal was never reached – others are moving ahead with an alternative that has pretty much the same effect.

The USGA has a Junior Par System, where par is increased to achievable numbers for young golfers. Junior par on a hole could be 6, 7, 8 or even 9. Par for each hole is based on the yardage and the junior golfer’s level of play, usually determined by the junior’s Course Handicap from the forward tees: Beginner with a Course Handicap of 41 or above; Intermediate 25-40; Advanced 24 or below.

The popular program can easily be used by any course and keeps youngsters excited about golf. Many courses across Canada are adding what’s known as “family tees” – tee markers placed in the middle of fairways, well ahead of the forward tees. Junior golf advocates say this solution is more practical than purpose built kids’ courses.

“We don’t have enough money and enough room to build golf courses for kids,” says Brad Ewart, a Coquitlam, B.C. pro who serves as tournament director in British Columbia for the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA). “We already have thousands of existing golf courses that can be for kids.” Ewart says even without using the formal guidelines, clubs can use common sense in deciding where to place a marker or two down on the fairway. “Every PGA [of Canada] member who’s earned his card should know where to put it.”

The cost can be negligible: a small mowed patch marked with something as inexpensive as a painted rock. The only barriers to the initiative that Ewart can see are testosterone-fueled parents who insist their children thrash away from regular tee decks, and golf clubs with no real commitment to juniors. Both Andrew and Ewart agree the bottom line is to put the youngest players in a position where they can succeed. Par should be an attainable score – and that’s not possible for most eight-year-olds, for example, even from the forward tees.

It’s the same rationale as other golf leaders are pitching for adults in the “play it forward” movement, in which recreational players are encouraged to move up a tee deck or two to shoot lower scores, have more fun and speed up the game.

“If we set up a golf course that’s shorter then a young golfer knows he or she can get there (to a par-4 green) in two shots or three shots,” Ewart says. “They’re going to make pars, birdies and bogeys, not eights, nines and 10s.”

That early success makes the game more fun, as Andrew noticed with his sons, who made their first birdies and pars on the Fanshawe short course. “Because they could see success, because it wasn’t that complicated for them,” he says, “it got them really enthused about playing.” And that’s a dream for anyone involved in turning the next generation of golfers into lifetime players.

This article was published for the June 2014 edition of the Golf Canada Magazine, available online here.

WATERLOO— It was a dramatic end to the day, on June 11 at the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Women’s Champion of Champions event, as 18 holes at Grey Silo were not enough to crown a winner. In the end it was two more holes for two players who were paired together throughout the day – Thornhill’s Elizabeth Tong and Kitchener’s Sarah Dunning, with Tong eventually earning the victory.

The pair finished their rounds both at one-over 72, four strokes better than the next closest players. For Tong, the 21-year-old member of the University of Indiana golf team, she was able to jump out to the lead on the front nine. However, her playing partner, 19-year-old University of Toronto team member Dunning, would make a charge on the back nine, playing it two-under par. That forced a playoff, beginning on the first hole.

Both players made par on the first playoff hole and they moved to the nearby 18^th to try and decide a winner. After Tong, the Ladies Golf Club of Toronto member, played her tee shot in the middle of the fairway, Dunning, representing the Galt Country Club, struck hers well left into very tall grass. She was able to find it, but was forced to take an unplayable lie. Even though she recovered, that stroke allowed Tong to three-putt for the win.

“It was really fun to win the Champion of Champions,” said Tong. “I actually thought it might be over after the first playoff hole because she (Dunning) hit it really close and I thought she would make the putt. Things turned in my favour though, when she found the deep grass and I knew I had a five to win, but I was still nervous.”

Even though Tong controlled things for most of the day, since she was playing with Dunning, Tong knew just how close her opponent was to catching her. “It was fun to watch her because she was making all of these long putts to save par and make birdie, but at the same time I knew she was getting closer.”

Tong admits to a few mishaps on some holes, but says she felt like she played decently throughout the round. “I would definitely say the strongest part of my game today was my putting, even though I three-putted the final hole. Still, the rest of the day I was two putts or less.”

Finishing in a tie for third were Oshawa resident and Kendron Dells Golf Course member Lynn Morrison and Kelly Koselek from Toronto and Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club who each shot five-over 76.

UXBRIDGE, ON — Since 2004, the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) has annually taken the opportunity to recognize individuals within the local golf community, who have demonstrated a commitment to amateur golf in the province. For 2014, five names will be added to the wall. The new honourees are: Randy Millage, Bill Swartz, Sandy Billyard, Kevin Haime, and Mark Seabrook.

The honourees will all be recognized at specific GAO events during the course of this season. Millage, from Ennismore, was already recognized back in January at the GAO’s Annual General Meeting at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club.  Georgetown’s Swartz will be honoured at the Men’s Amateur, July 8-11 at The Club at North Halton in Georgetown. Billyard, from Ridgeville, will be honoured at the Senior Men’s Championship at Hunters Pointe Golf Club in Welland, Aug. 12-14. While Ottawa’s Haime and Seabrook will be honoured at the Bantam Boys Championship at the Canadian Golf & Country Club, Aug. 6-7, in Ashton.

Since 2004, 61 members have been added on the Wall of Recognition and now five more truly deserving names will join them.

More About The 2014 Honourees

Randy Millage

Millage got involved in junior golf in the 1980s, as his children began to play the sport. He started a junior program at Tamarac Golf & Country Club in Ennismore, before becoming the junior convener at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club. Millage also helped launch the Durham-Kawartha Junior Tour, the Ontario Junior Masters Series and brought American Junior Golf Association events to Ontario.  In 1997, Millage became a certified rules official and has marshaled Golf Canada, PGA of Ontario and PGA Tour Canada events. He has also served as associate governor of the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

Bill Swartz

Swartz began playing golf early and won many tournaments as a junior in Ontario. His skill earned him a golf scholarship to North Carolina State University where he played on the team for four years. In 1982, Swartz captured the Ontario Amateur Championship and followed it with the Canadian Amateur in 1984. Swartz later played as a professional earning an Ontario PGA Tour win and went on to play on the PGA Tour. Swartz returned to amateur status and continued to compete in provincial championships and represent the province in competitions.

Sandy Billyard

Billyard has been involved in many aspects of golf throughout his life. He won the 1973 Ontario Junior Championship, was part of the 1973 Willingdon Cup winning team and was runner up at the Canadian Junior Championship in 1974. In 1976, he took part in the Canadian Open. From 1974-76 he attended the Ohio State University before continuing on to Indiana University from 1976 to 1978. Billyard won numerous invitational tournaments in both Canada and the United States. In 2000, he built Hunters Pointe Golf Club, in Welland, and remains the club’s President. He returned to provincial competition in 2011 at the Ontario Senior Championship and represent Ontario at the 2012 Porter Cup.

Kevin Haime

Haime currently owns and operates the Kevin Haime Golf Centre and Kevin Haime Golf School in Ottawa. Haime was a successful amateur golfer who attended the University of Illinois on a golf scholarship. After university, Haime turned pro and opened his first practice facility at the age of 26. He was named Canadian PGA Zone Teacher of the Year in 1997, 2000 and 2009 and the 2000 Canadian PGA National Teacher of the Year. The National Post also recognized him as a Top 10 Teacher in Canada in 2005. Haime served as Canadian PGA Zone President in 1998 and 1999. That position helped him spearhead programs like the Clubs 4 Kids Junior Golf Charity Program and the Junior Challenge Tour. Haime’s work with juniors led to a 2007 Outstanding Contribution to the Game of Golf recognition by the Canadian PGA. In 2008, The Kevin Haime Junior Golf Initiative was created, and has since granted over 200 golf memberships to high-end private golf clubs.

Mark Seabrook

Seabrook was the president of the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) Canada for the first five years of its existence. He helped to create many programs with the association that are still in existence today. He was also the first Canadian to be on the Executive Board in the United States.  In 1992, Seabrook helped create a program similar to the ‘Smart Buy Program’ in the U.S. Later, he and the Ottawa Valley Golf Association, formed the Golfmax Purchasing Program, an association that brought together owners and represented their interested on a national scale. He has helped expand the NGCOA Conference and helped to bring Canadian content into the fold. In 2002, he was honoured by the NGCOA with the Don Rossi Award for significant and long-lasting contribution to the NGCOA. Seabrook is currently the Owner/General Manager of the Canadian Golf & Country Club.

ABOUT THE GOLF ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO

The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, the GAO is one of the largest golf associations in the world.  From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and getting the game of golf into our school systems, to keeping the Ontario golf community aware of all relevant issues and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, the Golf Association of Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to making golf better for everyone in Ontario. We share a love and passion for golf, while preserving its past, fostering its future, and championing golf’s best interests for everyone who enjoys the sport.

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the fifth annual Golf Canada Foundation Auction in support of golf development programs across Canada is now live and online at www.golfcanada.ca/auction.

Beginning June 9^th, golf enthusiasts across the country can bid on opportunities to play golf at exclusive courses across the country. Auction items will be gradually added throughout the month, as more courses are signing up each day.

Since 2010, the auction has raised over $210,000 in program funding for grow the game golf initiatives.  Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Golf Canada Foundation, which is proud to support and promote the following areas in Canadian golf:

•    Women’s golf (programs include Junior Girls programs and the Golf Canada Women’s Fund)
•    Junior golf (programs include Golf in Schools and CN Future Links)
•    High performance golf (programs include Team Canada & Young Pro)
•    Golf Heritage (programs include the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum)
•    Collegiate golf (programs include scholarships & grants as well as the Canadian University/College Championship)

Interested bidders need an eBay account in order to participate in the Golf Canada Foundation Auction.

The Golf Canada Foundation is also reaching out to Golf Canada member clubs across the country to donate a round of golf for either a threesome (if the group needs to be accompanied by a member) or foursome with two carts to be played at their facility during the 2014 season.

Member clubs interested in participating in the Golf Canada Auction can email foundation@golfcanada.ca.

Golfers interested in participating in the National Golf Auction can make their bid from June 9^th-19^that www.golfcanada.ca/auction.

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – CN and Golf Canada announced that CN is adopting 15 local schools from the Lambton Kent District and St Clair Catholic School Boards to deliver the game of golf to local students.  Students from the schools took part in a one-day golf clinic on Friday June 6th at the Saw Mill Creek Golf Club, receiving lessons in putting, chipping and driving from a PGA of Canada golf professional. Today, the program is being officially launched at the annual Sarnia Kids Fun Fest.

Families participating in the Kids Fun Fest will be invited to participate in the CN Future Links skills competition and experience the game of golf through different activities. CN Police will also be on-site throughout the day to promote rail safety.

“CN is proud to support the future of the game and the well-being and safety of our children by introducing the next generation of golfers to the game,” said Claude Mongeau, CN president and chief executive officer.  “We believe that Golf Canada’s vision to grow the sport aligns well with our corporate values to impact the health, wellness and safety of children in communities across Canada. “Golf and its inherent values are good for our children and we look forward to bringing Canada’s national junior golf program to communities across Canada.”

Today’s announcement is also the inauguration of the CN Future Links Community Tour. The program will consist of three community festivals each year, intended to share the health, wellness and safety values of golf. Each Tour stop will engage community youth and festival attendees in various golf activities including driving, chipping and putting as well as a CN Safety Zone to educate children on rail safety tips.

Each Tour stop will also feature CN Future Links junior golf instruction from PGA of Canada professionals as well as prize packs given away to participants. The Community Tour will travel in a converted shipping container that has been retro-fitted to transform into on-site golf activation.

The CN Future Links Community Tour kicked off Saturday, June 7th at the Kids Funfest Festival in Sarnia, Ont. The Community Tour will also visit Montreal as part of the 2014 RBC Canadian Open, July 21-26 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club and Saskatoon, Sask., from August 5-10 during the Saskatoon Exhibition.

CN has been a driving force in Canadian junior golf since becoming title sponsor CN Future Links in 2006.

“Youth golf has provided us a valuable platform to make a significant impact in the communities in which we operate.  We are pleased to take an active role in helping Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada grow junior golf across the country,” said Mr. Mongeau.

Current CN Future Links programming includes the ‘Learn to Play’ program as well as mobile clinics, the Junior Skills Challenge, Junior Leagues, Girls Club and the CN Future Links Championships. As part of its investment in Canadian junior golf, CN is also a proud supporter of Golf in Schools. New programming as part of the investment in youth golf will include CN Future Links School Adoption Program and CN Future Links Field Trip Program. A full listing of programs and information for junior golfers, parents, instructors and facilities is available at www.cnfuturelinks.com.

In 2013, CN Future Links junior golf activities were conducted at 431 golf facilities with more than 7,000 juniors registered in the Learn to Play program. In addition, 160 golf facilities took part in the Junior Skills Challenge while more than 67,000 youngsters participated in more than 1,800 mobile golf clinics across the country.

Since 2006 more than 1 million children have been introduced to golf through the CN Future Links program.

For Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons, The CN Future Links Community Tour reinforces CN’s commitment to share the health, wellness and safety values of golf to junior enthusiasts across Canada.

“I can’t say enough what it means to Canadian golf that CN has aligned their brand and their corporate values with Canada’s national junior golf program,” said Simmons. “Together with CN as well as our partners at the PGA of Canada and the provincial golf associations, the CN Future Links program is introducing children in communities across Canada to a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime.”

Winnipeg (Golf Canada) – The University of Manitoba Bisons claimed their first national title on home soil at the Southwood Golf and Country Club on Friday,  while the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds took home their 10th Canadian University/College Championship.

In the men’s competition it couldn’t have been sweeter for the Bisons who stormed back over the final two days of the championship to win by 12 strokes over the Thunderbirds.  The local favourites posted a 4-over 292 during Friday’s blustery final round in front of a large gallery.

“I’m just so proud of these guys, proud of the program and so appreciative of all the people that have helped us over the years,” said Bison’s Head Coach Garth Goodbrandson.

Scott Mazur led the Bisons’ squad over the final 18 holes carding a 1-under 71 – the only under-par round of the day at Southwood.

“We kept on talking about it all week to stay within yourself because it’s only natural to think about the final results,” Goodbrandson continued. “I think the key was they’re an experienced group and when they found themselves getting too far ahead they came back and just stayed in the moment.”

Individually, Scott Secord of the Thunderbirds led wire-to-wire for his first national championship title. The Calgary native finished at 7-under 281, seven strokes ahead of Connor Gann of the University of Victoria Vikes and Queen’s University’s Russell Bowie who finished at even-par 288.

“One of my goals coming into this week was to be low everyday and I think I accomplished that,” Secord said. “I made good strides mentally but unfortunately our team came second so hopefully next year we’ll get the title.”

On the women’s side, the Thunderbirds cruised to their 10th national championship title after a 17-over 233 final round. The squad dominated the field finishing 35 strokes ahead of the Université de Montreal Carabins.

“It feels so great, last year we came in and we didn’t quite have the finish that we wanted but this year we had a really strong group of girls,” said Thunderbirds Captain, Casara Hong. “Our team played really well and persevered through all the conditions. We had some really good competitors out here this week, it was tough competition.”

Playing a few pairings ahead of the final group, the Vikes’ Megan Woodland carded a 2-over 74 to finish at 8-over 296 for the championship. From behind the 18th green she watched her close friend Kylie Barros leave her chip shot short to lose by one. The wins marks Woodland’s first individual title after a handful of close calls.

“It feels amazing and to be honest it’s kind of been my goal since about my second year to come here and to finally win one,” Woodland said. “I’ve come really close the last few years and to pull it off it feels great but it’s a little bittersweet having Kylie come in second but I’m really happy.”

Megan Woodland & Scott Secord

Barros finished at 9–over 297 after a final round 3-over 75, while Sabrina Sapone of Université de Montreal Carabins end the championship in solo third at 9-over par.

For more information on the 2014 Canadian University/College Championship including final results click here.

PORT CARLING, ON— Experience paid off for Dave Bunker as he won his third Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) Match Play Championship, June 3-6, at the Lake Joseph Club in Port Carling. The Woodbridge resident defeated Dundas’ Nicholas Ross 4&3 in the final round.

The 49-year-old Bunker was able to take a 3up lead after the front nine, but Ross, the Hamilton Golf and Country Club member, looked to cut the lead when he chipped in for birdie on the 10^th hole. However, Bunker, the third seed in the tournament, also chipped in ending any momentum swings. The 19-year-old Ross would go on to take the 11^th hole, but Bunker won the 13^th and 14^th holes giving him a 4up lead with four to go. Ross, the 20^th seed, knew he had to win out to force a playoff and found the green on the par-three 15^th, while Bunker’s shot landed in the rough. However, Bunker chipped to within a foot forcing Ross to sink his ten-foot putt to keep the match going. He pushed his putt just right and Bunker, the Brampton Golf Club member, won the match and the Championship.

“It’s fantastic!” said Bunker after the win. “I really played well this week, I hit the ball well, kept it out of trouble and it was a good, fun week.”

Bunker knew that one of the biggest moments in his win came with the double chip-in on the 10^th hole. “Nick chipped in from the fringe and then I chipped in as well, both for birdies. That kind of kept me going. I did make a mistake on 11 and he won the hole, but it could have been two holes won by him.”

Getting to the final, let alone winning it, is no easy feat in a match play event. The field for the men began with 64 competitors. For Bunker, after winning his way through the first three rounds, he defeated Kingston’s Jesse Hogan in the quarter-finals and Toronto’s Turner Southey Gordon in the semis.

“I played really steady,” said Bunker. “I know this golf course really well so I know where to hit tee shots, I know where to hit approaches. It’s a golf course that if you start hitting it left and right, you lose golf balls so if you keep it in the fairway and make pars you are doing really well.”

As for Ross, his road to the finals included a quarterfinal win over Mississauga’s Eric Flockhart and a semis victory against Woodstock resident Spencer Dunseith.

For Bunker, it is just another GAO championship to add to his collection. He is a former Ontario Amateur Champion, Ontario Mid-Amateur Champion, as well as a Canadian Mid-Am and Mid-Masters Champion.

Recently, he had the opportunity to represent the GAO at the Manuel Prado and Carlos Raffo Cups in Lima, Peru, something Bunker says helped him in preparation for this season. “I think I maybe got a head start because I was preparing for Peru and then had a week in sunny, warm weather, and played a course in great condition. That’s what a lot of people in Toronto couldn’t do. I’ve been working hard on things so I was happy that I was able to hit the ball well this week and that my short game was good too.”

Now, Bunker will turn his attention to the Investors Group Mid-Am June 20-23 at the nearby Taboo. Bunker says that there isn’t much preparation he is focusing on but that he did get a chance to go over and check out the course this week as he looks for yet another GAO title.

Established in 1986, The Ontario Men’s Match Play Championship is contested annually and features 64 of Ontario’s best amateur golfers that have qualified through one of six qualifying tournaments held earlier this season, or who have gained an exemption into the event.  Notable former champions include Ontario Golf Hall of Fame member Ian Leggatt, David Hearn and David Byrne.

The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank Clublink and The Lake Joseph Club for their continued support of the Ontario Men’s Match Play championship.

WINNIPEG – The University of Manitoba Bisons’ stole the top spot on the leaderboard at the Canadian University/College Championship on Friday after firing a 3-under 285 in the men’s team competition. On the women’s side the Thunderbirds continued their strong play and hold a 12-stroke lead heading into the final round.

On the men’s side, the Bisons’ rallied during the afternoon draw lighting up Southwood Golf and Country Club with a 3-under 285 to finish at 1-over 865 after 54 holes.

“I’m really pleased, I thought they handled themselves fantastic, it’s a different experience and something they probably haven’t been in being in the last group,” said Bisons’ Head Coach, Garth Goodbrandson. “I’m really excited at the way they handled themselves, they were composed out there and I think they enjoyed it because sometimes you get in that position and you’re scared by it.”

Josh Wytinck and Scott Mazur stepped up for the host team, both carding 2-under 70’s. The squad has never won a national championship and currently lead by two-strokes over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

“We just have to talk as a group and do what we did today,” Goodbrandson continued. “That was kind of our game plan today, focus on our game and not worry about them or any other team, if we do that tomorrow we’ll be just fine.”

As the defending champions, the Thunderbirds stumbled on Thursday carding a 9-over 297. They currently sit in second at 3-over for the championship, while the Western University Mustangs dropped into third place after a 7-over 295.

Individually, UBC’s Scott Secord remains well ahead of the pack at 12-under 204 after a third consecutive under-par round. The Calgary native battled back over his closing three holes, chipping in on the par-4 16th and sinking a long birdie putt on the par-5 18th.

Connor Gann of the University of Victoria Vikes sits in second at 2-under 214, while Russell Bowie of Queen’s University, Université Laval’s Samuel Rochette and Wytinck share third at 1-under par.

On the women’s side, the Thunderbirds’ squad rebounded from their second round, carding a 10-over 226 to soar ahead of Université de Montréal Carabins. The 9-time national champions were led on windy Thursday morning by veteran team member, Kylie Barros who carded an even-par 72. The squad heads into Friday’s final round at 33-over 681 for the championship, 19 strokes ahead of the Carabins. If the Thunderbirds can maintain their lead they will pick up their 10th national championship title at the conclusion of the event.

“We have a great team with four strong players,” Barros said. “We’re feeling confident but we still know we have some work left but ten would be a nice a way to finish my five years at UBC.”

Individually, Barros and the Vikes’ Megan Woodland share first place at 6-over 222. Woodland will aim to pick up her first individual national title on Friday after posting a third round 1-over 73, while her close friend Barros will look to grab her second individual title.

“We’re very close friends, pretty close as proven by our golf games today,” Barros said with a laugh. “It’s fun you always know what you have to do out there, but you also know you have someone supporting you and it makes the 4.5 hour round go by faster.”

The duo currently sits four strokes ahead of Kat Kennedy of the Thunderbirds. Kennedy posted a third round 3-over 75, while 2013 champion, Sabrina Sapone, matched Barros’ low-round of the day with an even-par 72 to jump up to solo fourth on the leaderboard at 11-over 227.

The field was cut to top-10 men’s teams and the top-6 women’s teams following the conclusion of play on Thursday. Individuals within 15 shots of the lead also made the 54-hole cut. 

The Canadian University/College Championship touched down in Winnipeg for the first time in the championship’s history.

In all, 154 of Canada’s top post-secondary talents vie for their respective team and individual national titles, but what many don’t know is the role the Golf Canada Foundation plays behind the scenes in supporting these universities and colleges long before they ever compete at this national championship.

Since 2004, the Foundation has been granting funds to programs across the country as a whole. Each year, schools apply to receive grants and the Foundation distributes valuable dollars to selected qualifying programs. In the past decade, the foundation has distributed over $1.6 million in grants that were either used for operational funding, scholarship funding or capital projects at Canadian post-secondary institutions and colleges.

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades are relatively new to the Canadian University/College athletic landscape and their Head Coach Chris Bertram is grateful for the opportunities the Foundation has given his team.

“Last year was the first year we were successful in our application for the Foundation and it had a massive impact right off the bat,” Bertram said.

“We have two teams and with our men’s program we had a really strong core group of players and there were a couple of young prospects I was trying to get to come and play at the university. By getting a bit of extra money it gave us the ability to offer a few more scholarships and it gave us those extra pieces that we needed.”

In order to qualify for grants through the Golf Canada Foundation, a team needs a dedicated (full or part-time) coach and a men’s and women’s program. They need to have a competitive schedule and also show a willingness to compete in the national championship.

The Cascades Head Coach was quick to point out those dollars received played a vital part in his Cascades squad winning both the men’s and women’s CCAA National Championships earlier this season. The ability to attract some great players with more scholarships out of the gate he said made a ‘huge impact’ for both his rosters and the success his players have had is a reflection of that.

“I’ve been involved with the program for 10 years and we started really on a shoestring,” Bertram said. “The university gave us a bit of money but post- secondary budgets are getting tighter in Canada and the athletics programs really feel that and our program is no exception.”

Bertram’s thoughts were echoed at Southwood Golf and Country Club by the University of Manitoba Bisons’ Head Coach, Garth Goodbrandson.

“The Foundation has basically kept our program alive over the years, we’re not funded by the university which makes things a little tough but the fact is we’ve done a lot of fundraising and we try to keep the program together and the foundation really got us started,” Goodbrandson said. “We’ve been very fortunate, very appreciative and very proud of where the program has gone.”

As the host university, the Bisons will look to pick up their first national title in the history of the program.

“Recruiting has never been too much of an issue, financially it’s the biggest challenge,” Goodbrandson continued. “We want to make our program one that’s comparable to a U.S. program and I think over the years we’re getting closer and closer to doing so and the players are really starting to believe in staying here in Canada.”

“You can see it with the quality of the Canadian Championship how much it’s improved over the years,” he continued.

The Foundation not only benefits institutions it also provides individual players academic scholarships. Last year there were 14 scholarships valued at $51,000 awarded to players from coast-to-coast.

As a recipient of one of the 14 scholarships, Devon Rizzo of the University of Waterloo is a past individual champion of the Canadian/University Championship.  She said her decision to stay and play in Canada was an easy one.

“One of the main reasons was the program, I wanted to take Management Engineering and Waterloo is well known for their Engineering programs,” Rizzo said. “I met our coach Carla and she kind of sealed the deal because I could get the best of both worlds at Waterloo – I could compete at a high level, with a great coach and a great team and get the schooling that I wanted.”

Rizzo hasn’t only benefited from the scholarship program once, she’s been a multiple recipient and recommends any collegiate golfer in Canada apply.

“Our coach usually sends us the links, they’re very easy to apply for I recommend everyone applies for them they’re not too difficult and don’t take too much of your time and are very beneficial,” she continued. “The scholarship helps me pay for my schooling, university costs a lot of money and every bit helps and it’s fantastic.”

To find out more information on available scholarships and how athletic golf programs can apply for grants from the Golf Canada Foundation please contact Spencer Snell, Operation Manager for the Golf Canada Foundation by email at ssnell@golfcanada.ca or phone 1-800-263-0009 ext. 265. Additional information can also be found on the Foundation’s website www.golfcanadafoundation.com.