GIBBONS, Alta. – The second round of the 2015 CN Future Links Western Championship at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta., concluded with Kenna Hughes and Andrew Harrison atop the leaderboards.

Kenna Hughes, who finished the 2014 edition of this event in third place, capitalized on a 7-over 78 – tied for her division’s low round of the day – to capture a one stroke lead heading into the final round. The 17-year-old Calgary native finished with a 2-over-par back nine and has a two-day total of 15-over 157.

The leader going into the round, 16-year-old Kehler Koss, slipped to second place following a round of 81. The Calgarian is 16-over-par in the competition and currently holds the low round in the Junior Girls division after opening with a 77.

Four shots off the lead is Bria Jansen of Cochrane, Alta. The 18-year-old finished the day with a birdie and six straight pars to shoot a 7-over-par 78 and is 19-over for the tournament.

Andrew Harrison maintained his grasp of first place thanks to a birdie on the final hole – his fourth of the day – to finish with a 74. The Camrose, Alta., product sits 3-over 145 heading into the final round. Mirroring the final standings of the 2015 Alberta Junior Boys Championship, Harrison is currently ahead of Jason Martens. A native of Edmonton, Martens shot 1-under on the front nine to finish 2-over-par 73; he is one shot back of the lead.

Not far behind is Calgary’s Brendan MacDougall who sits two strokes off the lead after a round of 74. A quartet of juniors sits T4, four shots back of the lead.

Earning their places into the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be the top six finishers from this competition. Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will host the national championship from August 2-6.

The top six Junior Girls will receive exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship. The competition will be contested from August 3-7 at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. In addition, the CN Future Links Junior Girls Western champion will receive entry into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of her choosing.

The final round of the CN Future Links Western Championship will commence tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. MDT.

For full second round results from the 2015 CN Future Links Western Championship and final round tee times, please visit the tournament website here.

GIBBONS, Alta. – Clear skies and ideal conditions set the stage for the first round of the 2015 CN Future Links Western Championship at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta. Andrew Harrison opened at even par to top a crowded leaderboard in the Junior Boys division while Kehler Koss sits two strokes ahead of second place to lead the Junior Girls.

Harrison of Camrose, Alta., is carrying momentum from his recent victory at the 2015 Alberta Junior Championship. The 16-year-old matched three bogeys with a trio of birdies to finish at even-par 71. Several competitors are within striking distance with 10 players shooting 4-over par or better.

One shot back is Ponoka, Alta., product Jared Nicolls who bounced back from a double bogey on hole 15 with a birdie on 16 and two subsequent pars. Also shooting 72 was Calgary native Ryan Rody, whose round was highlighted by a front nine score of 2-under par.

Edmonton’s Jason Martens, who finished runner-up at the Alberta Junior Championship, opened the tournament with a 2-over par 73 and is T4. Sharing fourth is Brendan MacDougall of Calgary who capitalized on an even-par back nine to sit two shots back of the lead.

Three Calgary natives finished the day at the top of the Junior Girls division. Leading the way was Kehler Koss who opened the 54-hole competition with a 6-over par 77 performance. The 16-year-old notched two birdies and holds a two shot advantage heading into the second day of the tournament.

In second with a score of 79 is Kenna Hughes who is looking to improve upon her third-place finish at the 2014 edition of this event held at Birchbank Golf Club in Trail, B.C. Rounding out the top three is Sharmaine Rapisura, who sits five strokes back of the leader after opening with an 82.

The top six finishers in both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls divisions at the CN Future Links Western Championship will receive exemptions into their respective national championships. The 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will take place August 2-6 at Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., while the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship will be contested at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask., from August 3-7. The CN Future Links Junior Girls Western champion will also receive an exemption into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of her choice.

The second round will see the junior girls tee off at 7:30 a.m. MDT before the junior boys take to the course at 8:40 a.m.

For complete scoring and additional information from the 2015 CN Future Links Western Championship, click here.

The 13^th edition of the Take a Kid to the Course week is back from July 6-12.

The program, developed by the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada, offers parents an added opportunity to introduce their children to the sport. How better to grow the game than playing alongside the next generation of golfers?

Hundreds of participating courses across the country will offer a free complimentary golf round to a child under the age of 16 when accompanied by a paying adult. Many courses will also provide additional programs such as junior clinics, free range balls, junior club rentals and parent/child tournaments during the week.

Over 300,000 junior golfers have participated over the past 12 years, creating a great platform for promoting the game of golf while providing a healthy and fun activity for parents and children to enjoy together.

For more information and a list of participating courses click here.

CUMBERLAND, Ont. – Team Canada’s Étienne Papineau notched another provincial tournament win on Monday at the Camelot Golf & Country Club, winning Golf Québec’s Alexander of Tunis in a two-hole playoff.

Papineau, a two-time Québec junior champion, posted a cumulative score of 140 (-4) to enter the sudden-death playoff against Pierre-Alexandre Bédard of Chibougamau-Chapis, Qué., and Scott Ray of Ottawa—also the president of host club Camelot.

With the group still all-square on the second playoff hole, 18-year-old Papineau made his mark with an approach shot that landed inches from the hole. From there, the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu native tapped-in for birdie and the win.

“I was so nervous; it felt like I was carrying 200 pounds on my shoulders,” said Papineau. “When I saw the ball sink into that cup, I started breathing easy again.”

The win adds to Papineau’s impressive summer, which includes a T10 finish for Canada at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan last month. He will look to keep up the strong play this weekend at the Duke of Kent tournament—the second of leg of the men’s triple crown of amateur golf in Québec.

The “Tunis” is the most prestigious amateur tournament presented in the Ottawa region. The men’s Triple Crown is composed of the Alexander of Tunis, Duke of Kent, and Men’s Provincial Amateur Championship. The three (3) best players on the Triple Crown’s Order of Merit will form the provincial team representing Golf Québec at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be held at the Weston Golf & Country Club and Lambton Golf & Country Club, in the Toronto area, from August 10 to 13. Practice rounds will be held on August 8 and 9.

Click here for full results.

Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B., will showcase junior golfers from July 13-16 in the final CN Future Links Championship of the 2015 season. The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship will begin with a practice round on July 13 before the 54-holes of stroke play competition commences on July 14.

Along the windy shores of the Bathurst Harbour near the Bay of Chaleur lies Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club. Juniors will appreciate the picturesque water views and the coast’s breezy weather while they are challenged by Gowan Brae’s quick tiered greens.

“The CN Future Links Championships have run with great success this season,” said Dan Hyatt, Tournament Director. “We have seen strong competition and Golf Canada looks forward to closing out the CN Future Links Championship series at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club. With the final six exemptions into both the Canadian Junior Boys and Junior Girls Championships available, the event will prove to be exciting as we prepare to crown the season’s two remaining CN Future Links champions.”

Headlining the field in the Junior Girls division will be Laura Jones, the 2014 runner-up in this event and the 2015 New Brunswick Junior Girls Champion. The Moncton, N.B., product also recently competed in the Kent Ford Motors Bouctouche East Coast Junior Championship where she finished three strokes back of winner Claire Konning, who will also be in the field chasing the Atlantic Championship. The Indian Mountain, N.B., native claimed a third-place finish at the 2014 edition of this competition. Joining the pair will be last year’s fourth place finisher, Bailey Carr of Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Traveling to Bathurst, N.B., from Toronto, will be Tyler Erb who finished tied for second place in 2014 after opening the event with an even-par 72. Blair Bursey of Gander, N.L., will look to add a CN Future Links championship to his resume after having already captured the 2015 Golf Newfoundland and Labrador Amateur Men’s title.

In-season winners joining the hunt for the 2015 CN Future Links Atlantic title will be Kent Ford Motors Bouctouche East Coast Junior Boys Champion Mackenzie Clark of Fredericton, N.B., and Bantam Champion Isaac Darling of Rothesay, N.B. Junior Boys runner-up and 2014 New Brunswick Junior Boys Champion, Calvin Ross from Fredericton N.B., will also vie for the championship title.

Among the 27 athletes competing in their home province, Bathurst, N.B., trio Danek Hadley, Nicholas Cameron and Nathan Hogan will hope to capitalize on their home club advantage at Gowan Brae.

The top six finishers in the Junior Boys division of the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship will receive exemptions into the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, to be contested at Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., from August 2-6.

The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship will award its top six Junior Girls with exemptions into the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, from August 3-7, at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. In addition, the Junior Girls champion will also receive an exemption into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of their choosing.

The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship is the last in a series of six championships presented by Golf Canada in partnership with CN to support the growth and development of junior golf in Canada.

The 2015 season began with National Team Development Squad members Trevor Ranton (Waterloo, Ont.) and Grace St-Germain (Ottawa, Ont.) being crowned CN Future Links Pacific champions at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach, B.C. The Ontario stop in the championship series saw Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.) and Alyssa Getty (Ruthven, Ont.) finish at the top of the leaderboard at Pine Knot Golf & Country Club in Dorchester, Ont. Capturing the Prairie titles at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., were Alexander Smith (Calgary, Alta.) and National Squad member Alisha Lau (Richmond, B.C.). This past weekend at the CN Future Links Quebec Championship Alyssa Getty (Ruthven, Ont.) added a second Junior Girls title to her resume for the season at Golf Château-Bromont, in Bromont, Que., while Jason (Chan Young) Chung captured the Junior Boys title.

Additional information on the 2015 CN Future Links Atlantic Championship, including a full list of competitors and tee-times are available here.

It was a hot day in Bromont, Que., for the final round of the CN Future Link Quebec Championship hosted by Golf Château-Bromont. Alyssa Getty and Jason (Chan Young) Chung fired off the day’s low rounds in their respective divisions to capture the 2015 CN Future Links Quebec Championship titles.

Before Alyssa Getty of Ruthven, Ont., teed off this morning, she was tied for fifth place and sat two strokes out of the lead. After nine holes, she found herself three back, but remained focus on the task at hand.

“My game plan was to be more aggressive today than I was the other two days and I definitely got some momentum going,” said Getty of her round today.

She played the back nine at even par, bouncing back with a birdie after a bogey on 14. Her par putt on 18 secured her third CN Future Links Championship victory in two years, including back-to-back wins at this event. Earlier this season, Getty captured the CN Future Links Ontario Championship.

Getty added that there was a little extra pressure coming into this tournament as the defending champion, but she stayed calm with her sights set on the victory. “It’s crazy. I’m so excited, especially since it’s my last year of junior golf and playing well in the CN Future Links Championships has been one of my goals. I’m really happy about having won this week and at CN Future Links Ontario this season.”

Getty’s score of 2-over 74, was the lowest in the Junior Girls division on Sunday. Her 224 total for the competition put her one stroke ahead of runner-up Sarah-Ève Rhéaume. The 36-hole co-leader and Québec City, Que. native made the turn this morning with a 1-over 37, but could not hold on for the win. She concluded the tournament with a 5-over-par round of 77.

Finishing T3 at 228 were Noémie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., and Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., who carded rounds of 78 and 79, respectively.

In the Junior Boys division, Jason (Chan Young) Chung posted the low round for the second consecutive day. The Thornhill, Ont., native’s final round of 6-under 66 earned him the CN Future Links Junior Boys Quebec title with a three-day score of 11-under 205.

“It’s very surreal, I haven’t won in a couple of years,” shared Chung of the win today. “It’s really been a good past few days and I feel I’ve finally broke through with my game. It is a boost of confidence that I can hopefully take into the next couple of tournaments I will be playing. I’d like to think of it as a new chapter because I’ve never gone this low.”

Chung noted that his game plan coming into the final round was to focus on hitting fairways and greens to set him up for as many birdie chances as possible. He was able to follow though, notching eight birdies on the day. He credited his work around the greens for the victory. “I made most, if not all, of my putts from inside eight feet, so I think that’s what made the difference today.”

Finishing two strokes back in second place was Charles-Éric Bélanger with a final round 67. The Québec City, Que., product made a determined attempt to catch the leader, notching four birdies on the front nine for a 3-under 33 before adding three consecutive birdies on holes 13, 14 and 15. Third-place finisher Maxime Laoun matched Bélanger’s front nine score of 33 and went on to sign for a final round 4-under 68. The Montréal, Que., native finished the competition at 209.

Jason (Chan Young) Chung will return to the province of Quebec from August 3-6 to compete in the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion. Also receiving exemptions into the field were the five runners-up from this competition determined in a playoff.

Similarly, Alyssa Getty and the five finishers and ties in the Junior Girls division of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship were awarded direct entry into the field at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship to be contested from August 4-7 at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. Alyssa Getty has also earned entry into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event.

The CN Future Links Championships are a series of six tournaments presented by Golf Canada in partnership with CN in support of the development of junior golf. The 2015 series’ first winners were Team Canada Development Squad members Trevor Ranton (Waterloo, Ont.) and Grace St-Germain (Ottawa, Ont.) who found the podium at the championship’s Pacific edition at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach, B.C. Ontarians Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.) and Alyssa Getty (Ruthven, Ont.) captured the Ontario titles in their home province at Pine Knot Golf & Country Club in Dorchester, Ont. At Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., Alexander Smith (Calgary, Alta.) and Development Squad member Alisha Lau (Richmond, B.C.) joined the winners circle at the Prairie Championship.

For full results from the 2015 CN Future Links Quebec Championship, please visit the tournament website here.

It was a mix of sun and clouds at Golf Château-Bromont located in Bromont, Que., for the second round of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship. Sarah-Eve Rhéaume and Annie Lacombe went low today to emerge as co-leaders in the Junior Girls division. Antoine Beaupré-Vachon took a one stroke lead in the Junior Boys division heading into Sunday’s final round.

Sarah-Eve Rhéaume carded a 3-under 69 to assume a share of the 36-hole lead. The Québec City, Que., native’s round was 10 strokes better than her first day performance and the only score in the 60s thus far in the Junior Girls division. She registered five birdies on the day, including a consecutive pair on holes 7 and 8.

Rhéaume was joined at the top of the leaderboard at 4-over 148 by Annie Lacombe of Laval, Que. The reigning Quebec Junior Girls Champion carded a 1-under 71 that included two sets of back-to-back birdies: on 13 and 14 and on the final two holes.

Sitting one stroke back in third place at 149 are opening round co-leaders Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., and Alexandra Naumovski of Hornby, Ont. They continued their identical play in round two, both signing for scores of 75. In a three-way tie for fifth at 6-over 150 are Brigitte Thibault from Rosemère, Que., and Alyssa Getty of Ruthven, Ont., – who both recorded rounds of 73 – alongside Noémie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., with a 74.

On the Junior Boys side, Antoine Beaupré-Vachon began the day one stroke back of the lead. The Montréal, Que. product quickly propelled himself to the top of the leaderboard with an impressive tally of seven birdies en route to his 5-under-par round of 67. Combined with an opening round of 70, Beaupré-Vachon now sits at 7-under 137 to hold a one shot lead.

Cullen Chung matched the leader’s 67 and also tallied seven birdies, including five on the back nine. The Westmount, Que., native currently sits in solo second place at 138. Occupying third place at 139 is Jason (Chan Young) Chung who went bogey-free across the back nine to post a 7-under-par 65 round. The Thornhill, Ont. native notched seven birdies and an eagle to tie Sam Meeks of Peterborough, Ont., for the low round of the day.

The top six CN Future Links Quebec Junior Boys competitors will earn entry into the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, to be hosted by Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., from August 2-6.

The top six finishers in the Junior Girls division at the CN Future Links Quebec Championship will receive exemptions into the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship to be contested from August 3-7 at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. The CN Future Links Quebec Junior Girls champion will also receive an exemption into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of her choice.

The final round of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship will commence tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

For full second round results from the CN Future Links Quebec Championship and final round tee times, please visit the tournament website here.

Clear skies set the stage for the first round of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship at Golf Château-Bromont located in Bromont, Que. Brandon Lacasse took full advantage of ideal conditions and leads the Junior Boys division by one stroke. Céleste Dao and Alexandra Naumovski finished strong to climb to the top of the Junior Girls leaderboard.

Lacasse posted the clubhouse lead with a 3-under 69. The Châteauguay, Que., native made the turn at even-par with two birdies and two bogeys on the card. He opened the back nine with a birdie on hole 10, then proceeded to make six straight pars before finishing with back-to-back birdies.

Lacasse, who finished T3 in the 2013 edition of this competition, was followed closely by Antoine Beaupré-Vachon of Montreal, Que., and Charles-David Trépanier of Québec, Que., who both carded rounds of 2-under 70. Beaupré-Vachon’s performance was highlighted by four birdies and a string of nine straight pars to finish the day. Trépanier concluded his round with an eagle on the final hole. The crowded leaderboard features five Junior Boys two shots back of the lead at 1-under 71.

In the Junior Girls division, Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., and Alexandra Naumovski of Hornby, Ont., captured the lead with rounds of 2-over 74. Dao kept herself in contention with a strong back nine performance that included two birdies. With a late birdie on 17, Naumovski claimed her share of the lead.

Two shots back in third place with rounds of 4-over 76 are Noémie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., and Madeline Marck-Sherk of Ridgeway, Ont. The Junior Girls division is also tight at the top with four golfers tied for fifth place with a score of 77, including defending champion Alyssa Getty of Ruthven, Ont., and Annie Lacombe of Laval, Que., the reigning Quebec Junior Girls Champion.

The top six finishers in both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls divisions at the CN Future Links Quebec Championship will receive exemptions into their respective national championships. The 2015 Canadian Junior Boys will be contested from August 2-6 at Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., while the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship will be hosted by Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask., from August 3-7. The CN Future Links Quebec Junior Girls champion will also receive an exemption into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of their choice.

The second round of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship will begin tomorrow morning with the first group of Junior Girls teeing off at 7:30 a.m. ET followed by the Junior Boys at 9 a.m. ET.

For full first round results from the CN Future Links Quebec Championship and Saturday’s pairings, please visit the tournament website here.

Gerry Nelson is blind.  “Completely black, no lights, no shadows.’” For a time, his ears didn’t appear to work either. In his early 20s, Nelson was working hard during the day and partying just as hard at night, for a stint “making bacon” on the assembly line of the Gainers meat plant in his hometown of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and another time hauling sheets of drywall and sacks of concrete around a lumber yard.

Even his drinking buddies told him he should cut way back.  They knew that diabetes and gallons of alcohol were a dangerous cocktail, especially for Nelson who took his insulin every morning, but otherwise didn’t take the disease too seriously.  He learned about drinking from his alcoholic father, but not much about managing his diabetes since his mother died of leukemia when he was 11.

By the summer of 1988, at the age of 25, his eyes were so bad he could no longer play fastball.  He had surgery to re-attach both retinas in November, but within a few days he suffered a “major bleed” in both eyes and his world went dark.

“Mismanaging my diabetes caused me to lose my eyesight,” he says.  “People told me this would happen but I didn’t listen.” What did he do?  “I picked up where I left off : party, party, party.”

Unfortunately, Nelson’s story to this point is not unique to people who grew up in hardscrabble circumstances.  These stories are often told at wakes or funerals, or around the local bar.

But Nelson’s story—or shall we say, the rest of the story—is among one of the most inspiring in the Everyone Has a Story series on: golfcanadagolf.ca that launched in April.

In the video, Nelson, holding a 7-iron, his short hair silvery at age 51, says that when he lost his eyesight, “I had no idea what I was going to do.  I had no idea what I could do.  I thought life was over.  Golf was the catalyst that really got me going again.”

Nelson introduces himself in the video as the Western Canadian Blind Golf Champion.  He fails to mention that he’s won the title 10 times, and that he finished third in the World Blind Golf Championship in 2012.  His passion led him to help found Blind Golf Canada, which he serves as president with assistance from many others, including multiple-winner Brian MacLeod.

While he’s proud of his championships and the organization, they do not provide his greatest joy as a golfer.  “With my love for the game, and the fact that my son (11-year-old Wyatt) can participate in it with me now, there’s no greater joy I’d rather experience.”

The connection he cherishes with his son on a golf course and the feeling of a flushed shot are just some of the reasons Nelson took part in the storytelling series, which is geared toward inspiring more people to take up the game and stay with it.

Nelson is also proud to note he’s been working with the CNIB for 21 years, where he currently helps connect new clients to service providers and those who can help them.

He credits the CNIB for helping stop his spiral as “a guy with a white cane who partied all night and slept all day.” Two CNIB workers knocked on his door and invited him to a three-week educational program on independent living.  He dutifully went to listen, but left after a few hours.

Six months later, he gave the program another shot.  “I was ready,” he recalls. “Those three weeks changed my life and gave me direction.”

Determined to work for the CNIB, he moved to Saskatoon in 1990 and entered the University of Saskatchewan where he taught himself to type and use various accessibility programs.  It not only got him away from his drinking buddies, but also “gave me a purpose.  I was now a somebody.” He finished his degree in 1998 with Athabasca University through a distance program and started working with the CNIB.

After moving to Saskatoon, he was encouraged to take up golf again, which he’d played as a kid, mostly whacking balls around a park.  He had also played hockey and baseball, but considered himself merely “mediocre,” which is how he came to define himself.

A retired member of the Saskatoon Lions Club, who was also a golfer, had been looking for a blind golfer to assist.  Richard (Dick) Achen contacted Nelson and an amazing friendship and journey began. Achen started guiding Nelson on the driving range and around golf courses, and became like a father.

The guide’s role is simple: “Your job is to put the club behind the ball aimed at the target and get the hell out of the way.” On the greens, the guide reads the break, aims the club and tells the golfer if the putt is up or downhill and how far it is.  That’s about it.

During university, Nelson had about five months off every summer, and played just about every day at Greenbryre G&CC thanks to professional Peter Semko, later inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

“I was a natural,” Nelson says with the cheeriness and lively energy that came down the phone line in a recent interview. “With Dick’s help, I got better and better.  I got a taste of tournament play and I was a cocky rooster.  I built confidence in my game and it rubbed off on me as a person.  I started thinking there’s a lot more that I could do.

“As a kid, I had no confidence,” he continues.  “At university, I started to believe in myself.  I had a new identity and I could do all these things such as golf. Golf started it all.  I could take things that I learned playing golf and apply them to situations in life.  I learned to leave out things that are negative for me.  Along the way, I became a very positive person, thinker and a better father.”

People saw what Nelson had and they wanted to share in it, which led to his frequent role as a motivational speaker.  Although The Golf Channel hums constantly when Nelson is home, he doesn’t pay attention to the barrage of technical instruction.

“It’s all about feeling,” he concludes. “Like a sighted golfer, you get into a groove. You’re feeling it.  It’s not any one thing. I’m actually very good at visualization and imagination.  When I’m on a golf course and the sun is shining, I don’t need to see to know it’s a beautiful day and I’m the luckiest guy to be alive doing this.”

Share your golf story by going to: golfcanadagolf.ca.

When Austin Connelly was just four years old, he visited his grandparents in Nova Scotia from his hometown in Texas. While he was there, a local news station picked up his story. Connelly was a wunderkind, having just finished third in a junior event up against kids two years older than he.

“He’d rather watch pro golf than watch cartoons,” his grandfather says in the video, as the young Connelly proceeds to knock a 30-foot putt right in the hole at Old Ashburn Golf Club.

Fast forward nearly 15 years, and Connelly is back at Ashburn. This time, he’s making his debut on the Web.com Tour, is on the cusp of becoming a professional golfer and is in the midst of realizing his childhood dream.

Connelly is in the field this week at the Nova Scotia Open on a sponsor’s exemption. He will play the first two rounds with fellow Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Taylor Pendrith after having already played in the pro-am with another teammate in Adam Svensson. The dual-citizen joined the national team earlier in 2015.

“It’s really special to come up here and play in front of my friends and family. I’ve always loved Nova Scotia because it’s a great way to escape the Texas heat,” Connelly says with a smile.

Connelly made his PGA Tour debut earlier this season at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he made the cut and had incredible hometown support.

That support is likely going to continue at his other home this week.

“Talking to Austin, I know it means a lot to him to be here,” says Gordie Smith, the general manager of Ashburn Golf Club. “Locally, a lot of people may not yet know the name, but once they hear his story, they’ll be cheering him on.”

“If Austin gets it going a little bit, he’ll have a lot of supporters on the weekend. Nova Scotians love to cheer on one of their own,” Smith continues.

It helps that Connelly is not hard to root for.

Although small in stature – he stands about 5-foot-5 and weighs no more than 120 pounds – his game is big. And, the combination of southern charm with Canadian politeness is quite evident, after just a few minutes of talking with him.

“He’s a very nice young man,” says Smith, who also played in the pro-am with Connelly and Svensson.

His parents, too, are very committed to Connelly’s success. Bill Connelly, his father with the Canadian connection, and Bridget, his ever-smiling mother, will be alongside their son as he plays a mix of professional and amateur tournaments throughout the summer.

Connelly will also represent Canada in the Pan Am Games at Markham, Ontario’s Angus Glen in July. The 18-year-old says it will be an honour to represent the red & white.

“Any time you can represent your country, it’s really an amazing thing,” he says. “It should be an amazing experience with all the other world-class athletes. I was so happy when they sent me the invitation.”

Derek Ingram, the men’s national team head coach, will be right there with Connelly and fellow Canadian representative Garrett Rank during the Pan Am Games, even living in the athlete’s village with them.

“Talk about 24/7 coaching,” Ingram says laughing.

Ingram explains that even though Connelly is a short hitter on average (and even more so when compared to someone like his playing partner Pendrith, who has been averaging north of 330 yards off the tee so far this season) his game is solid all the way around.

“He’s sneaky long when it’s not wet out. Most championships are firm and fast, so he chases it up there,” explains Ingram. “His long game – 3-wood, long-irons and the like – they’re just so strong.”

Connelly may be in tough this week, as Ashburn got hit with some hard rain leading into the tournament. However, he’s not letting anything bother him. He knows he has a job to do.

“I want to try to win on Sunday,” he says.

Although he is committed to the University of Arkansas, Connelly says he will pass on that opportunity for now and will go to Q-School. Only if he doesn’t get status will he end up a Razorback.

“I’m looking forward in making the next step and playing in these professional events,” he says. “I’m taking each week as they come and really trying to enjoy every second of it.”

So, this week marks the beginning of a whirlwind summer for Connelly. But it’s a journey he’s been on since he first made that television appearance all those years ago.

And maybe he’ll be on again Sunday night, lifting a trophy over his head.

The full field for the Web.com Tour’s Nova Scotia Open is available here.