BARRIE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Garrett Rank rolled in a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole to capture the 2014 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Barrie Country Club.

Rank, 27, finished the championship tied with Rob Couture of Dallas, Texas at 4-under 284 after Couture forced the pair into a playoff by birdieing the par-5 18th hole in regulation.

The pair headed back to No. 18 tee for the first playoff hole, where Rank found the right rough off the tee. He went on to hit a magnificent 3-iron, leaving just 20 feet for eagle, putting the pressure squarely on Couture.

“It wasn’t a great lie, it was advanceable and I knew I could get some club on it,” Rank said. “I just took one extra club and it came out perfect. When it was in the air I knew it was going to be pretty good.”

After Couture’s approach from the fairway came up short, he left his third shot 20 feet below the hole and couldn’t convert his birdie putt after watching Rank’s eagle putt slide by. The stage was then set for Rank who was left with only a tap-in birdie for the victory and a spot in the field at the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

“The reason I came here was to win and I was trying to get into the RBC Canadian Open,” Rank said. “Anytime you can win a national championship is a huge honour and I’m glad I pulled it out.”

The Elmira, Ont. native carded rounds of 73-70-69-72 to finish the championship at 4-under 284. His win adds to the list of successes the Team Canada National Amateur Squad program has amassed this season.

“The boys [Team Canada] have been playing really well, we’ve got a lot of trophies to the Golf Canada and Team Canada name in the last couple of years and it’s nice to just add another one my behalf,” he continued.

In the Mid-Master division, second round leader Darren Shaw narrowly missed a spot in the playoff for the overall title after a final round 2-under 70 that left him in solo third. The Stoney Creek, Ont. native ran away with the Mid-Master division finishing seven strokes ahead of Dwight Reinhart of Renfrew, Ont. at 2-under 286.

Complete scoring and results can found online by clicking here.

BARRIE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Rob Couture edged into the lead at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship after a third round 3-under 69 at Barrie Country Club.

Couture, of Dallas, opened a three-stroke lead at the turn after a front-nine 4-under 32, but carded two bogeys on his closing stretch to finish a stroke ahead of Team Canada’s Garrett Rank at 5-under 211.

“I feel like obviously I can get it done and it’s one thing to hope you can get it done and think you can get it done but I know I can,” said Couture, the 2011 Mid-Amateur champion. “I don’t think there’s any concern with Garrett either, he’s won plenty of tournaments and he knows that he can do it too so I’m just going to go and try to play a really good round of golf, add it up at the end and see what happens.”

Playing alongside Couture, Rank of Elmira, Ont. cut into the lead with a back nine 2-under 34.  His third round 3-under 69 leaves him in striking distance of a spot into next year’s RBC Canadian Open and a second national championship title — Rank captured the Canadian University/College Championship Individual title in 2012.

“I finished well, I made three birdies in the last six holes so that was good because I think at one point he [Couture] had stretched out to five or six ahead of me,” Rank said. “I like being one back better than two back but I can’t really worry about what he’s doing. I just have to go out there tomorrow, control what I can control, stick to my game plan and continue to play some pretty good golf.”

Windsor, Ont.’s Michael Rutgers will join the final pairing on Friday after carding even-par 72. Rutgers sits in solo third at 1-under 215 for the championship, while Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont. is in fourth at even-par 216.

Shaw, the overnight leader, struggled in the third round with a 3-over 75, but remains ahead in the Mid-Master competition by three strokes over Calgary’s Kevin Temple.

The champion of the 2014 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will earn an exemption into the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online by clicking here.

BARRIE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Rob Couture edged into the lead at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship after a third round 3-under 69 at Barrie Country Club.

Couture, of Dallas, opened a three-stroke lead at the turn after a front-nine 4-under 32, but carded two bogeys on his closing stretch to finish a stroke ahead of Team Canada’s Garrett Rank at 5-under 211.

“I feel like obviously I can get it done and it’s one thing to hope you can get it done and think you can get it done but I know I can,” said Couture, the 2011 Mid-Amateur champion. “I don’t think there’s any concern with Garrett either, he’s won plenty of tournaments and he knows that he can do it too so I’m just going to go and try to play a really good round of golf, add it up at the end and see what happens.”

Playing alongside Couture, Rank of Elmira, Ont. cut into the lead with a back nine 2-under 34.  His third round 3-under 69 leaves him in striking distance of a spot into next year’s RBC Canadian Open and a second national championship title — Rank captured the Canadian University/College Championship Individual title in 2012.

“I finished well, I made three birdies in the last six holes so that was good because I think at one point he [Couture] had stretched out to five or six ahead of me,” Rank said. “I like being one back better than two back but I can’t really worry about what he’s doing. I just have to go out there tomorrow, control what I can control, stick to my game plan and continue to play some pretty good golf.”

Windsor, Ont.’s Michael Rutgers will join the final pairing on Friday after carding even-par 72. Rutgers sits in solo third at 1-under 215 for the championship, while Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont. is in fourth at even-par 216.

Shaw, the overnight leader, struggled in the third round with a 3-over 75, but remains ahead in the Mid-Master competition by three strokes over Calgary’s Kevin Temple.

The champion of the 2014 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will earn an exemption into the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online by clicking here.

BARRIE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Darren Shaw’s 5-under 67 lifted him into the top spot on the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur leaderboard after the second round at Barrie Country Club.

The Stoney Creek, Ont. native carded six birdies on Wednesday and closed with a 3-under 33. His back-nine was highlighted by an incredible greenside up-and-down on the par-5 9th hole for birdie and the outright lead.

“It feels good, honestly I played better golf yesterday and couldn’t make a putt,” Shaw said. “I changed putters today and I made some putts, I switched to this one and it seemed to work.”

At 3-under 141 for the championship, Shaw currently leads by a stroke over of Rob Couture of Dallas, Texas. He also sits four strokes ahead of Calgary’s Kevin Temple and Dwight Reinhart of Renfrew, Ont. in the Mid-Master (40+) title race.

Couture, the 2011 Mid-Amateur champion, carded an even-par 72 and sits in solo second in the overall competition, one-stroke ahead of Team Canada’s Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont. and Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont. Rank and Rutgers both finished runner-up at last year’s championship in Edmonton.

“I struggled early, I really didn’t play well until probably the last 13 or 14 holes,” Couture said. “I was a couple over early and I just didn’t hit very good shots for whatever reason, but I hit it well the last 10 or 12 holes and got it back to even.”

In the Inter-Provincial team competition, the Team British Columbia contingent of Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan, Vancouver’s Patrick Weeks and Sandy Harper of Nanaimo held onto their opening round lead to win the overall title by four strokes over Team Alberta. The trio finished at 1-over 289 for the 36-hole championship.

The champion of the 2014 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will earn an exemption into the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online by clicking here.

BARRIE, Ont. – Rob Couture took control of the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship after a 2-under 70 at Barrie Country Club on Tuesday.

Couture, the 2011 Mid-Amateur champion, overcame gusty conditions during the afternoon draw to finish one-stoke ahead of two-time defending champion, Kevin Carrigan, of Victoria, B.C. and Greg Jones of Berry Mills, N.B.

“[The golf course] is very good, it’s the kind of golf course that if there wasn’t any wind you could certainly make a lot of birdies and shoot a good score but especially in wind like this anything under par is a good round,” Couture said. “The greens get quick, you can certainly get in the wrong spot and there’s not much you can do to two putt in some areas.”

The Dallas, Texas native made five birdies during the opening round and closed with a clutch par save on the par-5 18th to finish atop the leaderboard heading into Wednesday’s second round.

“I putted well, I didn’t get off to a great start, I bogeyed No. 2 from 95 yards in the middle of the fairway but then I chipped in on No. 4 off the front of the green for birdie to get back to even,” Couture said of his turning point on course. “That’s kind of something that can change things a little bit so that was good and from there on I played pretty solid.”

Carrigan and Jones currently trail Couture by a stroke after opening with a pair of 1-under 71’s. Jones birdied the difficult par-4 17th on his closing nine to grab the lead in the Mid-Master race by two strokes over Toronto’s Dennis Kavelman, Calgary’s Kevin Temple and Paul Coulson of Biblehill, N.S.

Four players finished the day at even-par to share fourth spot in the Mid-Amateur division including Toronto’s Marc St-Germain, Andrew Tomchuk of London, Ont., Alex Palmer of Fredericton, N.B. and Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont.

In the Inter-Provincial team competition, the Team British Columbia contingent of Kevin Carrigan, Patrick Weeks and Sandy Harper leads by two strokes over Team Alberta after carding an even-par 144.

Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online by clicking here.

A strong contingent of Canadian and international players are set to compete at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship from September 15-19 at Barrie Country Club in Barrie, Ont.

A field of 156 players from Canada and the United States will vie for the coveted exemption into next year’s 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Kevin Carrigan, the reigning two-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion, is set to defend his title at Barrie after a record setting performance in Edmonton last year. Carrigan finished the championship at 20-under 264 to win by 11 strokes over Team Canada’s Garrett Rank and Ontario’s Michael Rutgers at Blackhawk Golf Club. 

“We have an extremely strong field again this year and it should make for a very exciting championship,” said Tournament Director Cam Crawford. “Barrie Country Club will surely test the top international and Canadian talent as they vie for that coveted exemption into Canada’s National Open Championship.”

Set to contend against Carrigan for the Mid-Amateur title will be Team Canada’s Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., who enters the event as the highest ranked player in the field at No. 95 in the World Amateur Rankings. The 27-year-old recently finished tied for sixth at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and also tied for second at the prestigious 2014 Players Amateur Championship.

Other notable contenders include three-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion Dave Bunker and Rob Couture of Dallas, Texas. Bunker recently finished tied for 18th at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, while Couture captured the Mid-Amateur title in 2011.

In the Inter-Provincial Team competition, the Team Ontario contingent of Bunker, Dean Henry and Michael Farrugia will look to defend last season’s eight-stroke victory over Team Nova Scotia. The team competition takes place over the first 36 holes of play, with the low two of three scores counting towards the final two-day team total for the R. Bruce Forbes Trophy. Additionally, the Men’s Mid-Master (40+) competition runs concurrently over the 72-hole championship.

Barrie Country Club has played host to multiple amateur and professional events over the years.  Highlights include the Ontario Open (1975), Ontario Ladies Amateur (1976, 1989), Ontario Men’s Amateur (1985), and the PGA of Ontario Championship for ten consecutive years (2003-2012).  Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members Marlene Stewart-Streit, Moe Norman and Bob Panasik have all won events played at Barrie Country Club.

“Everyone at Barrie Country Club is excited and we’re ready for the championship to get started. Our outstanding golf course has challenged our members along with the top amateur and professional players for many years,” said Bill Wogden, Head Professional.  “Now that we’re in our 101st year operating in the Barrie community, the quality and conditioning of our course and the amenities of our club have never been better. We’re looking forward to welcoming the competitors and encourage spectators to come out and enjoy amateur golf at its finest.”

Championship play will be conducted Tuesday, September 16 to Friday, September 19, with 18 holes of stroke play each day. The event will be contested over 72 holes with the field being reduced to the low-70 golfers and ties after the second round.

More information on the championship can be found here.

As part of Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting in London, Ont., the association’s Rules & Amateur Status Committee has approved the use of Distance Measuring Devices (DMD’s) for all amateur championships beginning in 2014.

This Local Rule will be introduced at CN Future Links junior championships as well as Canada’s national amateur competitions. Competitors will not be allowed to use DMD’s at Golf Canada’s professional championships including Canadian Women’s Tour events, the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial, the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, including their respective qualifiers.

This Local Rule allows competitors to use Distance Measuring Devices that measure distance only – not those devices that can measure other conditions such as wind speed or direction, temperature or elevation.

“With recent technological advances designed to enhance the golfer experience, our Rules Committee felt that this decision to allow DMD’s was a step in the right direction without jeopardizing the spirit and challenge of the game,” said Dale Jackson, Chair of Golf Canada’s Rules & Amateur Status Committee. “We have received a tremendous amount of feedback from golfers and this decision allows us to align with all of our provincial and international partners that have moved to allow DMD’s at their respective amateur competitions.”

Since 2006, committees have had the option of adopting a Local Rule under the Rules of Golf to allow players to use Distance Measuring Devices that measure or gauge distance only. See note to Rule 14-3 of the Rules of Golf.

Recently, the R&A and the USGA Championship Committee’s decided it will allow the use of distance measuring devices (DMDs) in R&A amateur events in 2014.

For more information on the Rules of Golf, please click here.

To ask a Rules of Golf question, please click here.

For more information on how to proceed in various Rules of Golf situations, guidance on the Golf Canada Handicap System and more, please consult our Rules of Golf publications – for purchase in Golf Canada’s eStore, or at your local book retailer.

Registration opens today for Golf Canada’s Amateur Championships, CN Future Links and Canadian Women’s Tour events.

Competitors looking to play in one of Golf Canada’s eight national amateur championships, six CN Future Links stops or three Canadian Women’s Tour events can view the championship schedule and register online by clicking here.

Canadian Women’s Tour returns for its 13^th season

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the schedule for the 2014 Canadian Women’s Tour – Canada’s only women’s professional golf tour.

This season’s scheduled stops include May 12-14 at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, B.C., June 23-25 at Legends on the Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ont. and the Tour’s final stop set for early July in Alberta to be announced in the coming days.

New for 2014, the top five (previously the top 3) players on the Canadian Women’s Tour season-ending Order of Merit will be awarded direct entry into LPGA Stage 2 Qualifying.

In addition, the champion of each Canadian Women’s Tour stop will receive an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. As well, following the conclusion of play at the final Canadian Women’s Tour event, two (2) additional exemptions will be awarded to the top competitors, not otherwise exempt, on the 2014 Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit.

Groove Specifications for 2014 Golf Canada Championships

Golf Canada has determined our plans to implement the new groove specifications for our championships starting in 2014. The Rules Committee recently approved the following:

• Introduce the groove condition of competition for the 2014 Canadian Men’s Amateur and the 2014 Canadian Women’s Amateur.  Note: this does not automatically include the qualifying events for these championships.  Please refer to the conditions of competitions at your respective provincial amateur championships.

• Introduce the groove condition of competition at all other championships (national amateur championships, CN Future Links, and Canadian Women’s Tour events) beginning in 2016.

For more information on the groove specification: Groove FAQ for Golf Canada Championships

Kevin Carrigan successfully defended his Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title after carding a final round 5-under 66 at Blackhawk Golf Club on Friday.

The defending champion never relinquished the lead over 72 holes and set a new tournament scoring record finishing at 20-under 264 for the tournament, 11 strokes ahead of Garrett Rank and Michael Rutgers.

“It feels fantastic, little bit of a different feeling from last year, it was a little more of a grind last year but this year I brought my A-game,” Carrigan said. “There wasn’t a flaw at all as far as I could see, I missed couple of shots like everyone does but mentally I was tough and grinded the heck out of it.”

Carrigan opened the tournament on Tuesday by setting a new course record after firing a 8-under 63 and never backed down posting three straight round in the 60’s. His final round 5-under 66 was highlighted by a 5-under 31 closing nine and a birdie on the par-4 18th hole.

“I played great, the big thing for me and the one thing I’m the most proud of is that I never took my foot off the pedal,” he said. “It’s easy to get complacent and make mistakes coming down the stretch with a big lead.”

With the victory, the Victoria, B.C., native earns an exemption into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

“It’s pretty exciting, it’s second to winning a national championship and I appreciate this more than anything in the world, what an unbelievable experience,” he continued.

Team Canada’s Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., and Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., finished in a tie for second a 9-under 275. Rutgers carded a final round 4-under 67, while Rank stumbled on Friday, carding a 3-over 74.

David Bartman of Los Angeles, Calif., finished in solo fourth at 1-under 283 after a 6-over 77 final round. The California native also captured the Mid-Master (40+) title by three strokes over Rob Cowan of Waterloo, Ont.

Final results from the 2013 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship can be found here.

Kevin Carrigan has the chance to repeat as the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion after carding a 4-under 67 at Blackhawk Golf Club on Thursday.

Carrigan currently sits at 15-under 198 for the championship after firing his third straight round in the 60’s. His third round was highlighted by a closing nine 4-under 32, after making a five-footer for eagle on the par-5 15th.

“I didn’t have my best day today but I managed to keep it in play and continued to hit good shots,” Carrigan said “I took advantage of the opportunities I did have and again rolled a lot of good putts just over the edge.”

On Thursday, the Victoria, B.C., native held off a valiant charge by Team Canada’s Garrett Rank, who was 8-under-par on the day through sixteen holes after two eagles on the back-nine.

“He makes a lot of birdies, he’s an explosive player,” Carrigan said. “Six birdies and two eagles today that’s unreal and he had a couple of mistakes.”

As the defending champion, Carrigan’s 198 total is a new personal best and leaves him in a good position to pick up back-to-back titles and earn the exemption into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

“It’s a personal feat and I’m very proud of myself for accomplishing that,” Carrigan stated about breaking 200.

“I’ve had enough close calls to know that if I start putting pressure on winning it’ll probably affect the way I play,” he continued. “My objective tomorrow is to play my game and not let the circumstances affect how I play.”

Rank currently sits three strokes behind Carrigan in solo second at 12-under 201, after bogeying his final two holes on Thursday to card a 6-under 65. The Elmira, Ont., native has played his last 36 holes in 13-under par after making four eagles and 12 birdies.

Calgary’s Dustin Yeager and California’s David Bartman sit at 7-under for the championship in a tie for third. Yeager’s third round 69 earned him a spot in the final pairing tomorrow and was one of only five under-par rounds at Blackhawk on Thursday. Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., rounds out the top-five in solo fifth at 5-under 208 after an even-par 71 third round.

In the Mid-Master division (40+) Bartman’s third round 71 leaves him seven strokes clear of Rob Cowan of Waterloo, Ont., and Raymond Oh of Richmond Hill, Ont., heading into Friday’s final round.