Another season over – another award for Winnipeg’s Derek Ingram. Team Canada’s Men’s National Team Coach was back in his hometown to receive the Teacher of the Year honour from the PGA of Manitoba for the seventh time in his career.

Ingram, also a Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame member, is coming off a very successful year with Team Canada which saw all five members of the Men’s National Amateur Team crack the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) Top 100 – that achievement had not happened before in the program’s 10 year history.

Although very modest, Ingram does share a great sense of pride in the accomplishments of the Team Canada program in 2013/14.

“I feel very honoured to be recognized with this award again and it motivates me to remain focused on hopefully another great season” said Ingram. “In regards to the National Team, we probably had the best results and the best year to date. I do feel a lot of pride and satisfaction in helping the guys develop and get the results that they deserve.”

New this year, Ingram also took on additional responsibilities with Golf Canada as the coach of the Men’s Young Pro Squad, an initiative created to assist Canada’s young professionals in the journey from amateur golf to the professional ranks.

Aside from coaching Team Canada, Ingram teaches out of the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg, where he is the Head Teaching Professional. His teaching roots run deeper at the national level as well, where he helps facilitate National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) training at the PGA of Canada offices to fellow members.

He has also been recognized as the PGA of Canada’s Teacher of the Year award two times (’03, 07).

Click here for the full list of 2014 PGA of Manitoba award recipients

Garrett Rank is gearing up for his first full season as a referee in the American Hockey League.

Rank, an Elmira, Ont. native, recently won the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Barrie Country Club to earn an exemption into the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Garrett Rank (Golf Canada/ Graig Abel)

The Team Canada member recently spoke with GolfWeek’s Cassie Stein about how he got into officiating, his goals for the future, and how he plans to juggle hockey and golf.

Click here to read Stein’s story.

Corey Conners, one of golf’s most exciting talents and runner-up at the US Amateur Championship last month, has joined International Sports Management (ISM).

The 22-year-old helped his country to a second-place finish at the World Amateur Team Championship in Japan last week. He is the first Canadian to be represented by ISM.

“The way ISM have nurtured the careers of young golfers and moulded them into winners is very impressive,” said Conners, who is exempt for the 2015 US Open and likely to receive an invitation to the Masters following his performances at the Atlanta Athletic Club. “I am thrilled to be joining such a prolific stable.”

The Golf Canada National Team member and Kent State graduate received the 2014 Merle Wagoner Award as the university’s outstanding male athlete, in addition to winning the Jones Cup Invitational, Mid-American Conference Championship, General Hackler Championship and Gopher Invitational – four of the United States’ prominent amateur events.

“Corey’s amateur career has been very impressive so far and he has all the attributes required to be a top professional in the future,” said Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, ISM’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are making great strides in North America and the arrival of Corey is further evidence of that.”

Conners reached the semi-finals of the US Amateur in 2013 before being defeated by eventual winner and new stable-mate, Matt Fitzpatrick. The Listowel, Ontario, native, who was also runner-up at the 2013 and 2014 North and South Amateur Championship, has teed up in the last two RBC Canadian Opens and will play a combination of top-level amateur and tour events before turning professional next year.

On Sept. 6, 2014, 16-year-old Team Canada athlete Brooke Henderson took over the no.1 spot on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). This marks the first time in program history that a Canadian female has held the no. 1 spot.

Henderson, a Smiths Falls, Ont. native, learned the news after former no. 1 Minjee Lee of Australia turned professional following the World Amateur, allowing Henderson to move up from the second spot. She will be representing Canada in the World Junior Girls Championship later this month.

Below is a slideshow summarizing Henderson’s journey to no. 1 in the world.

Tony Gil receives funding through SunCor’s ‘Fueling Athletes and Coaching Excellence’ program

Petro-Canada, a SunCor energy business, has announced they have increased funding to $10,000 for each recipient. Team Canada Development Squad member, Tony Gil, was one of 50 athletes and coaches to receive the financial assistance.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), and their National Sport partners work together each year to run the FACE program, which provides developing, pre-carded Canadian athlete and coach pairings with funding to help fuel their dreams.

“It’s wonderful to see renewed and strengthened support from Petro-Canada, who has supported Canadian athletes for more than 25 years,” said Marcel Aubut, COC president. “We look forward to cheering on the athletes as they continue to gear up for success on the world stage.”

Canadian men tee off at World Amateur Team Championship

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

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

Click here to follow the leaderboard.

Team Canada’s freshman and graduates

With the start of a new school year, Team Canada has three Development Squad members heading south of the border to begin their collegiate careers as freshmen.

Sabrine Garrison
Calgary
University of Minnesota

Valerie Tanguay
St-Hyacinthe, Que.
Oklahoma University

Matt Williams
Calgary
University of Houston

Carter Simon
Sutton, Ont.
N.C. State

With that said, there are a few ‘old folks’ on the National Amateur Squad who graduated from their respective schools:

Corey Conners
Listowel, Ont.
Kent State

Taylor Pendrith
Richmond Hill, Ont.
Kent State

Chris Hemmerich
Kitchener, Ont.
Guelph University

Anne-Catherine Tanguay
Quebec City
Oklahoma University

2015 Team Selection

The team selection process for the 2015 Team Canada squads gets underway on Sept. 23behind closed doors. Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer, Jeff Thompson, will chair the meeting.

Click here to read more on the selection criteria process.

NANJING, China – Canada’s Tony Gil and Maddie Szeryk are set to tee off in Tuesday’s opening round of the Summer Youth Olympics at the Zhongshan International Golf Club.

The event marks the debut of golf at the Youth Olympics, coinciding with the sport being voted back into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Both Szeryk and Gil were in attendance for remarkable the opening ceremonies, which saw over 4,000 performers light up the Nanjing Olympic Arena for a crowd of over 62,000. The stunning ceremony paid tribute to the great history of Nanjing, China, and its many icons and landmarks.

Diego Melendraras/IOC

The practice round took place on Monday in the very hot, humid conditions at Zhongshan. The course is in great shape, especially noticeable in the undulation of the greens. With wide fairways, the long-hitting players will have a slight advantage.

Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach, Robert Ratcliffe, is in attendance with the players to help prepare for the week and all the festivities.

“Preparation has been centered around keeping the ball below the hole on approach shots,” said Ratcliffe of the team strategy. “Both Tony and Maddie are striking the ball well and they look confident heading into tomorrow’s opening round.”

Gil, a first-year member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, is planning to maintain focus on a difficult course in difficult conditions.

“My key will be staying hydrated and avoiding any mental errors by focusing on my pre-shot routine,” said the Vaughan, Ont. native.

The 16-year-old Gil is set to tee-off at 9:00 am (CST), partnered with the no. 6 ranked player in the world, Italy’s Renato Paratore.

Meanwhile, Szeryk, a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., is hoping to stay calm under the pressure of an event of such large magnitude.

“I need to focus on maintaining a calm approach to every shot by capitalizing on my breathing techniques,” said the 2013 Canadian Junior Girls Champion. “Hitting greens will be important, so my main focus will be putting the ball in the right place off the tee.”

Szeryk, 18, will tee off at 9:50 am (CST).

The boys and girls divisions will each play in three stroke play rounds, ending on Thursday. The three days of team competition will follow starting on Sunday.

They’ve set their dreams. They’ve put in the work. They’ve done their time. Now it’s time for a taste of the PGA Tour.

Four members of Team Canada’s National Squad are gearing up to play the Royal Montreal Golf Club for the 105^th Canadian Open. Accompanied by Head Coach Derek Ingram are Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson and Chris Hemmerich. Together, they make up four out of 19 Canadians in the field.

Sure, winning Canada’s Open would be a dream come true for these young men – but that’s not the mindset that Head Coach Derek Ingram is preaching. Instead, he hopes to prepare them for the ups and downs of professional golf, and the emotional swings that can happen under the spotlight.

“The magnitude of playing in your national championship on the PGA Tour is definitely a lot of pressure,” said the Winnipeg native. “Inside the solitude of the ropes is just you, your caddie and a golf course – they just need to focus on sticking to their routines and game plan.”

Although these players have reached the pinnacle of amateur golf in Canada, Ingram confirms that there is much still to be learned.

“It opens a door for them to work harder, learn from their results, and polish their game a little bit more so they are prepared to play in future Web.com or PGA Tour events,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to deal with being nervous and feeling a lot of pressure – so it’s a very big week for the guys and a lot can be learned from playing in this event.”

With Hemmerich, Pendrith and Conners all graduating this year, and Svensson winning NCAA’s Jack Nicklaus award as a sophomore, professional golf may come sooner rather than later. With that said, the RBC Canadian Open will prove to be a great experience for Team Canada, regardless of the outcome.

Adam Svensson, 20, of Surrey, B.C. is returning this year for his second consecutive RBC Canadian Open. After missing the cut last year (76-72), he has some gained confidence on how to handle the big stage.

“I want to get into position to be able to come into the top 20,” said Svensson, the No. 30 ranked amateur in the world. “I have a lot more experience now and I think that will help make this week even more fun.”

Conners, a recent graduate of Kent State, is also returning for his second straight Open. The Listowel, Ont. native will look to improve on last year’s results – he missed the cut by just two strokes. His Kent State and Team Canada teammate, Taylor Pendrith, is entering his first Canadian Open and PGA Tour event of his promising career. The big-hitting Richmond Hill, Ont. native earned his spot by way of exemption, and has set modest goals for himself leading into Thursday’s first round.

“My goal is to just play my game and not get too caught up in everything,” said the 23-year-old. “If I remember to have fun and enjoy it, I will be playing on the weekend.”

Kitchener, Ont. native Chris Hemmerich earned his spot through an exemption late on Sunday night. The Guelph University graduate has moved well inside the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) top 100, climbing to No. 61 Like Pendrith, he is confident that he will make a strong mark in his first Canadian Open experience and hopes to focus on playing golf the way he is capable.

“I just need to play my game and to try and stay in the moment,” he said. “I can’t let all the surrounding noise affect my game.”

No matter the outcome, this week will without a doubt be a great learning experience for the rising stars of Team Canada.

I recently spent a fantastic week in California culminating at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major on the LPGA Tour season. I was there coaching Brooke Henderson, a 16-year-old member of Canada’s National Amateur Team, who finished in a tie for 26th. It was a very impressive performance but I can assure you there was a ton of preparation.

In the week leading up to the event we played several practice rounds. During those first few days we took notes, tried different shots and talked about how each hole may play differently from different tees or during changing weather conditions. We formulated a basic plan of A to B but with discussions about C and D. All of this practice was to be PREPARED for any possible situation during the event.

On the Wednesday the LPGA Tour hosted a pro-am, which meant we did not have access to play the golf course. We could, as many players do at their home course, have spent the day beating balls mindlessly at the driving range and counting down the hours but we didn’t. We used that time to gain more knowledge of the course by walking several holes and by watching other players. We also hit balls and spent time on the short game area. Every single shot practiced was with the tournament in mind and on the range we practiced by visualizing the golf course using our notes. You can prepare just like we did; it just takes a little imagination!

Visualize Success!

1. Consult your notes. If you don’t own a yardage book for your golf course either buy one or start creating your own. Write down carry distances rather than clubs selected as they will vary based on conditions on any given day.

2. Think of the hole you would like to play; imagine how wide the fairway would be and pick two targets that represent the

width of the fairway. Vary the angle and change up the width of the targets to best represent the shots you will actually need to hit.

3. Imagine you are on the golf course and execute the shot.

4. Depending on the result, continue playing the hole from where you think you may have landed. If you are under the trees, play a low shot or a chip out. If you are in the rough, plan your lay up to the green. You really are in control of how deeply you choose to visualize.

5. Remember to chose parameters or widths and pick a target between these points. Golf is a game of borders; hit between the edges of the fairway and you are on the fairway, hit between the pin and the edge of the green and you are on the green.

Going through this routine will not only expose you to more of the shots you are

likely to encounter on the course but also give you an idea of how well you are playing before you ever get to the first tee.

Fast facts

Garrett Rank qualified for U.S. Men’s Amateur on Monday. The 26-year-old Elmira, Ont. native will join the field at the Atlanta Athletic Club (Highland Course) in John’s Creek, Ga. starting Aug 11^th. Rank is also set to play in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship next week.

Corey Conners, a Listowel Ont. native, made it all the way to the match play finals at the Men’s North & South Championship in Pinehurst, S.C. before losing to American Michael Cromie on Saturday. Fellow National Amateur member Chris Hemmerich of Kitchener, Ont. dropped out in the round of 16.
Leaderboard

Naomi Ko, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, won the B.C. Junior Girls Championship last Friday, winning by two strokes. The Victoria, B.C. native was thrilled to take home the title after finishing in third at last year’s event.
Full story

Jaclyn Lee, 17, won the Alberta Amateur last Thursday over fellow Team Canada member, Jennifer Ha. Lee, a Calgary native, took home the trophy with a 3-stroke margin at 4-under par (68-71-73). She will look to ride that momentum into next week as she hopes to capture her second consecutive Alberta Junior Girls Championship.
Full story

The week ahead

Three men and three women of Team Canada’s National Amateur Team will be in play at the Investors Group Ontario Amateur Championship from Jul 8-11 at the Club at North Halton. The men are represented by Corey Conners (Listowel) Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill) and Chris Hemmerich (Kitchener). Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls), Augusta James (Bath) and Brittany Marchand (Orangeville) will make up the women.

Team Canada will also be represented by two boys from the Development Squad, Carter Simon (Sutton) and Tony Gil (Vaughan). They are both coming out of the World Junior Championship in Japan, where they helped Canada finish in seventh overall.
Men’s Leaderboard
Women’s Leaderboard

Garrett Rank and Adam Svensson will be in Bluffton, S.C. for the week to play in the prestigious Players Amateur – play gets underway on Thursday. The event features some of the best amateurs in the world and boasts past champions such as Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Bill Haas, Matt Kuchar and other current PGA stars.
Learn more

Team Canada’s Tanguay duo – Anne-Catherine and Valérie – will tee-it-up at the NIVO Québec Women’s Amateur Championship from Jul 7-9. Anne-Catherine, a National Amateur Team member, hails from Québec City and Valérie of the Development Squad is based out of St-Hyacinthe.
Leaderboard

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee and Sabrine Garrison will tee-it-up once more at the Alberta Junior Girls Championship at the Bearspaw Country Club from Jul 8-10. Both girls just finished competing in the Alberta Amateur one week earlier, with Lee taking home the title.
Leaderboard

Surrey, B.C.’s Taylor Kim of the Development Squad will join teammate Naomi Ko in the field at the B.C. Women’s Amateur from Jul 8-11 at the Kamloops Golf & Country Club.
Leaderboard

Statistics courtesy of the USGA

Fast facts

Nicole Vandermade, a Team Canada alumnus, won her first professional event. The Brantford, Ont., native won the Symetra Tour’s Four Winds Invitational by a one-stroke margin.
Learn more

Garrett Rank, a Men’s National Team member from Elmira, Ont., shot 64-65 on Monday to win a U.S. Public Links Qualifier. A week earlier, the 26-year-old played in the Men’s Northeast Amateur, finishing T20 at 2-over par in the highly competitive event.
Notheast Amateur Leaderboard

Men’s National Team members Adam Svensson (Surrey B.C.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) teed-it-up last week at The Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON – a PGA Tour Canada event. They finished T25 and T42, respectively.
Leaderboard

Four of Team Canada’s Development Squad boys are taking on the world’s best amateurs this week at the Toyota Junior World Golf Championship.
Learn more

After winning the Low Amateur honours at the U.S. Women’s Open, Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson drove 11 hours to Niagara to play in the Canadian Women’s Tour Ontario event this week.
Leaderboard

Four members of the National Women’s Amateur Team are playing in the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship this week at the Royal St. Georges Golf Club.
Leaderboard

Former Men’s National Team member, Eugene Wong (North Vancouver, B.C.), currently sits 5^th on the PGA Tour Canada money list. At the end of the year, the top 5 earn their Web.com tour cards.
Money List

With the Canadian University/College Championship coming to a close last week, I was able to speak with National Amateur team players Garrett Rank (University of Waterloo grad), and Chris Hemmerich (Guelph University grad).

Hemmerich, a Kitchener, Ont., native, said the decision to study in Canada was an easy one.

“Looking back on my four years at Guelph, I wouldn’t change anything,” said the Commerce major. “I did everything that students would at NCAA schools on my own with additional support from Ralph Bauer (PGA of Canada professional), Golf Canada and Derek Ingram (Head Coach of Men’s National Team).”

Hemmerich also alluded to the growing status of the Guelph University program and CCAA golf in general.

“In my second year the program was completely revamped – we got a new coaching staff with a PGA of Canada professional on site to help us whenever we needed,” he said. “After that, the program just took off – I feel like that’s happening a lot around Canada.”

The 21-year-old is fresh off playing in his first professional event last weekend – PGA Tour Canada’s PC Financial Open.

Hemmerich came out strong on Thursday’s opening round going 2-under through his first nine holes. Unfortunately, the two-time champion faltered down the stretch with three consecutive bogies to close out the round.

Despite missing the cut, Hemmerich was quick to pick up the positives and share his learnings from the event.

“Even if you make seven birdies and an eagle it doesn’t automatically mean you are shooting low,” he said with a smile. “I learned a lot about what I have to improve on in order to compete at the professional level.”

—

Garrett Rank, University of Waterloo graduate, shared similar feelings to Hemmerich in his decision to stay in Canada.

“I really like the idea that school in Canada was close to home and the fact that I could get a great education too it was really a great fit for me,” said the 26-year-old.

Rank spent five years at Waterloo and loved every minute of his time there.

“I was given so many opportunities and I really grew as a player and a person,” he said with confidence. “If I could do it all over again, I would pick Waterloo, no doubt.”

—

Men’s National Team Coach, Derek Ingram, had a different impact on his own school – the University of Manitoba.

Ingram was responsible for co-founding the school’s golf team (this year’s Canadian University/College Championship host), the University of Winnipeg Bisons. Along with Winnipeg’s Garth Goodbrandson, Ingram launched the team in 1999 to give students the opportunity to study in Winnipeg while continuing to develop their golf game.

“We created a program at the University of Manitoba because we saw way too many students go down south for half scholarships and still coming out in debt,” he said. “We wanted to give players that option to stay in Canada where they could continue to develop their game while receiving great support.”

Not long after, Ingram helped orchestrate the first ever University/College Championship some 10 years ago with Goodbrandson, Jim Fraser (former Executive Director of Golf Canada Foundation) and Cathy Macatavish (former president of Golf Canada Foundation).

“We really felt there was a need for it and we knew that there were other great golf teams out there in Canada. Thankfully, we were graciously given a grant to conduct the first championship, which really got the ball rolling.”

Having deep experience with University and College teams, Ingram explained that the decision of choosing a school is always unique to the player.

“Reality is, most kids dream of playing golf in the States,” he admitted. “However, the players that have stayed behind like Garrett (Rank) and Chris (Hemmerich) have found out that their experience has been beyond excellent. They played very good tournaments, had access to great golf facilities and received a really strong education. It is a very strong and viable option. ”

Lastly, he closed with some insight into the future of golf in Canadian schools.

“Now, you’ve got guys across Canada who are really into their golf programs – we’ve got 10-15 great programs instead of only two or three not long ago. I really do see more Garrett Ranks and Chris Hemmerichs on our National Team in the future.”

For a recap of this year’s Canadian/University Championship, click here

Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad players are busy. They have to plan around their competitive NCAA schedules, weight training, practice sessions and everything else that comes with life as full-time student/athletes.

Picture this – you are in Sunday’s final pairing for an ‘A’ ranked NCAA event. You are in contention to win the tournament. You are on the cusp of doing wonders for your golf career. You are heading home after the tournament to prepare for your final exam in corporate accounting.

National Amateur athletes are swamped with 40+ hour school weeks. We may forget this fact from time to time – but they certainly don’t. Take Québec’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay for example, who was recently honoured with her third mention to the All-American-Conference (AAC) All-Academic Team.

Tanguay, a senior at Oklahoma University, is in her final year of double-majoring in Business Management and Accounting.

“It’s been a really big challenge for me in my senior year of studies – I spend at least 20 hours a week practicing and then another 20 hours studying for my courses,” said Tanguay. “I would credit my academic success to being a highly structured person, with a very tight schedule that I don’t stray away from.”

To make the team, upper-year students in the AAC must maintain a GPA above 3.0 (equivalent to a ‘B’ in Canadian schooling). They must also have participated in at least 60% of the team’s scheduled events.

If not a star on the LPGA tour, Tanguay would love to work on the business side of the golf industry. The 23-year-old is moving back to Quebec City for the summer, where she aims to train for the World Amateur Championship before turning pro in the fall.

Many of Team Canada’s athletes have been recognized for several other academic achievements:

• Jennifer Ha (2013 MAC All-Academic team)
• Corey Conners (2012 MAC All-Academic)
• Augusta James (2012 ACC All-Academic)
• Brittany Marchand (2013, 2012, 2011 ACC All-Academic)

Here’s what some of the National Amateur Team players are studying:

• Corey Conners – Actuary Math
• Brittany Marchand – Chemical Engineering
• Chris Hemmerich – Commerce
• Augusta James – Sport Management
• Jennifer Ha – Communications

The Golf Canada Foundation has contributed more than $2.2 million towards scholarships and grants in Canada. To learn more about available scholarships for rising Canadian golfers, click here.