The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) has announced its Golf Story of the Year, along with various Player of the Year awards for the 2024 season.

“GJAC is pleased to recognize Canadian professional and amateur golfers again this year with our year-end Player and Canadian Golf Story of the Year awards,” said Mike Johnny, president of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. “The competitive golf landscape in Canada continues to thrive, with successes across multiple tours and levels of competition. At home, participation in the game remains high, and grassroots initiatives to expand engagement in golf are flourishing. From the Presidents Cup to the World Junior Girls Championship, to name just two, Canada is always proud to showcase the best players coming to compete on the world stage.”

Here are the Story of the Year and Players of the Year for the 2024 season:

Presidents Cup Return to Royal Montreal Named GJAC Story of the Year

The Presidents Cup returned to the Royal Montreal Golf Club, the site of Canada’s first time hosting the event in 2007. Under the leadership of International Team captain Mike Weir, two Canadians—Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith—were selected to join Canadian qualifier Corey Conners.

The Americans won the biennial competition 17–10 for their 10th straight victory.

While hosting this event in Canada was significant, it was Weir’s leadership and the numerous storylines of Canadian player participation that created positive energy among Canadian golf fans.

Taylor Pendrith Named Male Professional of the Year

Pendrith’s most successful year on tour was capped with his first PGA Tour victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, along with seven top-10 finishes in 2024. Advancing to the Tour Championship, Pendrith finished tied for 14th in the season-long FedEx Cup standings.

Pendrith was named to his second Presidents Cup team, playing in all five sessions and tying for the International Team lead with two points.

He ended the year ranked 47th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Brooke Henderson Named Female Professional Player of the Year

Canada’s most accomplished professional golfer was named Female Professional Player of the Year for 2024. With nine top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour and her selection to Canada’s Olympic golf team, Henderson continued to lead as Canada’s top female golfer. She ended the season ranked 13th in the CME Race to the Globe standings on the LPGA Tour.

Henderson finished the year ranked 25th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.

Ashton McCulloch Named Male Amateur of the Year

McCulloch, a sophomore at Michigan State University and a member of Team Canada, had a standout season. He did not finish lower than tied for seventh in all 2024 competitions, including a victory at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island. He also qualified for the U.S. Amateur and advanced to the round of 16, while finishing second at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

McCulloch competed in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, shooting 75-75.

Lauren Kim Named Female Amateur of the Year

Kim, a sophomore at the University of Texas, capped off a successful season with a collegiate victory at the Glencoe Invitational, earning an exemption to compete in the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open. She also finished tied for third at the Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship and fifth at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

Kim, a member of Team Canada, is currently ranked 25th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

For more info about GJAC, visit www.gjac.ca.

A panel of judges has examined over 100 stories, photos, videos and podcasts to identify the finest content created by members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) in 2023. The judges identified the cream of the crop in eight categories: Column, Profile, Feature, Travel, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Photography (Action), Photography (Landscape) and Multimedia.
 
There were some notable highlights from this year’s award, including multiple stories focussing on the ways in which golf is impacting a wide variety of communities and on the meaning of the game and the relationships it produces. There were numerous multiple winners this year, including Bernard Brault, Jason Logan, Curtis Gillespie, Rick Young and the Preferred Lie. ScoreGolf, Golf Canada and The Preferred Lie were among the outlets winning in multiple categories.
 
The full list of GJAC 2024 Media Awards winners is below:
                                                                                                           
Column
First Place: Jason Logan, “Watching Tiger Woods Play Golf Will Never Get Old,” ScoreGolf.com.
Second place: Jason Logan, “The Little Things About Golf,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
Third place: Rick Young, “The Heartbreak – and Unanswered Questions – Around a Golf Course’s Closure,” ScoreGolf.com.
 
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
First Place: ModGolf Podcast, “Amy Bockerstette, I Got This,” ModGolf.
Second place: Curtis Gillespie, “In his dream job, Tahlon Sweenie is embracing his Indigenous heritage,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
Third place: Brad Ziemer, “Stroke Survivor Brad Thomas Returns to the Game He Loves,” The Scorecard.
 
Features
First Place: Rick Drennan, “The Enemy Within,” Pro Shop Magazine
Second place: Scot Morison, “Golf Friends are the Best Friends,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
Third place: Jason Logan, “72 Feet to History,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
 
Profiles
First Place: Rick Young, “Mad Scientist,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
Second place: Adam Segal, “The Putting Guru,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
Third place: Curtis Gillespie, “In his dream job, Tahlon Sweenie is embracing his Indigenous heritage,” ScoreGolf Magazine.
 
Photo – Landscape
First Place: Bernard Brault, “On Top of Alcatraz,” Golf Canada.  
Second place: Bernard Brault, “Sunset in the Desert,” Golf Canada.
Third place: Jeff Curlew, “Cabot bagpiper, Cabot Links,” PGA Canada.
 
Photo – Action and People
First Place: Bernard Brault, Champagne Tackle, Golf Canada.
Second place: Bernard Brault, Winning putt, Golf Canada.
Third place: Bernard Brault, Hold on little boy, Golf Canada.
 
Travel
First Place: Curtis Gillespie, “Blown Away,” ScoreGolf Magazine .
Second place: Wes Gilbertson, “A Special Trip,” ScoreGolf.com.
Third place: Jeff Brooke, “San Diego,” Globe and Mail.
 
Multimedia
First Place: Preferred Lie, “Waterton, Season 4, Episode 2,” The Preferred Lie.
Second place: Rob Leth, “7 iron for a Hockey Stick,” PGA Tour Americas.
Third place: Preferred Lie, “Jasper Park Lodge,” The Preferred Lie.
                                                                                   
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Prizes
GJAC would like to thank TaylorMade and Golf Town for the ongoing support of this awards program. It is greatly appreciated by every GJAC member. First place winners in each category will receive a TaylorMade Qi10 driver. Second place winners will receive a TaylorMade Spider Tour putter. Third place winners will receive a $100 gift card from Golf Town. Thank you again to our great sponsors!  
 
Judges
GJAC wishes to offer its thanks to the judges for their effort and insight. This year’s judges were Harvey Freedenberg, Bob Condon, Meggan Gardner, Terry Lenyk, Mike Johnny, Norm MacDonald, Cathy Condon, Tim O’Connor, Lorne Rubenstein, Steve Keating, Bob Weeks, Murray Fraser, Scot Morison and Sandra Thompson.
 
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The annual GJAC golf day event will be held on June 25 and the winners will be briefly recognized at that event. The full list of winners will also be posted on the GJAC website at www.gjac.ca.

A panel of judges has examined nearly 130 stories, photos, videos, and podcasts to identify the finest content created by members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) in 2022. There was an astonishing variety of content produced across many platforms in 2022 in the world of Canadian golf journalism. The judges faced a difficult task but managed to identify the cream of the crop in eight categories: Column, Profile, Feature, Travel, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Photography (Action), Photography (Landscape), and Multimedia.

There were some notable highlights from this year’s award, including multiple stories focussing on the ways in which golf is thriving and changing and impacting a wide variety of communities (and vice versa), most notably in our inaugural recognition of work focussing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Highlights of this year’s awards included multiple winners Jason Logan, Chris Fry, Adam Stanley, Lorne Rubenstein, and Guy Nicholson. Score Magazine, with 11 awards, was the most recognized outlet, while The Preferred Lie and ModGolf also took home multiple awards.

The full list of GJAC Award winners is below:

Travel
First place: Guy Nicholson for his story “At Waterton Lakes, the golf is elemental” published in Score Magazine         
Second place: Lorne Rubenstein for his story “A can’t miss corner of planet golf” published in Score Magazine
Third place: Jim Deeks for his story “Mr. Deeks Goes to Ireland” published in FairwaysGolf.ca
 
Profiles
First place: Curtis Gillespie for his story “Bateman’s Breakout Keyed by New Mentality” published in Score Magazine
Second place: Jason Logan for his story “Mackenzie Hughes: Tough Guy”published in Score Magazine
Third place: Tim Baines for his story “Blind Ambition” published in the Ottawa Sun
 
Photography – Action
First place: Chris Fry for the photo “The Pulpit Club Finds Success” published in the Toronto Star
Second place: The Preferred Lie for the photo “Fore Life” published in The Preferred Lie
Third place: Bernard Brault for the photo “The End for Lori” published by Golf Canada
 
Photography – Landscape
First place: Chris Fry for the photo “The 1927” published in Match Play Golf.
Second place: Chris Fry for the photo “The home hole at St George’s” published in Score Magazine
Third place: Brian Decker for the photo “18 at Dawn” published in Score Magazine
 
Multimedia
First Place: Jason Logan, Kody McWilliams, and Casey McWilliams for their production “2022 RBC PGA Scramble Avion Night Golf Challenge” which appeared on ScoreGolf.com
Second Place: The Preferred Lie for their Canadian Classics production “Cherry Hill Club, Walter Travis Weekend” which appeared on the Preferred Lie
Third Place: The Preferred Lie for their Canadian Classics production “St. George’s Golf and Country Club” which appeared on the Preferred Lie.
 
Features
First place: Jason Logan for his story “Caddying at Cabot” published in Score Magazine
Second place: Adam Stanley for his story “You’re not alone” published by the PGA of Canada
Third place: Adam Stanley for his story “Mike Weir relives 2007 Presidents Cup match against Tiger Woods” published by PGATOUR.com
 
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
First place: Colin Weston and ModGolf for their podcast “Steve Tooshkenig and Creating a Sustainable Golf Future” which appeared on ModGolf        
Second place: Gina Phillips for her story “Smashing all challenges” which was published in Score Magazine
Third place: Colin Weston and ModGolf for their podcast “Eileen Jurczak and Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned” which appeared on ModGolf           
 
Columns
First place: Guy Nicholson for his column “Will golf make good on its pandemic mulligan?” published in the Globe and Mail.
Second place: Jason Logan for his column “Tiger Woods is playing the Masters. You thought he wouldn’t” published in Score Magazine
Third place: Lorne Rubenstein for his column “Feeling grounded at Royal Dornoch” published in Score Magazine

This year’s judges were Jeff Brooke, Harvey Freedenberg, Meggan Gardner, Tim O’Connor, Terry Lenyk, Robert Thompson, Mike Johnny, Norm MacDonald, Chris Gallow, Murray Fraser, Scot Morison, and Sandra Thompson.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) Virtual Summit presented by RBC on the State of the Industry took place November 21, 2022, as part of an ongoing GJAC series intended to help membership stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.

GJAC Virtual Summits presented by RBC are approximately one hour in length and are recorded for public viewing. You can watch this one below. The format consists of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees. 

Panelists for this Summit include:

Panelists:

Garrett Ball, COO, Golf Canada
Scott Pritchard, President, PGA TOUR Canada
Kathryn Wood, COO, Canadian Golf Superintendents Association 
 
Moderated by GJAC President Rick Young 

Click below to watch…