For the second-straight year, the Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto is set to host some of the best in Canadian women’s golf for the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada.

A field highlighted by four-time LPGA Tour winner and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Lorie Kane, as well as a number of noted up-and-coming players, will tee it up July 2-4 at Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto.

“It’s shaping up to be a very competitive week at the tremendous Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto,” said PGA of Canada president Mark Patterson. “In addition to Canadian and PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member, Lorie Kane playing, we’ve got a solid mix of up-and-coming Canadian talent and a number of PGA of Canada members who will vie for the championship.”

The field also features players from Sweden, India, Venezuela, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.

FOR THE FULL-FIELD AND FIRST ROUND TEE TIMES, CLICK HERE

“Once again DCM is delighted to sponsor the 2019 DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada,” said DCM president Greg Cochrane. “Our involvement and support of women’s golf in Canada directly ties into our belief of giving back to our local communities across Canada and internationally,” he said, adding, “providing women with the chance to compete at the highest level is inspiring for all of us at DCM.”

The Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto hosted the inaugural DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 1987, which was won by PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member Cathy Sherk. The club also hosted the event in 1999 (won by Lorie Kane), in 2007 (won by Salimah Mussani) and of course last year when American Jessica Porvasnik captured the title.

As North America’s only golf club created by women for women, we are thrilled to host the DCM PGA Women’s Championship,” said Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto PGA head professional Padraig Kelly. “We are so proud of our club and are excited to showcase it for this great championship. The golf course will be a great test and the membership is looking forward to watching the professionals take on their home course.”

The winner of this year’s championship will earn an exemption into the CP Canadian Women’s Open at the Magna Golf Club, Aug. 19-25.

Additionally, with the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup taking place later this year; the race for spots on Team PGA of Canada is about to heat up.

Taking place Oct. 22-26 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort  & Spa in Austin, Texas, PGA members from across the world come together in a team competition for this landmark event.

The five members representing the PGA of Canada at the event are determined by their performance at the DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, the low club professional at the championship in ’18 and ’19 receives an automatic spot on the team.
Currently, the top five is:

• Emma De Groot, Hamilton Golf and Country Club;
• Meghan Allum, Magna Golf Club;
• Casey Ward, Credit Valley Golf and Country Club;
• Rebecca Lee-Bentham, RLB Golf;
• Meghan McDougall, Weston Golf and Country Club.

“We’ve got some nice players currently in our top five to represent our association at the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup later this year in Texas,” says the PGA of Canada’s managing director of championships and foundation Adam LeBrun. “Other than De Groot, the other four spots are completely up for grabs and will add another exciting element to this year’s DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada.”

Admittance to the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend the 36-hole championship play.

The DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada was first played in 1987 and past champions include five-time winner Lorie Kane, Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp, Cathy Sherk, Gail Graham, Nancy Harvey, and Jessica Shepley.

To follow the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada online throughout tournament week, visit pgaofcanada.com, twitter.com/pgaofcanada, instagram.com/thepgaofcanada and facebook.com/pgaofcanada

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – If you take nothing else from the 2019 PGA Championship of Canada, take this: Dustin Risdon was determined.

He wasn’t the longest. He wasn’t smoothest. He wasn’t the crispest.

He was the most committed to winning, though.

On a Friday afternoon when both Mother Nature and his opponent Oliver Tubb threw everything they had at the 38-year-old from The Players Shack in Alberta, Risdon didn’t waver in his ultimate goal of putting his name on the historic P.D. Ross Trophy.

“This is the one trophy in Canadian golf that I really wanted to win,” Risdon said after his 3&1 win over Vancouver’s Tubb. “If you look at the names on the trophy it’s amazing and now my name will be on there too for the rest of time.”

Risdon joins the likes of golf legends Arnold Palmer, Moe Norman, George Knudson, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, , Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard and Lee Trevino as winner of the PGA Championship of Canada.

“I had so much determination out there and I knew I just had to keep fighting,” Risdon said. “I didn’t have my best swing, didn’t have my best putting stroke but it all kind of came together at the end when it had to and I can’t even begin to tell you how good this feels.”

Risdon is now a two-time PGA of Canada national champion, having won the 2016 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada. He’s expected to jump inside of the top five of the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC thanks to the 60 points for the win. Risdon is also a former Canadian Junior and Juvenile champion and a three-time PGA TOUR-Mackenzie Tour winner.

Risdon’s final match against Tubb—who is now a two-time runner-up at the PGA Championship—featured a handful of birdies and a timely eagle on the ninth to saw the hole and keep match all-square heading to the back-nine.

“The eagle on nine was huge and was probably the TSN Turning Point,” Risdon said. “You definitely don’t want to start the back nine down, so to keep it all-square was massive.”

He would win the 10th and 12th before losing the 14th. After both players made par on No. 15, Risdon put his foot on the gas, winning the 16th with an impressive birdie and ending it on the 17th with a two-putt par.

In the consolation match, past PGA Championship of Canada winner bested Wes Heffernan 2&1.

The next PGA national championship takes place July 3-5 at Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto for the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada.

Full results can be found here.

It’s going to be an all western Friday at the PGA Championship of Canada.

Parry (Seymour Golf Centre) squares off against his good friend and fellow B.C. resident Oliver Tubb (University Golf Club) on one side of the bracket. The other side of the bracket features a pair of Alberta boys—Wes Heffernan (Golf Canada Calgary Centre) and Dustin Risdon (The Players Shack).

Parry, the only one of the four remaining players with a PGA Championship of Canada win (2013 at Magna Golf Club) says he’s not going to get ahead of himself and think about what it would mean to win a second.

“While it would be very cool and fantastic to win, I’m not even going to think about it,” Parry said. “I’m not the type of person who gets too far ahead of himself, so tomorrow I’ll just stay in the moment and play golf.”

In the match of the day, Tubb defeated the PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player Marc-Etienne Bussières in 21-holes.

“I got up on Marc early and he’s such a good player that he comes back and keeps coming,” Tubb admitted. “But my strategy at the beginning of the day was to not let him beat me and I guess that worked.”

The winner of the Parry and Tubb match takes on the victor of the Heffernan and Risdon duel.

“I’ve never actually played Dustin in match play, but we’ve played together so many times over the years,” Heffernan said. “Our games our completely different—Dustin has a great short game and mine isn’t such a strength. Where as, I’m pretty long off the tee and Dustin is definitely shorter and more precise.”

A past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winner, Risdon says he’s starting to get the winter rust off his game.

“My game is starting to come around—I haven’t played a lot of golf yet this year, but the more and more I ‘m playing here this week, the more and more my game is coming together,” Risdon said. “If I do the same things I did today and make five or six birdies, I’ll probably be all right.”

For the full leaderboard and match play bracket, CLICK HERE.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event through 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match-play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds. This year’s championship follows the same format.

Built on more than 230 acres, Whistle Bear is regarded as one of southern Ontario’s most distinctive golf destinations. Host of the 2004 and 2005 PGA Championship of Canada (as part of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule), the links-style venue features more than 100 bunkers, as well as water on more than half of the holes.

PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC points are also up for grabs at Whistle Bear. The eventual winner will take home 60 points, with the runner up gaining 50 points. The player who earns the most ranking points (in national and zone events) in 2019 will be awarded the Mike Weir Player of the Year crown at next year’s Canada Night.

Attendance to the PGA Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

It was another windy and wild day at Whistle Bear Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship of Canada.

The 72-player field was whittled down to the top 16 advancing to the match play portion of the championship, which begins bright and early Thursday morning in Cambridge, Ont. However, it wasn’t so cut and dry Wednesday afternoon as a six-for-five playoff was needed to determine the final spots in the match play.

The PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player Marc-Etienne Bussières, Thomas Keddy, Brad Kerfoot, Kent Fukushima and James Skrypec outlasted Mark Bicknell on the first playoff hole. It was the second-straight year Bussières survived extra-holes to squeak into the match play.

“I guess I just like the challenge of getting through to the match play via a playoff,” Bussières joked Wednesday afternoon at Whistle Bear. “But seriously, I feel like I found a little something out there today and we’ll see if I can keep that going for the next couple days.”

Thursday’s round-of-16 matches include:

• Kevin Stinson (1) vs. Fukushima (16)
• Jim Rutledge (2) vs. Kerfoot (15)
• Billy Walsh (3) vs.  Keddy (14)
• Oliver Tubb (4) vs. Skrypec (13)
• Nick Kenney (5) vs. Bussières (12)
• Wes Heffernan (6) vs. Brian Hadley (11)
• Dustin Risdon (7) vs. Danny King (10)
• Bryn Parry (8) vs. Billy Houle (9)

For the full leaderboard and match play bracket, CLICK HERE.

Of the remaining 16; Rutledge, Parry, King and Bussières are all past PGA Championship of Canada winners. Furthermore, Kerfoot and Risdon are past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winners.

The winners of the morning matches Thursday qualify for the afternoon quarterfinal matches. The eventual champion will win four match play rounds, adding his name to the historic P.D. Ross trophy.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event through 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match-play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds. This year’s championship follows the same format.

Built on more than 230 acres, Whistle Bear is regarded as one of southern Ontario’s most distinctive golf destinations. Host of the 2004 and 2005 PGA Championship of Canada (as part of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule), the links-style venue features more than 100 bunkers, as well as water on more than half of the holes.

PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC points are also up for grabs at Whistle Bear. The eventual winner will take home 60 points, with the runner up gaining 50 points. The player who earns the most ranking points (in national and zone events) in 2019 will be awarded the Mike Weir Player of the Year crown at next year’s Canada Night.

Attendance to the PGA Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – Jim Rutledge turned back the clock Tuesday at Whistle Bear Golf Club for the first round of the PGA Championship of Canada.

The championship’s second-oldest player—who turns 60-years-old later this summer—torched a windswept Whistle Bear in Cambridge, Ont., posting an opening round 6-under-par 66.

Rutledge’s sizzler of an opener included seven birdies and just a single bogey on the second hole of the day.

“I got off to a bit of a shaky start with that bogey on No. 2, but got rolling after birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 9 and then made some simple birdies on the back-nine to finish it off,” Rutledge said. “It’s not really a secret, but you’ve got to put yourself in the fairway out here because the rough is so unforgiving.”

A five-time PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner and champion of the 1984 PGA Championship of Canada, Rutledge is clearly an artful veteran of the game of golf. The former Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour player says his love for the game and his fellow competitors keeps him motivated to keep playing well in tournaments.

“I really just enjoy coming out to these events and catching up with the fellas who I’ve known for a lot of years,” he says. “And, of course, I enjoy competing against them too.”

Rutledge is one of eight past PGA Championship of Canada winners in the field this week at Whistle Bear.

The National Golf Club of Canada’s Nick Kenney sits just three shots back of Rutledge after an opening-round of 3-under-par 69. Mark Bicknell (Victoria Golf Club); last year’s runner-up Gordon Burns; Riley Fleming (National Golf Academy Dome); Brian Hadley (Thames Valley Golf Club); past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winner Dustin Risdon; and Oliver Tubb (University Golf Club) are all T3 at 2-under-par.

The 72-player field will be whittled down to the top-16 players following tomorrow’s second round. The final 16 will fill out the match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

For the full leaderboard and second-round tee times, CLICK HERE.

This week’s field features 43 of the top 50-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC are in the field, including the entire top 10.

Built on more than 230 acres, Whistle Bear is regarded as one of southern Ontario’s most distinctive golf destinations. Host of the 2004 and 2005 PGA Championship of Canada (as part of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule), the links-style venue features more than 100 bunkers throughout the 18 holes, as well as water on more than half of the holes.

PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC points are also up for grabs at Whistle Bear. The eventual winner will take home 60 points, with the runner up gaining 50 points. The player who earns the most ranking points (in national and zone events) in 2019 will be awarded the Mike Weir Player of the Year crown at next year’s Canada Night.

Attendance to the PGA Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

The PGA of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious championship takes place next week at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont.

Seventy-two of the association’s best players look to capture the 98th playing of the PGA Championship of Canada.

Teeing it up at Whistle Bear and looking to add their name to the P.D. Ross Trophy includes 22 past PGA of Canada national champions, eight of whom are past PGA Championship of Canada winners.

Additionally, 43 of the top 50-ranked players from the RBC PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC are in the field, including the entire top 10.

“It’s absolutely wild how stacked the field is for this year’s PGA Championship of Canada,” said the PGA of Canada’s managing director of championships and foundation Adam LeBrun. “When you have all these past national champions, plus a number of up-and-coming players from across the country, you’re going to have a first-rate championship that ultimately produces a worthy champion.”

Built on more than 230 acres, Whistle Bear is regarded as one of southern Ontario’s most distinctive golf destinations. Host of the 2004 and 2005 PGA Championship of Canada (as part of the Nationwide Tour schedule), the links-style venue features more than 100 bunkers throughout the 18 holes, as well as water on more than half of the holes.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event thru 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the P.D. Ross Trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with 64 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

This year’s championship at Whistle Bear will follow the same format.

Pierre-Alexandre Bedard looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since Knudson won in 1976 and 1977. The 23-year-old from Club de Golf Cap Rouge bested Gordon Burns 1-up on a relentlessly hot and humid Friday at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club in the championship’s final match.

“This is definitely the biggest win of my entire life and I’m so proud of myself,” Bedard said after his win in 2018. “It’s so incredible to have my name on the same trophy as all the legends who came before me, not to mention all my fellow Quebecers who have won this championship over the past couple years.”

Since 2011, six PGA of Canada members from Quebec—Vincent Dumouchel, Eric Laporte, Dave Levesque, Marc-Etienne Bussieres, Jean-Philip Cornellier and  Bedard—have captured the PGA Championship of Canada.

In addition to Bedard, past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC points are also up for grabs at Whistle Bear. The eventual winner will take home 60 points, with the runner up gaining 50 points. The player who earns the most ranking points (in national and zone events) in 2019 will be awarded the Mike Weir Player of the Year crown at next year’s Canada Night.

Attendance to the PGA Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

The PGA of Canada is proud to announce Titleist & FootJoy as the inaugural presenting sponsor of the PGA Training Academy.

The PGA Training Academy presented by Titleist & FootJoy—which officially launches later this afternoon with full details becoming available over the coming weeks—is the association’s dynamic new world-class education system designed to increase the value, integrity and employability of the PGA of Canada professional.

“We are so thrilled and excited to have Titleist and FootJoy as the inaugural presenting sponsor of our PGA Training Academy,” said PGA of Canada CEO Kevin Thistle. “For nearly 50-years Titleist & FootJoy have played an integral role in the support of PGA of Canada and its members and we couldn’t be more pleased to have them committed to this longstanding partnership for years to come.”

As part of the partnership, Titleist & FootJoy will be recognized as an education sponsor for PGA of Canada Zone education seminars and will supply keynote speakers and content.

“The launch of the PGA Training Academy represents an exciting time for the PGA of Canada and it’s more than 3,500 members across the country. We are looking forward to this new chapter in our partnership with the Association and to playing an integral role in supporting the advancement of its members. We want to thank all PGA members for your leadership in golf and for your continued support of the Titleist and FootJoy brands,”  said Ted Manning, President, Acushnet Canada Inc.

PGA of Canada members will also be privy to Titleist University online training modules that will count towards re-specialization credits within the PGA Training Academy. PGA of Canada equipment fitting workshops will also be held at Titleist fitting centres around the country.

Titleist & FootJoy are also the founding partner of the PGA of Canada Retirement Advantage Program.

Following a record turnout in 2018, RBC has renewed its partnership with the PGA of Canada as title sponsor of the PGA Scramble.

The three-year agreement sees the financial institution remain as title sponsor of the RBC PGA Scramble alongside presenting sponsor, The Lincoln Motor Company.

“We couldn’t ask for a better partner than RBC for this amazing, expanding national event series,” said PGA of Canada CEO Kevin Thistle. “RBC’s commitment to the game of golf in this country is fantastic and we look forward to growing the RBC PGA Scramble of Canada in communities across Canada for years to come.”

The RBC PGA Scramble of Canada saw nearly 9,000 golfers from across the country participate in 2018 – an increase of over 60 per cent from the previous year. The 21 teams who participated in the 2018 PGA Scramble National Final at Cabot Links—which are comprised of four amateurs and a PGA of Canada professional—all made it through local and regional qualifying events.

As one of the largest amateur golf competitions in Canada, the 2019 edition of the RBC PGA Scramble of Canada looks to see continued growth, with estimates that more than 10,000 golfers from across the country will participate in the series of local and regional events next summer.

“We‘re thrilled to renew our partnership with the PGA of Canada and support the RBC PGA Scramble in providing amateur golfers with an experience of a lifetime,” said Shannon Cole, Senior Director, Brand Marketing, RBC. “This tournament is a real opportunity to bring together golf enthusiasts from across the country and enable them to have a shared experience at some of Canada’s best in class golf courses.”

For those golfers who qualify, the RBC PGA Scramble of Canada National Final promises to be the golf trip of a lifetime. The 54-hole championship at one of Canada’s premier golf venues will be part of a larger festival of special events, which includes prizing, activations and a chance to interact with celebrities.

For more information about the RBC PGA Scramble of Canada presented by The Lincoln Motor Company, please visit rbcpgascramble.com.

Brian McDonald claimed his first national title at the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy Thursday as he closed with a 5-under-par 67 for a five-shot victory.

The Director of Golf and General Manager at Fairview Mountain in Oliver, B.C., featured five birdies in his final round at The Gold Course at Wigwam Golf Club, coming from behind to raise a PGA of Canada national championship trophy for the first time in his career.

“If you would have told me at the start of this week that I’d be a national champion when it was all said and done, I wouldn’t have believed you,” McDonald admitted after his final round. “But when I made the turn today I told myself if I kept to my game plan, I would take this championship home to British Columbia.”

McDonald was one of 18 players in the field from British Columbia. His friend and fellow B.C.-native Matt Palsenbarg finished second at -6 after a final round 64 (which was also the low round of the championship).

“Honestly, everyone wants to win, but the support I received last night and this morning from all my fellow pros from B.C. was just amazing,” McDonald said. “They were pulling for me, coaching me and that really means the world to me.”

Gordon Percy of Carleton Golf and Yacht Club in Ottawa, who lead heading into Thursday’s final round, finished alone in third at -5. Ian Leggatt of Ontario and Manitoba’s Dean North finished T4 at -4.

With the win this week at The Wigwam in Litchfield, Ariz., McDonald pads his already impressive PGA of Canada professional resume.

A PGA of Canada member since 1993, McDonald was the recipient of the 1999 PGA of BC Assistant of the Year Award; 2003 PGA of BC Merchandiser of the Year Award; 2004 PGA of BC Head Golf Professional of the Year Award; and 2004 PGA of Canada Head Golf Professional of the Year Award.

“The win this week means so much to me as a golf professional,” McDonald said. “I’m a very proud PGA of Canada member and knowing that I’m a national champion I can always hang my hat on that . . . and no one can ever take that away from me.”

The 36-hole Inter-Zone competition compiled of four players on each team representing their respective PGA Zone was decided Wednesday.

The squad from Ontario (Burns, John Cochrane, Brian Hadley and Danny King) won for the fourth-straight year. The squad from Quebec finished a stroke back with Saskatchewan rounding out the top three.

This year’s championship saw a few changes—both on and off the golf course. Firstly, the low club professional (McDonald) was recognized with a separate trophy and monetary bonus. Secondly, all competitors were treated to a number of parties hosted at The Wigwam and the Arizona Coyotes.

McDonald adds his name to a list of the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada champions that include John Cochrane, Matt Peavoy, Danny King, Adam Chamberlain, Roger Beale, Norm Jarvis, Gar Hamilton, Bob Panasik, Yvan Beauchemin, Graham Gunn, Ken Tarling and Brian Hutton.