Canada’s Lauren Zaretsky can already cross winning an NCAA tournament off her goals list.

The golfer from Thornhill, Ont., led from wire-to-wire to win the UCF Women’s Challenge on Monday for her first-ever collegiate title. 

The Texas Tech Red Raiders sophomore fired a career-best 8-under 64 in the first round of the three-round event and never looked back to claim the title at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

“I had high goals,” said Zaretsky, who had to overcome injury issues over the past few months. “After shooting my best score ever and being in contention for winning, I think I just had to keep my foot on the gas and hope to win it in the end.”

Zaretsky was dominant in her first collegiate tournament of 2024, with rounds of 64-71-68 to finish 13 under and win by three strokes.

The 20-year-old said that her strong performance came despite having injured knees.

“I have a torn meniscus in one of my knees and probably both my knees are torn,” said Zaretsky, noting that golf carts were permitted at the UCF Women’s Challenge. “They were kind of bothering me in the first semester, so I’ve been trying to get back to feeling 100 per cent. Now I pretty much feel 100 per cent.”

Now that Zaretsky has a taste for victory at the collegiate level she wants to keep pushing herself to greater heights.

“I’m trying to hopefully to win more college events and the big dream would be to win a national championship,” said Zaretsky. “As a team and as an individual would be the ultimate goal.

“I think that’s the biggest achievement you can have at the NCAA level. Hopefully my team can make it this year, and then I have a chance to do it on both ends.”

She’ll have her first crack at a second title starting Monday when Texas Tech hosts NEXUS Collegiate at Albany Golf Club in New Providence, Bahamas.

PGA TOUR — Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., leads the Canadian contingent into the always raucous WM Phoenix Open this week at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course in Arizona. He’s ranked 30th on the FedEx Cup standings. Nick Taylor (56th) of Abbotsford, Corey Conners (68th) of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Svensson (70) of Surrey, B.C., are also in the field.

KORN FERRY TOUR — Edmonton’s Wil Bateman rocketed up the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list after tying for second at The Panama Championship on Sunday. He’s tied for eighth heading into this week’s Astara Golf Championship at Country Club de Bogota in Colombia. Myles Creighton (38th) of Digby, N.S., Etienne Papineau (40) of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., Sudarshan Yellamaraju (T124th) of Mississauga, Ont., are also in the field.

Nick Taylor’s putter flip after winning the RBC Canadian Open was the exclamation point on arguably the best year in Canadian golf history.

Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt to end a four-hole playoff with England’s Tommy Fleetwood at the Canadian national men’s championship on June 11, the first time a Canadian had won the title in 69 years. But Canada’s success on the course went beyond that, with Canadians winning at every level of the professional game including four wins on the PGA Tour and one on the LPGA Tour.

“I think the state of Canadian pro golf, especially on the PGA Tour, has never been better,” said Taylor, the first Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher did it in 1954. “Our goal, as players, with Golf Canada is to keep that number growing of Tour members.

“The more players that we can get out here, obviously, it gives us a greater chance of winning more and more.”

Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., joined Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as winners on the PGA Tour in the 2022-23 season. It was the most wins by Canadians in a single PGA Tour campaign to date.

“The camaraderie is great,” said Taylor, whose victory at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club was the fourth win by a Canadian in the season. “I feel like we play a lot of practice rounds together, houses often have dinners together, so we all rally together.

“I think we push each other to be better and I think that’s why we’ve continued to get better and reach new heights.”

Conners, who won the Valero Texas Open for a second time on April 2, said that winning is the best feeling you can have in professional golf.

“That was definitely a highlight for me,” said Conners. “I think another highlight, and something that I’m always very proud of, was making it to Eastlake — the Tour Championship — and being in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup rankings and having a chance to win the FedEx Cup. 

“Looking back on the year as a whole I would have liked to improve on some things, but making it there is a nice bonus because it means you had a great year.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on Jan. 22 for her 13th victory on the LPGA Tour, the most of any professional player in Canadian golf history regardless of gender.

“It was a little bit up and down year for me,” said Henderson, assessing her 2023. “But it was nice to try to defend my title at the Evian Championship with a runner-up finish this year, it was really fun to be back in contention. 

“Then same kind of thing to be in our Tour Championship in November, it’s always a big goal when you start the season is to be in contention to try to win that, that big money and the race, the CME Globe in November.”

Canadian success wasn’t limited to the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, however.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., both won on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour to earn full-time PGA Tour status in 2024. That means there will be eight Canadians on tour with Silverman and Sloan joining Taylor, Conners, Hughes, Svensson, Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp won an Epson Tour event and had five top-10 results on the second-tier tour, not missing a cut in 14 tournaments played. She also won Canada’s second-ever golf medal at the Pan American Games, winning bronze in Santiago, Chile. 

Sharp once again earned LPGA Tour status through final qualifying, as did Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. They’ll join Henderson and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., on the LPGA Tour in the new year.

Two more Canadians won on the PGA Tour Canada, a feeder circuit for the Korn Ferry Tour, with Etienne Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald each claiming a victory. Papineau finished fourth on the season-long points list to earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., won on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, another third-tier circuit in the PGA Tour system. Calgary’s Stephen Ames won a remarkable four times on the Champions Tour.

On the amateur side, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. earned the 109th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. won the 118th Canadian Men’s Amateur, marking only the third time both tournaments were won by Canadians in the same year since 2011. Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., became the first Canadian to make the cut at the Augusta Women’s National Amateur.

With the Paris Olympics coming in July and the Presidents Cup returning to Royal Montreal Golf Club in September, Taylor expects 2024 to be an even bigger year for Canadian golf.

“Those two are at the top of the list of things I want to be involved in, participate in, this coming year,” he said.

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of 39 amateur athletes and 10 coaches named to the 2024 men’s and women’s Team Canada – NextGen and Team Canada squads.

The Team Canada – NextGen program supports juniors and young amateurs who are transitioning to college golf. The Team Canada program supports a group of experienced amateurs who are on the path towards professional golf along with a group of young professional golfers who are building their careers as touring pros.

Teams are selected based on results from the previous season (September-August), with the Team Canada – NextGen program considering performance at Golf Canada’s Selection Camp in September. Professional players that will be part of the 2024 Team Canada squad will be announced at a later date, upon the completion of Qualifying schools.

“We are excited to formally announce the amateur athletes who will be part of our 2024 Team Canada and Team Canada – NextGen teams, and we look forward to supporting their journeys to the LPGA and PGA TOUR,” said Kevin Blue, Chief Sport Officer. “I would like to extend our sincere thanks as well to our generous donors who support the player development program through the Golf Canada Foundation, along with our critical and fully aligned corporate partners for the continued commitment that is enabling the Team Canada player development program to help more Canadians excel at the highest levels of our sport.”

Golf Canada’s player development program provides individualized training and competition support to athletes on their journey to the LPGA and PGA TOUR. National team coaches work with athletes and their personal support teams to develop annual training plans and identify areas where impact can be made to help athletes improve in all areas of their game. Athletes are also supported by a comprehensive sport science team that includes mental performance, physical conditioning, and mental health supports. The players are brought together regularly for training camps where they receive support from national team coaches and sport science staff, and train with their peers. 

The coaching staff for the men’s and women’s Team Canada squads will return in full for the 2024 season. Team Canada – Women will again be coached by Stollery Family Women’s Head Coach Salimah Mussani (Vancouver, B.C.) and Associate Coach Jennifer Greggain (Vancouver, B.C.). Team Canada – Men return Head Coach Derek Ingram (Winnipeg, Man.) and Assistant Coaches Louis Melanson (Moncton, N.B.) and Benoit Lemieux (Montréal, Que.).

The men’s amateur Team Canada squad features reigning Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion Ashton McCulloch. McCulloch also represented Canada along with teammates Piercen Hunt and Brady McKinlay at the 2023 Men’s World Amateur Team Championship. McKinlay will be joining Team Canada for the first time in 2024. Earlier this month, McKinlay was part of Canada’s fourth Tailhade Cup winning team in Buenos Aires, Argentina and also took home individual honours at the Argentina Amateur Championship. McKinlay and Hunt are expected to turn professional in 2024 and receive support alongside the group of young pros that will be named to Team Canada in the coming weeks.

The women’s amateur group features reigning Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion, Lauren Kim, along with World Amateur Team Championship teammates Monet Chun and Katie Cranston. Savannah Grewal also returns to Team Canada and has announced her intention to turn professional as she pursues LPGA Tour status at Q Series in early December. Ellie Szeryk returns to the team for her third year after being part of the junior squad in 2018 and 2019. Szeryk won her first collegiate title, representing Southern Methodist University at the Jim West Challenge this October.

Team Canada – Men

Team Canada – Women

The Team Canada – NextGen coaching staff is led by Head Coach Robert Ratcliffe (Qualicum Beach, B.C.) with support from Associate Coach Jeff MacDonald (Fall River, N.S.) and Assistant Coaches Jennifer Ha (Calgary, Alta.) and Darcy Dhillon (Red Deer, Alta.).

Tristian Mullally of Dundas, Ont. will continue as the Head of National Talent Identification overseeing the national talent identification system that was established in 2022. In this role, Mullaly provides support to a promising group of younger junior golfers (11 – 16 years old) and their existing coaching teams to grow the pool of future Team Canada prospects.

The NextGen team features 15 returning players and eight new members for 2024. The boys team features 2023 Canadian Junior Boys Champion, Alex Zhang, two-time Canadian Junior Boys Champion, JP Parr along with 2023 tournament winners, Isaiah Ibit (NextGen Ontario) and Matthew Javier (Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp).

The girls team features all three members of Canada’s winning side at the 2023 World Junior Girls Championship: Vanessa Borovilos, Anna Huang and Vanessa Zhang. Reigning Canadian Junior Girls Champion, Eileen Park, will be joining the team for the first time in 2024.

Team Canada – NextGen Boys

Team Canada – NextGen Girls

For full Team Canada bios and additional information, please click here.

Team Canada is proudly supported by RBC, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Hilton, Puma, Foresight, Golf Canada Foundation and Sport Canada.

Maddie Szeryk feels like her game has turned a corner the last couple of weeks. And that feeling has come at a good time as she prepares to tee it up at the final full-field event of the LPGA Tour’s 2023 schedule. 

Szeryk, of London, Ont., currently sits 99th in the Race to CME Globe, the LPGA Tour’s season-long points list. The top 100 after this week’s event — The Annika at Pelican Golf Club — will keep their LPGA Tour status for 2024. 

Szeryk is currently 2.6 points ahead of Spain’s Azahara Munoz at No. 100.

“It’s hard to make it bigger than it is, like, ‘Oh, I have to play amazing.’ At the end of the day, I’m going to try to play my best and play as well as I can and wherever I end up is where I end up,” Szeryk said by phone from Belleair, Fla.

“You don’t know how the other girls are going to play. We could all finish top 10 and it could be super close. Or we could finish all over the board. I can only do my part and play as well as I can and see where I end up at the end of the week.”

Szeryk is in her second full year on the LPGA Tour. Her best result of the season came in her first event, the LPGA Drive On Championship in March, where she finished tied for seventh.

The 27-year-old struggled through the summer, missing six of seven cuts from July until September. But she’s found the weekend in her last two tournaments and finished in a tie for 26th last month at the LPGA Shanghai tournament — her best result on tour in three months. 

“Everyone gets on these little runs and it’s like, ‘OK, any time now would be great (to turn things around),” Szeryk said. “I felt like a lot of those weeks I was close. I could see things were getting a little closer and then the last few weeks it finally clicked.”

Szeryk says her comfort level this year has been “way higher” than 2022. Last year she had to return to the LPGA Tour’s qualifying school to earn full status again for 2023, a gruelling eight-round marathon with the top 45 and ties receiving their cards. Szeryk finished tied for 17th.

In speaking with other players on the LPGA Tour, she realized it takes about a year to feel comfortable with the travel and the logistics of women’s professional golf at the highest level. 

“I’ve definitely had a better schedule and I know what I’m doing versus thinking about when I could play, what I should do, or where I should go,” Szeryk said. 

Szeryk has tried to keep things as similar as possible through the year in terms of her gear and preparation, although she said her and her longtime caddie (they had been together since July of last year) split after the she missed the cut at the Canadian Women’s Open in Vancouver.

Szeryk said she’s been struggling off the tee this year and sits 106th on the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy. She was 57th in the same statistic last year.

“The last couple of weeks, most of the time when I made a bogey it was I was completely out of play,” Szeryk said. “(This week) really going to make sure the big focus is getting my driver at least in play.

“I feel like I’m heading in the right direction which is always comforting and what you want to see.”

Szeryk will be one of two Canadians in the field at The Annika, and the other one won’t be worrying about their position in the season-long standings. 

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., sits 14th in the points list and comes into the event after a tie for sixth at the Maybank Championship two weeks ago — her third top-10 of the year. 

Henderson won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions for her 13th LPGA Tour title. 

The top 60 on the Race to CME Globe at the end of the week earn their way into the LPGA Tour’s season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, where they will compete for the biggest prize in women’s golf — a US$7-million purse, with $2 million going to the winner. 

The Annika begins Thursday at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair. World No. 6 Nelly Korda is the two-time defending champion. 

(Buenos Aires, Argentina) – Felix Bouchard of Otterburn Park, Que. and Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta., led Team Canada to victory in the 51st edition of the Tailhade Cup at Los Lagartos Country Club.

With a total of 422 strokes, Canada clinched their fourth title, finishing four strokes ahead of Denmark and Switzerland. Their strong performance was attributed to Bouchard and McKinlay’s combined rounds of 142, 137, and 143 strokes.

In the Individual Ranking, Spain’s Luis Roncal Masaveu finished first with 205 strokes at -8, with Bouchard closely following behind by three strokes, ending the tourney at -5.

Mckinlay finished tied for 8^th at 1-over, 214.

Team scoring

Individual scoring

Alena Sharp has won the bronze medal after finishing the 2023 PanAmerican (PanAm) Games at 7-under, following a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s final round at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

This marks Canada’s second bronze medal in golf all-time at the PanAm Games. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. recorded three birdies during her final round, but the highlight came on the par-3 15th hole. Sharp chipped on with her second shot leaving a 30-foot putt, which she drained to save par. Sharp went on to par the final three holes to close with six consecutive pars to secure the bronze. Sharp finished with rounds of 67-73-70-71-281.

“I’m kind of shocked a little bit, I thought I would be in a playoff. I had a lot of good luck this week and I’m floored and to the moon to take home a medal for Canada. I’ve played in two Olympics and this and it’s nice to walk away with a medal,” said Sharp following her round on Sunday.

. @AlenaSharp secured a ? podium finish for ?? at the 2023 Pan Am games pic.twitter.com/YQXXnJBLCd

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 5, 2023

Sofia Garcia of Paraguay completed the wire-to-wire victory to win the gold medal. Garcia shot an even par 72 on Sunday to stay at 14-under and win by four shots over Maria Uribe of Colombia who won the silver medal. Uribe finished with a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish the tournament at 10-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. closed with a 3-over 75 on Sunday. Costabile finished the tournament in 18th at 14-over (77-76-74-75-302).

Women’s Final Top 3 Standings following the 2023 Pan Am Games

Étienne Papineau battled right to the end and came up just short finishing in a tie for fourth.

Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 16-under (63-71-67-71-272) just one shot back of a podium finish.

“I didn’t really make anything today, I would say nothing really went my way to be honest. I had a bad break on 10 which cost me a bogey. The ball flew to the hole and bounced 30 yards backwards so that was kind of hard on me mentally a little bit, but I tried to stay in it, with birdies 13 and 15 to get back into it. I had a chance on 17 and on 18 I just didn’t take advantage of it. It is what it is. It stinks a little bit, but it’s part of the game,” said Papineau.

Abraham Ancer of Mexico fired a final round 5-under 67 to jump ahead of Sebastian Muñoz of Colombia to win the gold medal. Ancer closed the tournament at 21-under, one shot better than Munoz who finished 20-under. Dylan Menante of the United States closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to pull into third and win the bronze medal, finishing at 17-under.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. closed the tournament with a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish at 8-under (73-68-70-69-280), tied for 11th. Creighton carded three birdies on the front nine and closed with nine straight pars on the back nine during Sunday’s final round.

Men’s Final Top 3 Standings following the 2023 Pan Am Games

Golf joined the Pan Am Games program at Toronto 2015. Santiago 2023 featured individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. The 2027 Pan Am Games will be held in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Étienne Papineau heads into the final round of 2023 PanAmerican (PanAm) Games one shot back of leaders Sebastian Muñoz and Abraham Ancer, following a 5-under 67 on Saturday at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

With another strong round, Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. moved to 15-under for the tournament, while Munoz and Ancer are at 16-under. Papineau recorded six birdies in his round, with three on the front nine and three on the back and had a share of the lead before an unfortunate bogey on the par 5 18th.

Muñoz of Colombia held a two-shot lead heading into the final round and recorded a 4-under 68 on Saturday, while Ancer of Mexico fired his way into tie for the lead with a 7-under 65 to join Muñoz at 16-under.

Independent Athletes Team member Jose Toledo moved up to fourth place at 12-under following a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Dylan Menante of the United States rounds out the top five at 11-under after shooting a 2-under 70.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. followed up his solid second round with a 2-under 70 on Saturday. Creighton carded two birdies on the front nine and went on to record 10 consecutive pars on holes seven through 16. Following a bogey on 17, Creighton quickly grabbed a stroke back closing with a birdie on 18. Creighton now moves to 5-under and sits 13th.

Men’s Top 5 Standings following the third round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. improved to 6-under for the tournament following a round of 2-under 70 on Saturday and is tied for third, eight shots back of leader Sofia Garcia of Paraguay who sits at 14-under after three rounds.

Sharp recorded four of her five birdies on the back nine during her round to pull back under par. Garcia meanwhile takes a seven-shot lead over Valery Plata of Colombia in Sunday’s final round following a 5-under 67 on Saturday.

Maria Uribe of Colombia is tied with Sharp for third place at 6-under. Uribe recorded a 4-under 68 in round three. Magdalena Simmermacher of Argentina and Anna Davis of the United States are tied for fifth at 1-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. recorded her best round of the tournament with a 2-over 74 on Saturday. Costabile is now at 11-over and sits tied for 19th.

Women’s Top 5 Standings following the third round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

Golf joined the Pan American Games program at Toronto 2015. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Santiago 2023 features individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. Sunday’s final round will begin at 7:00 a.m. local time, 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT.

Étienne Papineau and Alena Sharp both find themselves in second place in their respective divisions after two rounds of the 2023 Pan American (Pan Am) Games at the Price of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

Papineau followed up his opening round 63 with a 1-under 71 on Friday and is two-shots back of Sebastian Muñoz of Colombia who shot a 6-under 66 for the second straight day to move to 12-under for the tournament.

“Obviously not as good as yesterday but we’re still in it, just some bad luck on par 5’s today on 14 and 9 outside of that it was ok, I guess. I will work on some things on the range but we’re still in it, obviously not the round I wanted today but as I said we’re still in it and there’s 36 more holes to play so I’ll do my best and then we’ll see after Sunday,” said Papineau.

Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. began his round on the back nine on Friday and exchanged two birdies and two bogeys for an even 36. Finishing up on the front nine, Papineau opened with two pars, followed by an eagle on the third hole and a run of five consecutive pars before dropping a stroke on the ninth hole to finish with a 71.

Myles Creigton of Digby, N.S. responded with a solid 4-under 68 on Friday to improve to 3-under for the tournament and sits 12th, carding six birdies during his round.

“I really struggled yesterday, just wasn’t hitting it great and shot as good as I probably could have shot…was all over the place and this course exposes you a little bit if you’re just a little off so worked on it a little bit yesterday and came out with a better round today. I got off to a bad start with a bogey and fought pretty hard from there with not my full game but was able to get around today,” said Creighton.

Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Dylan Menante are in a three-way tie for third after two rounds and sit three shots back of Muñoz at 9-under.

Men’s Top 5 Standings following the second round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. finished her second round with a 1-over 73, dropping one stroke to sit 4-under and is tied for second with Valery Plata of Colombia. Plata recorded a second consecutive round of 2-under 70, both Sharp and Plata are five shots back of Sofia Garcia of Paraguay who leads at 9-under. Garcia followed up an opening round 65 with a 2-under 70 on Friday. Alexandra Swayne of the Virgin Islands and Maria Uribe at tied for fourth at 2-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. shot a 4-over 76 on Friday and sits 21st at 9-over.

Women’s Top 5 Standings following the second round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

Golf joined the Pan American Games program at Toronto 2015. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Santiago 2023 features individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. Saturday’s third round will begin at 8:00 a.m. local time, 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT.

Étienne Papineau is one of four players set to represent Canada, joining Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., and Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

The 27-year-old from St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. has enjoyed a successful 2023 season earning three professional tournament wins. Included in the three was the PGA TOUR Canada season opening tournament, the Royal Beach Victoria Open in June. Papineau went on to add five top-10 finishes with 16 of 21 tournament cuts made. In addition, he finished the season as the top Canadian on PGA TOUR Canada’s Fortinet Cup standings, placing fourth and earning his 2024 Korn Ferry Tour card.

The games are now well underway with golf set to be contested over 72-holes of individual stroke play beginning on Thursday, November 2 through to Sunday, November 5 at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago.

Golf Canada caught up with Papineau to look back on his successful season and his preparations ahead of the Pan Am Games.

Étienne, while the 2023 season was a successful one for you, the off-season involved knee surgery and rehabbing through injuries. Talk about the recovery process and preparing for the season…
Last winter was probably not my best one. I went through one surgery and a couple other injuries, so it was definitely a long winter for me, but you know I went through the motions, went through the process, went through rehab and everything went well in terms of recovery from my injuries. But the hardest part was trusting my body again, which was the hardest part for me mentally, especially for the first couple weeks…just to trust my body, trust my recovery and once I went through that phase of trusting my body again, I was good to go.

You earned your first professional win at the Belleville Classic as part of the Toronto Players Tour in May. What did that mean to you to win your first professional tournament after a long off-season?
It wasn’t a big field, only 30-35 players but just getting a win under my belt before the PGA TOUR Canada season started was really big for me. As I said it was a long winter, took a little bit of time for me to trust my body and I wanted to play as many events as possible before the PGA TOUR Canada season started. Getting that win was really big for me, momentum wise and confidence wise so I was really happy with that, and I was really excited going into the season with that win a couple weeks before the season started on the PGA TOUR Canada.

A couple weeks after your win in Belleville the PGA TOUR Canada season opens with the Royal Beach Victoria Open and you win that tournament as well. What can you say about the win and that stretch between May and June?
It was crazy in the sense that if you told me that two months before that tournament that I was going to win, I would have told you that that was crazy. It was a great feeling to start the season with a win like that. I think that win in Belleville two weeks before and playing in the RBC Canadian Open the week before then gave me a lot of momentum and made me feel extremely ready for the season and I showed up there and played some great golf. It was a crazy week, and I was really excited to get that win and start the season on the right foot. It was definitely a great moment in my young career.

Speaking of the RBC Canadian Open, you made your first appearance in Canada’s National Open and finished 1-over, narrowly missing the cut. What was your experience like at Oakdale Golf & Country Club?
It was definitely a really fun experience for me. I got to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open the year before in February 2022, so I got a little bit of experience and a taste of how it works and see the best players in the world up close. Playing in the Canadian Open was a really fun experience for me…playing in my home country, I had a lot of family and friends that came to watch me play. As I said, it gave me a lot of momentum for the season. Obviously it’s always great to play in your country’s open and I was really grateful that I got my exemption from Golf Canada…it was awesome.

Fast forward to August and the Coupe Canada in Victoriaville. You earned your third win of the season but I’m sure that one was quite special being in Québec?
It was definitely a tournament that I circled in my calendar when the schedule for PGA TOUR Canada came out, it fit right in the two weeks off we had, so I definitely wanted to play that one. It’s always a fun event, there’s always a lot of people watching, especially the final round and I was in the final group that last day and I had a lot of family and friends that came to watch me get my first professional win in Québec. Celebrating with family and friends was extremely fun. It’s always fun to win a tournament but winning one in Québec, in my home province makes it feel a little bit better.

You finished as the top Canadian in the Fortinet Cup standings and fourth overall, earning your Korn Ferry Tour card for 2024. What can you say about your season on the PGA TOUR Canada…
It’s been a crazy journey so far, hopefully it’s just the beginning. I currently have my Korn Ferry Tour card and I’ll get ready for the next season and get out there and play some good golf and we’ll see what happens. It’s been a crazy last two years, year and a half…as I said, if you would have told me six to seven months ago that I’d have my Korn Ferry Tour card, I don’t think I would have believed you with all the injuries that I went through…but I got through it, I did the work that I had to do and had a great season and here we are now a couple months away from the Korn Ferry Tour season and I’m really excited…hopefully it’s just the beginning.

With the season now over, focuses shifts to the Pan Am Games. What did it mean to you to receive the call that you would be heading to Santiago?
I was really excited. I wasn’t sure at first that I was going to go because there are a lot of other Canadian players in front of me, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to get picked to go. I was definitely going to be ready for it and when I got the call from Golf Canada, I was really pumped, really excited. It’s definitely going to be a fun week with Myles, Selena and Alena. I’ve never experienced something like this…I went to the Canada Summer Games ten years ago but I’m pretty sure it’s a totally different story. It’s definitely going to be awesome, and I’m going to enjoy it and go out there with the goal of getting a medal.

What have your preparations been like since the end of the season and ahead of Santiago?
We finished the PGA TOUR Canada season in the second week of September, so I took a couple weeks off to recovery from the end of the season fatigue, but everything is good. I started up again the first week of October. This month has been a lot of golf and I’ve been in the gym a lot more the past month then the last four or five (months) because I was on the road so much. Being home and spending time with family and friends was great but the last month has been gym and golf focused, so we’re ready to go.

What can you say about the look for Team Canada in Santiago?
We got our uniforms a couple weeks before and they’re great and I think Canada is going to look good in our uniforms. We’ve received some great stuff and I’m excited to wear it and represent Canada.

Finally, you’ve been a member of Team Canada for six years. What does it mean to you to wear the Maple Leaf and represent Canada?
As a kid you always dream to represent your country in your sport, and this is a dream for me to wear the Maple Leaf at the Pan Am Games. It was definitely a goal of mine, and I didn’t think about it until mid-season of PGA TOUR Canada, with that win. I knew maybe I’d be in the selection process at least and when I got the call, I was really pumped, really excited and to go out there and represent my country means a lot to me. I’m going to enjoy the week, enjoy the competition and hopefully bring a medal back home.

World No. 4 Minsol Kim’s 4-under 68 and a 71 from Kyrorim Seo led the Republic of Korea to the gold medal in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. It is Korea’s fourth Espirito Santo Trophy victory in the last seven competitions and their fifth all time.

Korea jumped out to a solo lead early in the round and never surrendered it. Kim, who was the runner-up in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific, made back-to-back birdies on the par-5 second and par-4 third holes and again on the eighth and ninth.

Korea’s 72-hole score of 22-under-par 554 was four strokes better than silver-medal winning Chinese Taipei and five better than the bronze medal winners Spain.

Chinese Taipei, which began the day three back from the leaders, leaped into silver position after a birdie-birdie finish from Huai-Chien Hsu, a sophomore at the University of Texas. After missing the green left on the par-4 17th, Hsu chipped in from 18 yards for a three and followed with a 9-footer for birdie on the last hole to post a team score of 558.

This is Chinese Taipei’s first medal in its 16 Women’s World Amateur Team appearances.

Spain, the 54-hole co-leader, could not find its form of earlier in the week and posted a fourth-round 144, which included a 2-under 70 from Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and a 74 from Carla Bernat Escuder.

The Spaniards managed to get within two shots of Korea with two holes to play but found heartbreak on the 72nd hole for the second year in a row. All three players bogeyed the par-5 18th hole to drop Spain from silver position to bronze at 559.

England had a share of the lead with Korea at one point Saturday afternoon after a batch of birdies from Florida State University teammates Lottie Woad and Charlotte Heath. Woad birdied every par 4 on the front nine to post a 31 at the turn but would cool off on the back nine as England finished with a 4-under 140 to post 560 alongside Thailand, one shot shy of the bronze behind Spain.

Australia and the United States of American finished in a tie for sixth at 561. Megan Schofill led the USA with a bogey-free 5-under 67 and Anna Davis added a 69 as the Americans posted the low-round of the day. Canada was eighth at 564 and New Zealand finished ninth at 565.

Canada finished the tournament at 12-under following a combined 4-under 140 in Saturday’s final round. Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont. finished the tournament strong with a 3-under 69 to finish at 5-over following rounds of 74-75-75-69-293. 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur winner, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. closed her tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish T8 in the individual standings at 8-under. Kim posted rounds of 69-72-68-71-280. Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont. finished with an even par 71 in the final round to finish at 1-under with rounds of 69-72-74-72-287.

Korea receives custody of the Espirito Santo Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championship, which will be held in 2025 at Tenah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course in Singapore. Members of the winning team receive gold medals; members of the second-place team receive silver medals; and members of the third-place team receive bronze medals.

Although there is no official recognition, Chinese Taipei’s Huai-Chien Hsu was the low individual scorer at 13-under 275.

Notable:

• Korea now has nine medals in their 17 WWATC appearances – five gold, two silver and two bronze. Its previous four gold medals came in 1996, 2010, 2012 and 2016. This is Korea’s seventh consecutive top-10 finish in the Espirito Santo Trophy.
• Spain’s bronze medal gives them six total medals and the first since their silver-medal performance in 2008.
• Minsol Kim tied for 10th in her LPGA Tour debut at the BMW Ladies Championship last October. She was inside the top two after both 18 and 36 holes, and played in the final group in both the second and third rounds.
• Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio finished in second place in the individual scoring at 11-under after she tied for seventh in 2022. She is the only player to finish in the top 10 both years.
• Thailand, competing in its 10th WWATC, earned its third top-10 finish and best showing since 2016.
• New Zealand finished in ninth place for its first top-10 showing since 2012 and its fifth top-10 in its 29 appearances.
• India (16th place) registered its best finish in a WWATC after placing T17 in 2014.

What’s Next:

The 2025 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy will be held at Tenah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

Results from Saturday’s final round of the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

1      Republic of Korea 140-137-138-139–554
        Minsol Kim 73-70-71-68–282
        Kyorim Seo 69-67-71-71–278
        Hyosong Lee 71-70-67-74–282

2      Chinese Taipei 144-139-135-140–558
        Huai-Chien Hsu 72-68-66-69–275
        Ting-Hsuan Huang 76-71-75-71–293
        Hsin Chun Liao 72-72-69-79–292

3      Spain 137-138-140-144–559
        Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 68-69-70-70–277
        Carla Bernat Escuder 70-70-77-74–291
        Julia Lopez Ramirez 69-69-70-76–284

T4     England 144-137-139-140–560
        Lottie Woad 72-70-69-68–279
        Charlotte Heath 72-76-70-72–290
        Caley McGinty 77-67-74-73–291

T4     Thailand 141-134-141-144–560
        Eila Galitsky 72-70-69-70–281
        Suvichaya Vinijchaitham 72-69-75-74–290
        Navaporn Soontreeyapas 69-65-72-75–281

T6     Australia 141-134-144-142–561
        Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 72-66-71-71–280
        Caitlin Peirce 77-73-74-71–295
        Justice Bosio 69-68-73-73–283

T6     United States of America 142-139-144-136–561
        Megan Schofill 72-73-72-67–284
        Anna Davis 73-68-72-69–282
        Rachel Kuehn 70-71-72-71–284

8      CANADA 138-144-142-140–564
        Katie Cranston 74-75-75-69–293
        Lauren Kim 69-72-68-71–280
        Monet Chun 69-72-74-72–287

9      New Zealand 148-135-141-141–565
        Fiona Xu 74-67-69-69–279
        Vivian Lu 74-71-74-72–291
        Eunseo Choi 74-68-72-74–288

10     Italy 143-147-137-141–568
        Francesca Fiorellini 73-75-65-67–280
        Matilde Partele 75-82-72-74–303
        Natalia Aparicio 70-72-72-77–291

T11    Germany 140-142-143-144–569
        Celina Sattelkau 71-73-75-71–290
        Helen Briem 72-69-69-73–283
        Esther Poburski – – – —

T11    Scotland 141-142-143-143–569
        Hannah Darling 70-72-76-71–289
        Carmen Griffiths 71-70-69-72–282
        Lorna McClymont 73-73-74-73–293

T13    Ireland 139-145-141-146–571
        Sara Byrne 68-75-72-73–288
        Beth Coulter 71-77-74-73–295
        Aine Donegan 74-70-69-74–287

T13    Norway 143-142-146-140–571
        Silje Torvund Ohma 73-68-72-70–283
        Mia Lussand 70-76-74-70–290
        Anna Krekling 74-74-75-76–299

T13    Sweden 142-147-138-144–571
        Meja Ortengren 71-73-74-71–289
        Kajsa Arwefjall 71-74-72-76–293

16     India 140-142-143-148–573
        Avani Prashanth 68-68-71-72–279
        Nishna Patel 75-80-74-76–305
        Mannat Brar 72-74-72-85–303

17     France 146-146-141-142–575
        Adela Cernousek 72-72-71-69–284
        Louise Uma Landgraf 74-74-74-73–295
        Vairana Heck 75-74-70-75–294

18     Hong Kong, China 145-142-143-146–576
        Sophie Han 74-71-72-72–289
        Arianna Lau 71-71-71-74–287
        Hoi Ki Lau 79-74-76-77–306

19     Philippines 143-146-140-149–578
        Rianne Malixi 74-74-69-70–287
        Junia Louise Gabasa 69-73-71-79–292
        Grace Pauline Quintanilla 80-73-73-79–305

T20    Singapore 145-148-144-142–579
        Inez Ng 72-70-68-69–279
        Aloysa Atienza 73-82-76-73–304
        Xingtong Chen 75-78-80-79–312

T20    Colombia 142-147-147-143–579
        María Hoyos 71-75-76-70–292
        Cristina Ochoa 71-76-71-73–291
        Ana Sofía Murcia 71-72-77-76–296

T20    Mexico 144-145-143-147–579
        Lauren Olivares 75-73-68-71–287
        Cory Lopez 73-79-77-76–305
        Vania Simont 71-72-75-77–295

T23    Morocco 144-145-145-147–581
        Sofia Cherif Essakali 70-73-72-73–288
        Rim Imni 80-72-75-74–301
        Malak Bouraeda 74-77-73-77–301

T23    Switzerland 144-151-142-144–581
        Caroline Sturdza 71-82-73-71–297
        Yana Beeli 77-75-72-73–297
        Victoria Levy 73-76-70-74–293

25     Finland 148-149-143-142–582
        Katri Bakker 75-74-69-70–288
        Emilia Vaisto 75-75-75-72–297
        Henni Mustonen 73-78-74-72–297

26     Japan 145-141-147-150–583
        Mamika Shinchi 68-73-74-75–290
        Mizuki Hashimoto 77-69-73-75–294
        Miku Ueta 78-72-78-75–303

27     South Africa 149-144-146-145–584
        Megan Streicher 76-73-80-72–301
        Caitlyn Macnab 73-71-70-73–287
        Kajal Mistry 76-74-76-77–303

28     Denmark 151-146-145-143–585
        Natacha Host Husted 78-77-73-71–299
        Olivia Grønborg 76-71-74-72–293
        Cecilie Leth-Nissen 75-75-72-75–297

29     Netherlands 147-148-145-147–587
        Rosanna Boere 75-77-71-73–296
        Anne den Dunnen 72-71-74-74–291
        Lynn van der Sluijs 77-78-75-76–306

T30    Czechia 143-148-149-148–588
        Veronika Kedronova 73-75-73-74–295
        Denisa Vodickova 72-75-76-74–297
        Patricie Mackova 71-73-76-78–298

T30    People’s Republic of China 152-142-149-145–588
        Zixin Ni 79-78-74-72–303
        Xinyu Cao 73-69-75-73–290
        Tong An 80-73-77-78–308

32     Belgium 144-153-147-151–595
        Sophie Bert 71-77-73-75–296
        Savannah De Bock 73-76-74-76–299
        Celine Manche 73-78-77-80–308

33     United Arab Emirates 150-153-145-152–600
        Jamie Camero 78-77-71-73–299
        Lara El Chaib 74-77-75-79–305
        Intissar Rich 76-76-74-79–305

34     Chile 153-161-150-149–613
        Michelle Melandri 78-77-77-72–304
        Carolina Alcaino 75-84-73-77–309
        Amelia Ruiz 78-88-82-77–325

35     Pakistan 151-156-159-162–628
        Humna Amjad 73-78-79-WD–WD
        Parkha Ijaz 78-78-80-79–315
        Rimsha Ijaz 84-84-85-83–336

36     Bolivia 162-164-160-167–653
        Victoria Suarez 82-81-78-82–323
        Florencia Cuellar Gutierrez 87-83-82-85–337
        Connie Quiroga 80-86-82-90–338