Courtesy Golf Canada

OTTAWA – Today, the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) are on Parliament Hill conducting their National Golf Day and meeting with Parliamentarians to discuss the business of golf in Canada.

“Golf is one of Canada’s most beloved sports with more people playing the game than any other sport,” said Scott Simmons, NAGA Chair and Golf Canada CEO.

“There are an estimated 5.7 million Canadian golfers and there are 2,400 golf courses and practice ranges in Canada and the industry contributes more than $14 billion to the GDP per year.”

While golf continues to be a favourite pastime for Canadians, it’s important to note that the small businesses involved in the golf industry have felt the impact of the weak economy over the past several years.

Four BC Golfers Were Honoured Among 178 Amateurs Chosen Worldwide For Global Golf Post's Annual All-Amateur Teams: From L-R: Kimberley's Jared du Doit; Victoria's Kevin Carrigan; Port Alberni's Christina Proteau and Nanoose Bay's Shelly Stouffer - All Images Courtesy BC Golf

Terry Lenyk/ Golf Canada

Winter Park, Fla. - Global Golf Post today announced its men’s and women’s amateurs of the year for 2016, as well as its fourth annual All-Amateur teams for men and women.

Three-time British Seniors Amateur champion Chip Lutz was selected as the male Amateur of the Year, while UCLA senior Bronte Law was named the female Amateur of the Year. Lutz is an American, while Law is from England.

“Each fall, The Post labors to find the two players who epitomize the best of the amateur game: a man and woman whose legacy is an inspiration for others,” The Post’s Steve Eubanks wrote for the magazine’s Nov. 28 edition.

Megan Osland Is One Of Two BC Players From Kelowna, Along With Samantha Richdale, Who Will Tee It Up In The Final Stage Of LPGA Tour Q-School This Week - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Golf Canada with files from the LPGA Tour

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – The LPGA Tour will host the Final Stage of its Qualifying Tournament this week (November 30 – December 4), where nine Canadians will be among the 157 player-field competing for 20 full LPGA Tour cards and 25 partial cards.

The ladies will alternate over the first four rounds between the Jones and Hills courses at LPGA International. There will be a cut to the top 70 and ties after the fourth round. The final-round will be contested on the Hills course. Play will begin at 8 a.m. all five days.

Justin Shin From Maple Ridge Is The Latest Canadian To Play His Way Into The Final Round Of Web.com Tour Q-School - Image Credit (Golf Canada/Graig Abel)

Courtesy Golf Canada

Maple Ridge, B.C., product Justin Shin finished 9th on the PGA Tour China’s Order of Merit to become the latest Canadian to earn a spot in Web.com Tour’s third and final stage of qualifying in December.

The former Team Canada Amateur Squad member finished with a share of ninth this past weekend at PGA Tour China’s Buick Open, bringing his season earnings total to $362,118 through 13 events.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump Is No Stranger To The World Of Golf. But Can His Association With The Grand Game Be An Actual Benefit To The Rest Of The World? - Image source

by John Gordon/Golf Canada

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first and, hopefully, annual World Leaders Golf Tournament Presented by Those Who Hope to Live to See Tomorrow.

The first tee is a sight to behold.

The contents of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s bag are reminiscent of that of Rodney Dangerfield’s in the movie Caddyshack, although his caddie certainly is of a different ethnic background than Dangerfield’s was in the movie.

Despite Trump’s best efforts, hundreds of spectators have managed to manoeuvre around the wall he had constructed around the golf course. Among them was Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto who just managed to make his tee time.

Craig Hocknull Is The 2016 PGA Club Pro Of Canada Champion - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Chris Fry/ PGA of Canada

Craig Hocknull pulled away from the pack Thursday at Port Royal Golf Club in Bermuda, winning the PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy.

Hocknull’s three-day total of 4-under, 209 (74-69-66) was five shots better than Brian Hadley, who held a slim one-stroke lead heading into Thursday’s finale. The PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player Dave Levesque finished alone in third at 3-over for the championship with Victoria Golf Club's Lindsay Bernakevitch and Gordon Burns of Ontario rounding out the top five, finishing T4. 

Langley's Adam Cornelson Is One Of No Less Than 8 Canadians Who Will Tee It Up In The Final Stage Of Web.com Q-School Next Week - Image Courtesy PGA Tour Canada

A field of 150-plus aspiring Web.com Tour players is set to compete at Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament next month in Winter Garden, Florida, in hopes of securing strong Web.com Tour status for the 2017 season.

After spending the past three years at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the all-important Final Stage will relocate to the Orlando suburbs for this year's 72-hole event, with participants playing 36 holes each at Orange County National Golf Club's Crooked Cat and Panther Lake courses.

Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit Remains In The Top 30 In The World Amateur Rankings And Is Still No. 1 In Canada - BC Golf Photo

Mackenzie Hughes was the story this week making a big jump up the world rankings thanks to his first win on the PGA TOUR.

BC players continue to occupy top spots in the country's rankings as well, led by Kimberley's Jared du Doit and Victoria's Naomi Ko.

After 10 Years At The Helm Of Golf Canada, CEO Scott Simmons Is Stepping Down - Image Courtesy Golf Canada Archives

Dan Pino/ Golf Canada

(Oakville, Ont.) – Golf Canada announced today that after 10 years at the helm, CEO Scott Simmons has made the decision to depart the organization in early February 2017.

Originally hired to lead Canada’s National Sport Federation for golf in the summer of 2007, Simmons will continue to lead the organization during the transition period and assist Golf Canada’s Board of Directors in the search for a successor as CEO.

Canada's Brooke Henderson Finished Up A Solid LPGA Season As The 3rd Leading Money-Winner Including 2 Victories And 15 Top-10 Results - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam photos)

courtesy Golf Canada

The the 2016 LPGA season wrapped up on the weekend and Canada’s Brooke Henderson ended the year with two wins, 15 top-10 finishes & $1,724,409 earned, which left her 3rd on the LPGA official money list.

Henderson discussed her 2016 in this interview with the LPGA’s Matt Haas.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad Member Mackenzie Hughes Is In Disbelief After The Last Man Fell In A Five Man Playoff Leaving Him With His First PGA TOUR Win - Image Courtesy YouTube

Courtesy Golf Canada

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Mackenzie Hughes holed an 18-foot par putt from off the green Monday morning to win the RSM Classic and become the first rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first PGA TOUR victory.

The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member calmed his nerves and came up clutch in chilly conditions at Sea Island. He was the only player of the four remaining in the playoff who was never on the green at the par-3 17th hole until his ball was in the cup.

“I made the putt of my life right there,” Hughes said.

Dawn Coe-Jones Is Shown Here At The 2008 Canadian Women's Open At The Ottawa Hunt Club - Image Courtesy Ian Hutchinson

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Dawn Coe-Jones, a B.C. Junior Girls and Women’s Amateur champion who went on to win three times on the LPGA Tour, died early Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 56.

Surrey's Hannah Lee (L) And Delta's Mary Parsons (R) Have Signed With Oklahoma And Indiana's Women's Golf Programs Respectively For The 2017-18 Season - Images/ British Columbia Golf

Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

During the mid-November early signing period, five Team Canada Development Squad athletes signed National Letters of Intent to commit to NCAA golf programs for the 2017-18 season.

On the women’s side, three athletes made their official announcements to join NCAA Div I programs next year.

Langley's Adam Cornelson (L) And Vancouver's Ryan Williams (R) Will Be A Part Of The 10-Man Mackenzie Tour -PGA TOUR Canada Squad For The Inaugural Aruba Cup - Image British Columbia Golf

For Immediate Release

(November 10, 2016 – Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s 10-man team for the inaugural Aruba Cup was announced Thursday, led by four-time 2016 winner and Player of the Year Dan McCarthy.

The team, consisting of the top 10 available players on the 2016 Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit with a minimum of five Canadians, will compete against a team of 10 players to be announced from PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in a Presidents Cup-style event at Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf in Aruba, December 12-18, 2016. The three competition days will Four-ball, Foursome and Singles matches on December 15, 16 and 17, respectively.

West Vancouver's Seann Harlingten Was The Low Canadian At Oak Valley In Stage II Of Web.com Q-School - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

BEAUMONT, Calif. – Three Canadians finished inside the Top-19 on Friday at the Oak Valley Golf Club to advance to the third and final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School.

The Canadian trio were led by Vancouver product Seann Harlingten, who fired four rounds in the 60s to capture sole possession of second place at 17-under par (67-67-68-69).

Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community In Courtenay, B.C., Will Host A Qualifying Tournament On May 1-5, 2017. The Spring’s Final Qualifying Tournament Will Return To Crown Isle As Part Of A Deal To Host Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Through 2020. (Photo/Golf Vancouver Island)

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament will take place at five separate sites next spring, with fields of 120 players competing for Mackenzie Tour membership for the 2017 season.

The five 72-hole, no-cut Qualifying Tournaments will take place at: Carlton Oaks Country Club in Santee, Calif., March 13-17; The Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif., March 20-24; Sun ‘N Lake Golf Club in Sebring, Fla., April 10-14; PGA Village’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla., April 17-21; and Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, British Columbia, May 1-5.

Lawren Rowe (Golf Canada/Chuck Russell)

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP-10

Lawren Rowe made the biggest gain among the Top-10, picking up 40 places in the world rankings after posting a wire-to-wire victory at the CSUSM Fall Classic. Rowe opened with a 67 for the low round of the day and followed it up with back-to-back rounds of par to win by eight strokes. It was his second collegiate victory of the season and the third team title for the Vikes. The No. 4 ranked amateur in Canada has also recorded Top-10 results in his other two events this fall.

West Vancouver's Seann Harlingten Will Be One Of Four Hopefuls From BC Trying To Gain Web.com Tour Status - Photo Credit Claus Andersen-Courtesy PGA Tour Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

Four players from British Columbia will be among the 14 Canadians included in the approximately 375 athletes competing for 2017 playing status at the second stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School, hosted at five different sites across the United States from Nov. 1–11.

Players from BC include Seann Harlingten and David Rose, both of West Vancouver, Ryan Williams from Vancouver and Burnaby's Devin Carrey.

Each qualifying site will host 72-hole stroke-play events with 78-player fields and no cuts. The number of players advancing from each site will be determined on a pro-rated basis (announced during play).

Adam Hadwin (Golf Canada/Bernard Brault, File)

Abbotsford's Adam Hadwin picked up eight places in the world rankings after finishing tied for 21st at the PGA’s CIMB Classic. The result was worth 2.93 world ranking points, his best points-paying finish since a Top-10 result almost three months ago at John Deere Classic.

Kelowna's Megan Osland Was The Low Canadian In The Field In Stage II Of LPGA Q-School Earning Her Way Along With 3 Other Canucks Into The Final Stage Starting End Of November - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada with files from Symetra Tour

VENICE, Fla. – Four Canadians were among 84 competitors that advanced to Stage III of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament on Sunday at the Plantation Golf & Country Club.

Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., led all 10 Canadians in the field, finishing at 5-over par (72-72-73-76) to grab a share of 30th. Team Canada graduate and Calgary product Jennifer Ha was the next Canadian in line, closing at 7-over par (69-71-79-76) to end in a tie for 47th.