Golf Canada

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce its competition schedule including host clubs and dates for the 2017 championship season.

A total of 25 professional and amateur championships, as well as qualifying events into Canada’s two National Open Championships—the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open—will be conducted in 2017.

Reigning Canadian Junior Girls Champion Naomi Ko Of Victoria, BC Won Her First Event On The NCAA Collegiate Circuit In Puerto Rico - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Team Canada’s Naomi Ko of Victoria, BC, had a day to remember on Tuesday, hoisting her first collegiate trophy after a playoff victory at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.

Ko, a sophomore at N.C. State, closed the 54-hole event at the Rio Mar Country Club with a score of 1-under par (74-71-70) to enter a five-way tie for first. The Royal Colwood GC member went on to capture medallist honours by way of a scorecard playoff.

Carruthers Creek, Ajax, Ont. (Rachel Wittenberg/ Love the Moment Photography)

By John Gordon, courtesy Golf Canada

On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, let’s get all the bad, frequently offensive, jokes out of the way first.

To speed up the process, I will provide just the punch lines to a couple of the hoariest groaners. “No way! The last time I tried that shot, I made double bogey!” “But you don’t understand. It’s my wife’s funeral.”

On a related note this Feb. 14, let’s officially bury the term “golf widow.” With that out of the way, let’s move on.

Kimberley, B.C.'s Jared du Toit continues to lead his Arizona State Sun Devils golf squad in heroic fashion as his three-way tie for top spot at the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii paced his team to a 4th place finish in the NCAA event. 

It was du Toit's fourth Top-10 this year for the Sun Devils and orchestrated a career high ranking in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. 

Golf Canada

PGA Of Canada Pro Matt Wilson Has Been Named Golf Canada’s Director, Next Generation Performance To Lead Strategy To Strengthen Canadian Golf Development System

Six months after golf made its historic return after 112 years to the Olympic Games, Golf Canada is adding a new layer to its high-performance programming to improve its support of its next generation of Canadian golfing talent.

What is “Next Generation” programming? Simply put, it’s about improving the support for, and taking an aligned approach to, players demonstrating performance characteristics, as well as recognizing and supporting the coaches working with those players.

Vancouver, BC's Stuart Macdonald Recorded A T5 In The Avondale Amateur In Australia After A Final Round 68 - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia – Team Canada Amateur Squad member Stuart Macdonald continued his Australian swing in strong fashion on Thursday, collecting a T5 result at the Avondale Amateur, a 72-hole stroke-play event.

Macdonald—a Vancouver product and Purdue University graduate—leaped eight spots up the leaderboard at the Avondale Golf Club with a final round 68 (-3) to hold a two-way share of fifth at 6-under par for the tournament (75-65-70-68).

Clockwise From Top Left: Devin Carrey, David Rose, Patrick Williams, Matt Hill, Russell Budd & Ally Tidcombe Have All Earned Status On The PGA TOUR Lationamérica Circuit For 2017

courtesy Golf Canada

The remaining two of four PGA Tour Latinoamérica Qualifying Tournaments came to a close on Friday in Argentina and Colombia, with three more Canadians earning status in 2017.

In total, six Canadians have earned status on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica by way of Q-school. The Canucks were led by Nova Scotia’s Ally Tidcombe, who finished solo fourth at the Argentina event for the strongest finish by a Canadian. With the result, Tidcombe is exempt through the first half of the season (subject to reshuffle for second half).

Quebec's Hugo Bernard Was The Low Canadian For Team Canada At The South American Amateur - Image Credit Golf Canada/ Graig Abel

Golf Canada

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard saved his strongest play for Sunday’s final round of action at the South American Amateur, carding a 5-under par 67 to jump into a three-way tie for seventh place.

Bernard, a Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native, recorded six birdies at the Martindale Country Club en route to finishing as the low Canadian at 6-under par. The 22-year-old trailed men’s champion Paul Chaplet of Costa Rica, who secured a two-stroke victory at 14-under par.

Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin Followed His Record-Setting 59 In The 3rd Round To Stand-Alone 2nd Place Finish At The PGA TOUR's CareerBuilder Challenge In La Quinta

Golf Canada / PGA Tour Communications

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford won the fittingly named CareerBuilder Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR title, following three straight birdies with a closing par for a one-stroke victory.

Swafford shot a 5-under 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West to finish the three-course, pro-am event at 20-under 268. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C.,came back with a 70 after his third-round 59 to finish second.

The Canucks Autism Network (CAN) provides year-round, high- quality sports, recreational, arts, and social programs for individuals and families living with autism, while increasing awareness and providing training in communities across British Columbia.

The Canucks Autism Network team consists of a diverse group of trained staff, experienced support workers and dedicated volunteers who administer programs for families and individuals living with autism in our province.

Abbotsford Pro Adam Hadwin Is Set To Return To PGA TOUR After Fruitful Fall Season 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Personally and professionally, Adam Hadwin figures 2017 is going to be a great year. The former seems a given, as Hadwin will marry his fiancee, Jessica Dawn, in a late March ceremony in the Arizona desert. But Hadwin is also expecting 2017 to be a significant year on the golf course.

Now in his third year as a PGA TOUR regular, the 29-year-old Abbotsford pro is adamant that he is ready to win on golf’s biggest stage.

Kimberley, British Columbia's Jared du Toit begins his 44th consecutive week as the Number one ranked Men's Amateur in Canada this week. He is ably joined in the Men's Top 10 Amateur rankings in the country by Victoria's Lawren Rowe at no. 4,  Richmond's Chris Crisologo at no. 6 and Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver in 10th spot, giving BC 4 of the top 10 places in the country.

On the Women's Amateur side, Naomi Ko of Victoria continues to hold down the number two ranking in the country with Surrey's Michelle Kim at no. 5 and Vancouver's Sophie Liu jumping up 3 spots to no. 7 on the list.

BC's top pros are also prominent holding down 4 of the top 10 men's spots and 3 of the top 10 in the women's standings.

Canada's Corey Conners Recorded A T5 In His First Start On The Web.com Tour - Image Credit Golf Canada (Chuck Russell)

PGA Tour media with files from Golf Canada

GREAT EXUMA, Bahamas – Kyle Thompson took home his fifth career Web.com Tour title in paradise Wednesday at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay with his third consecutive round of 2-under 70.

The 37-year-old finished as the runner-up at the Web.com Tour season opener a year ago in Panama, but edged out Andrew Yun and Nicholas Thompson by two shots this year with a 2-under 286 in the Tour’s first ever Sunday – Wednesday tournament format.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ward Stouffer, who spent more than 20 years as head professional and director of golf at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay, passed away Thursday, January 5th. He was 56.

Friends and playing competitors remember Stouffer, who stood about 6-feet, 8 inches, as a gentle giant with a heart of gold who hit the ball a mile.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada Players of The Year. From Top L-R Clockwise: Brooke Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes, Jared du Toit And Naomi Ko. Image Courtesy GJAC

For Immediate Release

TORONTO – Brooke Henderson won twice on the LPGA Tour in 2016, and before the year ended, she added two more honours to her ever-growing trophy case.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) is proud to announce Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes, Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit, and Naomi Ko of Victoria, BC as the 2016 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Henderson’s two-win season was also named the Canadian Golf Story of the Year.

Canada's Players Of The Year From L-R: Mary Parsons, Maddie Szeryk, Jared du Toit And A.J. Ewart - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

Team Canada athletes Maddie Szeryk and Jared du Toit finished first in the women’s and men’s National Order of Merits, respectively, to claim honours as the top amateur athlete in each division and be named Canada’s 2016 Players of the Year.

On the Junior Order of Merits, two-time Development Squad athlete A.J. Ewart captured the boys’ title, while Development Squad rookie Mary Parsons took home the honours for the girls.

“We’re pleased to recognize the outstanding accomplishments that these athletes have worked so hard to achieve through this past season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer.

 Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit Saw His Fine Play All Year, Including A Top 10 At The RBC Canadian Open, Boost Him In The WAGR To 29th In The World - Image Credit Mike du Toit

Courtesy Golf Canada

PLEASE NOTE: This is the final Weekly Top 10 for 2016. The next Weekly Top 10 will be published January 11th, 2017.

Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit was the number one ranked Canadian Amateur Male golfer for all but five weeks of 2016 and moved up an incredible 973 places in the Wordl Amateur Golf Rankings to finish the year ranked at No. 29 in the world.

Making the biggest leap up the WAGR was Victoria's Lawren Roweas his play for the the University of Victoria Vikes vaulted him 1,207 places to become Canada's number 4 ranked amateur. 

By Dan Pino/ Golf Canada

Lighthouse has been selected as the firm to lead the CEO search

Chief Sport Officer Jeff Thompson has been appointed as interim CEO effective January 9, 2017

With the recent announcement that CEO Scott Simmons will be leaving the organization, Golf Canada’s Board of Directors is engaged in the process to search for a new CEO.

Golf Canada wishes to take an inclusive and comprehensive approach with this CEO search. The process will involve garnering input from key stakeholders in the golf industry to design the optimal CEO profile.

Proposals were sought from executive recruitment firms that expressed interest in participating in the search for Golf Canada’s new CEO.

Image Credit Enrique Berardi/PGA TOUR -  Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brian Decker/ Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada

A late rally by the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada fell short on Saturday at Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf, giving PGA TOUR Latinoamérica victory in the first-ever Aruba Cup.

Though the Mackenzie Tour put together a valiant charge, winning five of the first seven singles matches of the day, it wasn’t enough to overcome a daunting 8.5-1.5 deficit, with Latinoamérica prevailing by a 13-7 final score over the three-day match play competition between the two Tours.

(Image credit - Chuck Russell/Golf Canada)

Courtesy Adam Helmer/ Golf Canada

Golf Canada’s second installment of the Tournament Administration and Referees’ School (TARS) will be held at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport in Richmond, B.C., from April 27th to 30th.

New for 2017, they are extending the invitation to all certified level 2 rules officials and PGA of Canada professionals!

The objective of the Tournament Administration and Referees’ School is to get championship volunteers and staff members from key golf associations/clubs in Canada assembled to discuss important topics related to tournament administration and competitions.