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.

Four Members Of Golf Canada's 2017 Team Canada Amateur Squad From L-R: Victoria, BC's Naomi Ko, Ontario's Maddie Szeryk, Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit And Quebec's Hugo Bernard - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the athletes who have been chosen to represent Team Canada as part of the 2017 National Amateur Squad and Development Squad programs.

In all, eight athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including four players on the men’s team and four on the women’s, with three of those players coming from British Columbia.

There are also 8 players who comprise the National Development Squad and anther three from BC have been named to that group.

Surrey's Taylor Kim Is One Of Three Girls From BC Teeing It Up In Stage II Of LPGA Qualifying School This Week - Image Credit Chuck Russell/ Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

VENICE, Fla. – 10 Canadians are among 210 competitors vying to punch their tickets to the third and final stage of LPGA Qualifying School from Oct. 20-23 at the Plantation Golf & Country Club.

Playing on the Bobcat and Panther courses, all athletes will compete in the 72-hole stroke-play event (with no cut) to earn one of the Top 80 slots (plus ties) to advance to the third stage at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., from Dec. 1-4.

Canadians in the field:

Aram Choi, Surrey, B.C.

Christina Foster, Toronto, Ontario

Jennifer Ha, Calgary, Alberta

Sara-Maude Juneau, Quebec City, Québec

Anna Kim, Richmond Hill, Ontario

Taylor Kim, Surrey, B.C.

Jennifer Kirby, Paris, Ontario

Megan Osland, Kelowna, B.C.

Elizabeth Tong, Thornhill, Ontario

Vivian Tsui, Markham, Ontario

—

Players failing to advance to the final stage will receive 2017 Symetra Tour status depending on completion of 72 holes.

Click here for pairings.

Click here for live scoring.

Ian Fox (L) And Kaeden Trainor (R) After Making Back-to-Back Aces In The Same Group - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Terry Lenyk/ Golf Canada

lan Fox and Kaeden Trainor didn’t play golf a year ago. Recently, the two 11-year-old hockey fanatics from Ontario carded back-to-back aces on the 128-yard fifth hole at Amherstview Golf Club in Loyalist, Ont., while playing in the same group.

How unlikely is that? The odds of two average golfers acing the same hole in the same foursome is 20 million to 1.

GolfDigest has more in this article.

Canada's Brooke Henderson Is One Of The Ambassadors For The Golf & Health Project - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKamphotos)

• New and unique project aiming to assess the health and wellbeing benefits of golf has launched around the world
• An academically rigorous methodology examines pre-existing research
• Innovative new research will fill knowledge gaps and show golf’s role in health and wellbeing

(ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., USA) - World Golf Foundation (WGF) – the non-profit organization developing and supporting initiatives that positively impact lives through the game of golf and its traditional values – announces the launch of the Golf & Health Project, academically researching and highlighting how the game can benefit peoples’ lives.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, led by Dr. Andrew Murray and under the supervision of leading international academics, Professor Nanette Mutrie and Professor Liz Grant, have conducted the largest, most comprehensive study of golf and health, with the results shown in a Scoping Review published in the world’s leading sports medicine and science journal, The British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Lawren Rowe (Golf Canada/Chuck Russell)

Lawren Rowe continued his upward movement inside the Top-10, picking up another 158 spots in the world rankings after finishing in a tie for sixth at the Western Washington Invitational. The result enabled the third year golfer at the University of Victoria move up to the No. 5 ranking in Canada. Over the course of the last two weeks, Rowe has gained 699 spots in the world rankings.

Image credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

by John Gordon/ courtesy Golf Canada

Some would call it sponsorship. I prefer to call it an investment in the future of the game.

Specifically, I am talking about Golf Canada’s Future Links programming.

BC's Kyle Grummett (Left In Photo) Is Competing In The 2016 Special Olympics North America Golf Championship In Port St. Lucie Florida - Images Courtesy Special Olympics

More than 200 golfers from across the United States and Canada will converge on Port St. Lucie, FL for the 2016 Special Olympics North America Golf Championship, hosted at the prestigoius and beautiful PGA Golf Club, using the Ryder and Wannamaker Courses.

One of those golfers is West Kelowna, BC's Kyle Grummett who has a Bronze medal from the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles along with the Gold medal he picked up in the 2014 Special Olympic Summer Games held in Vancouver.

Grummett was also nominated by British Columbia Golf for a 2016 Sport BC Athlete of the Year award for an athlete with a disability.