Weekly Top-10 Rankings - Week of December 14, 2015
courtesy Golf Canada
She may not have made the biggest rankings gain, but 2015 was the year of Brooke Henderson. The 18-year-old ends the year as the highest ranked professional golfer in Canada, sitting at No. 18 in the women’s world rankings.
Henderson picked up 203 spots in the rankings, culminating in a career-high No. 16 back in September. In August, she became the first Canadian to win on the LPGA Tour since Lorie Kane in 2001, which qualified her for full-time membership.
As a non-member, she took advantage of sponsor invitations and Monday qualifiers to earn her way into LPGA fields where she racked up several Top-5 finishes. Prior to her win in Portland, Henderson became the third-youngest winner on the Symetra Tour. While she finished with just over $100,000 in official LPGA earnings, Henderson cashed in more than $700,000 in combined earnings as a pro in 2015.
Anne-Catherine Tanguay gained 237 spots in the world rankings to sit at No. 12 in Canada after a solid first season on the Symetra Tour. Tanguay counted three Top-10 results, including a career-best tie for fourth at the event in Kansas.
Samantha Richdale picked up 204 spots in the rankings after chalking up seven Top-10 results in what was her best career showing on the Symetra Tour, which included just missing out on her first ever victory at an event in Michigan.
Augusta James opted to leave NC State early for a shot at a professional career and she made the most of her first year on the Symetra Tour. James gained 132 spots in the world rankings and picked up her first career win on the development tour along with four additional Top-10 results. The Bath, Ont., golfer just missed out on earning an LPGA Tour card by finishing 12th on the money list.
Nicole Zhang, who renewed her commitment to full-time golf in 2015, and Jessica Wallace also made big gains in the world rankings this year, gaining 141 and 128 spots, respectively.
Brittany Henderson and Brogan McKinnon joined James, Tanguay and Zhang as newcomers in the Canadian rankings this year.
WOMEN’S TOP-10
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Click here for full Women’s Rolex World Rankings.
On the men’s side, David Hearn will end the year as the No. 1 ranked Canadian. The Brantford, Ont., golfer has held that spot for the last 11 weeks after supplanting Graham DeLaet back in Week 40. Hearn started the year at 126 in the world rankings and got as high as 105 in Week 30 when he flirted with victory at the RBC Canadian Open, ultimately finishing third; it was one of four Top-10 results this year on the highly competitive PGA Tour. He also just missed out on his first career win at The Greenbrier Classic while counting a tie for sixth in New Orleans and finishing the year in a tie for ninth at the RSM Classic.
Newcomer Adam Svensson made the biggest gain in the world rankings among Canadian golfers, climbing 1,020 places. One of seven new names who broke into the Top-20 in the Canadian rankings this past year, the former Division II Player of the Year kicked off his professional career in impressive fashion, notching back-to-back second place finishes on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada – they were two of his four Top-10 results in six tour events this year. Svensson, who is also a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad, capped 2015 by winning the Web.com Tour Q-School tournament, giving him full exempt status on the development tour next year.
Taylor Pendrith, one of the other newcomers and a Young Pro Squad member, picked up 985 spots since joining the world rankings. He got as high as 567 in Week 37 where he finished second in the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour event in Cape Breton – one of three runner-up finishes for him this year. He will have conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2016.
Justin Shin made his debut in the Canadian rankings this year and just missed out on finishing the calendar year inside the Top-10, landing at No. 12. Shin climbed 844 places in the world rankings, thanks in large part to a win on the PGA Tour China Series – his first professional victory back in Week 21. He also counted three other Top-10 results, including one on the Mackenzie-Tour-PGA Tour Canada. Shin will continue working towards status on the web.com tour next season.
Albin Choi will have conditional status on the Web.com Tour after finishing in a tie for 14th in the Q-School tournament. He and Wilson Bateman debuted in the Canadian rankings during the same week this past year – the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour season-opening event in Vancouver. Choi, another Golf Canada Young Pro team member, finished in a tie for 10th in that event and then followed up by winning the following week in Victoria. He also added a second place finish at the Mackenzie Tour event in Kingston, Ont., and finished the year at No. 14 in the Canadian rankings after gaining 807 places overall.
Bateman gained 808 places to finish just ahead of Choi in the Canadian rankings at No. 13. Among his three Top-10 results this year was his first career victory on the Latinoamerica Tour.
Chris Ross joined the ranks of the Canadian Top-20 in Week 36 following his first career win at the Mackenzie Tour event in Peterborough, Ont. It was one of two Top-10 results he posted this past year, the other coming at the Players Cup where he finished in a tie for 8th. Overall, he gained 851 spots in the world rankings in 2015.
Kevin Spooner ends the year at No. 20 in the Canadian rankings after gaining 699 spots in the world, thanks in large part to his win at the Mackenzie Tour event in Fort McMurray.
Corey Conners (+522), Danny Sahl (+508) and Riley Fleming (+122) also made their debuts in the Canadian rankings this year.
MEN’S TOP-10
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Click here for Men’s Official World Golf Rankings.
Nine of 10 golfers in the men’s amateur Top-10 improved their world rankings in 2015, led by Nova Scotia’s Alastair Tidcombe, who made the biggest gain with a climb of 592 spots. A senior last spring, Tidcombe is a student-assistant coach at Coastal Georgia this season. He finished tied for fourth at the NAIA Championship in the spring, leading Coastal Georgia to the title. Tidcombe also won the CCGA Winter Invitational and USCB Sand Shark Classic in back-to-back weeks. This fall, the former Nova Scotia Amateur champion finished tied for fourth at the prestigious Monroe Invitational.
Branson Ferrier improved 371 spots to sit as the No. 4 ranked amateur in Canada. Coming off a career year last season, the senior from Barrie who plays at Alabama State picked up where he left off, winning twice this fall while also posting two other Top-10 results
Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver improved 325 spots and ends the year as the No. 9 ranked amateur in Canada. The senior at Purdue has one Top-5 finish – a career-best third place at the Windon Memorial – and another two Top-10 results this fall.
Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., who will end the year as Canada’s top ranked amateur male golfer, gained 189 spots in the world rankings over the course of the year. The junior at Arizona State assumed the No. 1 Canadian ranking in Week 37 for the first time and has held top spot in eight of the last 13 weeks. He has shared the top ranking with fellow Golf Canada National Team member Blair Hamilton.
Hamilton, who will be a member of the national team for a second straight year, gained 182 spots this past year. The University of Houston Cougar golfer, who held the No. 1 Canadian ranking for five weeks earlier this year, claimed individual titles at the NCAA’s Border Olympics and Lubbock Regional before adding Top-20 finishes at the 2015 Investors Group Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship and the 111th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Hamilton was also named Golf Canada’s Top Male Amateur Player of the Year.
MEN’S AMATEUR TOP-10
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Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.
On the women’s side, Maddie Szeryk will end the year as the No. 1 ranked amateur female in Canada. The 19-year-old, who holds dual citizenship, sits at No. 43 in the world after notching seven Top-5 and nine Top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments at the University of Texas A&M. The Golf Canada National Team member was a quarter-finalist at the 2015 British Ladies Open Amateur and the 2015 Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur championship. She capped off the year by being named Golf Canada’s Top Female Amateur Player of the Year.
Jessica Ip – one of 10 newcomers to the Canadian Top-20 rankings this year – made the biggest gain among the Top-10, climbing 695 spots. The sophomore from Richmond Hill, Ont., picked up her first collegiate win this fall for the University of Iowa.
Vanessa Ha from Montreal is another newcomer to the Top-10 this year, winning twice in four fall events for the University of San Francisco. She has gained 693 spots since entering the Canadian rankings.
Michelle Kim, the No. 5 ranked amateur in Canada, has picked up 551 places in the world rankings this year. She won the British Columbia Amateur – beating her sister Taylor Kim – and the B.C. Junior Championship in back-to-back weeks. She also won the Canadian Junior Girls Championship. In four tournaments with the University of Idaho, the freshman from Surrey, B.C., has a pair of Top-5 results and a Top-10 finish.
Josee Doyon, a senior at Kent State, is the only other player to hold the No. 1 ranking in Canada this year besides Szeryk and Brooke Henderson. The reigning Quebec Amateur Champion has a pair of Top-10 results in four fall tournaments, helping her climb 278 spots in the world rankings this year.
Taylor Kim, Doyon’s teammate at Kent State, picked up her first collegiate victory this fall while also posting a runner-up finish and another Top-5 result in four starts. A runner-up finish at the B.C. Amateur to her sister Michelle and a tie for 17th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship also highlight her 2015 resume.
WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP-10
15-12-16 - Top-10 W Am - EN
Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.