• Team Canada Storms Back To Repeat As Tailhade Cup Champions

    Canada's Eric Banks (L) And Tony Gil (R) Hoist The Tailhade Cup As They Successfully Defended The Title Won A Year Ago By Corey Conners And Austin Connelly - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

    Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil defied the odds on Sunday at the Los Lagartos Country Club, climbing back from a three-stroke deficit to keep the Tailhade Cup in Canada for a second consecutive year.

    The comeback was sparked by Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., who posted a 1-under 70 for the day’s lowest score—boosting Canada to a one-stroke victory over runner-ups Brazil and Australia. Collectively, the Canucks finished at 7-over (149-139-145).

  • B.C.'s du Toit Ranked Number 1 Amateur In Canada

    Kimberley, British Columbia's Jared du Toit Took Over Top Spot In The Amateur Rankings For Men In Canada This Week - Image Credit

    Weekly Top 10 Rankings

    (Golf Canada) - Week of November 9, 2015 -  After a five-week reign atop the rankings, Blair Hamilton has been unseated as the No. 1 amateur in Canada by Jared du Toit. The Kimberley, B.C., golfer picked up two spots while Hamilton slipped 30 places to relinquish top spot.

  • PGA Championship Of Canada Moves West

    The Historic Victoria Golf Club Will Play Host To The 2016 PGA of Canada Championship - Image Courtesy Victoria GC

    (ACTON, ONT.)—The PGA of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious championship is heading to the west coast in 2016.The Victoria Golf Club hosts the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf June 12-16, 2016.

    “We are very excited about the opportunity to take our PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf to Canada’s west coast and the marvelous Victoria Golf Club,” said PGA of Canada president Constant Priondolo.

    “Next year’s championship will undoubtedly be a success story thanks to the marriage of a one-of-a-kind-facility like Victoria and a best-in-class event such as the PGA Championship of Canada.”

  • Bear Mountain Resort Named As Golf Canada’s Official Training Centre

    November 5, 2015 (Victoria, BC) – Golf Canada and Bear Mountain Resort have announced a four-year partnership in which Bear Mountain will become the official Canadian training centre for Team Canada’s National Squads.

  • Golf’s Governing Bodies Announce Rules Of Golf Revisions For 2016

    Adam Helmer/ Golf Canada's Director of Rules and Competitions

    Oakville, Ont. – As golf’s governing body in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), announce the new revisions to the Rules of Golf for 2016.

    In accordance with the Joint Rules Committee’s four-year review cycle of the Rules of Golf, the new changes will come into effect on January 1, 2016.

  • Golf Loses A Great Friend

    Image Courtesy Vancouver Sun

    Arv Olson (Left) From The Book Jacket Cover Of His Definitive History Of BC Golf, "Backspin," and (Right) From His Early Days At The Vancouver Sun As The Golf Beat Writer 

     

    by Kent Gilchrist

     

    We lost Arv Olson Wednesday. I use the collective “we” because golf has lost him, hockey and rugby have lost him and all his friends and family have, too.

    And we will really miss him.

  • B.C.'s Kim Sisters Ranked Top 10 In Canada

    Sisters Taylor (L) And Michelle Kim Are Two Very Supportive Sibling Rivals Who Now Find Themselves Both Ranked In The Top 10 Amateurs In The Country - Image Credit Aflie Lau

    Weekly Top 10 Rankings - Golf Canada - Week of October 19, 2015

    It was quite a week for B.C.’s Kim sisters in the Top-10. Taylor Kim picked up eight spots to climb up to a career-best No. 3 in the Canadian rankings while younger sister Michelle Kim jumped 33 spots and up to No. 5 in Canada following a third place finish at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invite.

    The freshman at Idaho shot a career-best final round 69 which included a 30-foot putt on her final hole of the tournament. The result was enough to also land Kim 'Big Sky Conference Player of the Week' honours for the third time in four tournaments this fall.

    Michelle is also tied for 17th in par-3 scoring in the U.S. “She has transitioned to college well and is building off the experience she gained this past summer at national events,” said her coach Lisa Johnson. That experience included winning the B.C. Women’s Amateur title over her older sister Taylor.

  • National Amateur Team Names 8 Players From B.C. For 2016 Squads

    Michelle Kim, The British Columbia Women's And Junior Girls Champion Of 2015 Heads Up A Contingent Of 8 B.C. Players Who Will Represent Canada On The National Amateur Team Squads For 2016 - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by BCG editors with files from Golf Canada

    OAKVILLE, Ont. – No fewer than 8 players from British Columbia have been named to the National Amateur Team squads for 2016. Those teams include the Men's and Women's National Amateur Teams as well as the Developmental Squad. The Young Pro Squad for 2016 is expected to be announced in mid-November.

  • Canada’s Ward Takes Medallist Honours In U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, B.C.’s Proteau And Stouffer Also Qualify

    Canada's Casey Ward Was The Medallist In The 29th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur, Just The Second Canadian To Earn That Honour - Image Courtesy USGA

    courtesy Joey Flyntz USGA

    Casey Ward, 25, of Picton, ON followed Saturday’s round of 2-over 74 with a 2-under 70 on Sunday to earn stroke-play medalist honors at the 29th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, being conducted at the 6,061-yard, par-72 Squire Creek Country Club.

    Ward was joined in the match play portion of the tournament by two British Columbia golfers, Christina Spence Proteau and Shelley Stouffer.

    Ward is the second Women’s Mid-Amateur medalist from Canada and first since Mary Ann Hayward, the 2005 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, did so in 1998. Entering the day two strokes behind Sarah Davison, Ward posted four birdies and two bogeys on the day to record the low round of stroke play.

  • World Junior Girls Championship In Ottawa A Learning Experience For 5 BC Girls

    Team Canada's Junior Girls Pose For A 'Selfie' At The Junior World Championships In Ottawa - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    Scoreboards rarely tell the real story of a golf tournament and for five British Columbia girls who were selected to play at The Marshes for the World Junior Girls Championship, that could not be more true.

    While South Koreans and Scandinavians dominated the top of the leaderboard, the Canadian girls, led by Alisha Lau, Kathrine Chan and Euna Han on Team Canada 2 and Hannah Lee, Tiffany Kong and Ontario’s Grace St-Germain on Team Canada 1, were the hometown favourites who bravely played on despite their golf games not being at their peaks.

  • South Koreans Dominate World Junior Girls, Kathrine Chan Top BC And Canadian Finisher

    The Five Members Of Team Canada Who Flew From BC To Play At The Marshes Were, From Left, Tiffany Kong, Alisha Lau, Kathrine Chan, Hannah Lee And Euna Han - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    It was a chilly final day for the World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes in suburban Ottawa, but nothing could cool down Hye-Jin Choi and the South Korean girls.

    Choi walked away with the individual title, with a stunning (-7) round of 65 to finish at (-12) 276, seven strokes clear of Denmark’s Cecilie Bofill. Choi shot under-par for all four of her rounds and salted away the title early, making four birdies on the front nine to stake herself to a comfortable five-stroke lead over Bofill as they made the turn.

    Bofill shot a credible (-3) round of 69 to finish solo second at (-5) 283, three strokes clear of Sweden’s Filippa Moork, who finished third at (-2) 286.

  • Hye-Jin Choi Leads After Round 3 Of World Junior Girls, Kathrine Chan Low Canadian

    Richmond’s Kathrine Chan Shot The Low Round Of The Six Canadian Players During Round 3 Of The World Junior Girls At The Marshes In Ottawa - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, who was the first-round individual co-leader, shot a (-2) round of 70 and now sits at (-5) 211, one stroke ahead of Sweden’s Filippa Moork, who had the round of the day Thursday, a (-4) round of 68 which has her at (-4) 212 for the tournament.

  • BC Girls Having Fun At World Junior Girls In Ottawa

    Hannah Lee Hits Her Opening Tee Shot During Round 3 Of The World Junior Girls At The Marshes On Thursday - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    For the five British Columbia girls playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Girls just outside of Ottawa, it hasn’t gone like they would have liked on the golf course. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have some fun as they experience a week in Canada’s capital.

    The team is staying in the luxurious Brookstreet Hotel, which overlooks the course and is filled with business travellers. That’s because all around the course are the Canadian and worldwide head offices for massive tech companies like Wilan and Huawei.

    This is the world of Sir Terry Matthews, who owns The Marshes and many of the buildings and land all around this area in Kanata, approximately 25 kilometres from downtown Ottawa.

  • South Koreans Atop Leaderboard At World Junior Girls, Alisha Lau Top Canadian

    Richmond’s Alisha Lau Talks With Coach Mike Martz After Round 2 Of The World Junior Girls At The Marshes In Ottawa. Lau Is The Top Canadian And Martz’s Team Canada 2 Is The Top Canadian Squad In The Tournament - Image Credit Alfe Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    On a day when many international players broke par and tamed The Marshes during Round 2 of the World Junior Girls Championship, Team Canada 1 and 2 had a tough day on the links.

    Richmond’s Alisha Lau is the top Canadian after her second-round (+2) 74 has her at (+6) 150 for the tournament. Her Team 2 teammate Kathrine Chan also improved on her opening round 79 with a (+3) 75 which included two birdies in her final three holes.

  • WAGR Points And College Coaches Aplenty At World Junior Girls

    Richmond’s Alisha Lau Turns 16 In October And Is On The Radar Of Many College Coaches Looking To Add To Their Teams In Upcoming Years - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    They’re not hard to miss: coaches sporting hats and golf shirts with their school logos on them scouting 44 of the best u-19 female golfers in the world.

    The World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes in suburban Ottawa is a great place for coaches to see top 100 amateur golfers such as South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi (#51 in the most recent World Amateur Golf Rankings), Italy’s Carlotta Ricolfi (#56) and Australia’s Karis Davidson (#74) and Hannah Green (#49).

    But every golfer in the field is a potential recruit, simply because girls mature at different ages and someone currently ranked 610 right now might be a top 100 player within a couple of years.

    Number 610 is Canada’s top-ranked player, 17-year-old Grace St-Germain of Orleans, ON, who was offered multiple scholarship offers before she decided on Daytona College in Florida.

  • Coaches Happy To Get First Round Under Their Belts

    Team Canada 2 Coach Mike Martz, Far Left, And Team Canada 1 Coach Ann Carroll, Far Right, Are Happy Round 1 Of The World Junior Girls Is In The Books And Are Hopeful Their Teams Can Rebound With Three Rounds To Go At The Marshes In Ottawa - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    For Ann Carroll and Mike Martz, it was just one round of four. 

    While their squads, Carroll’s Team Canada 1 and Martz’s Team Canada 2, trail other countries after Round 1 of the World Junior Girls at The Marshes in Ottawa, they’re both optimistic that things will change with three rounds to go.

    “It was a good day because I saw a lot of fight back in my team,” said Martz. “Euna had a tough start and then she made some birdies to get it back and I’m pretty happy for her.”

  • Tough Opening Round For Team Canada At World Junior Girls In Ottawa

    Tiffany Kong Of Vancouver Had The Low Score For Team Canada 1 With A (+3) Round Of 75 - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    The sun was shining, but when the wind picked up, it blew up the scores of the six Canadian girls playing in the World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes in suburban Ottawa.

    The best Canadian scores came from Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong and Coquitlam’s Euna Han, who each carded (+3) scores of 75. Kong is on Team Canada 1 and her teammates Hannah Lee of Surrey, at (+5) 77 and Grace St-Germain of Orleans, ON, at (+6) 78, were also undone by the winds, which blew entirely differently than during their practice rounds on Sunday and Monday.

  • Friends First, Competitors Second At World Junior Girls

    From Left, Euna Han, Alisha Lau, Tiffany Kong And Kathrine Chan Putt In A Line At Quilchena Prior To Leaving For The World Junior Girls In Ottawa - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    The junior’s room at Quilchena Golf & Country Club in Richmond isn’t big, but with a large couch and two comfy armchairs, it’s usually more than enough for young golfers wanting to relax away from prying adult eyes.

    So when Alisha Lau, Kathrine Chan, Tiffany Kong and Euna Han meet up just prior to flying out to Ottawa to represent Canada at the second World Junior Girls golf championship, it’s amazing that all four of them squeeze themselves onto the couch, in descending order of age.

  • World Junior Girls Championship An International Celebration Of Golf

    Coach Mike Martz With The Six Members Of Team Canada, From Left, Euna Han, Tiffany Kong, Kathrine Chan, Hannah Lee, Grace St-Germain And Alisha Lau - Image Credit Alfie Lau

    by Alfie Lau

    Of the 44 u-19 golfers standing in golf blazers, skirts and black dress shoes for the opening ceremonies of the World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes in suburban Ottawa, it wasn’t hard to miss the six in the traditional red of Canada.

    Five British Columbia girls, Hannah Lee and Tiffany Kong on Team Canada 1 with Ontario’s Grace St-Germain; and the all-BC Team Canada 2 squad of Alisha Lau, Kathrine Chan and Euna Han, were nervously waiting for the bagpiper to lead the 14 teams out for the ceremony.

  • World Junior Girls Golf Championship Builds Upon First Year Success

    Canada's Newest LPGA Star, Brooke Henderson - Seen Here Playing In The CP Women's Open At Vancouver GCC -  Was A Participant In Last Year's World Junior Girls Championship At Angus Glen - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski 

    by Alfie Lau

    The inaugural World Junior Girls Golf Championship at Angus Glen Golf Club last September has proven to be a great indicator of future golf success.

    As the second World Junior Girls Golf Championship is set to take place Sept. 20-25 at The Marshes Golf Club in suburban Ottawa, it’s instructive to take a look at where last year’s teenagers have taken their game since that tournament.