MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Chris Crisologo made the biggest move among the Top 10, picking up 34 places in the world rankings. The Golf Canada National Team member also moved up a place to No. 5 in the Canadian rankings. Fellow team member Josh Whalen gained nine places in the world rankings over the past seven days.

Biggest move: Cameron Kellett of London, Ont., gained 485 spots in the world rankings following his runner-up finish at the UNG Fall Invitational. The freshman at Division II Young Harris College equaled the college record (NCAA era) for 54 holes at 207 in earning his third top-10 result in as many tournaments, including a pair of top 5 finishes.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Jaclyn Lee started the collegiate season right where she left off, finishing third in the Windy City Collegiate Championship. The Golf Canada National Team member – who finished last spring by winning the Big Ten Championship, a runner-up finish at the NCAA Regional and fifth overall at the NCAA Championship Final – picked up her fifth top 10 result in her last six tournaments.

No. 7 Brigitte Thibault picked up three places in the world rankings after finishing 11th at the Johnie Imes Invitational.

Biggest Move: Melany Chong of Mississauga gained 238 spots in the world rankings after finishing 28th at the Starmount Forest Fall Classic.

Click here for the full World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR)

MEN’S TOP 10

No positive gains made by any of the golfers in the Top 10 as the new season of the PGA TOUR got underway this past week.

Mackenzie Hughes moved past Graham DeLaet into the No. 4 slot in Canada as DeLaet continues to rehab from back surgery. Hughes kicked off his PGA Tour campaign by finishing in a tie for 33rd at the PGA’s Safeway Open.

Adam Svensson and Roger Sloan, who both earned their PGA TOURcards for this season, made it into the weekend of their first event of the season. Svensson finished in a tie for 41st at the Safeway event while Sloan was tied for 60th.

Other notable results: No. 1 Adam Hadwin missed the cut at the PGA Safeway Open; No. 2 Benjamin Silverman finished tied for 75th at PGA Safeway Open; No. 3 Nick Taylor finished tied for 53rd at PGA Safeway Open; No 6 Austin Connelly missed the cut at European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship; No. 9 Corey Conners missed the cut at PGA Safeway Open; No. 10 David Hearn finished 86th at PGA Safeway Open

Click here for the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR)

WOMEN’S TOP 10

No upward movement for eight of the 10 golfers in the Top 10. Only top ranked Brooke Henderson, who is No. 8 in the world, and Christina Foster, ranked No. 10 in Canada, maintained their weekly ranking.

Other Notable Results: No. 9 Jennifer Ha missed the cut at Symetra Tour Championship

Click here for the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that Brooks Koepka has been named the 2018 PGA TOUR Player of the Year as voted by the TOUR’s membership for the 2017-18 season.

PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 FedExCup events during the 2017-18 season were eligible to vote. The balloting process ended on October 1.

Koepka, a 28-year-old native of West Palm Beach, Florida, finished a career-best ninth in the FedExCup following a season that included victories at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He earned four additional top-10 finishes, including runners-up at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Charles Schwab Challenge.

“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, our congratulations to Brooks Koepka on being voted PGA TOUR Player of the Year by his peers,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Brooks has brought a new brand of athleticism to the PGA TOUR, and we saw the results this year with his historic season at the major championships and a top-10 finish in the FedExCup. These feats were accomplished despite missing significant time due to injury, a testament to his work ethic and perseverance throughout the season.”

Following the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, Koepka did not compete on TOUR while recovering from a left wrist injury, making his return in late April at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He collected his first top-10 post-injury at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, a second-place finish to Justin Rose.

With his victory at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Koepka became the first player since Curtis Strange (1988-89) to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles. Five starts later, Koepka won his third major title in his 100^th PGA TOUR start, capturing the PGA Championship by two strokes over Tiger Woods with a tournament record 16-under 264. At age 28, Koepka became the fifth American since 1945 with three or more major wins before the age of 29 and the fifth player to win the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same season.

Koepka posted season-low rounds of 63 on four occasions in 17 PGA TOUR starts, including the lowest final round ever at THE PLAYERS Championship. He closed the season with 13 of 16 rounds in the 60s over the four FedExCup Playoffs events.

Kopeka competed in his first ever RBC Canadian Open in 2008, where he failed to make the 36-hole cut.

Koepka, who will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy for winning PGA TOUR Player of the Year, was selected for the honor over Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas.

Some Canadian golfers are long-standing members of the PGA TOUR, while others secured status for the 2018-19 season at the last minute.

Add them all up and the CanCon will hit a record level at this week’s Safeway Open.

Eight Canadians are in the field for the season opener at the Silverado Resort and Spa North in Napa, Calif. That’s the most at a PGA TOUR event outside of Canada since the TOUR started keeping track in 1970.

TOUR regulars like David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., are joined by Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont.

Silverman, who’s entering his sophomore campaign, was among the group of Canadians who broke through in the last few years after spending time on lower-level TOURs.

“I think we were just pushing each other to get better,” Silverman said. “We were all very talented at the time but just not there yet, not at TOUR level yet. Just knowing that there was only two or three Canadians to look at — yet we were all right there in the mini-TOUR ranks — it just probably pushed us all and motivated us all to make it.”

The previous high for Canadians in a non-domestic TOURnament was seven, according to PGA TOUR senior communications manager Doug Milne. It happened twice in 1987 (John Deere Classic and BMW Championship), at the 2008 U.S. Open, and twice last year (Safeway Open and CareerBuilder Challenge).

The number could grow again when Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., makes his return. He has status on the PGA TOUR with a major medical extension but isn’t ready to play after undergoing back surgery in August.

Silverman needed a strong finish at the recent Web.com Tour Championship to book his return to the PGA TOUR. A tie for third did the trick as he moved into 22nd on the Web.com Tour Finals money list, just inside the 25-man cut.

Sloan was 10th on the list while Svensson earned his card by finishing 14th on the Web.com TOUR’s regular-season list.

Silverman’s best finish on the PGA TOUR last season was a tie for seventh at the Sanderson Farms Championship last October. His other top-10 result came a few weeks later when he was tied for eighth at the RSM Classic.

He earned US$793,140 over the campaign, made the cut at 17 tournaments and finished 136th in the FedExCup standings.

Reached this week in Napa, he said he was very pleased with how his rookie campaign played out.

“A whole slew of courses that I’ve never seen before, which is always tough to get used to,” Silverman said. “I think I handled it pretty well. I had some good finishes. I learned a lot about myself in terms of how many TOURnaments I can handle.

“I think 28 regular-season events was kind of a lot for me. I’m going to learn from that and try to manage my schedule a little bit differently so I can get some more rest this season.”

Ben Silverman (Getty Images)

Silverman said he was inconsistent at times due in part to his effort to develop a more well-rounded game. He wanted to be able to hit high-, medium- and low-trajectory shots either straight or with a draw or fade, all while trying to add different short-game skills.

This season, he plans to keep it simple and go with what got him to the PGA TOUR in the first place. He’ll go with more bump-and-run shots around the green and will stick with his “little fade” off the tee and on the fairways.

“The biggest adjustment with my game is I’m pretty much just sticking to one ball flight and never changing it,” Silverman said. “Whether it suits the hole from a traditional standpoint or not doesn’t matter to me anymore. I’m just going to stick to hitting shots that I feel comfortable with.

“That was my gameplan in Jacksonville in the Web Finals and I had great control of the ball all week. I’m just going to keep that strategy going moving forward.”

Hadwin is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the world golf rankings at No. 58. Silverman is next at No. 240, followed by Taylor (No. 280), DeLaet (No. 294) and Hughes (No. 297).

Play begins Thursday on the 7,203-yard course. American Brendan Steele is the defending champion.

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Brendan Macdougall made the biggest gain among the Top 10, picking up 10 places in the world rankings after finishing 17th at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate, pacing High Point University to a 12th place finish overall.

Henry Lee moves up four places in the world rankings after securing his second straight top 10 result, an eighth place finish at the Husky Invitational.

Charles Corner moves past Chris Crisologo into the No. 5 spot in Canada.

Biggest move: Graeme Brunet of Sarnia, Ont., gained 997 spots in the world rankings after finishing third at the High Country Shootout.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Celeste Dao made the biggest move among the Top 10, picking up 15 places in the world rankings. The Golf Canada Development Squad member, who was recently named to represent Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina later this month, also climbed past National Team member Naomi Ko to take over the No. 3 ranking in Canada.

Jessica Ip picked up 27 places in the world rankings.

Outside the Top 10, Abbie Anghelescu climbed 120 spots to move into the Top 20 for the first time, taking over the No. 19 ranking in Canada.

Biggest Move: Megan Ratcliffe gained 309 spots in the world rankings after finishing 32nd at the Coeur D’Alene Collegiate.

Click here for the full World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR)

MEN’S TOP 10

With the Ryder Cup stealing the golf spotlight and stage qualifying for the Web.com Tour, there were very few qualifying events when it came to the world rankings.

Roger Sloan made the only positive move among the Top 10, picking up four places in the world ranking. Sloan is set to make his PGA Tour return for the first time since 2015 this week as the new season kicks off. A number of other Top 10 Canadians will be in the field as well: No. 1 Adam Hadwin, No. 2 Benjamin Silverman, No. 3 Nick Taylor, No. 5 Mackenzie Hughes, No. 9 Corey Conners and No. 10 David Hearn.

Click here for the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR)

WOMEN’S TOP 10

Augusta James made the biggest move among the Top 10, picking up five places in the world rankings.

Brittany Marchand gained two places in the world rankings and has moved to within seven places of taking over the No. 2 ranking in Canada.

Other Notable Results: No. 8 Samantha Richdale finished tied for 39th at the Symetra Tour event in Florida.

Click here for the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings.

“I’m not good enough to keep track of my handicap.”

Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s Director of Handicap and Course Rating, is tired of hearing that.

“The purpose of the Handicap System is to make the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis,” the Golf Canada Handicap Manual states.

“If you’re playing golf regularly, you’re keeping track of your scores in some fashion,” he points out. “You’re golfing for a reason or reasons, whether it’s for the competition against yourself or others, recreation, socializing, whatever. It obviously is a significant part of your activity schedule, so why not keep track on an ongoing basis?

“If golfers didn’t care about keeping score, then courses wouldn’t need scorecards, but they seem to have to replace thousands every year.”

Loughry is right. Everyone tracks their progress in just about every other facet of their lives, so why not in their golf games? In business or other pursuits, you expect a level playing field, right? A Golf Canada handicap factor provides both for your golf life.

Additionally, you never know when not having a Golf Canada handicap factor will come back to haunt you.

Knowing zero about your handicap can find you playing off a zero handicap.

A couple of personal anecdotes…

Years ago, I was invited to play in a pro-am. When I showed up at registration, I was asked for my handicap. When I said I didn’t have one, I was told I would have to play off scratch, from the pro tees. Some of my drives barely made the tee block from where my fellow amateurs (the ones with official handicaps) were playing from. Needless to say, I started posting every score after that humiliation.

My wife (who faithfully maintains an accurate handicap factor) plays in the member-guest tournament at a friend’s club every summer. The club sends out a friendly note leading up to the event.  It says, “it is the member’s responsibility to provide a handicap factor from an accredited golf association for their guest(s). Failure to do so will result in your guest(s) playing from scratch. Please note that scorecards, letters or ‘she shoots about an 85’ are unacceptable.”

If you have a Golf Canada Gold-level membership, the lengthy list of benefits includes an official handicap factor. It’s easy to post your adjusted scores online or at any Golf Canada member course and there’s even an app for your phone. It’s easy to join online even if you’re not already a member of a club and start tracking your scores right away.

Now that I’ve persuaded those of you who haven’t maintained a current and accurate factor (you must post all scores using the easy-to-understand Equitable Stroke Control system) to get on the bandwagon, here are some other handicapping notes.

Active Seasons

Regrettably, the end of the Canadian golf season is approaching. Each provincial golf association decides on what is called the “active season” for handicap posting purposes.

By province, the active seasons are:

• British Columbia March 1-Nov. 15
• Alberta March 1-Oct. 31
• Saskatchewan April 15-Oct. 31
• Manitoba April 15-Oct. 31
• Ontario April 15-Oct. 31
• Quebec April 15-Oct. 31
• Nova Scotia April 15-Oct. 31
• New Brunswick May 1-Oct. 31
• Prince Edward Island April 16-Nov. 14
• Newfoundland and Labrador April 1-Nov. 30

Going South This Winter?

It’s never been easier to post out-of-country scores if you’re lucky enough to play in a warmer clime this winter.

“Essentially, all you have to do is simply change the Canadian flag icon to the international one and then start typing in the most unique part of the club/course name,” says Taylor Stevenson, Golf Canada’s manager of member services.

As well, says Loughry, the International Golf Network (IGN) allows Golf Canada members to link their golf membership (handicap record) from Canada to their U.S. club(s). What’s the advantage of that?

“You only need to post your score once and that score automatically gets posted into the other record. This is not only important now for our many members who travel and golf outside the country, but will be more so when the World Handicap System is implemented.”

We Are The World

In 2020, the new unified World Handicap System will be implemented to make handicaps truly consistent and equitable around the globe. The new system will feature more flexibility and reflect the changes in how the game is played worldwide.

For example, both competitive and recreational rounds will count for handicap purposes, the number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap will be reduced and, perhaps most importantly, the result will be a consistent handicap that is portable from courses to course and country to country.

There is even a calculation that considers the impact that abnormal course and weather conditions affected your score.

Click here for more on handicapping.

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Payback belongs to Europe, and so does the Ryder Cup.

Two years after the Americans thought they had their Ryder Cup problems figured out, Europe reminded them Sunday why it practically has owned this shiny gold trophy for the last quarter-century.

British Open champion Francesco Molinari was just as good on his own as he was with Tommy Fleetwood. The best year of the Italian’s golfing life got even better at Le Golf National when he became the first European – and only second player since the current format began in 1979 – to win all five of his matches.

The last one set off a wild, champagne-soaked celebration.

Europe already was assured the 14 1/2 points it needed because they were guaranteed halves in two matches. Molinari made it official. He was 2 up and safely on the green at the par-3 16th green when Phil Mickelson hit into the water, removed his cap and conceded the match.

The finish was most appropriate.

The celebration and singing had already begun. The Europeans were treated like rock stars before more than 50,000 fans. All that remained was Alex Noren in the anchor match. He was 1 up on the 18th hole when DeChambeau stuffed his approach to 2 feet for a conceded birdie. Noren hit the final shot in this Ryder Cup, a 40-foot birdie putt to win the match, and the stoic Swede hurled his cap.

Europe won, 17 1/2-10 1/2, the most lopsided victory since consecutive 18 1/2-9 1/2 victories by Europe more than a decade ago when the Americans looked utterly lost. They formed a Ryder Cup Task Force, spearheaded by Mickelson, after the 2014 loss. The idea was to build continuity and momentum, and it seemed to work when they won at Hazeltine in 2016.

Now, maybe it’s back to the drawing board.

Mickelson was desperate to make this team because the 48-year-old saw it as his last chance to win a Ryder Cup on European soil. He wound up losing both his matches. He started the week by setting a record with his 12th Ryder Cup appearance. He ended it by setting a more dubious Ryder Cup record with 22 losses.

He wasn’t alone. Tiger Woods went 0-4, the first time in his eight Ryder Cups that he failed to contribute a single point.

But this was more about the Europeans as a team, and they were tougher than ever on a course they know well.

“This team has been incredible from the start,” Molinari said. “We were determined to do the job. Nothing was going to stop us. And you saw it on the course.”

Trailing 10-6 going into the final day of singles, the Americans needed to put red points on the board early to build momentum. It never happened. Justin Thomas won the leadoff match over Rory McIlroy, but not until the 18th hole.

Webb Simpson and Tony Finau, the lone bright spot among the wild-card picks for U.S. captain Jim Furyk, won easily. Behind them, Woods was hanging tough against Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson started to pull ahead of Ian Poulter.

“There’s always a moment where it looks like a spark of light,” Furyk said. “When it was there for us, Europe played really well.”

It wasn’t there long.

Rahm won two straight holes with pars to seize control. Johnson went from 1 up to 2 down in a four-hole stretch that ended his chances.

Rahm dropped his putter after making a 5-foot birdie on the 17th hole as Woods stood to the side of the green, arms crossed. One week ago, he overcame four back surgeries to win for the 80th time on the Tour Championship, a signal that he was all the way back.

And then at the Ryder Cup, it was another result with which he is far too familiar. Woods has played on only one winning team in 1999.

“It’s disappointing because I went 0-4, and that’s four points to the European team,” he said. “And I’m one of the contributing factors to why we lost the cup, and it’s not a lot of fun. It’s frustrating because I thought we were all playing pretty well, and I just didn’t perform at the level that I had been playing, and just got behind early in the matches and never got back.”

Thorbjorn Olesen, who had played only one match the previous two days, went 5 up at the turn over Jordan Spieth and won in 14 holes. Spieth is now 0-6 in singles matches in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.

Sergio Garcia was in tears.

He played so poorly this year that he failed to qualify for the PGA Tour’s post-season. Thomas Bjorn picked him anyway, saying he was like the captain of a football team. Garcia showed why by going 3-1. That final victory over Rickie Fowler made Garcia the biggest contributor in Ryder Cup history with 25 1/2 points.

But this was more about team, and about redemption, even for a team that now has won nine of the last 12 times.

“We took a really tough loss at Hazeltine a couple of years ago and that stung,” McIlroy said. “That was my first experience of what it feels like to be on the other side, so coming in here, obviously none of us want to feel like Sunday afternoon.”

MAMARONECK, N.Y. –  A quartet of Canadian junior golfers became one step closer winning it all at the esteemed Winged Foot Golf Club, one of 10 regional qualifiers for the 2019 Drive Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National.

Leading the group that advanced was Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos, who returns for a record-tying fourth championship. The 12-year-old captured last year’s 10-11 division to become the second Canadian to win a title (Savannah Grewal won the Girls 14-15 division in 2017).

“Brooke Henderson and Tiger Woods are her idols and she wants to follow in their footsteps,” said her dad, Dino, noting that Vanessa is also a two-time winner of the U.S. Kids World Championship.

Joining Borovilos are three first-time participants: Carter Lavigne (Moncton, N.B. | Boys 7-9), Andy Mac (Candiac, Que. | Boys 10-11) and Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont. | Girls 14-15).

 

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2018 champion Vanessa Borovilos was 1 of 4 Canadian juniors to advance to the @DriveChipandPutt finals from the Winged Foot Regional Qualifier ???? – Carter Lavigne (Moncton, N.B. | Boys 7-9) Andy Mac (Candiac, Que. | Boys 10-11) Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont. | Girls 14-15) #DriveChipandPutt

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 28, 2018 at 7:06am PDT

“I heard that going to the Masters is a religious experience and this is pretty close,” said Darsey Lavigne, whose son Carter, from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, advanced by winning the Boys 7-9 age group.

Earlier in September, Canadian Anna Jiaxin Huang of Vancouver advanced to the final in the Chambers Bay qualifier at Chambers Bay, Wash.

There are two more regional qualifiers to be conducted to fill the final field of 60 juniors.

All five juniors will look to be crowned champion at the Drive, Chip & Putt final on April 7, 2019.

Click here for scoring.

The Canadian equivalent—Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event— will be contested on Saturday, June 1 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club. Borovilos finished 2nd in the 2017 Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Adam Helmer – Golf Canada’s director of Rules, competitions and amateur status – has been at the helm for over 10 years.

The Ottawa native is inside the ropes for all Golf Canada’s 30+ championships, including the RBC Canadian Open (PGA TOUR) and CP Women’s Open (LPGA Tour).

In addition to the competitions, Helmer plays an integral role in the Rules of golf, which are undergoing a significant modernization project that begins on Jan. 1, 2019.

The International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA) has more on Helmer here.

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Joey Savoie, who assumed the No. 1 ranking in Canada last week,  climbed 12 places in the world ranking to a career best No. 59 in the world.

Charles Corner made the biggest gain among the Top 10, picking up 20 places in the world rankings while Brendan Macdougall climbed one place in the Canadian rankings to take over the No. 7 spot.

Outside the Top 10, Matt Williams jumped 47 spots in the world rankings after finishing sixth at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. The Calgary golfer and senior at Houston became only the eighth player in school history to shoot 64 or better during the event. The result enabled him to move up to No. 11 in Canadian rankings.

Golf Canada Development Squad member Christopher Vandette climbed 65 spots to move into the top 20 after coming from seven strokes back to win the Duke of York Young Champions Trophy in trying conditions in a playoff.

Biggest move: Bavake Sihota of Caledon, Ont., gained 801 spots in the world rankings after winning the MJT International Team Challenge.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Vanessa Ha made the biggest move among the Top 10, picking up nine places in the world rankings and taking over the No. 5 spot in Canada.

Outside the Top 10, Victoria Zheng picked up 84 spots in the world rankings to move to No. 20 in Canada following her runner-up performance at the MJT International Team Challenge.

Biggest Move: Sydney Scraba climbed 155 spots in the world rankings after finishing 63rd at the USA Intercollegiate.

Click here for the full World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR)

MEN’S TOP 10

Benjamin Silverman made the biggest move of the week, picking up 31 spots in the world rankings after finishing in a tie for third at the Web.com Tour Championship, the final event of The Finals. The result was worth 5.28 world ranking points and more importantly, it enabled Silverman to retain his PGA Tour card for the upcoming season. Silverman finished 22nd on the list of 25 players who secured their cards through the Web.com Finals series.

No. 7 Adam Svensson gained 30 spots in the world rankings after finishing tied for eighth at the Web.com Tour Championship. The result was worth 2.43 world ranking points for the former Golf Canada National Team member. Svensson had previously secured his PGA Tour card by finishing in the Top 25 of the tour money list ahead of the Finals.

Other notable results: No. 6 Austin Connelly missed the cut at European Tour Portugal Masters; No. 8 Roger Sloan finished tied for 29th at Web.com Tour Championship; No. 9 Corey Conners missed the cut at Web.com Tour Championship; No. 10 David Hearn finished tied for 35th at Web.com Tour Championship

Click here for the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR)

WOMEN’S TOP 10

Anne-Catherine Tanguay was the only member of the Top 10 to make any positive gains over the past seven days. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member finished in a tie for fifth at the Symetra Tour event in Alabama. The result was her first top 10 finish of the year on either the LPGA or development tour and was worth 0.88 world ranking points.

Other Notable Results: No. 8 Samantha Richdale and No. 9 Jennifer Ha both missed the cut at the Symetra Tour event in Alabama;

Click here for the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings.