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.

Golf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) are proud to name the two athletes nominated to represent Team Canada in golf at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Ares, Argentina from October 6-18, 2018.

Celeste Dao, 17, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que. will represent Canada in the girls’ golf competition while William Duquette, 17, of Laval, Que. will compete in the boys’ event.

The two golf athletes earned their spots on the Canadian Youth Olympic Team based on a collection of 2018 championship results as well as their standing on the Canadian Golf Order of Merit as of August 9^th, 2018.

“We are very pleased to announce that Celeste Dao and William Duquette have been selected as the athletes to represent Canadian golf at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “Both of these talented competitors are eager to succeed in representing Canada on the international stage and have shown tremendous progress in their development.”

The Golf competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games will be held at the Hurlingham Club, from October 9-15. The boys’ and girls’ 54-hole individual competition runs October 9-11 with a 54-hole mixed-gender competition running October 13-15.

A total of 64 golfers are eligible to take part in the golf competition including 32 male and 32 female athletes.

Celeste Dao

Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que. is in her first year as a member of Golf Canada’s National Development Squad. She won the recent 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship as well as the 2018 Mexican Junior Girls Championship. In May, she played her way into the 2018 US Women’s Open by earning medalist honours at a Regional Qualifier. In August, she earned an exemption to compete in her first-ever CP Women’s Open at The Wascana Country Club in Regina. She was also named to one of Canada’s two entries in the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club in Ottawa where she finished fifth in the individual competition and helped Canada One finish fourth among 19 countries. 

William Duquette

A native of Laval, Que., William Duquette’s season includes a fourth place finish at the Quebec Junior Boys Championship, T29 at the Quebec Men’s Amateur, T22 at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and T48 at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Last season, he won the Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship and had top-five finishes at both the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational and Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship.

The Quebec duo will be accompanied by Matt Wilson, Golf Canada’s Director, Next Generation and Women’s Development Team Coach.

The 2018 Games will mark the second time that the sport of golf is included in the Youth Olympic Games after making its inaugural including in the 2014 Games in Nanjing, China.

BRANTFORD, Ont. – Heat and sunny skies greeted over 140 women on Monday at the 15th annual Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru National Event at the Thornhill Club.

Participants were on hand to celebrate raising more than $300,000 for breast cancer research in 2018 through 175 individual Golf Fore the Cure events run across the country.

The National Event included 18-holes of golf featuring raffles, prizing, and games, followed by an awards dinner to thank and recognize the fundraising efforts put forth by 13,000 Golf Fore the Cure participants across Canada this year.

Since the program’s inception in 2003, upwards of 120,000 women have raised over $6.7 million to date with all proceeds donated to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Québec Breast Cancer Foundation.

“Golf Canada is very proud to celebrate the success and growth of women’s golf in Canada through the Golf Fore the Cure program,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “The collective efforts from volunteers, site coordinators, and our partners at Subaru and Canadian Cancer Society continue to be a driving force behind the achievements of Golf Fore the Cure We’re excited for the next season and hope we can accomplish raising over $7 million for breast cancer research.”

Golf Canada honoured this year’s top-three fundraising teams at the National Event, listed below:

1. Golf New Brunswick ($38,000)
2. Elk Ridge Resort, Waskesiu Saskatchewan ($20,247)
3. Sussex Golf & Curling Club ($14,000)

Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru was created in 2003 by Golf Canada to drive women’s participation in the game of golf through the use of fun, non-intimidating activities. Through a unique partnership structure with the Canadian Cancer Society (and Québec Breast Cancer Foundation), the program has women across the country participating in golf activities and raising money and awareness for a cause close to Canadian hearts—the fight against breast cancer.

Subaru Canada has been a proud partner of Golf Fore the Cure since 2007.

 

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Over 140 women on hand today at the #GolfForetheCure National Event @ThornhillClub to celebrate women’s golf and all the fundraising achieved in 2018 ?????‍♀️

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 24, 2018 at 2:46pm PDT

Photos from Tuesday’s National Event can be viewed here.

To learn how to get involved with Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru, visit golfcanada.ca/golfforethecure

TEAM SOUTH WINS THE 2018 ESTABROOKS CUP

 For Full Results – CLICK HERE

For immediate release:

 The Estabrooks Cup always begins on the Friday eve of the tournament with a finger-food reception, the introductions of the North and South Teams and the pairing for the first round Four Ball Matches of the tournament. This year for the first-time entertainment was provided by player Gerry Duguay who sang and played guitar for the teams and everyone enjoyed it.

With winds gusting to 70 km/h throughout the night before the Estabrooks Cup, everyone was hoping for a calm. The morning brought sunny skies and a swirling wind but nothing these great players couldn’t handle! The 36 participants of the 2018 Estabrooks Cup would be challenged on two courses this year at the Pine Needles Golf & Country Club. The River course would be played for the 1^st round of the Fourball matches and the 3^rd round of the Singles Matches. The Pine would host the 2^nd round Foursome (Alternate shot) Matches for the 21^st running of the Estabrooks Cup.

As the day would heat up, so would the matches and at day’s end it was playing captain Allison Chisholm from The Riverside Country Club and non-playing captain Pine Needles Golf & Country Club own Louis Boudreau’s Southern squad that would take 12 points. The North Team captained by Paula Napke-Flanagan from the Miramichi Golf Club and Wilf Pilgrim of Kingswood would manage 6 points on the day but with 18 points available Sunday in the Singles Matches the North says the tournament isn’t over yet.

Named after New Brunswick Golf Association Past President John Estabrooks, the Estabrooks Cup was first played in 1998.  Between 1998 and 2008 the Estabrooks Cup was a “best on best”, Ryder Cup stye, event for New Brunswick’s best male amateur golfers.  In 2009 the format changed to incorporate Amateur Men (8), Senior Men (4) and Ladies (4) onto both the North and South teams.  The 2017 version of the Estabrooks Cup would see the event increased to 36 participants, Amateur Men (2), Senior Men (8) and Ladies (8) onto both the North and South teams, and guided for the first time by “Playing Captains”. That model was followed for the 2018 playing.

Day one would see players compete in two sets of 18-hole matches with the morning draw consisting of Fourball play and the afternoon draw being played in a Foursome, or alternate shot, format.

The day’s first match would see the Miramichi Golf Club Karen Flett and Fredericton Golf Club’s Garry Jenkins come out the victors against Pine Needles’ own Doreen Vienneau and Maplewood’s Bob Gray. In Match # 2 the South would match that point when the next group of Jamie Melanson from Fox Creek Golf Club and Greg Doucette of Country Meadows took down the Restigouche Golf Club duo of Alex Doucet and Gerry Duguay. Match #3 saw the South carry on with 2018 NB Ladies Mid-Amateur and Senior Champion, Leanne Richardson GM of Country Meadows and partner Mike Breen of Hampton win 3 & 2 Over the Fredericton duo of Mary Walton-Rossignol and Eric Hildebrand.  The North Team got back on the board when the Fredericton pair of Maureen O’Donnell and Nathan Harvey outdid Andrea Boucher of Moncton Golf Club and Stu Musgrave representing Country Meadows 1 up.

So, with the score tied at 2-2, the South decided to apply a little pressure and won the next four points. Match # 5 Sandy Comeau (Country Meadows Golf Club) and Kevin Farmer (Herring Cove) won 5 & 4 over the North Team of Kathy Grebenc (Gowan Brae Golf Club) and Captain Wilf Pilgrim. Match # 6 Pam Cossey (Rockwood Park Golf Club) and partner Guy MacKnight (Country Meadows) squeaked out a 1 up win over Fredericton Golf Club member, Penny Dickeson and Restigouche Golf Club’s Shane Wellman. Match # 7 had Shelly Thomas (Country Meadows) and John Leblanc (Fox Creek Golf Club) better the North with a score of 4 & 3 over Angela Welch (Woodstock) and Gary Melanson (Covered Bridge). Match # 8 of the run from the South Team came from Captain Allison Chisholm and Mark Armstrong both from The Riverside Country Club win 3 & 2 over Brenda Parrot (Gowan Brae) and Sonny Phillips (Fredericton). The North got back on the board for Match #8 when Captain Paula Napke-Flanagan took rookie Corey McMinniman under her wing and were victorious over Erin Musgrave (Country Meadows) and partner Mike Hosford (Royal Oaks). By the end of the Four Ball Matches, the South had a lead of 6 points to 3 points over the North.

By the afternoon matches the weather had warmed up and the players played their Foursome Matches (Alternate Shot) on the shorter Pine Course. The South decided they wanted control of these matches early so Match #11 featuring Mike Hosford and John Leblanc was finished after the 15^th hole with a 4 & 3 defeat over Garry Jenkins and Wilf Pilgrim. Match #12 was also a 4 & 3 win after Pam Cossey and Erin Musgrave handled the group of Mary Walton-Rossignol and Karen Flett. Then in Match # 13 the South Team of Andrea Boucher and Sandy Comeau ended that match early with a 7 & 6 trouncing of North’s Maureen O’Donnell and Angela Welch. The North would get back on the board when Match # 16 would see Kathy Grebenc and Penny Dickeson handle Allison Chisholm and Doreen Vienneau of the South Team. The North stole another point when Eric Hildebrand and Shane Wellman beat Guy MacKnight and Mark Armstrong on the 18^th hole. Match # 10 went all the way to the 18^th hole and they still couldn’t name a winner, so the match was halved between North’s Gerry Duguay and Alex Doucet and the South’s Bob Gray and Greg Doucette. South put down the accelerator again in Match # 17 when Country Meadow’s duo of Shelley Thomas and Leanne Richardson ended their match after 13 with a 6 & 5 hammering over Paula Napke -Flanagan and Brenda Parrot of the North. Kevin Farmer and Mike Breen won by 1 up after the 18^th hole defeating Sonny Phillips and Gary Melanson Match #15. Match # 18, the last match of the day couldn’t be decided either after 18 holes giving each team of youngsters Corey McMinniman and Nathan Harvey and the South Stu Musgrave and Jamie Melanson a half point each.

The Foursome Matches ended the same as the Four Ball Matches with 6 points for the South and 3 points for the North. This means that entering Sunday’s singles matches Team South holds a 12 point to 6-point lead over Team North, but with 18 points up for grabs in singles play it is still anyone’s game.  The South need 6.5 points on Sunday to win the cup compared to 12.5 points needed for the North to win.  After a delicious turkey dinner and carrot cake dinner made by the Pine Needle’s Boudreau family and staff, the pairings for Sunday’s Singles Matches were made. Gerry Duguay provided musical entertainment for the second evening and everyone hopes he makes the North Team in 2019 so he can entertain again next year.

Day number 2 of the 2018 Estabrooks Cup started with a frost delay of one hour putting the tee times from an 8:00 start to a 9:00 start. It was a chilly start to the day, but the sun was out (as well as mosquitos in late September) and it warmed up nicely. The North new they needed to get an early jump on the day to chip into the South’s lead, but Mike Hosford of the South put a damper on that quickly when he beat Gerry Duguay after 14 holes to increase the lead in Match # 20. Alex Doucet got the North on the board with his win after 14 holes also over veteran Bob Gray to tie the day’s scores. Andrea Boucher won a point for the South in Match # 25 over Brenda Parrott. Match # 29 had the biggest thrashing of the tournament when North’s Team Captain Paula Napke-Flanagan wanted to rally her team and won 8 & 7 against friend Shelley Thomas. Napke-Flanagan had 5 birdies on the first twelve holes. Like Thomas said, “It is hard to win a hole with a par when your opponent keeps having birdies.” So, despite what the score of the match shows, Thomas was playing well too.

The next 2 matches went to the South when Pam Cossey defeated Mary Walton-Rossignol 3 & 2 (Match # 22) and Mark Armstrong beat Shane Wellman 4 &3 in Match #28 taking the overall score to 16 points to 8 points. Penny Dickeson wasn’t giving up on a North’s comeback as she handled Doreen Vienneau after 13 holes in Match # 31. Her clubmate and teammate on the north, Eric Hildebrand then beat Kevin Farmer for another North point and closing the lead to 16-10. The best story of the day came from this group as Kevin Farmer told the story of hole # 17. “I played the hole well as I reached the par 5 in two and had a chance for eagle but settled for a birdie. Eric hit his drive far into the woods and we find it out in the fairway, quite a kick, then he puts his next shot over the green and then decides to chip in for an eagle! My birdie didn’t look so good then!”. Veteran John LeBlanc bested Wilf Pilgrim on the 18^th hole next followed by a 1 up win by Guy MacKnight over Gerry Jenkins. This put the overall score to 18-10 with the South just needing a half or a win to win the trophy again. The win came from Match 33 with celebrated golfer Leanne Richardson and her 5 & 4 win against Maureen O’Donnell to put the score at 19 points to 10 points for the Estabrooks Cup win. The other matches finished out to make it a full total. Those matches included a North win by Angela Welch over Erin Musgrave in Match # 26. Captain Allison Chisholm winning another point for her South Team after taking down Kathy Grebenc 4 & 3. The first halve of the day would come from the pairing of Gary Melanson and Greg Doucette in Match # 27. Then North won a couple of points in Matches #30 and # 32 from Karen Flett over Sandy Comeau 1 up and Sonny Phillips over Mike Breen 2 up. Match # 36 had Corey McMinniman defeat Jamie Melanson 3 & 2 and the final match to come in was # 35 that was halved between the North’s Nathan Harvey and the South’s Stu Musgrave.

The South Team won the 21^st playing of the Estabrooks Cup with a final score of 21 points to 15 points and to take the trophy home again this year.

For more information on the 2018 Estabrooks Cup, please visit www.golfnb.ca or CLICK HERE.

Story by WP Ryan | Minnesota Golf Association

The IAGA will honor longtime Golf Ontario Executive Director Dave Mills with its Distinguished Service Award, to be presented on November 6^th at the 2018 IAGA Annual Conference at the Innisbrook Golf and Spa Resort.

Mills, 71, of Belleville, Ontario, served as Executive Director of Golf Ontario for 17 years, from 1997 until 2014. He first joined the Ontario Golf Association, as Golf Ontario was known at the time, as a club representative for the Bay of Quinte Golf & Country Club in Belleville in 1986, where Mills’s skills at organizing and growing junior golf led to his election to the board and the provincial chair of the OGA’s Junior Development Committee.

Mills accepted the executive director position with the OGA in 1997 after concluding a 27-year career with Ontario Hydro. During his early tenure as executive director, Mills steered the association out of significant financial issues and eventually put it on solid financial and administrative footing.

Within a few short years, he led the association through an amalgamation with the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association in 2001 to form the Golf Association of Ontario, one of the largest amateur golf associations in North America. Calling it his most satisfying career accomplishment, the amalgamation led to recognition by the Ontario Ministry of Sport of the GAO as the official Sport Body for golf in Ontario.

Highlights during his tenure include establishing an annual scholarship program, launching the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame, creating a partnership with the Ontario Golf Magazine, initiating numerous player development programs including Golf in Schools, participation in Canadian and Ontario Summer Games, and working with numerous young golfers and their families as they pursued golf scholarships at universities in the U.S., and careers as golf professionals.

Prior to his Golf Ontario tenure, Mills worked for Ontario Hydro, one of the largest electricity corporations in North America. He attended the University of Toronto graduating in 1970 with a BASc in chemical engineering and later attended the Banff School of Advanced Management.

Today Mills remains actively involved with Golf Ontario as a tournament volunteer and with the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame as a member of its selection committee. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, most notably for his efforts in reorganizing the OGA as well as for his leadership during the OGA/OLGA amalgamation. Without the former, the latter would not have been possible; it is the amalgamation which is generally acknowledged to have created unprecedented growth and recognition for golf in Ontario, including participation in the Ontario and Canada Summer Games and for access to funding of new programs, such as the creation of a world-class player development program.

The IAGA Distinguished Service Award was established to recognize individuals or groups whose actions have fostered the IAGA objectives as stated in its bylaws: “To promote and conserve the best interests and the true spirit of the game of golf as embodied in its ancient and honorable traditions.” It is the organization’s highest honor. The selection criteria includes the demonstration of superior or innovative administrative abilities, excellence in information exchange and dialogue between golf administrators and golf organizations.