Almost four years ago Todd Keirstead did a golf instructional demonstration at a veteran’s hospital when he came to an important realization.

The trick shots he had been performing for a few years – building up a brand so well known that Golf Channel named one of his shots as the No. 1 trick shot in 2014 – actually were emulating the injured service men and women he was doing the demonstration for.

Instead of being just pure entertainment, Keirstead – who most recently was the golf competition supervisor at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto – realized he could be more inspirational and inspiring.

Now, that realization has come full circle.

Starting Saturday and running through the end of September Keirstead will be performing for United States Air Force members and their families in a new ‘Recharge for Resiliency’ initiative.

The program began in 2015 as a new tool to encourage service members and their families who are affected by deployments to participate in morale, welfare, and recreation programs and activities.

LPGA Tour golfers like Amy Read participated in instructional clinics in 2017 and Keirstead will be travelling across the United States and into Europe and Japan performing for hundreds of servicemen and women in the Recharge for Resiliency Golf Days.

“It’s my way of saying ‘thank you’ for everything they do – not only the individuals that are serving but also their family members and all the sacrifices they’ve made,” says Keirstead by phone as he prepares for the first event of the year in Dover, Delaware on June 30th.

Keirstead says he’ll be performing for an hour, and at one of the sites in Colorado Springs he’ll also be doing a 30-minute motivational talk.

It will be entertainment, he says, but for the past number of years Keirstead, who is able-bodied, has shown that people who may be in a wheelchair or may be blind can still play golf. The shots he hits (he’ll put on a prosthetic limb or a blindfold, for example) are entertaining for some, but inspiring for many others.

“The last 10 minutes of the show I’ll be explaining to them how the military has changed my life and how I’m taking the entertainment show and turning it into a motivation/inspiration show,” he says. “A lot of the shots I hit are emulating the wounded veterans situations.”

The trick shots, he admits, are not really tricks. By making sure he has all the correct fundamentals down, he’s able to hit any shot the way he does. But because it’s so unique, he’s sure the audience will leave with a smile on their face after a break from their every-day military lives.

Keirstead’s new role with the USAF is part of a grander program he has called Bring Back the Game, an initiative supported by adidas golf and TaylorMade in Canada. The Bring Back the Game clinics, Keirstead says, are helping people to overcome their barriers and show golf as a tool to help build confidence and self-esteem.

He says he’s “very fortunate” to be asked to give back to the U.S. military using this platform, and he’s hopeful it will expand the message that golf is a sport for all people regardless of age, physical or mental ability.

“These shots that I’m doing for pure entertainment are actually motivating and inspiring for these troops,” he says. “It’s showing they can play golf in an adaptive way.”

TORONTO, Ont. – Hopes were high at Weston Golf and Country Club on Wednesday as 37 players vied for one of three spots up for grabs into 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship taking place at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tennessee on August 6-12.

Despite the threat of rain hanging over the tournament, Kelsey Sear posted an even-par 72 to top the field and earn one of three spots that were up for grabs at the qualifier held at Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

The Unionville, Ont., talent ran into trouble with bogeys on holes 1 and 12 but otherwise cruised to victory over the competition.

Team Canada graduate Chloe Currie fired three sets of consecutive birdies to tie for second with fellow Mississauga, Ont., native Melany Chong at 1 over to earn the other available spots into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

A playoff between Guatemala’s Pilar Echeverria and Siyan Chen of Howey In The Hills, Fla., was set to determine which players would be designated first and second alternates. After the playoff ended on the first playoff hole with Chen winning with a par to secure the first alternate spot. Echeverria will be the second alternate.

More information on the qualifier at Weston, including final results, can be found here.

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Garrett Rank made the biggest move among the Top 10, picking up 10 spots in the world rankings after winning the Ontario Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. The result comes just a week after the former Golf Canada National Team member missed the cut at the U.S. Open and it vaults him back inside the top 100 in the world rankings. It’s his second top 3 result in four tournaments played this year.

Top ranked Hugo Bernard improved upon his career-best world ranking, climbing seven places up to No. 41 after placing 78th at The Amateur Championship. The Golf Canada National Team member was sitting in a tie for seventh after the opening round of stroke play but a second round 78 left him outside the top 64 cut line for the match play portion of the event.

Fellow National Team member Joey Savoie picked up three places in the world ranking after placing 138th at The Amateur Championship.

Josh Whalen, the third member of the National Team, gained five places in the world ranking after finishing 27th at the Northeast Amateur Invitational.

Biggest move:  Ryan Tsang climbed 407 spots in the world rankings after finishing seventh at the Ontario Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Jaclyn Lee was the only member of the Top 10 to make any positive gains in the world rankings, picking up four places to get to a career-best No. 36 in the world. The Golf Canada National Team member has posted three top-5 results in her last four events and posted a 35th place finish in her first LPGA start of the year a couple of weeks ago.

Fellow National Team member Grace St-Germain picked up the win at the Golf Quebec Provincial Amateur Championship. It was her second win in the last five weeks, having collected medallist honours at the NJCAA National Championship last month

Biggest Move:Jackie Little gained 190 spots in the world rankings after winning the British Columbia Senior Championship.

MEN’S TOP 10

Mackenzie Hughes was the only player in the Top 10 to make a positive gain in the world rankings this past week. Hughes climbed six places after finishing in a tie for 42nd at the PGA Travelers Championship. That equalled his best finish of the season and was worth 1.80 world ranking points, only his fourth points-paying finish of the season.

One week after missing the cut at the U.S. Open, top ranked Canadian Adam Hadwin was back in the points, finishing in a tie for 42nd at the PGA Travelers Championship. The result was worth 1.80 world ranking points and it snapped a streak of two consecutive tournaments without a points-paying finish.

Outside the Top 10, No. 13 Ryan Yip picked up 53 places in the world rankings after finishing tied for 16th at the Web.com Tour Wichita Open.

Other notable results: No. 3 Benjamin Silverman, No. 4 Nick Taylor and No. 8 Corey Conners all missed the cut at the PGA Travelers Championship; No. 6 Austin Connelly finished tied for 40th at the European Tour BMW International Open; No. 7 Adam Svensson finished tied for 58th at the Web.com Tour Wichita Open; No. 10 Roger Sloan finished tied for 32nd at the Web.com Tour Wichita Open;

WOMEN’S TOP 10

Elizabeth Tong made the biggest move of the week to return to the Top 10, picking up 66 spots in the world rankings after finishing tied for 22nd at the Symetra Tour event in Michigan. It was her best finish of the season on the development tour and the result was worth 0.22 world ranking points. She goes from No. 11 up to No. 9 in the Canadian rankings.

No. 3 Brittany Marchand climbed 11 places in the world rankings after finishing tied for 53rd at the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. The result was worth 1.33 world ranking points and marked the ninth time in 10 tournaments that the Team Canada Young Pro Squad member has managed a points-paying finish.

Anne-Catherine Tanguay gained eight places in the world rankings after finishing tied for 65th at the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. The result was worth 0.7 world ranking points for the Team Canada Young Pro squad member and marked her third straight points-paying finish.

Other Notable Results: No. 2 Alena Sharp and No. 4 Maude-Aimee Leblanc both missed the cut at LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; No. 6 Augusta James, No. 8 Samantha Richdale and No. 10 Jennifer Ha missed the cut at the Symetra Tour event in Michigan;

OAKVILLE, ON (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada and RBC today announced that four of the top five finishers from the 118^th playing of the U.S. Open will be facing off in the 2018 RBC Canadian Open.

Two-time U.S. Open champion and world No. 4 golfer Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson (world No. 13), Tommy Fleetwood (world No. 10), Tony Finau (world no. 31) and world No. 28 Ian Poulter will all join Dustin Johnson, the world’s number one ranked golfer and Team RBC member in competing for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open, July 23-29 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

Koepka, who recently defended his U.S. Open title, is only the seventh player in history to win consecutive U.S. Opens. He is a 3-time PGA TOUR winner who sits 13^th on the 2018 FedEx Cup standing.

Fleetwood made a fierce charge at the U.S. Open, firing a final-round 7-under 63 to finish runner-up behind Koepka. With four top-10 finishes in 2018, the 27-year old Englishman is ranked No. 10 in the world and No. 28 on the FedEx Cup standing. The European rising star will be making his debut appearance in Canada’s National Open Championship.

Johnson’s solo-third place finish at the U.S. Open was his eighth top-10 finish in 2018. A member of Team RBC, Johnson is an 18-time PGA TOUR winner, including two 2018 victories—the Sentry Tournament of Champions as well as the recent FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is currently ranked No. 1 in both the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing and will compete in his sixth RBC Canadian Open.

Finau is having a career-best season on the PGA TOUR in 2018—his T5 finish at the U.S. Open was one of six top-10 finishes this season. A graduate of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, Finau has one-career PGA TOUR win and is ranked No. 31 and No. 11 on the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing respectively.

Also confirmed to compete at Glen Abbey is big-hitting lefty Bubba Watson who claimed his 12^th career PGA TOUR win last week at the Travelers Championship. The win was Watson’s third of the season including the World Golf Championship—Dell Technologies Match Play and the Genesis Open.  The win was his fifth top-10 finish in 2018. He is currently ranked No. 13 in the world and is 3^rd on the 2018 FedEx Cup standing in a season which includes five top-10 finishes. Watson, whose wife is Canadian, will again be a fan-favourite making his eighth appearance at the RBC Canadian Open.

Ryder Cup star and fan-favourite Ian Poulter is also committed to compete in the RBC Canadian Open. Poulter has three career PGA TOUR wins including the 2018 Houston Open. He has three top-10 finishes in 2018 and is currently ranked 28^th and 29^th on the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing respectively.

The foursome of Watson (3), Johnson (2), Koepka (1) and Poulter (1) have captured a combined seven PGA TOUR wins during the 2018 season to date.

“A growing list of the hottest players on the planet are coming out for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open,” said Golf Canada Chief Championship Officer and acting Tournament Director Bill Paul. “We are thrilled to welcome two-time U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka along with rising stars Tommy Fleetwood and Tony Finau plus in-year winners Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter to Canada’s National Open Championship.”

Players have until 5 p.m. ET on the Friday of the week preceding the tournament to officially commit to playing. The field is released and published by the PGA TOUR as soon as possible after 5 p.m. ET on that Friday.

More information about the 2018 RBC Canadian Open including tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer information is available at www.rbccanadianopen.ca.

Juniors and students aged 17-and-under get FREE admission to the RBC Canadian Open.

Sixty-nine of the best golf professionals from around the country descends upon the venerable Mississauga, Ont., venue all vying for the association’s most prestigious championship and historic P.D. Ross Trophy

[ACTON, ONT.]—The PGA of Canada’s best players tee it up next week at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club for the 97th playing of the PGA Championship of Canada presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf.

Sixty-nine of the best golf professionals from around the country descends upon the venerable Mississauga, Ont., venue all vying for the association’s most prestigious championship and historic P.D. Ross Trophy.

“The field for this year’s PGA Championship of Canada presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf is arguably the finest since the rebirth of the championship in 2011,” said PGA of Canada president Mark Patterson.

Teeing it up at Credit Valley includes 21 past PGA of Canada national championship winners and 42 total national championship titles.

“With nearly a third of the field having won a PGA of Canada national championship in the past, we’re definitely going to feature a winner at week’s end with a solid pedigree.”

Additionally, 44 of the top 50-ranked players from the RBC PGA of Canada Player Rankings are in the field, which includes all 10 from the top 10.

Past PGA Championship of Canada winners in the field at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club include:

• JP Cornellier, 2017
• Marc-Etienne Bussieres, 2016
• Danny King, 2015
• Dave Levesque, 2014
• Bryn Parry, 2013
• Eric Laporte, 2012
• Jim Rutledge, 1984

For first round tee times, CLICK HERE.

Cornellier looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since George Knudson won in 1976 and 1977.

Ranked No. 80 on SCOREGolf’s Top 100 Courses in Canada for 2016, Credit Valley traces its golfing beginning back to 1930. Ontario’s then Lieutenant Governor, W.D. Ross, commissioned that a nine-hole course be built on the original property which was located where the driving range and parking lot now stand. Since its original design by Stanley Thompson in 1930, the club most recently underwent renovations to the course including changes to the first five holes, the 10th hole and a complete bunker renovation. In addition, in 2016, the Credit Valley redesigned its practice facility, which now includes 65,000 square feet of bent grass tee decks, eight target greens, a target fairway, two practice bunkers, a short game area, three putting greens and a dedicated teaching area, making it among the best practice facilities in Canada.

Credit Valley last hosted the PGA Championship of Canada 25-years ago in 1993, which was won by 12-time PGA TOUR winner Steve Stricker. The club has also recently hosted two PGA Women’s Championships (2010 and 2016) and a PGA Seniors’ Championship in 2015.

“Our members are very excited to host PGA of Canada top players from across the country in this year’s PGA of Canada Championship,” said Credit Valley’s chief operating officer and PGA of Canada executive professional Ian Webb. “Much has changed in the 25 years since Steve Stricker’s win, but with recent course and practice facility renovations, we have no doubt the players are in for a real treat.”

Credit Valley was also home to PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member Al Balding, a four-time winner of the PGA Championship of Canada, as well as recently deceased PGA of Canada member Jerry Anderson, who won the championship in 1987.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event through 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with 69 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match-play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

This year’s championship at Credit Valley follows the same format.

In addition to Cornellier, past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Marc-Etienne Bussieres, Danny King, Dave Levesque, Eric Laporte, Bryn Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Steve Stricker, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

To follow the PGA Championship of Canada presented by Taylormade and adidas Golf online throughout tournament week, visit pgaofcanada.com, twitter.com/pgaofcanada, instagram.com/thepgaofcanada and facebook.com/pgaofcanada

Hailed as a hero to some and as golf royalty to others, Peter Thomson, a five-time winner of the British Open and the only player in the 20th century to win the tournament for three straight years, died Wednesday. He was 88.

Thomson had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for more than four years and died at his Melbourne home surrounded by family members, Golf Australia said.

The first Australian to win the British Open, Thomson went on to secure the title five times between 1954 and 1965, a record equaled only by American Tom Watson.

The Australian’s wins came in 1954, ’55, ’56, again in 1958 and lastly in 1965 against a field that included Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Only Harry Vardon, with six titles between 1896 and 1914, won more.

Thomson also tied for fourth at the 1956 U.S. Open and placed fifth in the 1957 Masters. He never played the PGA Championship.

In 1998, he captained the International side to its only win over the United States at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

Asked by The Associated Press in 2011 how he’d like to be remembered, Thomson replied: “A guy who always said what he thought.”

Veteran Australian golfer Karrie Webb was among the first to tweet her condolences, saying she was “saddened to hear of the passing of our Aussie legend and true gentleman of the game …. so honoured to have been able to call Peter my friend. RIP Peter.”

Former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Thomson was “a champion in every sense of the word, both on the course and in life.”

“Many know him as a five-time champion golfer of the year or as a three-time captain of the Presidents Cup International team.” Finchem added. “But he was also a great friend, father, grandfather and husband. He was golfing royalty, and our sport is a better one because of his presence.”

Former golfer and now broadcaster Ian Baker-Finch, the 1991 British Open champion, called Thomson his “hero” _ “Peter – my friend and mentor R.I.P. Australian golf thanks you for your iconic presence and valuable guidance over the years.”

From Britain, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers praised Thomson’s plans for the game’s future.

“Peter gave me a number of very interesting and valuable thoughts on the game, how it has developed and where it is going, which demonstrated his genuine interest and love of golf,” Slumbers said. “He was one of the most decorated and celebrated champion golfers in the history of The Open.”

Born in the Melbourne inner-city suburb of Brunswick on Aug. 23, 1929, Thomson was a promising cricketer. He scored an unbeaten 150 runs for the Carlton club against a men’s side as a 15-year-old.

But golf became his passion, and he turned professional in 1947.

He won the national championships of 10 countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times and Australian Open three times. He first played on the PGA Tour in the U.S. in 1953 and 1954, finishing 44th and 25th on the money list, respectively. He won the Texas International in 1956.

Thomson won nine times on the Senior PGA tour in the U.S. in 1985, topping the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship, the same year he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Overall, he won 26 European Tour events, 34 times on the Australasian PGA tour and 11 on the seniors tour in the U.S, as well as once in Japan.

In later years, Thomson wrote articles for many publications and daily newspapers, was club professional at Royal Melbourne and designed more than 100 golf courses. In the 2011 Presidents Cup program, Thomson provided an insightful hole-by-hole analysis of the composite course at Royal Melbourne.

Thomson was always reluctant to compare his wins with anyone else’s.

“All records are qualified in that they were made at a certain time in history,” Thomson told golf historian and author Brendan Moloney for a story on his 80th birthday.

“The circumstances change so much, and so do the players’ attitudes. In golf, only in the last 30 years or so has there been a professional attitude to playing for money. The professionals in the USA and Britain and anywhere else all had club jobs as a backstop to their income.

“When they did play and make records, you have to understand that they were taking time off from the pro shop,” he said. “So the records that were set were pretty remarkable.”

Thomson always had stories to tell, and told them well. With a full head of hair and a lineless face that belied his age, the Australian wasn’t afraid to let everyone know his feelings on any subject.

That was true as far back as 1966. As president of the Australian PGA, Thomson was indignant that Arnold Palmer’s prize for winning the Australian Open was only $1,600, out of a total purse of $6,000, one of the smallest in golf.

“Golf Stars Play for Peanuts,” blared the headline of a story he wrote. “Never before has such a field of top golfers played for what $6,000 is worth today. Canada offers 19 times that. I know 19 other countries who give more.”

But he was always happy on the golf course.

“I’ve had a very joyful life, playing a game that I loved to play for the sheer pleasure of it,” Thomson said. “I don’t think I did a real day’s work in the whole of my life.”

Thomson served as president of the Australian PGA for 32 years and worked behind the scenes for the Odyssey House drug rehabilitation organization where he was chairman for five years.

In 1979, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his service to golf, and in 2001 became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his contributions as a player and administrator and for community service.

Thomson is survived by his wife Mary, son Andrew and daughters Deirdre Baker, Pan Prendergast and Fiona Stanway, their spouses, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.