RBC Canadian Open announces multi-year youth initiative
Hamilton – A generation of Hamilton youth will soon experience the lasting impact of the RBC Canadian Open’s proud return to the Hamilton Golf Country Club.
Golf Canada, in partnership with RBC, the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Golf and Country Club Foundation, along with the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton Catholic District School Board, announced today a number of youth initiatives that will make the 2019 RBC Canadian Open more junior-accessible than ever before, while creating a meaningful golf legacy in the Hamilton Wentworth region.
Beginning with the 2019 event, which runs from June 3-9, the RBC Canadian Open Youth Initiative will span a five-year period through to the Open’s return to Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2023.
One element of the new Youth Initiative will see golf programming introduced into schools across the Hamilton Wentworth region, with a goal to deliver programming to nearly 100 schools over the next five years. The Hamilton Golf and Country Club Foundation will lead the school fundraising efforts in 2019, working closely with Golf Canada Foundation, the official charity of the RBC Canadian Open.
For the first time ever, RBC Canadian Open School Days will take place during early week practice rounds on Monday and Wednesday of tournament week. Participating schools from the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board will visit on Monday, June 3 while Hamilton Catholic District School Board schools will visit on Wednesday, June 5.
With free admission for participating students and teachers, the School Days experience is credited to the RBC Canadian Open’s new June date on the PGA TOUR schedule. In addition to watching world-class golf, students will get a behind the scenes tour of Canada’s National Open Championship, including visits to The Rink, a tour of the CBS TV broadcast operation, pictures with the iconic RBC Canadian Open trophy, autograph sessions and a variety of junior golf activities.
Golf Canada will also work collaboratively with the City of Hamilton’s three 18-hole municipal golf courses (King’s Forest Golf Course along with the 36-hole Chedoke Golf Club – Beddoe Course and Martin Course) as well as the Hamilton Fore Golf program to engage youth golfers at the RBC Canadian Open. Each of the three courses will have juniors participate in Golf Canada’s Walk with a Pro event during the Wednesday Pro-Am.
“When we announced that Hamilton Golf and Country Club would host a pair of RBC Canadian Opens, we worked with officials from the City of Hamilton and the Club to develop a robust youth initiative that could have a lasting impact in the community,” said RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bryan Crawford. “Introducing more youth to the game through the school system, connecting with the city’s municipal courses and bringing juniors out to the golf course to watch the world’s best players compete will be really special for kids across the region.”
Golf Canada will work with various stakeholders to secure funding for the RBC Canadian Open Youth Initiative. The Hamilton Golf and Country Club Foundation will be the main source of funding in year one with other community partnerships to be explored in the years when the tournament is not hosted in the Hamilton area.
“Creating a community legacy was an important element to our Foundation getting behind the RBC Canadian Open Youth Initiative in 2019 and 2023,” said Al Scott, Vice President of the Hamilton Golf and Country Club Foundation. “Our goal with Golf Canada was to create a junior golf legacy around the RBC Canadian Open’s return to the Hamilton Wentworth region and give back to the community where we live, work and play.”
Golf Canada also offers a Student Volunteer Program to encourage juniors to earn their community volunteer hours as part of the RBC Canadian Open (or CP Women’s Open). Juniors looking to participate will pay a reduced fee of $40 which includes a uniform and weeklong volunteer badge.
The RBC Canadian Open is also pleased to offer FREE admission to children aged 12-and-under. Juniors aged 13 to 17 can also take advantage of a reduced priced Youth Ticket.
More information about the 2019 RBC Canadian Open including tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer information is available at www.rbccanadianopen.com.
Golfers live longer
Whose turn is it this week to treat golf as their whipping boy?
Mainstream media feed on the sport as a source of unsubstantiated headlines, many based on the fallacious stereotype of golfers as overweight entitled middle-aged men riding in golf carts while smoking a cigar and chugging a beer. (I do wish they would stop using my foursome as an example.)
For their edification, and yours, here are some verifiable facts about just one positive aspect of golf.
Last fall, Dr. Andrew Murray and his colleagues at Edinburgh University’s Physical Activity for Health Research Centre reported on the results of a review conducted by researchers into 5,000 existing studies about golf.
5,000 studies!
What they found was stunning.
Golf not only has physical and mental health benefits for everyone who plays, but those benefits increase with age. Older folks improve their balance and endurance as well as respiratory and cardiac health.
“We know that the moderate physical activity that golf provides increased life expectancy, has mental health benefits and can help prevent and treat more than 40 major chronic diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer,” Murray told the BBC.
“Evidence suggests golfers live longer than non-golfers, enjoying improvements in cholesterol levels, body composition, wellness, self-esteem and self-worth.”
The Edinburgh University study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and is part of the Golf and Health Project, which is led by the World Golf Foundation.
A visit to the Golf and Health web site www.golfandhealth.org is a revelation. (Highly recommended for those mainstream media types mentioned above.)
Other studies show that walking 18 holes is equivalent to an eight-kilometre hike. That hike can drop blood glucose levels by up to 30 per cent in older golfers and helps everyone with weight maintenance and physical fitness. Walking and carrying your clubs can burn up to 2,000 calories per round. Even if you can’t carry, get off the power cart and use a manual or electric push cart (what the Brits call “trolleys”).
Heck, even being a spectator at a golf tournament is good for you.
“Spectators at golf events have been reported to walk significantly further than the 7,500 to 10,000 steps recommended daily for health,” according to Golf and Health. So you don’t have to actually play the game to reap the health benefits associated with it.
Even if the preceding hasn’t persuaded you to get out and golf, how about this for a kicker?
The death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for non-golfers of the same age, sex and socio-economic status, according to a study of 300,000 golfers by Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. That equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy for regular golfers.
When the Edinburgh University study was released, the London Daily Mail ran this above the story:
“Play golf and you’ll live longer.”
Now, that’s a headline you can believe.
CP renews Brooke Henderson for five-years as golf ambassador
Canada’s top-ranked golfer and Canada’s iconic railway are partnering for five more years, both on and off the course. Canadian Pacific (CP) has renewed seven-time LPGA tour-winner and the No. 12 ranked female golfer in the world, Brooke Henderson to serve as its golf ambassador.
Since signing on with CP in 2017 as a golf ambassador, Henderson has won four more LPGA Tour titles, including her historic win on home soil at the 2018 CP Women’s Open where she became the first Canadian to win the National Open Championship in 45 years.
Joining the CP family is sister and caddy Brittany Henderson, who will also wear the CP logo as she supports Brooke as a team and family member.
“It is an honor to extend Brooke’s sponsorship until Dec. 31, 2023, and welcome Brittany to the CP family,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “Brooke remains the perfect ambassador for CP as we continue to grow the game of golf, advocate for healthy living through CP Has Heart, and build on the iconic Canadian brand that is CP. Adding Brittany to the CP family was a natural decision, as railroaders know that precision and excellence requires a strong team.”
CP continues to sponsor Team Canada, a relationship that marked the beginning of Brooke’s relationship with the railway. Both the Hendersons are graduates of the amateur program that supports young golfers as they pursue their professional dreams.
Brooke has also been named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, PostMedia recognized her as their 2018 Summer Female Athlete of the Year and Canadian Sport Awards named her their 2018 Athlete of the Year.
“I am so proud to continue my relationship as an ambassador for CP. As many of my own family members have worked for CP in my hometown of Smiths Falls, it is truly special for me to wear the logo and continue that long history as a member of the CP family. Furthermore, the sincere gesture to add my sister Brittany to the CP family is incredible, as she’s been with me every step of my career. We both look forward to celebrating many more victories with the CP family.”
Already in the CP family is four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane, who signed on as an ambassador in 2014 when CP took over title sponsorship of the National Open. Kane, who was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2017 and named a recipient of the Order of Canada in 2006, has an established reputation as one of the most personable and consistent players in the game, and has dedicated many efforts off the course to champion support for CP Has Heart.
CP recently named SickKids Foundation as its official charity beneficiary of the 2019 CP Women’s Open that will be hosted at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario. Through its CP Has Heart program, CP will once again make a substantial donation to support local paediatric care. Follow along this season as golf ambassadors Brooke and Lorie encourage fundraising efforts to help reach this year’s $1.75M donation target.
In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $8.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada. This will mark the third time in six years southern Ontario has hosted the CP Women’s Open resulting in more than $3.3 million dollars invested in London (2014 – $1.3 million) and Ottawa (2016 – $2 million).
Golf NB’s 2019 Event Registration Now Open!
Golf NB is pleased to announce its 2019 championship schedule which for the first time will be presented by Argus Audiology. The 2019 schedule includes a balance of both individual stroke play events and team events to be hosted at some of New Brunswick’s top championship golf courses.
The 2019 schedule is headlined by Golf NB’s premier amateur championships — the NB Pee Wee (July 2nd & 3rd only) & NB Junior Championships from July 2nd to 4th, both at the Hampton Golf Club, the Argus Audiology NB Ladies Provincial Championships from July 7th to 9th at Golf Pokemouche, the RBC Dominion Securities NB Men’s Amateur Championship will help the Westfield Golf & Country Club celebrate its 100th anniversary from July 11th to 14th and the Argus Audiology NB Senior & Mid-Master Championships which will be held in Four Falls, NB at the Aroostook Valley Country Club from July 22nd to 24th.
The 2019 competition calendar also includes a selection of team events for all ages and skill levels. The 2019 NB Men’s Four Ball, presented by TaylorMade (with both Amateur & Senior Divisions) will again be held during the final weekend in May, May 25th & 26th, at the Sussex Golf & Curling Club. The Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club will once again be hosting the NB Ladies Four Ball on Sunday June 9th in conjunction with their Ladies Scramble that will take place on Saturday the 8th, while The Riverside Country Club will again play host to the NB Family Classic & Adult/Junior, and “Jim Connolly” Little Swingers (for children 10 years of age and under and an adult partner), both presented by TaylorMade on Monday August 19th.
The tradition of giving back will continue in 2019 as the Ladies of the Petitcodiac Valley Golf & Country Club will host the 2019 ServiceMaster NB Golf Fore The Cure event on Wednesday August 21st. Entering its 16th year, the ServiceMaster NB Golf Fore the Cure has raised over $600,000 for Breast Cancer research in the province of New Brunswick. With a committed group of volunteers at the helm, the 2019 ServiceMaster NB Golf Fore The Cure is bound to be the biggest and best event yet.
Rounding out the 2019 event schedule are Golf NB’s two year-end match play events. The final matches for the year-long play downs in the Past Presidents’ Cup Inter-Club Challenge will be held on September 14th & 15th at the Memramcook Golf Club while playing captains Kathy Grebenc & Sonny Phillips from the North will look to regain the Estabrooks Cup from Marc Armstrong & Sandy Comeau’s Southern team at the Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club, on September 28th & 29th, in Golf NB’s year end Ryder Cup style wrap up to the various season long Player of the Year Challenges.
As the Provincial Sport Organization for golf in New Brunswick, Golf NB conducts the country’s provinces amateur golf championships as part of its mandate to promote the sport of golf in the province and to provide deserving participants with the opportunity to represent themselves, their families, their clubs and their province at one of Golf Canada’s many National Championships.
In addition, the variety of Provincial Championships up for grabs, the 2019 Golf NB Provincial Championships will offer the opportunity for up to 52 of New Brunswick’s top amateur golfers to earn their way into one of Golf Canada’s many regional or National Championships. With 21 positions on one of Golf NB’s seven provincial teams and 31 additional individual exemptions the potential for New Brunswick content at the National level is abundant.
Golf NB’s 2019 Championship Season, presented by Argus Audiology, kicks off on May 25th & 26th with the NB Men’s Four Ball and concludes the weekend of September 28th & 29th with the 22nd playing of the Estabrooks Cup.
“We are once again very proud to be working with many of New Brunswick’s top golf courses,” said Tyson Flinn, Executive Director of Golf NB. “Our 2019 venues are set to showcase the very best that amateur golf in New Brunswick has to offer and we couldn’t be more appreciative to our host clubs for their support.”
TO VIEW GOLF NB’s 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE INCLUDING ALL HOST VENUES and REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS PLEASE CLICK HERE
Tiger Woods makes Masters 15th and most improbable major win
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fallen hero, crippled star, and now a Masters champion again.
Tiger Woods rallied to win the Masters for the fifth time Sunday, a comeback that goes well beyond the two-shot deficit he erased before a delirious audience that watched memories turn into reality at Augusta National.
Woods had gone nearly 11 years since he won his last major, 14 years since that green jacket was slipped over his Sunday red shirt. He made it worth the wait, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory and setting off a scene of raw emotion.
He scooped up 10-year-old Charlie, born a year after Woods won his 14th major at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S Open. He hugged his mother and then his 11-year-old daughter Sam, and everyone else in his camp that stood by him through a public divorce, an embarrassing DUI arrest from a concoction of painkillers and four back surgeries, the most recent one just two years ago to fuse his lower spine.
“WOOOOOOO!!!” Woods screamed as he headed for the scoring room with chants of “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger” echoing as loud as any of the roars on the back nine at Augusta National.
“It’s overwhelming, just because of what has transpired,” Woods said in Butler Cabin. “Last year I was lucky to be playing again. At the previous year’s dinner, I was really struggling. I missed a couple of years not playing this great tournament. To now be the champion … 22 years between wins is a long time. It’s unreal to experience this.”
Woods lost his impeccable image to a sex scandal, one of the swiftest and most shocking downfalls in sport.
He lost his health to four back surgeries that left him unable to get out of bed, much less swing a club, and he went two years without even playing a major. It was two years ago at the Masters when Woods said he needed a nerve block just to walk to the Champions Dinner. At that time, he thought his career is over.
Now the comeback is truly complete.
He wrapped his arms around his father when he won his first green jacket in 1997, changing the world of golf.
“Now I’m the dad with two kids there,” he said.
He wanted his children to see him win, once saying they saw him only as a YouTube legend. They were at the British Open when he had the lead briefly. They couldn’t make it to East Lake last September, when he won the Tour Championship for his first victory in five years.
“I wasn’t going to let that happen to them twice,” he said. “To let them see what it’s like to have their dad win a major championship, I hope it’s something they’ll never forget.”
Woods won his 15th major, three short of the standard set by Jack Nicklaus. It was his 81st victory on the PGA Tour, one title away from the career record held by Sam Snead.
“A big ‘well done’ from me to Tiger,” Nicklaus tweeted. “I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic!!!”
It was the first time Woods won a major when trailing going into the final round, and he needed some help from Francesco Molinari, the 54-hole leader who still was up two shots heading into the heart of Amen Corner.
And that’s when all hell broke loose at Augusta.
Molinari’s tee shot on the par-3 12th never had a chance, hitting the bank and tumbling into Rae’s Creek for double bogey. Until then, Molinari had never trailed in a round that began early in threesomes to finish ahead of storms.
And then it seemed as though practically everyone had a chance.
Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the back. With the final group still in the 15th fairway, there was a five-way tie for the lead. And that’s when Woods seized control, again with plenty of help.
Molinari’s third shot clipped a tree and plopped straight down in the water for another double bogey. Woods hit onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie for his first lead of the final round.
The knockout punch was a tee shot into the 16th that rode the slope just by the cup and settled 2 feet away for birdie and a two-shot lead with two holes to play.
Xander Schauffele failed to birdie the par-5 15th and scrambled for pars the rest of the way for a 68. Dustin Johnson made three straight birdies late in the round, but he got going too late and had to settle for a 68 and a return to No. 1 in the world.
Brooks Koepka, one of four players from the final two groups who hit into the water on No. 12, rallied with an eagle on the 13th, narrowly missed another eagle on the 15th and was the last player with a chance. His birdie putt on the 18th from just outside 10 feet never had a chance, and he had to settle for a 70.
“You want to play against the best to ever play,” Koepka said. “You want to go toe-to-toe with them. I can leave saying I gave it my all. He’s just good, man.”
Wood finished at 13-under 275 and became, at 43, the oldest Masters champion since Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket at 46 in 1986. That for years has stood as Augusta’s defining moment.
This was one is sure to at least rival it.
“This is definitely, probably one of the greatest comebacks I think anybody’s ever seen,” Koepka said, before rattling off Woods’ total PGA Tour victories and 15 majors.
Is the Nicklaus record back in play?
“I think 18 is a whole lot closer than people think,” Koepka said.
Koepka and Molinari both faced Tigermania in the majors and held their own, Molinari at Carnoustie to win the British Open, Koepka last summer at Bellerive to win the PGA Championship.
Molinari went 49 straight holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on the seventh hole. It was the double bogeys that cost him, and the Italian was gracious as ever in defeat.
“I think I made a few new fans today with those double bogeys,” he said.
Conners rides whirlwind week all the way back to the Masters
As the man in the green jacket recounted the incredulous events of the past week, Corey Conners cocked his head to one side and smiled ever so slightly.
Almost as if he couldn’t believe it, either.
A little over a week ago, Conners snatched the last spot in the Valero Texas Open by the skin of his teeth. Then he won the tournament with 10 birdies in the final round, claiming the last opening at the Masters.
So here he is at Augusta National.
Ready to compete for a green jacket.
“A special week, a crazy week,” Conners said. “Things are good.”
Certainly, the 27-year-old Canadian wasn’t thinking about the Masters on his way to San Antonio, where his first – and, really, only priority – was the chance to earn a much-needed paycheque. Because he was outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings, he had to earn his way into the Texas Open during Monday qualifying.
Up to 100 players go at it for 18 holes during Monday qualifying, with the top four finishers getting into the actual tournament. Conners went to the final hole needing a 20-foot birdie putt just to get into a six-man playoff for the last of those spots. He made the putt, and then poured in another birdie on the first of the extra holes to vanquish the other five contenders.
Dramatic stuff indeed.
Though, in all honesty, no one was paying much attention. Since 1980, only four Monday qualifiers on the PGA Tour had gone on to win the tournament.
Make it five.
Conners’ performance was impressive. His wife, Malory, even became a bit of a celebrity for her reactions while lugging a cup of white wine.
“She’s been my biggest fan for years and my biggest supporter,” Conners said. “I’m really lucky to have her by my side. It’s pretty cool to see her in the spotlight a little bit. Her reactions were awesome. You can see how much she cares about what I’m doing, and it means a lot to me. It was pretty cool. She got a lot of messages and gained a lot of followers on social media, so she was pretty pumped about that.”
It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Conners crew ? pic.twitter.com/WHuazSadD7
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 8, 2019
Count Justin Rose among those new-found fans.
“I loved the cameras being on her and you could tell what a big moment it was for the two of them,” the world’s top-ranked player said. “It was very special to see those stories out there because winning is difficult and it’s nice to see it when it does change someone’s life.”
But Conners takes issue with those who make him out to be some sort of Rocky, the hopeless underdog who makes for a good story early in the week but is quickly shoved aside as soon as the Rory McIlroys and the Tiger Woodses take to the course.
He tied for third at the Sony Open in Honolulu, shooting back-to-back 64s on the weekend, and finished second last fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship, four strokes behind winner Cameron Champ.
Conners is not even a Masters rookie. He qualified for the event as an amateur in 2015, though he was not ready for such a stiff test. He opened with an 80 and missed the cut.
Conners feels much better equipped this time around.
“Everyone was calling me the Monday qualifier, but I don’t feel like a Monday qualifier,” he said. “I’ve played well in a bunch of tour events this year.”
A little more time to prepare would’ve been nice, but that’s a minor complaint. Valero flew him to Augusta on a corporate jet, his clothing supplier sent along some new duds and his manager took care of housing and other arrangements that had to be made on short notice. Conners did have to do a bit of shopping after arriving in Augusta, “so I could get a couple T-shirts and a pair of pants to go to dinner in.”
He has got good memories from his last Masters appearance.
After that rough start, he bounced back to shoot a 3-under 69 in the second round.
“I’ve been playing rounds over in my head,” Conners said. “Although the course has changed slightly, a lot of the shots are going to be pretty similar to what I faced in 2015. … I think the course suits my game really well, so I’m really, really excited to get going.”
He already is playing with house money.
Might as well let it ride.
“I was excited to watch the coverage on TV back at home for an off week,” Conners said. “But, you know, I’m even more excited to be here playing.”
McIlroy juggling mind and game in Masters quest
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rory McIlroy feels as prepared as ever for the Masters.
He is spending more time with his nose in a book than with his hands on a putter. “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino is among the best books he has read in the last year. He has been working with Brad Faxon on his putting, but their best sessions take place over a cup of coffee.
His morning routine goes beyond stretching. There is juggling – yes, juggling – meditation and mind training.
“I was watching the Women’s Amateur over the weekend and I saw a few women on the range juggling, so it’s catching on,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “How many balls can I juggle? Just three. I’m a rookie.”
It’s all geared toward becoming a complete person.
And whether it makes him a complete player by capturing the only major he has yet to win, well, that would be a bonus.
McIlroy is in the early stages of this process, and it’s hard to argue with the results, even if results don’t drive him like they once did. He has yet to finish out of the top 10 in his seven tournaments this year, which includes a victory at The Players Championship.
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Welcome to the RBC Canadian Open, @rorymcilroy – see you in JUNE! ?? #SummersOpen #RBCCO
But that green jacket is a powerful pull on the mind, and McIlroy has reason to believe he can fit comfortably into one.
He famously lost a four-shot lead with an 80 in the final round in 2011 but, even at age 21, showed enough resolve and enormous talent to win the U.S. Open in the very next major. He played in the final group on Saturday in 2016 with Jordan Spieth until falling back with a 77. He played in the final group Sunday last year with Patrick Reed, three shots behind, and fell out of the mix before reaching the back nine.
“I know I’ve played well enough and I’ve shot enough good scores around here over the years that if I can put my best effort forward, I’m going to have a good chance to do well here,” McIlroy said. “But it’s definitely different. My mind set is a little different in terms of … I’m still practicing. I’m still getting better. I’m not getting ahead of myself, not thinking about the tee shot on Thursday or thinking about what is to come this week.
“I would dearly love to win this tournament one day,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen this week, that’s totally fine, I’ll come back next year and have another crack at it. But I’m happy with where everything is – body, mind, game.”
No one was particularly happy with Mother Nature on Tuesday, as more storms arrived that shut the course down for about three hours in the morning and pounded an already soft Augusta National with rain before giving way to patches of sunshine in the afternoon.
Wednesday is a short day of practice because of the Par 3 Tournament.
The curtain raises Thursday with a host of players capable of getting in McIlroy’s way of joining golf’s most elite club. Only five other players have captured the career Grand Slam – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
This is McIlroy’s fifth crack at the Masters with a Grand Slam at stake. In the modern era of the Grand Slam that dates to 1960, no one went more than three years between the third and final leg.
Phil Mickelson is in a similar situation, if not worse. He lacks only the U.S. Open – he has a record six silver medals – and is 0 for 4 since the Grand Slam has come into view. He also believes McIlroy’s game is at a high level.
“That’s always a challenge when you put so much emphasis on playing a particular event, but it’s also the chance to bring out your best,” Mickelson said. “And he’s had such a phenomenal start to the year, he’s been playing such great golf consistently week in and week out, I think contending will be a given. He’ll be in contention. You just need those little breaks … that push you over the winner’s circle and that’s probably all that he’s waiting for this week.
“You can’t force it. It just has to happen.”
The books McIlroy has been reading are recommendations from successful businesspeople. Along with Mandino’s book, he liked Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way” and “Ego is the Enemy,” and he’s just now starting on the biography of Steve Jobs.
In an interview at the Match Play, he was asked if he was spending more time on his golf or on his attitude.
“Life,” he said. “I hit balls once last week. That was it. So much of this game is mental. It’s taken me a while to get to this point, but the proof is there of what I’ve been doing, the way I’ve been playing, how I’ve been approaching the game.”
So what happens if he’s right in the mix Sunday afternoon, facing the most dynamic back nine in golf, the coveted green jacket there for the taking? What if that Sunday afternoon includes Woods, who eliminated McIlroy at the Match Play in a finish so irritating that McIlroy left without speaking to the media?
“I haven’t thought about it,’ McIlroy said. ”I guess there’s a lot of bridges to cross until we get to that point.“
Golf NB Proud to Announce Five-Year Partnership with Argus Audiology
Morgan Matchett Miramichi Golf & CC 2018 NB Ladies Amateur Champion
Bill Eaton sees it as the perfect partnership.
Argus Audiology and Golf New Brunswick have agreed to a five-year partnership that will see the company serve as the title sponsor for the New Brunswick Men’s Senior and Mid-Master Championships. The partnership also encompasses the New Brunswick Ladies Provincials, Annual Awards Banquet & Silent Auction as well as presenting sponsor of the 2019-2023 competitive seasons.
“Being hard of hearing would not matter if there was nothing to hear”, says Eaton. “Golf truly is a sensory experience and New Brunswick is at the heart of everything we do.” “Is there a better way to enjoy the beauty of New Brunswick than spending a day on one of our great golf courses?” he added. “The sights and sounds of New Brunswick can be appreciated on a golf course. What a perfect fit for our company.”
Eaton, along with business partner and wife Norma and sister Dr Heidi Eaton, purchased the company from his parents in 2013. Argus Audiology has been proudly serving New Brunswick for over 40 years. Argus Audiology currently owns 4 clinics in the province, with its newest location set to open in Riverview this spring.
Though he admits he’s not a great golfer, Eaton can’t hide his enthusiasm for the partnership.
“There are thousands of golfers in the province who enjoy all the sights and sounds of New Brunswick. We want to be part of the experience.”
“Golf can be frustrating to me as a player, but I enjoy the game and I appreciate the talent displayed by all players,” Eaton said. “In New Brunswick, I hope we can raise the profile of the game and we can develop more elite players.”
Golf New Brunswick Executive Director Tyson Flinn said the association is grateful for the support shown by Argus Audiology.
Mike Breen – Hampton Golf Club Competing at the 2018 NB Senior Men’s Championship
“It is thanks to partners like Argus Audiology that Golf NB is able to provide great experiences and we are so excited to be able to work with the Argus Audiology team to improve our players’ experience at Golf NB events and championships for the next five years,” Flinn said.
This year’s New Brunswick Men’s Senior and Mid-Master Championships will be played July 22-24 at the Aroostook Valley Country Club in Four Falls. The NB Ladies Provincials are scheduled for July 7-9 at Golf Pokemouche in Landry Office with the season being capped off at the Annual Awards Banquet & Silent Auction in Fredericton on Saturday October 19.
Lavigne Has “Unforgettable Day” at Augusta National
by Dwayne Tingley
Carter Lavigne may never face this kind of pressure again and he handled it with grace beyond his years.
The nine-year-old from Moncton competed at the national Drive, Chip and Putt finals on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club – meaning he played the same 18th green and share a clubhouse with the best players in the world.
“It was all kind of surreal,” said Carter’s father, Darsey. “He was in the same practice area as guys like Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples and Vijay Singh. The whole thing was amazing and so well organized, down the finest details. Just incredible.”
Carter admits the experience was unforgettable, but he was never overwhelmed.
“I had a lot of fun,” the Grade 4 student said. “I got to see a lot of very good players and I got to play at an amazing place. I was happy with the way everything went, but I could have played better.”
Carter, who plays out of the Moncton Golf and Country Club, qualified for the national event by winning or placing second at events last year in Maine, Massachusetts and New York.
More than 17,000 youngsters attempted to qualify and only the top 80 advanced to compete at Augusta. Carter qualified in the 7 to 9 year-old category, which featured nine other players.
Carter and Darsey arrived in Georgia four days before the competition to play some practice rounds.
On Sunday, Carter, his dad, his mother Melissa, two-year-old sister Lainey and five-month-old sister Everly were ceremoniously driven down fabled Magnolia Lane to the practice range, where the young New Brunswicker was working on his swing beside several pros.
Fifteen minutes later, the competition was on and it was being shown on the Golf Channel.
Carter topped his first drive before connecting for a solid 140-yard effort on his second and final rip.
Later, his chipping and putting worked out the same way. His first attempts were not up to his usual level, but he rebounded with a better showing in his second attempts.
“There was a lot pressure, with a lot of attention and big crowds everywhere,” Darsey said. “I don’t think he’ll every face that kind of situation again, no matter what he does in golf in the future.
“I know he realizes he could have done better, but I was proud of the way he handled it. He congratulated the other players and he was happy when they did well. It wasn’t his best day, but I was very proud of what he accomplished.”
Carter called it a learning experience, noting he never thought he could play in such a stressful situation, but he was pleased to find out differently.
“I’d like to try it again,” he said. “I’m going to try and qualify again so I can come back next year.”
Carter wound up finishing 10th, but Darsey reminded him of the difficult road he followed just to qualify.
Carter said he received lots of calls and messages of encouragement from golfers back home.
“We will never forget how much support we had in Moncton and all-over New Brunswick,” Darsey said. “We just want to tell everyone how much we appreciate their support. It made the whole experience even more special.”
Kupcho wins at Augusta National with charge on back 9
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The charge on the back nine at Augusta National was among the best, this one by a woman.
NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho, trailing by two shots and coping with remnants of a migraine Saturday, hit hybrid to 6 feet on the par-5 13th for an eagle and finished with three birdies on the last four holes to become the first woman to win at the home of the Masters.
The 2017 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion closed with a 5-under 67 for a four-shot victory over Maria Fassi in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“You’re now part of the history at Augusta National,” club chairman Fred Ridley told her in Butler Cabin, where Masters champions receive their green jacket.
Kupcho hit the opening tee shot on Wednesday at Champions Retreat, where the opening two rounds were played. More importantly, she hit the final shot with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Augusta National to cap off a big week for her and for women’s golf.
The club didn’t have a female member until 2012, and now there are six. Ridley announced last year the creation of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur to provide a spark for women’s golf.
“I think we’re going to really start something great in women’s golf,” Kupcho said at the trophy presentation.
It featured all the heritage of Augusta National, including honorary tee shots by Nancy Lopez, Lorena Ochoa, Se Ri Pak and Annika Sorenstam. The crowd was larger than any of the 30 players who made the cut had ever experienced.
Kupcho did her part with a bold finish at perhaps the most iconic venue in golf.
“Just to play here at Augusta and have that kind of treatment, I think the woman’s game is really going to come out stronger,” she said, adding later that “there’s no bigger stage than this for amateur golf.”
Kupcho, the No. 1 player in the women’s amateur ranking, finished at 10-under 206 and won a silver bowl as the trophy, along with a piece of crystal – another Masters tradition – for making the only eagle of the tournament.
Sorenstam and Lopez say they had to fight tears when they walked to the first tee and soaked up the reality of a tournament for women at Augusta National. The crowd featured more women than typically seen during the Masters, especially young girls with their parents. Sorenstam and her daughter walked with the final group.
The golf was superb, at least at the top of the leaderboard.
Only six women finished under par, and no one challenged Kupcho or Fassi, a senior at Arkansas from Mexico. Both sent a message of their own long before the tournament by earning LPGA Tour cards last year and deferring until after they finished college.
Fassi, who started one shot behind, took her first lead with a pitch over the mounds to 2 feet for birdie on the par-5 eighth. Kupcho had reason to believe she was in trouble when a migraine surfaced, causing vision so blurry she couldn’t see the line she marks on her ball while putting. She three-putted the 10th to fall two behind, and sat on a bench at the 11th tee to gather herself.
“It started to go away, and I was able to see,” she said. “I knew I was going to be able to do it.”
She learned in the practice round on the 13th fairway that even with the ball above her feet on the severely sloped fairway, the shot tends to go straight. From 211 yards with a 3-hybrid, she took dead aim and the shot settled 6 feet above the hole for eagle.
“Probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit,” she said.
Fassi answered with a 10-foot birdie putt to regain the lead, and Kupcho decided to aim her 3-hybrid to the bunker right of the green on the par-5 15th. Instead, it came out with a sharp draw, with enough distance to roll by the pin just over the back, setting up a birdie.
“She’s not afraid to be great, and that’s what makes her great,” Fassi said.
Tied again, she delivered the winner with a 7-iron on the par-3 16th that caught the ridge and fed down to the hole. Fassi’s tee shot stayed on the top shelf, leading to a three-putt that put the tournament in Kupcho’s hands.
“It’s amazing what we were able to have out here today,” Fassi said. “The ending wasn’t what I would have liked. She was hitting great shots. I did all I could. She played a great game and I’m really proud of her.”
Along the way, their friendship and sportsmanship was on full display. Fassi hugged her when Kupcho hit 6-iron to 2 feet on No. 6 for birdie. Kupcho patted her friend’s shoulder when Fassi answered with a shot that rolled back to a foot for birdie on the next hole.
That’s what Kupcho hopes young people took out of the moment, as much as women playing at Augusta.
“I think both of us just wanted to send the message that golf is about having friends, and to be out there with her, we were cheering each other on, and that’s kind of how golf is supposed to be,” Kupcho said. “And to make it look fun. It is fun. So to make it look that way for everyone watching, I hope it encourages people to pick up a club and go play.”