Amherst N.S. – Stuart Lenehan of Grandview Golf & Country Club has captured his third MCT MID-Amateur Championship title today at Amherst Golf Club.

Lenehan managed to make almost every score possible, carding two eagles, one birdie, one par, five bogeys, and one double…and that was only on the front nine. On the back, Stuart was able to steady the pace, and card only one bogey and a birdie on No. 18, to finish the round 1-over-par (72).

Lenehan finished the tournament at 1-under-par 70-70-72 (212).

Only one shot behind, and finishing in second place, was David Williamson of Ashburn Golf Club. Williamson had a solid tournament, finishing even-par, with a three-day total of 74-68-71 (213).

Two shots back of Lenehan, and rounding out the top three was 2019 Champion Sean Stuart of Ashburn Club Club. A few unlucky breaks for Sean resulted in a 3-over-par 74 today. Giving him a tournament total of 69-71-74 (214).

Trevor Chow of Ashburn Golf Club, a three time MID-Amateur Champion, took home the MID-Master Championship today, after carding a one-under-par (70). Chow finished T4th overall, and had a tournament total of 72-73-70 (215).

 

Public Player, Chad Anderson took home the top spot for Division 2, after three consistent rounds of 74-73-73 (220). Amherst Golf Club member, Cliff Lowrey Jr., went wire to wire to win the Division 3 title. Lowery had a tournament total of 78-76-77 (231).

For complete results of the 2020 MCT Men’s MID-Amateur Championship, please CLICK HERE.

The NSGA would like to thank our title sponsor MCT Insurance. MCT offers preferred rates on home and auto insurance to all NSGA members. For more information on MCT, please CLICK HERE.

Amherst N.S. – It was a perfect day for golf at Amherst Golf Club, as today marked the first round of the 2020 MCT Men’s MID-Amateur Championship.

Leading the field is Sean Stuart of Ashburn Golf Club. The 30-year-old, and two time MID Amateur Champion (2016 & 2019), carded one eagle and three birdies to finish the day 2-under-par (69).

If it seems like it’s been harder to get a tee time this summer, it’s not just your imagination.

Golf Canada reports that there were 17 per cent more scores registered with the national sport body this June compared to the same month last year. A total of 1,483,506 rounds were submitted to Golf Canada’s handicap calculator last month compared to 1,271,782 in June 2019.

“It was a pretty big jump from last year, comparing 2019 numbers to this year,” said Adam Helmer, senior director of golf services for Golf Canada, on Wednesday. “We were expecting that as golf has emerged as one of the safest activities, where people can be physically distant and we’ve reduced touchpoints.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

What a month CANADA! June 2020 was the greatest month of scores posted to the Golf Canada Score Centre in recorded history ? Special thanks to all golfers, member clubs and operators for accomplishing this while keeping everybody safe. Here’s to beating this number in July – go low Canada! ??

A post shared by Laurence Applebaum (@laurence.applebaum) on Jul 14, 2020 at 7:44pm PDT

The surge in June ended a streak of three months when recreational rounds played in Canada dropped precipitously due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As restrictions were lifted across the country in May, the number of scores registered increased.

In May, 165,026 rounds were registered between the 1st and the 15th but 265,480 scores were submitted in the final two weeks of that month. The May 1-15 numbers are a nearly 40 per cent drop from the same period in 2019 (211,809) but the May 16-30 numbers are just five per cent lower than last year (269,266).

Helmer said he expects the number of rounds submitted to Golf Canada to continue to climb through July and into August.

“We’ve heard anecdotally that a lot of newcomers have joined the sport, especially now that school is done we’re going to see an increase in juniors too. We think the trend is going to continue,” said Helmer. “Golf has seen a pretty big lift and it’s emerged as the sport of the summer.”

The upward trend comes even as Golf Canada had to cancel all of its amateur and professional championships due to travel restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A shift in how scores are registered has also been seen, with most recreational players entering their scores online instead of in the course’s clubhouse or pro shop, which have largely been closed this summer because of physical distancing protocols.

Golf Canada plans to launch an updated version of its scoring app later this month, helping to keep players physically distant and improve their game.

Ben Eoin, Cape Breton – Extremely difficult course conditions and heavy rain tested the junior golfers during the second round of the 2020 Jaguar Land Rover Boys & Girls Championship at the Lake Golf Club & Resort.

Today’s round marked the end of the Pee-Wee & Bantam Championships.

On the boys side, Blake Wilson of Oakfield Golf & Country Club claimed top spot for the Pee-Wee Division. The 12-year-old fired an 81-84 (165) for the tournament. Only 4 shots back, and in second place was Kooper MacKay of Ken-Wo Golf Club. Rounding out the top three was Rylan Sutherland of Brookfield Golf & Country Club.

Avery Cohen of Abercrombie Country Club claimed the title for the Pee-Wee Girls. Cohen fired 98-109 (207) for the tournament. Clara Frizzel of Hartlen Point Forces Golf Club took second place, while Tatum Lohnes of Bluenose G & CC finished in third.

In the Bantam boys Championship, Simon Mullen of Truro Golf Club took the title, after scoring 82-88 (170) during the two rounds. Placing second, and only four shots back, was Matt Brooks of Oakfield Golf & Country Club. Zach Gaudet, also of Truro Golf Club, finished in third.

The Bantam Girls division was won by Olivia Seaman, who scored 89-101 (190) over the two days. Ashbrun’s Annika Parkash finished in second place.

The Bantam girls, and top 12 Bantam boys have been invited to compete in round 3 and try for the overall title along with the Juvenile and Junior golfers.

.

Pee-Wee Champions: R. Avery Cohen (Abercrombie CC), L. Blake Wilson (Oakfield G & CC)

Bantam Championships: R. Olivia Seaman (Ken-Wo GC), L. Owen Mullen (Truro GC).

Mullen fired an impressive 1-over-par (73), in very some tough conditions, giving him a tournament total of 145. Ashburn member Jake Smith has made his way into second place, after shooting the low round of the day 1-under (71). Smith is only 3 shots off the lead, with a two day total of 148.

Rory White of Ashburn, who also fired a 71 today, and Mark Chandler of Chester sit tied for third with a two day total of 149.

Mullen also leads his age division, Junior (U19), three shots up on Smith. Benjamin Childs of Ashburn GC continues to lead the Juvenile (U17) division, with a two day total of 152. One shot back, and in second place is Dimitri Mihelakos with a tournament total of 153. Mihelakos is also a member of Ashburn.

For the complete Jaguar Land Rover Halifax Boys Championship leaderboard, place CLICK HERE

For round 3 draw of the Boys Championship, please CLICK HERE.

On the girls side, Abbey Baker of Ashburn Golf Club has increased her lead by one after carding an 84 for today, giving her a two day total of 159.

Tied in second place is older sister Haley Baker, and Northumberland Link’s Abby Womboldt. Haley carded an 85 today, while Abby shot the low round for the girls, 81. The pair have a two day total of 164.

.      

On the Junior girls side, Abbey Baker of Ashburn finds herself atop the leaderboard, after firing an impressive 3-over-par (75). The younger Baker sister currently holds a four shot lead over her older sister, Haley Baker. Haley finished with a 7-over (79) for the day.