PGA TOUR

Rickie Fowler overcame a bizarre triple bogey on No. 11 with some clutch shots down the stretch to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tournament that had twice eluded him. David Hearn, who made it into the tournament as a Monday qualifier, made his first weekend cut of 2019 and just his second in the last five events….Adam Hadwin picked up world ranking points for the fifth time in the last seven events…Nick Taylor missed the cut for only the third time in nine events…Mackenzie Hughes recorded his fourth missed cut of the season…Blair Hamilton was making just his third career PGA Tour start after claiming one of three spots in the Monday qualifier.

NEXT EVENT: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb. 7)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Mackenzie Hughes, Ben Silverman, Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor

 

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Hearn is gaining momentum on the #PGATOUR ???? – Swipe to see other Canadian results this week ↔️ – – – – #golf #golfcanada #leaderboard #golfswing #golfstagram #golflife #wmpo

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Web.com Tour

Mark Anderson won the rain-delayed Country Club de Bogota Championship for his second Web.com Tour title by four-strokes over Drew Weaver. Ryan Yip picked up his sixth career top 10 result on the Web.com Tour and his best finish of the season…Brad Fritsch made his first weekend cut of 2019 season, posting four rounds under par

NEXT EVENT: Panama Championship (Feb. 7)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Albin Choi, Brad Fritsch, Michael Gligic, Mike Weir, Ryan Yip

EUROPEAN TOUR

Dustin Johnson shot a final-round 67 to win the Saudi International tournament by two strokes over Li Haotong of China, who started the day with a share of the lead after a third round 62 that included four eagles. There were no Canadians entered in the event

NEXT EVENT: ISPS Handa Vic Open (Feb.7)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Both Austin Connelly and Aaron Cockerill are on the entry list but currently outside the number confirmed for the event

LPGA TOUR

NEXT EVENT: ISPS Handa Vic Open (Feb. 7)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Jaclyn Lee, Brittany Marchand, Alena Sharp, Anne-Catherine Tanguay *Brooke Henderson has withdrawn due to illness*

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

NEXT EVENT: Oasis Championship (Feb. 8)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Stephen Ames

TORONTO – Brooke Henderson’s two LPGA Tour victories in 2018, including her historic win on home soil at the CP Women’s Open, earned her two additional honours to add to her rapidly-expanding resumé.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) has announced Henderson, Adam Hadwin, Garrett Rank and Jaclyn Lee as its 2018 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Henderson’s victory at the national open, the first by a Canadian in 45 years, was also voted Canadian Golf Story of the Year by an overwhelming margin.

“GJAC is thrilled to honour these outstanding players and highlight their remarkable accomplishments in the game in 2018,” said David McPherson, GJAC President. “Canadian players continue to produce incredible results at every level of the game and write stories with their achievements that captivate fans from across the country and beyond.”

Henderson’s triumph at Wascana Country Club in Regina, Sask., which was punctuated by a 72^nd hole birdie to give her a four-stroke win over American Angel Yin, was the second win of a two-victory season (her other title came four months earlier at the Lotte Championship) that propelled her to a runner-up finish in the Race to the CME Globe. The 21-year old’s seven LPGA wins put her one title behind Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post for most all-time by a Canadian professional.

Adam Hadwin was named Male Professional of the Year after continuing his ascendancy as one of the world’s premier players, notching 10 top-25 results for the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season and finishing 36^thin the FedExCup Standings. He and fellow Abbotsford, British Columbia product Nick Taylor also lifted Canada to a T4 finish at the World Cup of Golf, the nation’s best finish at the event since 1985.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee earned honours as Female Amateur of the Year after a standout season that culminated with a sixth-place finish at the LPGA’s Q-Series, earning her a tour card for her first professional season in 2019. The former Golf Canada National Amateur Team and Ohio State standout had a strong final season as an amateur, reaching the semifinals of the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Finally, Elmira, Ontario’s Garrett Rank earned Male Amateur of the Year honours after a remarkable run that included qualifying for the U.S. Open – earning the NHL Referee widespread attention and media coverage – and victories at the Ontario Mid-Amateur and Ontario Amateur, along with top-three results at the Canadian Amateur and Canadian Mid-Amateur.

There was a quiet poise to Brooke Henderson on that Sunday morning last summer in Regina ahead of her final round at the CP Women’s Open.

She had experienced big moments before: her first LPGA Tour win as a 17-year-old in 2015, her first major victory a year later, her first appearance at the Olympics.

This tournament was different.

No Canadian had won the national open since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Supporters who crammed the galleries could sense something special was happening.

Henderson would deliver in emphatic fashion, firing a closing-round 65 for a four-shot victory.

“The 18th hole, standing on that green, surrounded by family and friends and hundreds of fans and spectators cheering me on – it was sort of a surreal moment,” Henderson said. “To finally hold that trophy that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl, it gives me chills just thinking back on it.”

It was one of two tournament titles and 11 top-10 finishes for Henderson last season. On Wednesday, she was rewarded for her stellar campaign by being named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year.

Henderson, who has won the award in three of the last four years, picked up 30 of 54 votes (55.6 per cent) in a poll of broadcasters and editors from across the country.

“Especially this year being an Olympic year with all the great athletes that competed in the Winter Olympics, it’s a big honour and I’m just really proud to take home this award again,” said Henderson, who was also named Postmedia’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond and short-track speedskater Kim Boutin tied for second place with 10 votes each (18.5 per cent).

The winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s male athlete of the year will be named Thursday and the team of the year will be named Friday.

With wet weather in the forecast, Henderson had an early start for her final round at the CP Women’s Open. Showing no sign of nerves or timidity, she lashed her opening drive down the fairway and birdied the hole for a two-stroke lead.

Angel Yin, Sung Hyun Park, Su Oh and others tried to make charges that day but Henderson wouldn’t buckle. In fact, the Canadian found another gear.

Henderson pulled away with four straight birdies on the back nine and tapped in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to send the crowd into a tizzy. Her seventh career LPGA Tour victory moved her one behind Sandra Post’s record for all-time wins by a Canadian.

“The blinders were on,” Post said. “She was looking at the finish line and she just looked like it was hers. She wasn’t nervous. It was hers.”

It was an emotional summer for Henderson and her family. Her maternal grandfather died in early June and her paternal grandfather died in early August.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., remained steady and consistent throughout the year. She won the Lotte Championship last April in Hawaii, earned US$1.47 million over the season and finished ninth in the world rankings.

“Big performances on the biggest stage amongst stiff competition in one of the highest-profile sports in the world,” said Edmonton-based Postmedia editor Craig Ellingson.

Henderson was fourth in scoring average (69.99) on the LPGA Tour, eighth in driving distance (268-yard average) and fourth in greens in regulation (74.5 per cent).

Her short game statistics were middle of the pack. Henderson was 72nd in putting average (29.7 putts per round) and 87th in sand saves (43.7 per cent).

“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things aren’t going perfectly,” Henderson said. “I feel like I stayed really patient through the majority of the year. When things were not very good, they always turned around. You just have to wait them out and I did that.

“Even going into the CP Women’s Open, I was in contention a few times and wasn’t able to get the job done. But I feel like I learned from those experiences and then when I put myself in position in Regina, I wasn’t going to let it go that time. I was able to seal the deal.”

Bobbie Rosenfeld, an Olympic medallist in track and field and a multi-sport athlete, was named Canada’s best female athlete of the half-century in 1950.

The first winner of the Rosenfeld award was golfer Ada Mackenzie in 1933. Marlene Stewart Streit leads all golfers by taking the honour on five occasions (1952, ’53, ’56, ’57, ’63).

Golf Canada is proud to announce the 17 athletes who have been chosen to represent Team Canada as part of the 2019 National Amateur and Junior Squads.

In all, seven athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including four players on the men’s team and three on the women’s team. The 10-member Junior Squad will include five women and five men.

“Golf Canada is pleased to select this outstanding group of elite athletes based on their remarkable performances this past season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “These squads are a product of an immersive training environment led by our head coaches alongside sport science staff, parents, the provincial high-performance programs along with member clubs. They will be fantastic representatives of Canada on the global golf stage.”

From February through early June, the 10-member Junior Squad will be based out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria—the second year the program has provided centralized training, accommodation and education for athletes during their high school second semester. Team members will be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2019 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Jaclyn Lee, Calgary, Alta., Glencoe Golf & Country Club (21)
• Naomi Ko, Victoria, B.C., Royal Colwood Golf Club (21)
• Brigitte Thibault, Rosemère, Que., Club Laval-sur-le-Lac (19)

MEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Joey Savoie, La Prairie, Que., Pinegrove Country Club (24)
• Chris Crisologo, Richmond, B.C., Marine Drive Golf Club (22)
• Josh Whalen, Napanee, Ont., Napanee Golf & Country Club (23)
• Brendan MacDougall, Calgary, Alta., Glencoe Golf & Country Club (20)

Complete National Amateur Squad bios can be found here.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2019 Junior Squad:

WOMEN’S JUNIOR SQUAD

• Céleste Dao, Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (17)
• Ellie Szeryk, Allen, Tex., Ontario Public Player (17)
• Emily Zhu, Richmond Hill, Ont., National Pines Golf Club (14)
• Sarah Beqaj, Toronto, Ont., Toronto Golf Club (16)
• Monet Chun, Richmond Hill, Ont., Summit Golf & Country Club (17)

MEN’S JUNIOR SQUAD

• Laurent Desmarchais, Longueuil, Que., Club de golf La Vallée du Richelieu (17)
• Christopher Vandette, Beaconsfield, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (17)
• Jeevan Sihota, Victoria, B.C., Gorge Vale Golf Club (14)
• Olivier Ménard, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., (18)
• Kai Iguchi, Banff, Alta., Banff Springs Golf Club (18)

Complete Junior Squad player bios can be found here.

 Team Canada coaching staff announced

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2019 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.

On the men’s side, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man. returns as Men’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C. will be leading the Men’s Junior Squad.

On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Waterdown, Ont., returns as Women’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Matt Wilson, from Newmarket, Ont., will oversee the Women’s Junior Squad.

Wilson, who also works as Golf Canada’s director of next generation performance, will resume leadership of the Junior Squad centralized program at Bear Mountain alongside Ratcliffe.

“Derek and Tristan have had tremendous success with Team Canada athletes and the evolution of our national team program will see Robert and Matt play a more significant role through the centralized training environment at Bear Mountain,” added Thompson. “We are excited to build on the success of Team Canada’s new centralized program in helping our young stars make the jump to the next level in their careers.”

Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe and Wilson are all Class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.

The 2019 Team Canada Young Pro Squad athlete selection is expected in December.

LONDON, England – A global consensus amongst leaders in public health, public policy and sport backs golf in the race to tackle physical inactivity and the prevention of a range of non-communicable disease (NCD) including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer of the breast and colon.

Evidence linking golf and health, commissioned by the World Golf Foundation and supported by The R&A, was presented this week in London at the 7th Congress of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH). The biennial scientific meeting is widely regarded as the world’s flagship physical activity and public health event attended by more than 1,000 delegates from 60 countries.

Recognition that playing golf has significant physical health and wellness benefits and can provide moderate intensity physical activity to persons of all ages, comes just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) published its Global Action Plan for Physical Activity. The Global Action Plan targets one in four adults, and four out of five adolescents (11-17 years) who are insufficiently active, and charts how countries can reduce physical inactivity in adults and adolescents by 15% by 2030.

The scientific consensus for golf is evidenced in research led by the University of Edinburgh and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Findings reveal that playing golf is associated with a range of physical and mental health benefits, and further collaborative efforts to improve access for the sport are needed.

New studies are underway to discover if playing golf improves strength and balance, contributing to a key public health goal of fall prevention in healthy aging and into conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Marking the close of the ISPAH Congress, public health practitioners, policymakers and golf industry leaders were hosted at a satellite event in the Palace of Westminster by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf.

The @GolfAndHealth Project will study the varied health and well-being benefits of #golf, considering any risks, with results to be published in international peer-reviewed journals.

Details ➡️ https://t.co/rX01kcrNGL pic.twitter.com/JzCvyNVQju

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) October 18, 2018

Steve Brine, Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, said, “Physical activity of any type comes with a range of physical, social and mental benefits. For some, golf can be a great way to stay active and there’s growing evidence about ways the sport can help those living with long term conditions such as Parkinson’s and dementia. And for those who haven’t discovered their favourite sport yet it’s never too late to get inspired, connect with people and improve your wellbeing.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Golf is working hard to encourage more people into the sport, who will realize its many health benefits. With 60 million golfers spanning six continents, golf has found common purpose in working with public health practitioners and policymakers to optimise the health benefits of playing the sport.

“We recognize the importance of the World Health Organization Global Action Plan for Physical Activity and we will work with our affiliates and partners around the world to help improve health and well-being through golf”.

Professor Fiona Bull, WHO Programme Manager, Non-Communicable Disease Prevention, said, “Non-communicable disease is responsible for nearly three quarters of all premature deaths globally, including 15 million deaths per year in people aged 30 to 70 years.

“The new World Health Organization global action plan and the implementation toolkit ‘ACTIVE’ aims to help all countries improve the environments and the opportunities for all people to be more active. Golf is a popular sport for men and women and it is great to see golf’s global leadership recognizing health priorities and identifying ways golf can be more accessible to more people.

“I took up golf in my 30s but thought it was a very technical, expensive and elitist sport. Thankfully a 6 week ‘come and try course’ showed me how easy it was to enjoy golf as a beginner and how active playing 9 holes can be. I am looking forward to seeing how golf can attract many more girls and women to enjoy the sport and be more active and healthy”.

Annika Sorenstam, Major Champion and a global ambassador for golf and health, said, “As the recent international consensus statement highlighted, golf is great for the health of people of all ages – it benefits those playing the sport and even tournament spectators.

“Given the health benefits, we must work together to make golf more accessible if we are to achieve our sport’s full potential.”

The 2018 International Consensus Statement on Golf and Health to guide action by people, policymakers and the golf industry was published last month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

A further Golf and Health Scientific Meeting will be held on Thursday 18 October 2018 at Mytime Active, High Elms Golf Course, Bromley, UK – a club promoting healthy lifestyles. Researchers from Asia, Australia, Europe and the USA will discuss their respective projects and the future direction of research on golf and health.