CHURCH POINT, N.S. – Meghan McLean extended her lead in the girls division while Aubrey Farrell caught up to Calvin Ross as the pair sit at the top of the boys division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship on Wednesday.

Farrell shot an even-par 71 to close the round-one gap between him and Ross. Things didn’t look too great for the 18-year-old from Sydney Forks, N.S., as he carded three bogeys in his first six holes.

After calming his game down and making par on the next eight holes, Farrell knocked down three straight birdies on holes 15-17 to launch him to the top of the leaderboard with Ross at 2 under for the tournament.

“I got off to a bad start, I was three over after six,” he said, after his round. “After that I hit every green. I just had a lot of good looks and finally hit it to within a couple of inches on hole 15 and got going from there.”

Ross, the defending champion and round one leader, shot a 1-over-par 72. The 18-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., looked like he was going to extend his lead after carding a birdie on the par-5 16th hole, but he made bogey on the following par-3 hole.

“I missed a good opportunity on the third hole and I gave a few back where I didn’t need to,” said Ross. “I got off to a bad start on the back nine and couldn’t get anything rolling.”

Andrew Bruce, an 18-year-old from Corner Brook, N.L., shot his second consecutive even-par 71 to secure himself into third place, two strokes behind the co-leaders.

Bryson McCulloch, from Kingston, Ont., shot the low round of the day with a 1-under-par 70. He sits T12 at 8 over par for the competition.

In the girls division, McLean held on to her lead after posting a 6-over-par 77. The 18-year-old from Port Williams, N.S., was the only girl in the top five to fail to register a single birdie, but her 6 over par was still tied with the lowest score of the day.

“I didn’t hit as many greens as I was hoping to today,” she said. “My chipping really saved me. I could really visualize my shots and these greens work really well for the bump-and-run that I typically hit so feeling confident with the chipping definitely helped.”

Laura Jones, from Moncton, N.B., also carded a 6-over-par 77 to remain three strokes back of McLean in second place. The 18-year-old started her round off with a birdie – her only one of the day – but also added five bogeys and a double bogey to her scorecard by the end of the round.

Kiley Rodrigues from Kingston, Ont., dropped into solo-third after she shot a 79. The 17-year-old was 5 over par after the first six holes and turned things around with two birdies and four pars over the next six holes, but finished her round with three more bogeys and a double bogey to move her to 13 over for the tournament.

The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six including ties in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.

Full results can be found here.

CHURCH POINT, N.S. – Defending champion Calvin Ross shot a 3-under-par 68 and Meghan McLean carded a 3-over-par 74 to lead their respective divisions at the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship at Clare Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.

Ross registered four birdies and a single bogey during his opening round. The 18-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., made his first birdie just before he made the turn and started to find his game down the stretch.

“I started getting it going on number nine,” he said, after his opening round. “I took a bogey on 12 but after that my putter was red hot and rolled in a few good putts. It saved me more than a few times and really helped me out near the end.”

Sitting one stroke behind Ross is Sydney Forks, Nova Scotia’s Aubrey Farrell who registered the only other round under par. The 18-year-old attacked the course right off the bat with back-to-back birdies to start the tournament. After a pair of bogeys left him at even par before heading to the back nine, he tightened up his game and made birdies on holes 14 and 16 to hold his spot in second.

Back in third place locked up in a three-way tie are: Jordan Guenette (Minesing, Ont.), Andrew Bruce (Corner Brooke, N.L.) and Jack Anderson (Hallifax, N.S.) who all shot even-par 71’s.

In the girls division, McLean carved herself out a two-shot lead after carding six bogeys and three birdies. The Port Williams, N.S., native was the only player to record more than one birdie in the girls division.

“The course was in really good shape so it definitely made it a lot of fun to play,” she said. “When you were on the fairway you knew you were going to have a good lie, but when you were in the rough anything could have happened. I was having trouble putting at first, it took my awhile to get used to the greens, but I settled down on the back nine and was happy with all the birdie putts I made.”

In second place, two strokes behind McLean, is Kiley Rodrigues from Kingston, Ont.. The 17-year-old got off to a solid start with six straight pars, but stumbled with three consecutive bogeys after that. She later added two more bogeys on the back nine and sits at 5 over for the tournament.

Raesa Sheikh, from Port Williams, N.S., and Laura Jones from Moncton, N.B., are both tied in third at 6 over par after they each shot a 77 for their opening round.

The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.

Full results can be found here.

Golf Canada concludes its 2017 Future Links championship season as the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is ready to take place at Clare Golf and Country Club from July 17-20.

With support from the Nova Scotia Golf Association, the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is the final regional junior championship presented in partnership with Acura this season. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on July 17 before the tournament gets underway with round one on July 18.

Founded in 1967, Clare Golf and Country Club will be hosting its first ever Future Links Championship. Overlooking St. Mary’s Bay, the course offers a challenging layout for golfers of all abilities and possesses a full variety of holes with distinctive character and beauty.

“Golf Canada and the Nova Scotia Golf Association are excited to present the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship in Church Point,” said David Campbell, Tournament Director. “The beautiful setting here at Clare Golf and Country Club will pose a tough test for Canada’s premier junior golfers and give them an opportunity to showcase their skills against the strongest junior golfers in Atlantic Canada.”

The field will consist of 76 junior golfers in the Junior Boys Division with the top six earning exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston, Ont. A tie for the sixth position will be decided by a playoff following the conclusion of play.

The Junior Girls Division will consist of 22 golfers with the top six (including ties) earning an exemption into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.

2017 MCT Men’s Nova Scotia Amateur Champion is currently leading the 61st Annual Eastern Amateur Championship at the Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club in Portsmouth, VA. Fresh off his victory last week at the Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur Championship and an earlier win this season at the 45th Rice Planters Invitational, Creighton is having an historical season. Myles is a member of the Radford University golf team which is a D1 school in the NCAA. He has also moved into 20th place on the Canadian Order of Merit.

Myles has a three stroke leading heading into todays final round with a -13 par 54 hole total of 197.

The final round of the Eastern Amateur will take place today, Sunday, July 16. For results please  CLICK HERE

Notable past champions of the Eastern Amateur include: Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw and Curtis Strange.

Aubrey Farrell

 

Jakob Wamboldt

Heather McLean – photo credit Stephen Forest -Localxpress

Junior Boys