Myles Creighton wins the 2017 MCT Men’s Amateur Championship

“I went out there like it was any other day, like I was playing with my buddies,” he said. “You just try to go out and make birdies. The delay didn’t make much difference. Everyone had to deal with it. I had a later tee time so I was just chilling at home. It was pretty laid back.”
The first group of the final round was slated to begin at 7:30 a.m. but didn’t tee off until 10.
Left to right: Dave Williamson, Myles Creighton and Greg Black.
Cristal Romero Fitzpatrick leads the Women’s Am after the first round


Cristal Romero teeing off number 9 at River Hills
For a complete list of results from the 2017 Women’s Senior please CLICK HERE
Creighton in control heading into final round of MCT Men’s Am


and play it like it’s any other day.
Creighton leads the MCT Men’s Amateur heading into the third round.

Wind was the story of the second round of the MCT Insurance Men’s Amateur at Oakfield, where Myles Creighton leads by a single shot after 36 holes.
By: Stephen Forest
Published with the express permission of the LocalXpress
The NSGA Announces 2017 Canada Games Team

After a series of five events over two seasons, the Nova Scotia Golf Association is please to announce the team that will represent Nova Scotia at the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Joining Team NS for the girls are Meghan McLean and Heather McLean of Port Williams and Haley Baker of Halifax. The boy’s team is made up of Shaun Margeson and Benjamin Chassé of Fall River and Matthew Chandler of Chester. All players are members of the NSGA Provincial Junior Team and have been doing technical and mental performance training, and strength and conditioning work since January.
Nova Scotia Golf Association Head Coach and PGA of Canada Professional, Jeff MacDonald will be travelling with the squad as the coach. Anne Balser, a fellow PGA Professional, will serve as the team manager. For both, this will be their first Canada Games.
Jeff MacDonald is excited to see how Nova Scotia juniors stack up. He said, “All the Nova Scotia Juniors who made the team have competed in National Championships. They have great experience and can challenge anyone. They’ve worked hard and will enjoy this rare chance to compete for Nova Scotia.”
Canada Games medals will be awarded to teams and individuals after four rounds of play at Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Competition is scheduled to begin on August 8th.
In the last Canada Summer Games, held in 2013 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, the boys and girls both finished in 5th place in the Team competition. Four years earlier, in the first Canada Games where golf was contested, the girls finished 5th and the boys finished 7th. Competition is open to golfers who have not reached their 19th birthday.
Canada’s Austin Connelly qualifies for British Open

Canadian Austin Connelly won a four-man playoff at the British Open Qualifier at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, England to secure his place at Royal Birkdale from July 20-23.
Connelly carded a 2-over-par 73 in round two of the qualifier to move to 1 under par (68-73) and finish in a tie for third with South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, England’s Guy Woodman, and Welshman David Boote.
“I’m so excited to get to play in The Open. This was only my second time on a links course and I didn’t get to play all the holes in practice,” said Connelly. “It was such a grind but generally I keep it straight and love hitting low, boring draws and love playing in the wind from growing up in Texas,”
The 20-year-old sunk a 15-foot putt on the first playoff hole to secure the third and final spot at the British Open up for grabs at the Royal Cinque Ports Qualifier.
Congratulations to all ?️’s who made it through qualifying.Those we’ve met before and those who’ve made their 1st @RoyalBirkdale_ @TheOpen
— Royal Birkdale Golf (@RoyalBirkdale_) July 4, 2017
A graduate of the Team Canada Amateur Squad, Connelly turned professional at 18. He’s currently playing on the European Tour after earning status at the 2017 European Tour Qualifying School.
“I used to play with Todd Hamilton when I was growing up and I remember him beating Ernie Els in the 2004 Open. I may talk to him about what to expect at Royal Birkdale,” said Connelly. “This year I committed to the European Tour and Challenge Tour and I’m really enjoying it so this means a lot.”
His best result this year was a T8 at the Nordea Masters in June, the second top-10 of his rookie season.
Connelly joins Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) as the second Canadian in the British Open field.
For the full qualifier results click here.
River Hills Golf Club set to host the 2017 Women’s Amateur & Senior


The 2017 Canadian Women’s Amateur Nationals will be held at the Cutten Fields Golf Club in Guelph, ON from July 25th-28th.
For more information on the NSGA Women’s Amateur Championship please: CLICK HERE
Stuart Lenehan fires a 67 to take the first round lead at the MCT Men’s Amateur


OAKFIELD — Stuart Lenehan’s first round of the MCT Insurance Men’s Amateur turned on his first swing of the day.
It was one he hooked badly off the tee on his opening hole at Oakfield Golf and Country Club on Wednesday morning.
“It didn’t start out very well,” he said. “I hooked one in the woods on 10 with a 4-iron about 20 yards in and got lucky that it bounced out and I started out with a par instead of a seven.”
Three holes later the 27-year-old had an eagle and birdie on his scorecard and was on his way to an opening-round 5-under 67 and the first-round lead.
Myles Creighton of Ashburn is two shots back after a 69, while clubmate Jordan Ells and Oakfield’s Greg Black are tied for third at 70.
Tied for fifth with rounds of 71 are Ryan Dixon and Aaron Nickerson of River Hills and Shaun Margeson of Ashburn.
Past champion Brett McKinnon of Lingan shot 72, while 2015 winner David Williamson of Ashburn carded a 73.
Lenehan’s 67 is his career low round in the Amateur.
“That’s my lowest score outside my own golf course in a tournament so that’s kind of nice to do it in a really good field,” he said.
After a practice round on Monday, Lenehan figured he could be around even par even if his game wasn’t sharp. He admitted he would have been happy with a round of 1 or 2 under.
“When I made eagle-birdie on 12 and 13 — my third and fourth hole — I was thinking I could probably finish in the 60s with a good head start of 3 under through four.”
Lenehan wasn’t the only competitor to come out blazing.
Creighton was 5 under through 10 holes after starting on the back nine and making eagle on the par-5 first.
“I hit it really well all day,” said Creighton, who recently won the Rice Planters Amateur in South Carolina. “I putted good on the front nine and had it 5 under though 10. I was just rolling along and hitting it good coming in and had a three-putt and made a dumb bogey on the last hole.”
The 21-year-old from Ashburn hit 17 greens and two of Oakfield’s four par 5s in two strokes.
“When you do that, it’s hard to shoot high,” he said.
Ells, 22, was cruising along at 2 under through 10 until he found a divot on the second hole, his 11th of the day.
It was one of two bogeys on his second nine but they were offset by two birdies.
“I hit 14 greens today so I just need to get a few more putts to fall,” he said.
And Black rebounded from an early bogey on his third hole with four birdies before a bogey on his final hole in his round of 70.
While Creighton and Ells represent the youth movement in Nova Scotia golf, Nickerson is proudly carrying the flag for the older competitors.
At 47, he was six years older than the combined age of his playing partners on Wednesday and was better than both of them.
“I’m noticing a younger wave of better players and the older fellas like me, Glenn Robinson, Stevie Ward, we’re starting to feel like Ducky Webber and Gerry MacMillan used to feel,” he joked, referring to the two Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame members and past Amateur champs.
Nickerson is a two-time Mid-Amateur champion looking to add an Amateur crown. He’s got the game to do it and it’s rounding into form at the right time.
“I left a few out there today,” he said.
After an uphill three-putt on the 17th hole, he battled home.
“I just got more determined from then on and just grinding and focusing more and got her in with a 71.”
After playing in the morning draw on Day 1, Lenehan will play in the afternoon draw on Thursday. Don’t expect a change in strategy now that he’s posted a low score.
“I play this course crazy aggressive,” he said. “I hit driver almost everywhere. I’m normally pretty accurate with it and I hit it a decent way. When I start to lay off, that’s when I start to hit bad shots.
“I’ve got to stay aggressive. I think most people would stay the same.”
The field will be cut to the top 60 and ties after Thursday’s second round.
NOTES — NHL all-star Nathan MacKinnon of Oakfield teed off in the afternoon flight and drew a nice gallery around the 10th hole for his opening tee ball. He shot 83 in his Amateur debut. “I started a couple of years ago and I’ve practised a lot and love playing in the summer after I work out or skate,” he said after his round.
Support Ally Tidcombe on his journey to the PGA Tour
Help support Ally Tidcombe as continues his journey to the PGA Tour. Saturday, July 22 at the Ken-Wo Golf Club.

Digby’s Creighton captures Rice Planters Amateur golf championship in S.C.

Myles Creighton, a member of Ashburn Golf Club who just completed his junior season at Radford University in Virginia, was victorious in a one-hole playoff Saturday at the rain-shortened Rice Planters Amateur championship at the Snee Farm Country Club in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Before he heads home to Nova Scotia, Digby’s Myles Creighton added another amateur golf victory in the United States.
Creighton, a member of Ashburn Golf Club who just completed his junior season at Radford University in Virginia, was victorious in a one-hole playoff Saturday at the rain-shortened Rice Planters Amateur championship at the Snee Farm Country Club in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Creighton used a final-round 2-under-par 70 to tie College of Charleston’s Michael Sass of Louisville, Ky., at 213, and then won the playoff with a two-putt par.
“I didn’t think what I shot (Saturday) was going to be good enough,” Creighton said in a news release. “This is awesome. I don’t know what to say.”
“I had a terrible practice round. Wednesday (the scheduled opening round that was delayed by heavy rains) I was 2-over after three holes. But then they stopped play and when I came back Thursday to complete the round, I scored well.”
Creighton started the final round three shots off the lead. He made the turn at 2-under 34 and played the back nine even-par with a birdie on the par-5 13th and an eagle-3 on 16.
The Rice Planters Amateur is considered as one of the top amateur events in the U.S.
On Friday, Creighton was named to the VaSID (Virginia Sports Information Directors) all-state university second team.
Creighton capped off his season in the Big South championship tied for fourth individually with a six-under 210 last month. The fourth place finish earned him a spot on the Big South all-championship team. He was the only Radford player named to the Big South all-conference team for his play all season.
He finished in the top 10 in every spring tournament he played in this season, including two victories.
Creighton was also a member of the Big South all-academic team and was the first Highlander named Big South scholar athlete of the year.
The 2014 Nova Scotia junior boys’ champion, Creighton has entered into next week’s Nova Scotia amateur championship at Oakfield Golf & Country Club.
Notable past champions of the Rice Planters Invitational include: Brooks Koepka (2009), Stewart Cink (1993), Tom Lehman (1982), Hal Sutton (1979).