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Myles Creighton wins the 2017 MCT Men’s Amateur Championship

Only the rain could slow Myles Creighton down during the final round of the NSGA’s MCT Insurance men’s amateur championship at Oakfield Golf and Country Club.
After heavy showers delayed the start of Saturday’s final round by two-and-a-half hours, the Ashburn golfer picked up where he left off. The 54-hole leader fired a 4-under 68 for a 10-stroke victory and his first amateur title.
“Just being from Nova Scotia, this is one championship that means so much,” said the 21-year-old, who at 8 under for the tournament was the lone golfer in red numbers.
“If you grew up in Nova Scotia and you don’t want to win this, that just doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve wanted to win this for a long time and I’m happy to get it done.”
Creighton said the delay didn’t affect his approach to the final round.

“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.

Intermittent showers were still falling when they hit their tee shots and the fairways were soggy underfoot. The lift, clean and place rule was in effect for the entire round.
Creighton said the soft, wet conditions made the course play longer and a tad more difficult.
“I would say it played easier on the first day when there was no wind and the course was firmer,” said Creighton, who finished with six birdies and a pair of bogeys for his round.
“It was like dart golf: you hit it and it would stop. Today with the soft greens, the wedges in would make the ball spin more. It was another thing you had to think about.”
Oakfield’s Greg Black slid in a tricky birdie putt on the difficult par-4 18th for a 1-over 73 to finish alone in second place.
“That was a huge putt,” said the 33-year-old. “I kind of got lucky when it went in but it was nice to see it fall because it was a struggle out there.
“The way Myles was playing it was very obvious after five or six (holes) it was a battle for second place. Thoughts changed drastically from trying to win the tournament to try to get second and make the (provincial) team. It was an adventure and I eventually got there. It was a grind though.”
Chester junior Matthew Chandler, who tied Creighton and Ashburn’s Sean Stuart for low round of the day (68), had five birdies through his first 12 holes to finish in third. His only blemish on the day was a bogey on 18.
Creighton entered the day with a four-stroke lead over Bruce Tomie of Northumberland Links and five up on Black.
The lead was quickly cut to three after Tomie birdied the par-5 first hole and Creighton managed par.
After pars through his first five holes, Creighton, who had his father Grant caddy for him, said it was time “to put the foot on the gas.”
“I wasn’t being very aggressive so I told my Dad after hole four, ‘alright I’m done with this, let’s start playing aggressive again,'” Creighton recalled.
“From there on it was good. I’m terrible at aiming away from pins. I can’t aim to the middle of the green. I hate it. When I’m playing aggressive is when I’m playing my best.”
Creighton will join Black and Ashburn’s David Williamson on the provincial team at the Canadian men’s amateur championship, Aug. 7-10 at the Toronto and Islington golf clubs in Mississauga, Ont. Chandler declined his spot on the team.


Left to right: Dave Williamson, Myles Creighton and Greg Black. 

Williamson defeated Bruce Tomie Northumberland Links in a one-hole playoff for the third spot on the team. Tomie will be the alternate.
Creighton, who returns to Radford University in Virginia in late August for his senior season of college golf, said his status for the Cape Breton Open is up in the air.
“Pro golf is something I have given a thought to in the past year,” he acknowledged. “I’ll look into it because it would be good to match myself up against those guys. We’ll see if it works.”
For complete scoring, click here .

Cristal Romero Fitzpatrick leads the Women’s Am after the first round

Cristal Romero leads after the first round of the 2017 Women’s Amateur Championship
McCarville and Arsenault are tied for the lead in the 2017 Women’s Senior Championship

Cristal Romero teeing off number 9 at River Hills
Grandview’s Cristal Romero fired a six over par 78 during the first round of the 2017 Women’s Amateur Championship. Romero who won the 2014 and 2016 Atlantic Golf Championships carded a 38-40 to finish the first round 4 strokes ahead of the 2015 and 2016 NSGA Junior Champion, Allison Chandler of the Osprey Ridge Golf Club. Chandler finished the first round a with ten over par 82. Sitting in third place is Emily Frail from Ashburn, who record a score of 85 during her first round at the River Hills Golf Club in Shelburne, NS.

Joanie McCarville (Ashburn) and Debbie Arsenault (Grandview) are tied for the lead after the first round of the 2017 NSGA Women’s Senior Championship. McCarville and Arsenault fired a 11 over 83 to finished two strokes ahead of Oakfield’s Susan Tumblin (85).
There is three way tie for fourth place between Connie Reynolds (Oakfield), Paulette Driscoll (Ashburn) and Sandra Mumford (Oakfield) who all recorded 87 during their first rounds.
Play will resume tomorrow at the River Hills Golf Club in Shelburne.
The top three golfers from both the Amateur and Senior will be selected to represent Nova Scotia at their respective National Championships.
The 2017 Canadian Women’s Amateur Nationals will be held at the Cutten Fields Golf Club in Guelph, ON from July 25th-28th.
The Canadian Women’s Mid-Am and Senior Nationals will be hosted at the Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, NL, from August 22nd- 24th.
For a complete list of results from the 2017 Women’s Amateur please CLICK HERE

For a complete list of results from the 2017 Women’s Senior please CLICK HERE 

For more information on the River Hills Golf Club please CLICK HERE
Special thanks to Dr. Ryan Thomas Dentistry for supporting the Women’s Amateur and Senior Championship.

Creighton in control heading into final round of MCT Men’s Am

The NSGA’s MCT Insurance men’s amateur championship is Myles Creighton’s to lose. Seeking his first amateur title, Ashburn’s Creighton will go into Saturday’s final round with a four-stroke lead over Bruce Tomie of Northumberland Links and five up on Oakfield’s Greg Black.
The NSGA’s MCT Insurance men’s amateur championship is Myles Creighton’s to lose.
“Quite honestly if he shoots under par he’s going to win,” said Oakfield’s Greg Black, Creighton’s playing partner in the final group during Friday’s third round at Oakfield Golf and Country Club.
“It’s going to be a really tough chase tomorrow. I’m certainly not going to do anything crazy and try to shoot 65 to catch Myles.”
Seeking his first amateur title, Ashburn’s Creighton will go into Saturday’s final round with a four-stroke lead over Bruce Tomie of Northumberland Links and five up on Black.
Creighton, who entered the day with a one-shot advantage on Black, started his round with an eagle on the par-5 first hole and a birdie on No. 2. Four-under at the turn, Creighton laboured on the back nine as the strong breezes picked up but still finished the day with a 2-under 70.
“I’m very impressed with how solidly he played and quite honestly he didn’t make a single putt and he was still under par,” Black recalled. “That’s scary.”
“All of his mistakes that he made today were straight. Any mistakes off the tee were miss hits down the middle. He basically doesn’t get himself in any trouble and he doesn’t seem to get flustered by anything.”
Creighton and Black will be playing partners again on Saturday along with Tomie, the 2013 NSGA junior boys’ champion.
Tomie collected three birdies, a couple bogeys and eagled the par-5 17th for a 3-under 69 Friday. Only juniors Benjamin Chasse of Oakfield and Ewan Kelly Jr. of Ashburn had better third rounds. Each fired a 68.
Ashburn’s David Williamson and Trevor Chow and Ryan Dixon of River Hills are seven strokes off Creighton’s pace.
Creighton, who at 4-under for the tournament is the lone golfer in red numbers, feels confident heading into the final round.
“It’s under my control,” the 21-year-old said.
“If I go out and shoot under par and someone comes and shoots a low number and beats me, I’ll tip my cap to them. I’ll be aiming to shoot under par tomorrow
and play it like it’s any other day.
“I’ll go in tomorrow open-minded, get off to a good start and then try to finish this off.”
His play seems to be a continuation of a successful junior season at Radford University in Virginia. With the Radford men’s golf team, Creighton finished in the top 10 in every spring tournament he played in – winning two of them – and was named to the Big South all-conference team.
“Not to knock this course but the courses that we play (in college) are a little bit tougher than this,” Creighton said matter-of-factly. “This one is fairly stress free.
“Obviously when the wind kicks up it plays tougher. But I’ve been playing good lately and I’m just trying to roll with that. I’ve been playing a lot of golf so there’s no time to rest and it’s just been rolling for me.”
The afternoon breezes Friday made things precarious for the final group after the turn.
Chow, who started the day two shots back of Creighton, was 1 under after nine holes. But a double bogey on the par-4 10th led to a 40 on the back nine.
Black was also 1 under through the front nine after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. Over his final seven holes, the 33-year-old had three bogeys as the wind strengthened.
“I hit the ball pretty well today but it was hard to get anything close on the back nine,” Black said. “Our whole group struggled on the back as the wind kicked up. It was hard to get it close to the flag.”
Although nowhere near the 40 km/h gusts, which helped level the playing field during Thursday’s second round, Creighton agreed that the wind did play a factor down the stretch on Friday.
“It did get tougher on the back nine as the wind picked up,” the 54-hole leader said. “The front nine at a dead calm was as easy as it can play. But it did toughen later on but it wasn’t anywhere near the levels of what the wind was yesterday.”
For complete scoring, click here .

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

OAKFIELD – The wind blew and the scores soared on Thursday in the second round of the NSGA’s MCT Insurance Men’s Amateur at Oakfield Golf and Country Club.
One day after eight players managed to shoot par or better, including five who got into red numbers, only one managed to shoot par as strong breezes snapped flags and created whitecaps on tiny Fish Lake near the club’s signature par-3 13th hole.
Of the top 25 players on the leaderboard after 36 holes, only three managed to post a lower score in Round 2 than Round 1.
Ashburn’s Myles Creighton followed up a 3-under 69 on Wednesday with a 73 on Thursday to sit alone atop the leaderboard at 2 under for the tournament. Greg Black of the host club has rounds of 70-73 to stand at 1 under midway through the 72-hole provincial championship, while Ashburn’s Trevor Chow turned in the only level par scorecard on the day, a round of 72 that matched his opening round and he’s two off the lead.
“You can’t compare it to yesterday,” said Creighton, who hit an 8-iron from 105 yards on the 12th hole Thursday. He normally hits that club 165 yards.
Other players fell well down the leaderboard, including first-round leader Stuart Lenehan of Grandview, who carded an 81 after opening with a 67.
River Hills clubmates Ryan Dixon and Aaron Nickerson have identical scores of 71-76 after 36 holes.
They’re tied for fourth with Ashburn’s David Williamson (73-74) and Bruce Tomie of Northumberland (72-75) at 3 over.
Brett McKinnon of Lingan (72-76), along with Ashburn’s Jordan Ells (70-78) and Shaun Margeson (71-77) and Lenehan are tied for eighth at plus 4.
Creighton admitted he struggled on the back nine Thursday, mostly because of his putting.
“My putter let me down on the back nine,” he said. “I had four three-putts in five holes. If those are two-putts – they weren’t even hard putts – it’s a 69 in that weather and I’ll take that all day.”
It wasn’t that the 21-year-old was hitting bad putts but he couldn’t seem to get the pace of the greens.
“That’s not a (poor) putting (stroke), that’s just hitting it too hard.”
Black was poised to show off his home course knowledge but the wind helped level the playing field a bit.
“That’s our normal wind direction, but obviously it’s a little more windy than normal but it should have helped me on 12 and 13, especially 13 where it’s hard to gauge the wind coming off the lake,” he said.
Two under when he stepped onto the tee at the par-5 12th, he walked off the par-3 13th with a bogey and a double bogey on his scorecard.
While the others battled the wind or the greens, Chow hit green after green – 15 in all – on his way to a single birdie and one bogey on his round.
“I hit my driver really well today and even though I wasn’t hitting a lot of shots in close to the hole, I was getting within 10 to 30 feet on most holes and two-putting,” Chow said.
He decided the wise play was often to the fat part of the green and that a round of even par on a day like Thursday was going to be a great score.
“I don’t mind the wind,” he said. “I just try to get on the green or near the green and make a lot of pars and maybe the odd bogey and just grind it out.”
The wind was no friend to Lenehan.
“It’s not so much the wind conditions playing tricks on your ball but on your minds sometimes,” he said.
“Sometimes on the back nine — the wind got in my head and made me second-guess a lot of my shots.”
The 27-year-old said after his opening 67 that a low round like that affords a player a bit of a cushion against mistakes as the tournament plays out. He needed all of the cushion and more, but he’s clearly sees his glass as half full.
“Being in this position is great, actually … I shot 5 under yesterday and doesn’t mean I can’t do it tomorrow or the next day,” he said.
“There’s still some golf to be played.
“I definitely didn’t plan on shooting 81 today so I’m 4 over through two days of a tournament and I’m happy with 4 over in this field.”
Creighton, Black and Chow will tee off Friday at 9 a.m. in the last group off the first tee.
Black is looking forward to the round.
“I’ve got some experience in this position but it will be my first time at the Amateur,” he said. “It will be exciting to be in the final group.”
And he’s well aware how important home-course knowledge will be over the last two rounds.
“It’s a huge advantage to be from here. I know all the right spots to miss and where to hit the putts, but hitting them is not that easy.”
NOTES – The cutline of top 60 and ties was 16 over. … NHLer Nathan MacKinnon of Oakfield bounced back from an opening 83 to shoot 79 on Thursday. He missed the cut by two shots. … Play will be off both the first and 10th tees in the third round with play beginning at 7:30 a.m.
For complete scoring, click here .

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.

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

RIVER HILLS GOLF CLUB IS SET TO HOST THE NSGA WOMEN’S AMATEUR & SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Nova Scotia’s top female golfers will converge at River Hills Golf Club for the chance to be crowned Provincial Champion.
River Hills Golf Club is set to host the 2017 NSGA Women’s Amateur & Women’s Senior Provincial Championships on July 7th- 9th. The 54 hole stoke play tournament will crown an Amateur and Senior Provincial Women’s Champion. The top three golfers from both the Amateur and Senior will be selected to represent Nova Scotia at their respective National Championships.

The 2017 Canadian Women’s Amateur Nationals will be held at the Cutten Fields Golf Club in Guelph, ON from July 25th-28th.

The Canadian Women’s Mid-Am and Senior Nationals will be hosted at the Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, NL, from August 22nd- 24th.

For more information on the NSGA Women’s Amateur Championship please: CLICK HERE

For more information on the NSGA Women’s Senior Championship please: CLICK HERE

Stuart Lenehan fires a 67 to take the first round lead at the MCT Men’s Amateur

Stuart Lenehan fires a 67 to take the first round lead at the MCT Men’s Amateur
Stuart Lenehan – Photo credit Christian Laforce – LocalXpress

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.

For complete scoring, click here
For round two pairings, please click here
Published with expressed permission of the Local Xpress.

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.

by: Glenn MacDonald
Published with the express permission of the Localxpress
Golfer Myles Creighton has just completed his junior season at Radford University in Virginia. (RADFORD UNIVERSITY / File)

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).