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)

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 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.

No matter how many times we talk about the benefits and amenities included with a Golf Canada Gold-level membership (most recently, here), it doesn’t strike home until, well, it strikes home.

A little while ago, I saw a tweet from a member at a local golf club.

“Somebody stole my putter out of my bag while I was at the range right before my match. My red TaylorMade Spider…,” he lamented, adding a few expletives directed at the thief.

At last check, that putter retails for close to $400. He thought he was out of pocket for a replacement.

The club responded immediately.

“So sorry this happened,” messaged the director of golf. “But glad you are a member of @golfcanada which includes reimbursement for these situations.”

He was unaware of that. And, most likely, so are you.

Golf Canada’s Incident Protection provides up to $2,500 reimbursement for damaged, lost or stolen equipment, among several other advantages you may not be aware of.

Like the fellow mentioned previously, you may think it will never happen to you. But it can. And will.

Like the guy at my club who placed his clubs and bag behind his car and then backed over them.

And if you’re travelling this winter or any time for that matter, your Golf Canada membership protects you.

For example, airlines may or may not reimburse you for accidental or intentional incidents but that’s small consolation.

Team Canada member Maddie Szeryk was on her way to her first tournament of the year at Texas A&M when her clubs came down the airport carousel. The heads of her driver, 3-wood and 5-wood were snapped off.

Golf and travel writer Ted McIntyre has a similar story. “As a frequent traveler, I am a master club packer but had the head fall off my driver when I opened my travel case. Can’t imagine how far they must have fallen upside down for that to occur.”

There are myriad examples. Prior to the Ryder Cup, Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen lost not one but two sets of clubs in 10 days. This summer, Graeme McDowell’s clubs disappeared during a flight and he was forced to withdraw from final qualifying for the Open Championship. Another PGA TOUR pro’s clubs went missing thanks to the airline and were discovered for sale at a used sporting goods store.

Do you play a course with adjacent homes? Do you occasionally miss a tee shot? (Rhetorical question.) If you break a window, you’re covered up to $1,000 for the damage you caused.

Golf carts are convenient but as motorized vehicles, they come with risks. If you have an incident while driving one, a Gold-level membership covers you for damages up to $2,500.

As a Gold-level member, you also receive a set of identification labels to affix to your clubs in the event that you misplace one.  Anyone finding it can report it through an online notification system. You will receive an email immediately and be reunited with your club.

Along with providing an official Handicap Factor, these are the main benefits of your Golf Canada membership.

To learn more about Golf Canada membership, click here.

Think it can’t happen to you?

Most likely, these folks didn’t either but when it did, they were relieved to find that their Golf Canada Gold-level membership was there to protect them.

So far this year, according to stats provided by Golf Canada, there were 189 claims for which almost $115,000 was paid out in restitution. Of those claims, 119 were for clubs and other equipment, 39 for window damage and the remainder for various other deductible incidents.

Some examples from claimants:

“Driving cart and strap that holds bag onto cart broke and bag fell off. My driver was in two pieces.”

“Cart containing wallet, car keys, cell phone and golf equipment rolled into lake. Range finder and box of balls lost.”

“The remote-control caddie went into a pond. Retrieved right away but has not worked since.”

“Hit a drive and the ball hit a cart path and went through a residential window.”

“Push cart with clubs rolled down a steep slope and ended upside down in a water hazard.”

TORONTO – On Tuesday, the Canadian Olympic Committee launched their new series of Canadian Olympic School Program resources for the 2018-19 school year.

Titled the “Pursue” series, the new resources are a multimedia experience, featuring video interviews from eleven athletes who competed at PyeongChang 2018 in addition to classroom activities focused on reading and writing. The modules, entitled “The Dream”, “The Journey”, “The Performance”, “The Joy”, and “The Passion” use athlete experiences to promote the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect, and Friendship. The five new resources join the over 100 free resources available to educators, athletes, coaches, and community groups at olympic.ca/education.

Founded in 1987, in advance of the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games, the Canadian Olympic School Program is one of the enduring legacies of the Calgary Olympic Games. In over 30 years since its launch, the school program has been used in thousands of classrooms nationwide. With resources developed by teachers, for teachers, the program encourages physical activity and healthy lifestyle, helps to promote safer and more inclusive sport environments, and inspires the application of Olympic values.

“For over thirty years the Canadian Olympic School Program has helped bring lessons from the Olympic Movement into classrooms across our country,” said Tricia Smith, president of COC. “This new selection of pedagogical resources will build on that tradition and help inspire students to learn from and live by the Olympic values demonstrated by our Canadian athletes.”

The golf competitions at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be held at the Kasumigaseki Country Club with the men’s competition beginning on July 30 and the women’s on Aug. 5.

St Andrews, Scotland – The road to Royal Portrush will include a stop in Hamilton, Ont.

The R&A announced today that next years RBC Canadian Open will be one of 16 events in 11 countries that will make up The Open Qualifying Series for 2019.

The Emirates Australian Open, which is being played from 15-18 November at The Lakes in Sydney, will be the first opportunity for players to secure their place at Royal Portrush next year. The leading three players, who finish in the top ten and ties and who are not already exempt, will qualify for The Open.

A total of 46 places in The Open are available through the Series, which provides golfers with opportunities to qualify at events around the world on the PGA TOUR, the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Asian Tour, the Korean Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

“The race to qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush has well and truly begun and we are eagerly anticipating an exciting series of events as golfers around the world aim to book their place at the Championship,” said Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A. “We know that there is real excitement at the prospect of The Open returning to Northern Ireland for the first time in almost 70 years and it will undoubtedly act as an extra incentive for those players who are hopeful of teeing it up at the famous Dunluce links in July.”

The 2019 RBC Canadian Open will take place June 3-9 at Hamilton Golf & Country CLub, offering up three qualifying places into The 148th Open.

Regional Qualifying and Final Qualifying events will take place at venues throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

The Open Qualifying Series (TOQS) will offer the following qualification places in The 148th Open:

NB: Any player who has qualified through The Open Qualifying Series is deemed an exempt player. In the event that that player subsequently fulfils other exemption categories those places in the starting field will be subject to Section F of The Open Entry Form.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Canada’s Jaclyn Lee had two immediate feelings when a 10-foot birdie putt dropped on the 144th and final hole of the Q-Series LPGA qualifying tournament on Saturday.

“I feel great; relieved,” the 21-year-old amateur golfer from Calgary said after locking up her tour card for 2019 with an impressive showing at Pinehurst No. 7. “I’m just happy that this process is all over. It’s been a long three weeks.”

Lee and Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City both earned LPGA Tour status after easily finishing in the top 45 – the cutoff for a tour card – in the third and final stage of the Q-Series, which started way back on Oct. 24 at Pinehurst No. 6.

Lee shot 2-under 70 to finish the eight-round tournament in sixth place at 7 under at Pinehurst Course No. 6. The 27-year-old Tanguay wasn’t far off in a tie for eighth at 4 under.

Tanguay – who was on the LPGA Tour this year had to return to qualifying school after missing 10 of 17 cuts – shot 74 on Saturday.

Korea’s Jeongeun Lee won the event with a score of 18 under, one stroke ahead of American amateur Jennifer Kupcho.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., did not earn status, finishing in a tie for 51st.

Lee opened the qualifying tournament with a 68 on Oct. 24 to sit atop the leaderboard. The Canadian national amateur team member shot back-to-back 70s in the second and third rounds and again in the sixth.

“It’s definitely the longest tournament I’ve ever played in,” Lee said. “It’s just one round at a time. You can’t really get ahead of yourself, but it’s hard because so many people are cheering you on back home and at school (she attends Ohio State University) and wishing you good luck. For me, it’s just try to stay in present and not get too excited about what’s to come.”

Lee now has a decision to make. She can maintain her amateur status and finish off her NCAA career at Ohio State before joining the tour on July 1, or she can turn pro to open the 2019 LPGA campaign in January.

“I’m really torn between the two,” said Lee, who planned to fly back to Columbus, Ohio on Sunday after a celebration with friends and family in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday night. “There’s pros and cons to both. I have to make my list.”

“I’ve been working towards this for a long time now and to know that I’ve got my card for next year, it’s really exciting to be able to live out my dream. With all the hard work and energy I’ve put into this sport, it’s really good to know I have this behind me now.”

Lee has had a strong year, reaching the semifinals of the British Amateur and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. She also made the cut at the Meijer LPGA Championship.

Lee made it through all three stages of the Q-Series, unlike many of her competitors who got to enter at a later stage.

“I’m proud of progress I’ve had in the past summer,” she said. “I definitely think it’s within my capabilities to compete on tour.”

Pictured above – L to R: Kai Iguchi, Annabelle Ackroyd, Patrick Murphy & Jaclyn Lee

Murphy, Lee, Iguchi and Ackroyd named 2018 Alberta Golf Players of the Year

Alberta Golf is pleased to recognize four athletes for their tremendous accomplishments on the golf course this season.

The following four players competed at a consistently high level over the course of the year leading them to finish as the top Albertan on the Golf Canada National Orders of Merit.

The National Orders of Merit are used to identify and give recognition to top-performing male and female amateur and junior golfers across Canada who have achieved success in the golf season.

The rankings are based on those tournaments that represent an extremely high standard of competition. A point system is used based on tournament scores and results of the players in the approved tournaments to objectively rank each individuals performance.

Not only are these four individuals incredible golfers, they are quality individuals. They have managed to be successful at the highest levels in their chosen sport, all while maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle and having success in their academic endeavors. It is our pleasure to provide well deserved recognition to these individuals.

Patrick Murphy, Mens Amateur

A Senior at The University of Los Angeles California (UCLA), Murphy is majoring in political science with an eye on professional golf upon graduation in 2019. The Crossfield, AB native playing out of the Glencoe Golf & Country Club had a remarkable season, ultimately finishing 6^th on the National Order of Merit. He lead a pack of four Albertans inside the top 15. Murphy was a member of the Alberta Willingdon Cup team that finished in second place at the Canadian Amateur. He fired a ten-under par 62 in the opening round of the BC Amateur and tied for 64^th in the stroke play portion of the US Amateur, eventually falling short in a 1-for-24 playoff.

2018 Highlights

California State Fair Amateur – 5th place
NCAA El Macero Classic – Tie for 7th place
USGA US Amateur Qualifier – Medalist
BC Amateur Championship – 6th place
Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship – 3rd place
Canadian Mens Amateur Championship – Tie for 41st place

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlmO7pygBfU/?taken-by=pmurphgolf

Jaclyn Lee, Womens Amateur

A Senior at The Ohio State University, Lee is a finance major and member of Team Canada – Golf Canada’s National Amateur Squad. Lee is from Calgary, AB and plays out of the Glencoe Golf & Country Club. She finished 2^nd on the National Order of Merit with two other Albertans inside the top 20. Lee has had to balance a demanding schedule both on and off the golf course in 2018. She was a quarter-finalist in both the US Amateur and Ladies British Open Amateur, and was honored as an Academic All-Big Ten for the last two years. She is currently the top ranked Canadian Amateur in the world and is seeking her LPGA Tour playing status for 2019 at the final stage of Q-Series this week.

2018 Highlights

NCAA Westbrook Invitational – Champion
NCAA Big Ten Championship – Champion
Ladies British Open Amateur Championship – Quarter Finalist
Canadian Womens Amateur Championship – Tie for 17th place
USGA US Womens Amateur – Quarter Finalist

Kai Iguchi, Junior Boys

Iguchi had a break-out year that included a victory at the Future Links Western Championship on home soil at the Highwood in High River. He has added his name to a growing list of magnificent golfers to come out of the Banff Springs Golf Club. Iguchi eventually finished 8^th on the National Order of Merit leading a group of four Albertans inside the top 20. He had a solid season highlighted by nearly cracking the top 10 at the Canadian Junior.

2018 Highlights

Future Links Pacific Championship – Tie for 8th place
Future Links Western Championship – Champion
Alberta Junior Championship – Tie for 15th place
Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship – Tie for 22nd place
Canadian Junior Boys Championship – Tie for 11th place
Canadian Mens Amateur Championship – Tie for 61st place

Annabelle Ackroyd, Junior Girls

Ackroyd attends high school in Calgary at William Aberhart with plans to enroll at The University of Minnesota on a golf scholarship in the Fall of 2019. The young talent from the Glencoe Golf & Country Club finished 7^th on the National Order of Merit. Her season was highlighted by a win at the Alberta Junior and qualifying for both the US Junior Girls and US Womens Amateur Championships.

2018 Highlights

MJT Alberta Spring Classic – Champion
Future Links Pacific Championship – Tie for 13th place
Future Links Western Championship – Tie for 4th place
USGA US Junior Girls Qualifier – Medalist
USGA US Womens Amateur Qualifier – Tie for 2nd place
Alberta Junior Championship – Champion
Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship – Tie for 6th place

With its long history and vast geography, Canada boasts many strange and spooky tales. There are haunted coal mines in Cape Breton, poltergeists in Calgary and even a pair of haunted boots in St. Vincent’s Newfoundland. It is no wonder, therefore, that golf courses across the country are rumoured to be home to some extraordinary spirits.

Winning the award for the Canadian golf course with the spookiest name is Haunted Lakes Golf Club in Alix, a town east of Red Deer, Alta. It is here an ancient drama plays out every winter along the third fairway, where Haunted Lake hugs the front right of the green.

Before Europeans arrived, native groups camped on the lake’s eastern shore. One winter, seven hunters camped there for the night. In the morning, they looked out across the lake and spied the magnificent head and antlers of a deer caught in the ice.

The seven headed off and upon reaching the creature, they started to chip away at the ice. The mighty animal, which was very much alive, gave a great heave and smashed through the ice. It swam for shore, breaking a path before it. The deer made it to shore and the safety of the woods, but the men were not so lucky. They plunged through the ice and all seven drowned.

It is said the seven hunters have haunted the lake ever since, giving the spot its name. Locals also claim that every winter a mysterious phenomenon can be observed as each year a huge fissure appears in the ice along the path the deer travelled to the shore.

Haunted Lakes Golf Club

Glen Abbey Golf Club

Several provinces east of Alberta you will find Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ont.

The story says there is a house on the property which was built in 1937 by a mining engineer as his weekend retreat. The engineer, Andre Dorfman, was a leading figure in the Canadian mining industry at the time.

In 1953 Dorfman sold the house to the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada as a retreat. The property was sold again in 1963 to businessmen who opened a golf club. In memory of the Jesuits, the course was given the name Glen Abbey. Soon after the club opened, reports of a specter began to surface.

Within 10 years, they started talking about a ghost in the building. The story is that the ghost lives in the old mansion and walks up the back stairs and down the main hallway towards the library.

The mansion is a good example of the stately homes built in Oakville in the early twentieth century. It is constructed of stone with a red clay tile roof and features a wood-lined library on the second floor. Originally known as RayDor Estate House, the building has been designated as a heritage property. Prior to 1975 it served as the golf course’s clubhouse and currently is home to an investment company.

One of the rooms in the basement is actually made to replicate the ship in which the original builder came over from Switzerland.

The ghost in the old mansion is said to be male, and eyewitnesses agree that it resembles a Jesuit father.

Victoria Golf Club

Victoria Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., boasts both an impressive course history and a ghost or two of its own. The club is beautifully situated on a rocky point at the southern end of Vancouver Island.

The club dates back to November 1893 when local golf enthusiasts negotiated for permanent rights to play the rough fields of Pemberton Farm. Originally, golfers were prohibited from using the grounds over the summer, when cattle grazed what would become today’s fairways.

Like Haunted Lakes, the Victoria Golf Club may be haunted by early aboriginal inhabitants. One researcher suggests that some of its phantoms may be the souls of native warriors killed in battle centuries ago. However, these spirits pale beside the club’s other resident, the late Doris Gravlin, possibly Victoria’s most famous ghost.

John Adams is an expert on Doris, as she’s affectionately called by locals. A historian and author, Adams is best known as the proprietor of the “Ghostly Walks” tour, which explores historic courtyards and spooky places where spirits like Doris make their presence known.

“Doris Thomson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1906 and immigrated to Canada with her parents,” recounts Adams. The Thomson family settled in Victoria where Doris’s mother worked at a private hospital. Doris became a nurse as well, until 1930 when she married Victor Gravlin.

Victor was a sports reporter for the Colonist newspaper, spending many happy hours golfing with his brother Walter, head pro at the Uplands Golf Club. The hours Victor spent with Doris would prove to be much less happy.

“When her husband began to drink heavily, Doris left him,” explains Adams, adding that Doris found work as a private live-in nurse.

“In mid-September of 1936 Victor delivered a letter to Doris,” Adams says. “Its contents were unknown, but are believed to have been a request for her to meet him to discuss reconciliation.”

Doris stepped out for a walk at about 7:45 pm on September 22, 1936; Victor left his parents’ house shortly thereafter. One observer saw them together on Runnymede Avenue, but after that, neither was seen alive.

Doris and Victor were reported missing. A search ensued and days later, Doris’s corpse was discovered. Her body was later discovered amid the driftwood on the beach near the 7th green by a caddy looking for lost balls. She had been strangled and her shoes, belt and felt hat were missing.

Gossips maintained that Victor had escaped. But they were wrong.

“One month later a fisherman found Victor’s body floating in the kelp beds off the ninth fairway,” describes Adams. “A length of rope was found in his coat pocket, along with Doris’s missing attire. The police concluded he had murdered his wife then committed suicide by walking into the water.”

The discovery of two bodies on the grounds gave rise to the notion the club was haunted, and many sightings have been reported since.

“Typical manifestations are a fast-moving figure in white, a feeling of doom, a cold wind and a globe of spectral light,” says Adams. “Doris also plays havoc with motorists along Beach Drive, sometimes flying through open windows and even penetrating windshields as a cold mist.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that Aaron Wise has been named the 2018 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, as voted by the TOUR’s membership for the 2017-18 season.

PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 FedExCup events during the 2017-18 season were eligible to vote. The balloting process ended on October 1.

The 22-year-old resident of Las Vegas earned his first PGA TOUR victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson, becoming the second player in history to win on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada (PGA TOUR-era), Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR, joining Mackenzie Hughes. His win also represented the 500th TOUR win by a Web.com Tour graduate.

“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, our congratulations to Aaron Wise on being voted PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “For Aaron to have won on the PGA TOUR, the Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour before the age of 22 is remarkable, and qualifying for the TOUR Championship as a rookie proved there is no stage too big for him.”

One of eight rookies to qualify for the 2018 FedExCup Playoffs, Wise was the only one to advance to the season-ending TOUR Championship, finishing No. 24 in the FedExCup. In the 12 seasons of the FedExCup, 12 rookies have advanced to the TOUR Championship, with 10 subsequently being named Rookie of the Year.

For the season, Wise collected four top-10s in 29 starts, highlighted by his win at the AT&T Byron Nelson and a runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship. In the FedExCup Playoffs, Wise tied for fifth at THE NORTHERN TRUST and earned two additional top-20s.

The University of Oregon product is the first player from a Pac-12 Conference school to win the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year award since Tiger Woods in 1996.

Wise was one of three rookie winners in 2017-18, including Austin Cook and Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira.

He was selected for the honour over Cook and Kodaira, as well as Keith Mitchell and Joaquin Niemann.

This week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas marks the tour debut for the next generation Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, available to players for the first time to play in competition. Over the next three days of practice rounds at TPC Summerlin, members of the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team will be busy testing these final Pro V1 and Pro V1x prototypes with players and fitting them into the model that helps them play their best.

Over the years, Titleist’s tour seeding and validation process for new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls has become a holiday of sorts held biennially at the PGA TOUR’s Las Vegas stop, with players arriving to their lockers to find the prototypes in their signature white boxes and sleeves. It was at TPC Summerlin in 2000 that the original Pro V1 prototype was first introduced with 47 players immediately making the switch, including eventual winner Billy Andrade, a historic shift in equipment usage for a single tour event.

This process, which also signals the near conclusion of Titleist’s rigorous two-year golf ball development cycle, continues to be critical step in providing golfers with the best performing golf balls in the game. Earning final validation from the best players in the world ensures that new products are faithful to the Titleist brand promise of innovation, performance, consistency and quality excellence.

PINEHURST, N.C. – It was the start the Canadian LPGA hopefuls were looking for in the newly revamped LPGA Q-Series segment.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee leads the way with sole possession of second place through the opening four rounds of play at 9 under par (68-70-70-71). The Team Canada National Amateur Squad athlete is one of 11 amateurs in the field—four of which are inside the top 10. Among them is top-ranked female and 2017 Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, Colo.

Fellow Canadian Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City also holds strong positioning at Pinehurst Resort, sitting in solo 10th at 4 under par.

Maude-Aimée LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., is tied for 60th at 9 over.

The 102-player field is in pursuit of the leading Klara Spilkova of Czech Republic. Approximately 45 spots are up for grabs for the 2019 LPGA Tour campaign.

Great first week at #QSeries for @JaclynLee57 and @ACTanguay ! Proud !?? Rest up ????

— Alena Sharp (@AlenaSharp) October 28, 2018

The second week of action will resume from Oct. 31 – Nov. 3 at Pinehurst No. 7.

I haven’t seen No. 7 yet, but I heard that it’s a good course as well. It’s not that we’re starting over next week, but I’m going to kind of view it as starting from day one again,” said Lee, a senior at Ohio State. “I’m excited to go play that course tomorrow and have a good week.”

The field will be 102 players and there will be approximately 45 spots up for grabs for the 2019 season.

Click here for scoring.