WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Lexi Thompson set the tone by rallying from four holes down. The rest of the Americans took it from there and restored their dominance in the Solheim Cup

“I was just, like, ‘I just have to go all in and go for it all,”’ Thompson said.

Her U.S. teammates followed her lead and the Americans finished off their most-decisive Solheim Cup victory in over 20 years, beating Europe 16 1/2-11 1/2 on Sunday at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer won key matches, and Gerina Piller sealed it with a birdie putt that put her 3 up over Florentyna Parker with three to play in a 4-and-2 victory.

“They just bonded. They believed in each other. They played for the person behind them and in front of them. And they played some amazing golf,” said Juli Inkster, who joined Judy Rankin as the only U.S. captains to win the Solheim Cup twice.

The Americans are 10-5 in the biennial tournament after their biggest win since a 17-11 triumph in 1996 in Wales. They rallied to win in Germany in 2015, and have taken five of the last seven matches.

Kerr beat Mel Reid 2 and 1 for her record-extending 21st point in the competition, and Creamer edged Georgia Hall 1 up to raise her total to 19 1/2 – second on the U.S. career list.

Thompson ended up halving with Anna Nordqvist, and Angel Yin halved with Karine Icher as the teams split the 12 singles matches. Lizette Salas and Danielle Kang also won for the U.S. Salas edged Jodi Ewart Shadoff 1 up, and Kang beat Emily Pedersen 3 and 1.

For Europe, Catriona Matthew beat Stacy Lewis 1 up, Caroline Masson topped Michelle Wie 4 and 2, Charley Hull edged Brittany Lang 1 up, Carlota Ciganda beat Brittany Lincicome 4 and 3, and Madelene Sagstrom defeated Austin Ernst 3 and 2.

“We just got outplayed, no doubt about it,” European captain Annika Sorenstam said. “I’m just so proud of how hard they fought. What can I say? Just congratulate the USA because they played some awesome golf.”

Her team five points down entering the day, Sorenstam tried to keep the mood light by dressing up in a blue and yellow Viking hat and wig and dancing for the cameras before play began.

Nordqvist did her best to set the tone for the Europeans in the opening match, winning the first four holes.

But after a birdie on No. 10, Thompson holed out from 112 yards for eagle on the 11th hole – a shot so impressive that even Nordqvist was compelled to high-five her.

The 22-year-old Thompson followed with an eagle putt on the 15th hole, and a birdie on 16 put her ahead for the first time. Though Nordqvist rallied, earning the half-point by sticking her 154-yard approach on No. 18 within a foot, an American win was inevitable after Thompson’s run.

“To me, that was like six points,” Inkster said. “It’s probably fitting they both got half a point. Both played amazingly. It just shows the heart of her and her determination. You think she’s out of it and then the switch goes off.”

Nordqvist went 3-0-1 during the week to lead the Europeans.

Creamer was 3-1 filling in for the injured Jessica Korda, matching Kang and Salas for the top U.S. records. Creamer kept her celebration muted following Hall’s missed 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole. But this was a huge bounce back event for Creamer after her recent struggles kept her off the U.S. roster until Korda got hurt.

“For Juli to play me four matches, you know – I knew my game was there, but obviously it didn’t look like it was,” Creamer said.

The 47-year-old Matthew was 3-1 after replacing the injured Suzann Pettersen.

Henrik Stenson kept making birdies on the back nine Sunday at the Wyndham Championship. They added up to a tournament record – and his first victory of the year.

Stenson closed with a 6-under 64 for a one-stroke victory in the final event of the PGA Tour regular season.

The 2013 FedEx Cup champion finished at 22-under 258 at Sedgefield Country Club, breaking the course’s 72-hole record set by Carl Pettersson in 2008 and matched last year by Si Woo Kim.

The Swede earned $1,044,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points for his sixth win on tour and his first since the 2016 British Open.

“It’s certainly a good time to start firing,” Stenson said. “We know the kind of damage you can do in the playoffs. … If you get hot and keep on playing well, you have a chance to challenge.”

.@HenrikStenson meets with the media after winning @WyndhamChamp! https://t.co/WntSozh2Mj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2017

Stenson said he left his driver in his locker all week – “he’s a little anxious to get out there and start getting some air time next week,” he quipped of the club – and certainly didn’t need it on the par-70 Sedgefield course.

For the second straight day, he had four birdies in a five-hole stretch of the back nine.

Ollie Schniederjans shot a 64 to finish second. Webb Simpson was 18 under after a 67.

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. were the low Canadians at 6 under. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 3 under.

“I had to keep on making birdies,” Stenson said, “because Ollie was surely not backing down.

Stenson had three consecutive birdies on Nos. 15-17 – leaving a 20-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole about a foot short – after he and Schniederjans were both at 19 under.

Stenson’s 30-foot birdie putt on No. 17 moved him to 22 under.

He needed it, because Schniederjans kept the pressure on him. The 24-year-old former Georgia Tech player made a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and added another birdie on the par-4 18th hole after placing his second shot 2 feet from the pin.

Apex? 39 feet.
Distance? 341 yards.

(He hit iron.) pic.twitter.com/6ZFad5uUsd

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2017

“I thought I had a two-shot cushion … and as I walked over (to the 18th hole and) looked around, ‘Oh, OK, (Schniederjans) birdied it as well,” Stenson said. “So I better scramble a par here to get the win.”

With Schniederjans watching the television broadcast and hoping for a tie, Stenson rolled a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 18 off the right edge of the cup, then made a 3-footer to end it.

“When I stuffed it (on No. 18), I thought that’s probably going to be a playoff,” Schniederjans said. “And he birdied 17 and got par on 18. Hat’s off to him – he had a great finish, too. Just one short.”

Low scores and tight leaderboards once again were the norm at Sedgefield. With seven holes left for the final pairing, four players – Stenson, Schniederjans, Ryan Armour and Kevin Na – shared the lead at 18 under.

“It was anyone’s tournament on the back nine,” Stenson said.

Stenson moved to 19 under with a birdie on the 13th and Schniederjans joined him with a remarkable recovery for birdie on the 15th. His second shot careened off a canopy covering the gallery and landed in a greenside bunker, but he chipped to 2 feet of the flagstick and converted the putt.

The other subplot at Sedgefield was the push by the bubble players to qualify for the playoffs that start next week at The Northern Trust for the top 125 on the points list.

Geoff Ogilvy, who was at No. 125, finished at 11 under and earned enough points to move to No. 116.

And Martin Flores, who started at No. 139, jumped to No. 118 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2014 after a 63 highlighted by a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th. J.J. Henry, Harold Varner III and Rory Sabbatini also played their way into the top 125.

“I was very aware of where I was all day but I knew that I needed to be somewhere inside the top 10, have to,” Flores said. “So I was able to get off to a great start and I was able to just keep it going all day.”

Click here to view the full leaderboard.

Hosting the Canadian Women’s Open is a big deal for golf clubs.  Not everyone can do it.  Course layout, club support, clubhouse amenities and volunteer commitment all play a vital role in deciding who can play host.

Priddis Greens met all the necessary requirements and more, when it hosted the 2016 CP Women’s Open. The 36 hole facility is located just outside of Calgary.  The course is always in excellent shape and the scenery is spectacular.

The Canadian Open attracts the top female golfers from all over the world.  According to tournament director Brent McLaughlin, Priddis Greens was an easy choice.  He says they knocked it out of the park.  “The feedback from the players was very good, from the food to the warm hospitality to the playing conditions.

For fans, this tournament is a chance to get up close and personal with stars of the game like Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko or perhaps Canadian favourite Brooke Henderson.  Fans also have the opportunity to see up and comers like Jaclyn Lee or Jennifer Ha.  You can follow them around the golf course or pull up a seat beside and green and watch some of the best birdie seekers do their thing.  The fan experience is truly amazing and something you’re sure to remember.  When you’re that close to the action, it makes you realize just how good these women are.  Four young fans, it may even inspire them to take the game further.

Last year was not the first time Priddis Greens has hosted the Open; in fact it’s the third time.  “Having hosted this event twice before provided invaluable experience” says Golf Course Manager James Beebe.  “Understanding the expectations and the process leading up to the event enabled our team to execute our plan with very few surprises’.  He added “It provided for a somewhat stress free event and we were all able to fully enjoy it.” Of course, you couldn’t put on this kind of event without the help of volunteers and they needed plenty for the Canadian Open.  “We had just over 12 hundred volunteers” says Bas Wheeler, the Host Club Tournament Chair.  And it wasn’t a problem getting Calgarians to step up.  “Our event was one week before the Shaw Charity Classic at Canyon Meadows, but we were able to fill our volunteer needs and do did that event.  You may recall the weather wasn’t great for either event but we had no issue with volunteers not showing up for their shifts.”

And during tournament week, it has to be all hands on deck for the staff to make sure the course is in pristine condition.  Beebe says during tournament week approximately forty golf course maintenance staff are required to prepare the golf course very early in the morning, starting in the dark with lights prior to play.  In the late afternoon another forty staff members are required to follow a safe distance behind the final groups and work until dark to perform additional maintenance tasks.

Early starts of crucial to setting up events like the Canadian Women’s Open.  Beebe says because of the size and scope it takes two months to build temporary structures such as bleachers, corporate skyboxes, television towers and merchandise tents.  He says you also have to be careful not to damage the course in the process.

Last year Ariya Jutanugarn won the CP Canadian Women’s Open, but she wasn’t the only one who came out victorious.  Children benefit through Canadian Pacific’s CP Has Heart Campaign says tournament director Brent McLaughlin.  “Last year CP donated two million dollars to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in support of pediatric cardiac care and research.  A total of 4.3 millions dollars has been raised in support of children’s heart health in the first three years of CP’S sponsorship of the event.”

Jaclyn Lee, who competed in the 2016 CP Women’s Open, poses next to the train.

The host club was a winner as well, says Host Club Tournament Chair Bas Wheeler.  “We sold more than a dozen memberships that week alone, and the club’s net income from the event was $250,000.”

The legacy and aftermath of hosting a major LPGA event varies depending on who you’re talking to.  For the Head Professional at Priddis Greens, Ron Laugher, the tournament enriches the club’s history with many stories from players, caddies, volunteers, staff and spectators.  And that’s not all. “Hosting an event like this instills a great deal of pride within the membership, it helps establish the quality of your club to the rest of the world.  The exposure is priceless.”

For Bas Wheeler, it’s about the privilege of hosting the Canadian Women’s Open three times, in 1999, 2009 and 2016.  “There are a number of artifacts from the event that are displayed in the Clubhouse and around the facility as a reminder to members and guests about the Open” says Wheeler.  He goes on to say “Members who billeted players have an experience they’ll likely never forget.

Golf Course Manager James Beebe says everyone is proud of the fact they’ve hosted this event three times.  “Priddis Greens is truly a world class golf facility that our membership are all very passionate and proud of.  Having the opportunity to showcase our golf course on an international stage is something that no doubt adds to both the legacy of the club and pride within the membership.”

When you’ve been chosen to host this tournament three times you must be doing something right, but the big question is, would the tournament committee go back to Priddis Greens for a fourth time?

McLaughlin says Alberta has always been a terrific host for the Women’s Open and Golf Canada amateur events.  “Our mandate is to move Canada’s National Women’s Open championship across the country.  However, CP has a very strong footprint in the Calgary area with nearly two thousand employees plus their families.  He went to say “You never know what the future has in store but with any luck, we’ll be back at Priddis Greens again one day.

Ron Laugher sure wouldn’t mind.  “We look forward to the opportunity to host the Canadian Championship again.”

The 2017 CP Women’s Open is currently underway, at the Ottawa Hunt & Country Club.

Hosting the CP Women’s Open

This article was originally published in the 2017 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific (CP) announced today the final field of competitors set to challenge for the 2017 CP Women’s Open taking place August 21-27.

Defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn, world no. 1 So Yeon Ryu and three-time winner Lydia Ko along with Canadian sensation and hometown favourite Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., highlight the 156-player field competing at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club.

With one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour, Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship will feature 22 of the top 25, 44 of the top 50 and 92 of the top 100 players on the LPGA Tour’s Official Money List.

The field will also have a strong Solheim Cup presence as 19 of 24 competitors in this week’s biennial U.S. versus Europe contest have confirmed their intention to compete in Canada’s capital city.

Past CP Women’s Open champion Suzann Pettersen will lead 10 of 12 Team Europe competitors back to Canada following this week’s Solheim Cup in Des Moines, Iowa. Ranked no. 33 on the LPGA Money List, Pettersen will be joined by fellow European team members Anna Nordqvist (no. 20); Carlota Ciganda (no. 22); Jodi Ewart Shadoff (no. 23); Karine Icher (no. 36); Caroline Masson (no. 39); Charley Hull (no. 47); Madelene Sagstrom (no. 51); Emily Pedersen (no. 75); and Mel Reid (no. 95).

A trio of former CP Women’s Open champions – Cristie Kerr (2006), Michelle Wie (2010) and Brittany Lincicome (2011) – will lead Team USA to Ottawa. Kerr (no. 10), Wie (no. 12) and Lincicome (no. 27) will be joined by teammates Danielle Kang (no. 11); Stacy Lewis (no. 18); Austin Ernst (no. 32); Angel Yin (no. 41); Brittany Lang (no. 63); and Paula Creamer (no. 78).

Ottawa Hunt will challenge 10 past CP Women’s Open champions including Jutanugarn (2016), Ko (2012, 2013 & 2015), Ryu (2014), Lincicome (2011), Wie (2010), Pettersen (2009), Kerr (2006), Karrie Webb (1999) and Laura Davies (1996), along with Katherine Kirk who won in 2008 when Ottawa Hunt last hosted the stars of the LPGA Tour.

“We are thrilled to welcome the world’s best to Ottawa as the CP Women’s Open returns to our nation’s capital to coincide with the Canada 150 celebration,” said Golf Canada’s Chief Championships Officer, Bill Paul. “The CP Women’s Open will feature a strong LPGA tour field along with the very best rising talents in Canadian and international golf. Ottawa area golf fans are sure to be treated to an unbelievable showcase of world-class golf.”

Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson, an honorary member of host Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club and a CP ambassador who is no. 5 on the LPGA Money List, leads a strong Canadian LPGA Tour contingent. Joining Henderson are Tour regulars Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City, Jennifer Ha of Calgary, Augusta James of Bath, Ont. and Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., along with fellow CP ambassador and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Lorie Kane of Charlottetown.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., who picked up her first Symetra Tour victory earlier this month at the PHC Classic, will also be in the field competing on a tournament exemption.

All four members of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Team will be competing, including Ottawa native Grace St. Germain, Jaclyn Lee of Calgary, Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C., and dual citizen Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont. Tanguay, James and Ha are also members of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad.

Each of the strong Canuck contingent have one goal in mind: to become the first Canadian to win an LPGA Tour event in Canada since Jocelyne Bourassa won La Canadienne in 1973.

The field of 156 competitors will vie for the US$2.25 million purse as the championship returns to Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club for the first time since 2008. The 2017 winner’s prize is $337,500.

On Monday, Aug. 21, an 18-hole stroke play qualifier will take place at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa to determine the final four exemptions directly into the CP Women’s Open.

The champion of the Data PGA Women’s Championship of Canada which concludes today at Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Toronto also receives an exemption into the 2017 CP Women’s Open.

Information regarding tickets and corporate hospitality for the CP Women’s Open can be found at www.cpwomensopen.com. A full field list of players confirmed to compete in the 2017 CP Women’s Open is available by clicking here.

 CP Has Heart charity campaign to benefit Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario…

Now in its fourth year, CP’s community investment program, CP Has Heart, is committed to raising funds in support of children’s heart health in the host community of the CP Women’s Open. The 2017 edition of Canada’s National Women’s Open is proud to have the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) as the beneficiary charity.

The CP Has Heart fundraising activities tied to the CP Women’s Open and CHEO are part of CP’s overarching “Beautiful Hearts” campaign across the Ottawa region which will also run during the CFL regular season, playoffs and Grey Cup
The “Beautiful Hearts” campaign will support the refurbishment of facilities that patients use every day at CHEO and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and celebrate the resiliency and spirit of the human heart.
Through August 27, 2017, CP will match all donations made towards pediatric cardiac at www.cheoheart.com. CP will also donate $5,000 to CHEO for every birdie made by a player on the 15th hole at Ottawa Hunt during this year’s championship. The 15^th hole will also feature the 15^th Green CP Fan Zone where golf fans can donate $20 to upgrade their grounds pass to access a covered greenside bleacher and viewing area with all proceeds to benefit CHEO.

Since 2014, the CP Has Heart charity campaign has raised more than $4.5 million in support of children’s heart health.

Kids 17-and-under Get in Free…

Golf Canada and CP are committed to offering a fan friendly, family event with the CP Women’s Open. To introduce more juniors to the sport, children aged 17-and-under get FREE admission to the CP Women’s Open for the entire week.

Tickets…
Juniors – 17 & Under Free
Early Week (Mon-Wed) $11.30
Anyday Grounds (Thurs-Sun) $39.55
Weekly (Mon-Sun) $90.40

Television coverage…
Thursday, August 24        Golf Channel      10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Friday, August 25              Golf Channel      10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 26        Golf Channel      3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, August 27           Golf Channel      3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

NOTE: All times listed are in Eastern Time. Times are approximate and are subject to change without notice.

Click here to learn more about the CP Women’s Open

Jennifer Ha competing in the Bank of Hope Founders’ Cup in Phoenix in March, 2017

Jennifer Ha is proud to be representing Calgary, proud to be representing Alberta, proud to be representing Canada as a rookie on the LPGA Tour.

There are days, though, that she misses home a little less than others.

“Right now, I feel soooo lucky to be in Florida,” Ha admitted after a sun-drenched, short-sleeved range session in early March, a day that family and friends would have been shoveling sidewalks and scraping windshields back home.

“Because thinking back, I’m like, ‘Wow, it was really cold when I was out there practising.’ It would be like 20-below — you know how cold it gets in Calgary in the winter — but I’d still be on the range, and I would turn all the heaters on and I would be out there with my dad. I would have, like, four or five layers on. It would be hard for me to swing, but I’d still be out there.

“I was pretty competitive. I didn’t want anybody to have an upper hand, so I would grind it out in the cold, I guess.”

All that hard, sometimes shivery work has paid off.

Raised in the Stampede City but now based in the Sunshine State, Ha was one of the success stories of LPGA Tour Q-School last fall. Despite a bout with the flu at the worst possible time, she gutted out a tie for eighth at the final stage of the three-part qualifying quest, a result that guarantees full status for 2017.

“Being from a winter sport country, it definitely feels like I’ve achieved something that not a lot of people do,” said Ha, who fired a five-round tally of 8-under 352 at the final entrance exam. “I definitely have that sense of pride with me when I’m out there — just knowing that I’m from Calgary and I’m from Alberta and that’s where my roots are.”

Now 23, Ha was a junior member at Inglewood and later at Glencoe and Country Hills.

She collected hardware at several other courses close to home. At Lynx Ridge, for example, where she triumphed at the 2015 Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship, turning pro soon after. At Nanton, where she claimed her first provincial title as a bantam in 2008. And in between, at Canmore Golf & Curling Club and then River’s Edge, where she was crowned Alberta’s junior girls’ champion in 2011 and repeated the feat the following summer.

Before any of those trophy presentations, Ha was a star-struck spectator when the LPGA Tour stopped at Royal Mayfair in Edmonton in 2007 for what’s now known as the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. (She’s since teed off in her national open three times, including a missed-cut last August at Priddis Greens.)

“I don’t feel like it was that long ago for me since I was sitting on the range, looking up to all these players,” Ha said. “I was searching in my room the other day and I found a flag from the Mayfair Club and I had Michelle Wie sign it when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old. And then in Australia, at the second event of the season, I had dinner with her.

“I was sitting across the table from her thinking, ‘Wow, a few years ago, I was getting her autograph.’ That was pretty cool.”

It’s pretty cool, too, for aspiring and emerging birdie-seekers from Alberta to see one of their own on Golf Channel.

“I think it serves as motivation that it can be done,” said Luke Workman, one of the coaches to Team Alberta’s junior girls. “That, yeah, you can practise inside and deal with all the hindrances that come along with our climate and still make a go of it, still reach the LPGA Tour.”

“I think the fact that she’s there is going to make a statement,” echoed Laura Witvoet, the first woman from the Wild Rose Province to compete on the LPGA Tour and now the general manager and director of instruction at Wolf Creek Golf Resort. “This just solidifies that it can happen, that it’s a possibility, that it’s real.”

Ha is proof of it.

She is a past member of Team Alberta and has climbed the ranks with Golf Canada — from the development program to the national amateur team to the Young Pro Squad.

She played many of the same tournaments as the current wave of up-and-comers. She shared some of the same experiences.

She knows what it’s like to swing a golf club in an outfit better suited for skiing.

“She won the Alberta Bantam Championship when she was 14, and I have her golf bag in my office at the Edge School,” said Randy Robb, head coach of Team Alberta and also golf director at the Edge School for Athletes. “Students will ask, ‘What’s that?’ Well, that’s Jennifer Ha’s golf bag. She won the Bantam Championship and now she’s on the LPGA Tour.

“It’s a tremendously long process. She played well as a bantam, and then she went to the Western Canada Summer Games and the Canada Games and then four years at Kent State.

That’s 10 years of competitive golf.

“There was a lot of hard work put in, for sure. And there was success at every level — bantam and then junior and college, and then trying to figure out the next level and then working hard towards that.”

Ha will compete in the 2017 CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt Golf Club from Aug. 21st to 27th. View her current LPGA profile and follow her on Twitter: @JENNIFERHA0201.

On Tour with Jennifer Ha

This article was originally published in the 2017 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shares some expert tips to help you with chipping around the green.

Watch her perform in person this summer at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club from Aug. 21-27 – tickets are available here.

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

The Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at The Toronto Golf Club dominates this week’s Top-10 rankings.

No. 3 Josh Whalen picks up 33 places in the world ranking after finishing third at the Canadian Amateur, taking low-Canadian honours at the tournament.

Despite missing the cut at the Canadian Amateur, Chris Crisologo picks up 21 places in the world rankings and moves up to No. 5 in Canada, surpassing fellow B.C. golfer and collegiate rival Lawren Rowe, who finished tied for 37th at the event.

Matt Williams gained 81 spots in the world rankings following his tie for eighth at the Canadian Amateur to move past Austin James into the No. 7 spot in the Canadian rankings.

James gained 32 places in the world rankings after finishing tied for 37th at the Canadian Amateur.

Making his Top-10 debut is Calgary’s Emmett Oh. The University of Houston graduate jumped 62 places in the world rankings to take over the No. 10 spot in the Canadian rankings after finishing tied for 22nd at the Canadian Amateur.

Outside the Top-10, Henry Lee gained 130 spots in the world rankings and climbed up from No. 17 to No. 12 in Canada as a result of finishing tied for 22nd at the Canadian Amateur.

Also making their top-20 debut is Johnny Travale, who climbed 133 spots to take over the No. 19 spot in the Canadian rankings after he finished 34th at the Canadian Amateur.

Biggest move: Kyle Chung gained 826 spots in the world ranking after finishing runner-up at the AJGA Under Armour Canadian Championship. Chung tied for second following a four-hole playoff, recording his second straight top-5 finish at the event after finishing tied for fifth last year.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Significant movement at the bottom end of the Top-10 standings. Selena Costabile made the biggest move of the week, climbing 61 places in the world rankings to move up from No. 12 to No. 9 in Canada.

Monet Chun rejoins the Top-10, picking up 12 places to move from No. 13 to No. 10. The Team Canada Development Squad member was part of the bronze medal winning women’s team at the Canada Summer Games. Chun herself finished fourth in the individual standings.

Biggest Move: Emily Zhu gained 251 spots in the world rankings after the Richmond Hill golfer finished tied for third at the AJGA Under Armour Canadian Championship. That result comes on the heels of her tie for fourth the previous week at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shares some expert tips to help you get out of greenside bunkers.

Watch her perform in person this summer at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club from Aug. 21-27 – tickets are available here.

Quebec won all four gold medals at the Canada Games in record-setting fashion at Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Man., becoming the first province other than British Columbia to win a gold medal at the Canada Games.

Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., fired a 3-under-par 69 in Friday’s final round to set a Canada Games record for lowest four-round total (-5) en route to winning the individual gold medal.

“It’s indescribable,” said Dao. “My putting was very good and my iron play was solid all week.  I was able to attack the pins and not be scared, even though they were well protected.”

Dao’s performance helped lift the Quebec team of Brigitte Thibault (Rosemere) and Sarah-Eve Rheaume (Quebec City) to a four-round score of 573 (-3), a new Canada Games record for lowest four-day team score and Quebec’s first gold medal in golf at the Canada Summer Games.

Dao’s low-round of 69 was accompanied by a 1-over-par 73 from Thibault, leaving Quebec as the only team to finish under par in the final round.

“We knew we had to stay concentrated and be the best we could be and do everything we could to win,” said Thibault.

“Winning the first girls gold for Quebec makes our gold medal even more special,” added Rheaume.”

British Columbia was second in the team competition at 5 over par—they came into the Winnipeg Games having previously won all eight gold medals since golf became part of the Canada Summer Games in 2009. Ontario finished third at 8 over par.

Richmond, B.C.’s Alisha Lau took home the individual silver medal at 1 over par. Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., won bronze at 3 over par.

Not to be outdone was the Quebec boys team of Christopher Vandette (Beaconsfield), Antoine Roy (Rimouski) and Louis-Alexandre Jobin-Colgan (Quebec City), who also won gold with a tournament record 14-under-par 562.

Leading the team was Vandette, who carded a 1-under-par 71 to finish as the individual gold medallist.

“It feels great,” said Vandette. “Quebec has never won the gold medal in golf at the Canada Games – so it’s really exciting that we just won four in one shot like that.”

British Columbia won the silver medal at 8 under par.

A three-team playoff between New Brunswick, Alberta, and Manitoba was needed to determine the team bronze medallist.

Canadian Junior Boys Champion Calvin Ross from Fredericton, N.B., came up on clutch on the third playoff hole, dropping a birdie putt to secure the bronze for New Brunswick – their first medal in golf at the Canada Games.

“We fell just short of winning the team competition last week at the Canadian Junior Boys, so it’s great to get out here and win a medal this week,” said Ross.

Another playoff was needed to decide the boys’ individual silver medal, with Jobin-Colgan going on to collect the silver and Quebec’s fifth medal in golf by defeating Tristan Mandur (Mill Bay, B.C.) on the second playoff hole, leaving Mandur with the bronze medal.

“It feels like a gold medal because I won it in a playoff,” said Jobin-Colgan. “I’m also really happy for Chris winning the gold.”

Kade Johnson from Yorkton, Sask., fired a tournament record 6-under-par 66 in the final round to finish in seventh place at 1 over par.

The 2021 Canada Summer Games will be hosted by the Niagara Region.

For the full leaderboard click here.