Inside the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, the name Michael Harrison is well known as a two time all-Canadian.

On Sunday the rest of the Canadian post-secondary scene found out who he is.

The University of Alberta-Augustana golfer finished in a tie for eleventh with Kyle Claggett and Zach Olson of the University of Fraser Valley at the Canadian University/College Championships in Chilliwack, B.C.

“I’m very happy to represent Augustana at that level, make the cut and finish that way,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who supported me so I could go and play that event, so to take advantage of the opportunity that was given, it’s probably not something that will happen again because I am running out of years of eligibility here. It was a great week, I’m very happy with it.”

At the very least his performance helps put the Augustana golf program on the national map. His Vikings golf bag was the talk of the tournament, garnering questions from Golf Canada officials and fellow competitors about the school.

“Just to get to tell everyone about the school and what I am taking there, it gives you a sense of pride that even though we come from a small town and a small program we are still able to put together a strong program,” said Harrison.

That program has a strong history of producing all-Canadians, including two this year in Harrison and Braeden Clarkson, and consistently is one of the better programs in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

The reigning ACAC men’s golfer of the year’s weekend did not get off to a good start. He opened with a one-over-73 and a three-over-75 in the first two rounds. His tournament turned on Saturday with the arrival of his coach Bill Penny and shooting a four-under-68 to tie for the single best round of the day. He closed the weekend with a one-under-75 to finish with a 1-under-287 for the championship.

“It seemed like when he was there I played a whole lot better,” said Harrison, 23, who just wrapped up his third year at Augustana. “He watched and he talked me through a couple of shots on the tee box here and there. He was just there for good support and cheered me on and helped me feel more comfortable out there.”

Whether it was pure coincidence or a calming effect that Penny brought from Alberta, Harrison’s game started coming together, on the green where he was making putts he was missing on the first two days.

The Chilliwack Golf Club is a course Harrison is familiar with, having finished 32nd there at the CCAA championships in 2015 as a freshman with a score of five-over four the tournament.

“I kind of like the golf course, so when I heard that the Canadian university championship was going to be there I was excited to go back because it was a course I had played well on and was familiar with,” said Harrison.

In the process, he edged out his younger brother Andrew Harrison, who plays for the University of British Columbia, by one stroke. It is a friendly rivalry for the Camrose brothers who play against each other during the summer on various tours and tournaments, but rarely at the collegiate level.

“Earlier in the week I was able to play a practice round with him and we were just joking around about who could beat who during the week,” he said. “That’s always fun, we run into that a lot of times during events during the summer, but this was the first time at a university event.”

Making his performance that much more remarkable is the fact he has only been able to get out on a golf course for the last three weeks due to the late thaw in Alberta. In the lead-up to the championship he played in two MJT tournaments, finishing second in Lethbridge, which was his first actual round of the year, and winning in Banff with a 73 and a 69 over two rounds.

This early season success could potentially set up a big summer for Harrison who will be playing the Alberta Open in Calgary.

View the full article from the Camrose Canadian here.

Calgary’s Steve Blake shot a two-under 70 with just one bogey at a U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., on Monday.

Blake finished second with the top three positions qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, June 28-July 1 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Blake joins Vancouver’s Phil Jonas, Ian Doig of Barrie, Ont., and Toronto’s Rick Todd as Canadians in the field.

Mike Woodcock of Chatham, Ont., is second alternate after a 71 at the Battle Creek Country Club in Michigan.

It’s Tuesday at the 2001 U.S. Open, and Wes Heffernan — a rookie professional, less than a year removed from his triumph at the Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship — is headed out for a solo spin at Southern Hills.

At least, that was the plan.

Turns out, he was about to be playing a practice round with a trio of PGA Tour standouts, two of them now enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“I was going to the tee and I thought I was playing by myself, and my caddie, Brad Ingarfield, had talked them into letting me join them,” Heffernan recalled. “They were already about 200 yards down the fairway … So I ended up hitting the tee-shot — it’s an elevated tee-shot — and we get down to the fairway, and it’s Fred Couples and Brad Faxon. I’m thinking to myself, ‘What has he got me into here?!?’

“And then we finish nine holes, and Davis Love III walks down from the clubhouse, and he joined us for the back nine. I think Davis was top-5 in the world at that point, so that was pretty cool.

“It’s too bad that wasn’t the first round, because I was pretty nervous playing with those guys, but I played awesome that day,” Heffernan added. “I didn’t play so well in the tournament. I think that was my third tournament as a professional. At that point, I had no idea how to play that kind of golf and was just overwhelmed, but it was pretty cool.”

A proud member at Silver Springs and instructor at Golf Canada Calgary Centre, the 41-year-old Heffernan is now taking aim at a third opportunity to tee it up at the U.S. Open, a pipe-dream for most of the thousands and thousands who sign up for the qualifying quest each spring.

He’s in the field for Monday’s sectional qualifier near San Francisco — a 36-hole marathon that includes laps of both Lake Merced and the Ocean Course at Olympic Club. The sharpest shooters from a dozen sectional sites will be rubbing shoulders with Tiger, Phil, Dustin, Rory and the rest of the superstars next week at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. (The exact number of spots available at each specific site has yet to be revealed.)

By his own count, Heffernan has advanced to the sectional stage on 13 different occasions. He’s twice earned an invitation to the PGA Tour’s second major of the season — at Southern Hills and then a decade later at Congressional, where he scorched his second nine Friday in 5-under to climb north of the cut-line and stick around for the weekend

“It’s definitely gruelling,” Heffernan said of the sectional showdowns, the route to the U.S. Open unless you’re a recent major winner, sitting among the Top-60 in the official world golf rankings or manage to score an exemption through another of the USGA’s marquee events. “Normally, if you get off to a good start in an 18-hole round, you just try to keep it together for the 18 holes. But when it’s 36, it’s easy to kind of let it go and let your mind wander.

“Especially at a U.S. Open qualifier, if you play well through the first nine or the first 18, you start thinking about the U.S. Open, right? Which is exactly what you shouldn’t do. When it’s 36 holes, it’s easy to get tired — mentally and physically — and start to do that kind of thing, just because you wear down as you go on.

“So it’s really important — and I know it’s always a cliché — to stay in the moment. You just try to survive it, I guess.”

Now focused mostly on dad duties and his full-time gig as a teaching pro, Heffernan delivered a don’t-forget-about-me type performance last August at the 2017 ATB Financial Classic at Country Hills. Playing on an exemption, he was the runner-up that week at his hometown stop on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada.

He’s feeling good about his game, believing his ball-striking is back to the level it was when he racked up four victories between 2006-08 on what was then known as the Canadian Tour.

In one of his final tune-ups for U.S. Open sectionals, he sizzled Tuesday to a 7-under 65 during the PGA of Alberta’s one-day shootout at Valley Ridge, finishing four shots clear of the field.

“Now that I struggled for a few years and obviously not playing as much golf as I did before, I’m just kind of enjoying things more,” Heffernan said. “That’s why I played so well last year at the ATB Classic — I was just happy to play in a Mackenzie Tour event that week, and then I got into contention, and I was just thrilled to be in contention again. You feed off that.

“So if I was to get into the U.S. Open again, I’m not necessarily saying I would play awesome, but I think I would enjoy it more. Not that I wouldn’t be nervous, but I definitely would appreciate it more and take it all in more.”

Navigating sand traps and trees is part of the challenge of golf — but imagine playing the game when you can’t see the course.

That’s what golf is like for Kiefer Jones, 27, who recently qualified for the 2018 World Blind Golf Championships, which will be held in Italy in October.

“I golf six days a week,” the Albertan told CTV News. “I don’t know what else I would do if I wasn’t golfing!”

Since he first picked up a plastic golf club at age 18 months, the sport has been his passion. But when Jones was 16, he began to lose his sight.

“I got a virus that attacked my optic nerve,” Jones explained.

Adjusting to life with a visual impairment caused Jones to give up his beloved game for several years until a friend came along with an idea to get him playing again.

“A friend of mine said, ‘I’ll take you out golfing and I’ll watch your ball if you help teach me to play golf,’” Jones said.

Not only did that suggestion get Jones back on the links, but it also helped him figure out a new way to play in which he has a buddy line him up and describe the shot distance. The system has proven to be so successful that it even resulted in a recent hole-in-one.

“So he takes his line, lines up and hits it right at the hole,” Jones’ friend Tobyn Larsen recalled. “(The ball) takes one hop, bounces right a little bit, takes a little loop around the hole and just disappeared.”

With the 2018 World Blind Golf Championships now on the horizon, Jones feels unstoppable.

“It’s a game I’ve played my whole life,” Jones added. “And it’s a game I plan to play until I can’t play anymore.”

OTTAWA, Ont. – On a day that was perfect to play golf, Canada’s golf industry was on Parliament Hill touting the benefits of the sport to nearly 70 members of parliament and a handful of Canada’s senators as well.

It was the first year the National Allied Golf Associations (composed of Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada, the National Golf Course Owners Association, the Canadian Society of Club Managers, and the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association) decided to change their outward marketing approach to align with the American golf industry associations.

NAGA, as its known, will remain the administrative name for the body of industry associations, but moving forward the brand will be called ‘We Are Golf.’

We Are Golf set up a junior golf clinic on Parliament Hill in concert with Golf in Schools, and welcomed nearly 100 students from Carson Grove Elementary School on Tuesday, many of whom had never played golf before.

“What’s been amazing is that we’ve been able to get the word out about We Are Golf,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum, who has just recently celebrated one year at the helm of Golf Canada.

From left to right: Charlie Beaulieu (Vice President, Golf Canada), Leslie Dunning (President, Golf Canada), Laurence Applebaum (CEO, Golf Canada), Patrick Kelly (President, B.C. Golf)

The objective of the day was to continue to grow awareness of golf in the country’s decision makers, as leaders from each of the respective organizations had a day chalk-full of meetings on Parliament Hill with MPs from across the country.

Jeff Calderwood, the CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association and chair of NAGA, said one of the main objectives of the day was based on how many people the organization got to meet with, and he said they ended up exceeded that number.

“It’s up to us to tell the story about golf and let the nearly 70 MPs and the few senators know all about what the golf industry is really about. Without that, you’re susceptible to politicians just seeing this as a game,” said Calderwood. “It could be a great game, and a game more people could play than any other sport, but if you need to go beyond that and give them the rest of the story. That’s when they start to treat you the way you need to be treated to have a fair outcome on anything environmental, tax-related, or funding-related.”

Calderwood said a key message would be around how golf is a vital industry in almost every community in Canada. Well north of 75 percent of all communities (or ‘ridings,’ in political vernacular) have a golf course – save for downtown ridings like Toronto Centre or Ottawa Centre, for example – and even the ones that don’t are only 10 minutes away from the nearest course, said Calderwood.

This past election was a first for Calderwood, he said, as more than 200 MPs that came into the legislature were first-timers. He admitted Tuesday that with the next election only 18 months away, there would be a lot of education for the new MPs on the golf industry – its economic benefits, its environmental benefits, and more.

“It never ends,” he said. “This time they had 200 new members of parliament, which is an unusually big turnover. You start back at ground zero with their awareness of the golf industry, but the education needs to be a perpetual thing. This gives us a chance to highlight (golf) early in the year and sync up with National Golf Day in the U.S.”

Unlike Calderwood, this was Applebaum’s first time on Parliament Hill lobbying on behalf of the golf industry.

He said the day was a positive one, and he was impressed to see how many rookie MPs play golf, along with their families. Specifically he was happy to hear from MP Roger Cuzner from Cape Breton-Canso, who has seen millions of tourism dollars flood the island thanks to the worldwide success of Cabot Links, Cabot Cliffs, and Highlands Links.

Scenes from National Golf Day on Parliament Hill ??⛳️#CanadaGolfDay#WeAreCanadianGolf pic.twitter.com/KS4VoolZwB

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 29, 2018

Getting the message out about golf’s positives was key, said Applebaum, speaking specifically to its impact on Canada’s GDP ($15 billion) and employment (more than 300,000 across the country).

While in past years NAGA was on Parliament Hill lobbying for tax fairness for the golf industry – to allow people to claim a round of golf on their taxes in terms of entertainment as a bonafide business expense – that wasn’t on the agenda Tuesday.

Applebaum said that is still an “important issue” as an industry, but instead the day in Ottawa was more for “advocacy, information, and sharing.”

“We’re not here for an ask. We’re just here to let the MPs know how active their constituents are with golf, and down the road we’ll address the tax issue,” he explained.

Moving forward, Applebaum is hopeful that National Golf Day results in more awareness, and maybe even days off for people to go play golf. But he would say the first iteration was a success.

“We’ve gotten together as an industry, which we don’t always do so well, and we’ve been able to get our voice heard,” he said. “That makes for a really nice day for us.”

From May 28 to June 1, Golf Canada will be celebrating all donations made towards the Future Links, driven by Acura Golf in Schools program in support of the third annual Adopt a School Week.

The week represents a coast-to-coast celebration to mark the efforts of all Golf in Schools adoptions. Since the program’s inception in 2009, adoptions have accounted for close to 50% of the over 3,500 registered schools delivering the curriculum. Together, Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), and all provincial partners have aligned to celebrate the generosity of golf enthusiasts across the country.

“Golf Canada recognizes the many investments made by Canadians across the country in support of the Golf in Schools program,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “It is in the industry’s best interest to support the continued growth of the sport at the grassroots level, which in turn benefits the future membership of facilities.”

Adopt a School Week is just around the corner! Make an impact in your community and grow the game through #GolfinSchools ⛳️?

➡️ https://t.co/buOMp4E5gA pic.twitter.com/o0Cxx3TNAc

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 26, 2018

For the first 30 adoptions, any golf facility, PGA of Canada professional or individual who adopts a school into the Golf in Schools program from May 28- June 1 will see their adoption matched with a school of their choice. This matching grant is possible due to Golf Canada’s partnership with the Canadian Seniors Golf Association (CSGA).

In 2017, 266 new schools were adopted, introducing an average of 120 students per school to golf.

For the first 30 adoptions, any individual or facility who adopts a school will see their adoption matched in support of Adopt a School Week #GolfinSchools ⛳️?

➡️ https://t.co/zWFQ4ewcVc pic.twitter.com/KWXQULBlkK

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 25, 2018

A Golf in Schools donation includes the full program kit, which features safe, age-appropriate golf clubs along with a teacher-friendly learning resource. Developed in conjunction with the PGA of Canada and Physical Health Education (PHE) Canada, the learning resource incorporates Life Skills into the curriculum—placing added focus on transferrable skills both on and off the golf course.

The Intrapersonal Life Skills—perseverance, goal-setting and emotional regulation—are meant to instill focus while the Interpersonal Life Skills—honesty, teamwork and respect—embody a sense of sportspersonship.

Following Adopt a School Week, Golf Canada will be announcing all elementary, intermediate and high school adoptions conducted in 2018.

To adopt a school in your community, visit golfcanada.ca/adoptaschool

On Wednesday, May 23^rd the Alberta golf industry gathered at Heritage Pointe Golf Club to kick-off the 2018 season.

A new staple on the golf industry annual calendar, the season kick-off brings together Alberta golf stakeholders (Golf Course owners, general managers, professionals and representatives, media, partners, amateur athletes, coaches, sponsors, suppliers, volunteers and members) to celebrate the start of a new season.

The festivities were hosted by Global Sports Anchor Kevin Smith, a passionate golfer in his own right. We (Alberta Golf) were able to share our passion for the game and the mission of the association – all represented through our strategic pillars of ‘Discover & Try’, ‘Learn & Play’, ‘Compete & Excel’ and ‘Connect & Enjoy’.

Members of our high performance program, Team Alberta, were introduced to the audience, along with a short clinic and a ceremonial drive to officially kick-off the season.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the celebration. Have a great season!

View the photographs from the 2018 Season Kick-Off at bit.ly/2IOuPTL 

Canadian culture extends its arms to welcome people of all race, ethnicity and background. A nation rooted in diversity, accessibility and inclusiveness has molded Canada into the one of the most accepting nations in the world. Now golf—with a new pilot program aligning junior golf life skills with student learning outcomes—is taking steps to make the sport more accessible in First Nations communities.

Golf Canada, working in conjunction with the PGA of Canada and The University of Ottawa, has partnered with Indigenous Northern Affairs of Canada (INAC) to pilot the Future Links Driven by Acura Golf in Schools program at Alexander First Nations, a community northwest of Edmonton, Alta.

A first of its kind pilot program integrating golf’s Life Skills with student learning outcomes, the Golf in Schools pilot ran from January through April at the Kipohtakaw Education Centre, supporting school curriculum and community engagement of students through golf.

For Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Jeff Thompson, the Alexander First Nations pilot is an important step and learning opportunity in the continued growth of golf among underrepresented communities across Canada.

“First Nations engagement with golf represents an important growth opportunity for our sport in communities across Canada and we are extremely proud to be conducting this initiative in partnership with Indigenous Northern Affairs of Canada,” said Thompson. “Earlier this year Golf Canada proudly embraced a new policy around Inclusiveness, Accessibility and Diversity. This pilot program supported by INAC is a meaningful application of that policy which we believe has great potential to connect Golf Canada and our partners with more First Nations golfers and make the sport more inclusive.”

Vice Principal Suzzy Park shares her thoughts on the new #FutureLinks First Nations Pilot program ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/Rxklt3qEO3

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 9, 2018

In February, the PGA of Canada partnered with Golf Canada to host a Community Golf Coach workshop with eight participants at the education centre in Alexander. Over two days, teachers and community members were trained in golf fundamentals and tactics to help establish a safe, welcoming environment for junior golfers.

“With many people in Alexander golfing regularly and loving the sport, it made sense to partner with the PGA of Canada and Golf Canada to allow for growth of the sport in the community,” said Jody Kootenay, Director of Education with Alexander First Nations. “We have some amazing youth who could very well take their love of golf and make it more competitive. We wanted to allow for the sport to have not only coaches available to the youth, but to start showcasing pathways for the golfer who is just starting out—we wanted to ensure our children had that chance.”

An important feature of the Golf in Schools program is the Life Skills component which focuses on transferrable lessons—both interpersonal and intrapersonal—that can be applied outside the golf space in peer groups, at home, and within the community.

The Intrapersonal Life Skills—perseverance, goal-setting and emotional regulation—are meant to instill focus while the Interpersonal Life Skills—honesty, teamwork and respect—embody a sense of sportspersonship.

The University of Ottawa led the introduction of Life Skills integration with Golf in Schools and have since identified areas where the transfer of Life Skills are made in everyday activity. A student survey was conducted prior to the Alexander First Nations pilot to further the understanding of Life Skills applications in Canadian communities.

“Working with the Alexander First Nations was a meaningful step forward as we look to further expand the reach of golf in Canada,” said Glenn Cundari, Technical Director with the PGA of Canada. “We both learned a lot from each other and had some good laughs along the way.”

More than 50 students at the Kipohtakaw Education Centre are participating in the daily Golf in Schools unit during their Physical Education classes. Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada are working to organize a teaching professional to deliver an in-school lesson as part of the Get Linked initiative, ultimately strengthening the golf community in Alexander.

The Golf in Schools program is equipped with a teacher-friendly learning resource to assist in the delivery of lesson plans for six components: Learning Outcomes, Equipment, Warm-Up, Task Development, Closure and Method of Assessment. The kit includes safe, age-appropriate golf equipment for all three tiers of the program: elementary, intermediate and high school.

Along with partners @pgaofcanada & @ottawa.university, we’re proud to launch the #FutureLinks First Nations pilot with Alexander First Nations ⛳️⛳️

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on May 9, 2018 at 11:39am PDT

As the Alexander First Nations pilot nears completion, Golf Canada is investigating opportunities to partner with additional First Nations communities to help grow the game. Since the launch of the pilot, nearly a dozen First Nations communities have expressed interest in integrating golf into their community programming.

To learn more about the First Nations golf initiatives or submit an application for consideration, please contact Adam Hunter, Golf Canada’s Manager, Grow the Game at ahunter@golfcanada.ca

The R&A is currently doing some research to find out about use of the www.randa.org website and what could be done to improve its website in future.

They are asking golfers, from Canada and abroad, to take a few minutes of their time to share their thoughts. It doesn’t matter if you have visited The R&A website in the past or not.

Please bear in mind they are seeking feedback specifically on the www.randa.org website rather than The R&A app, other publications or The Open website.

Please click here to start the survey.

This survey is being administered by SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. on behalf of The R&A. Any responses you give will be anonymous and confidential and will only be used in aggregate form for research purposes. No personally identifiable information is collected as part of this survey.