Ontario Women’s Match Play Championship kicks off in Kingston
Golf Ontario
The Ontario Women’s Match Play Championship and 75th Cataraqui Women’s Field Day & Empire Life Eastern Provinces kicks off in Kingston this weekend.
The top 16 players from the Cataraqui Field Day Match Play Qualifier will advance to the Ontario Women’s Match Play Championship. A playoff will break any ties for 16th place.
The players advancing to the Match Play portion of the Championship are awarded spots into the 109th Ontario Women’s Amateur & Mid-Amateur Championship at West Haven Golf and Country Club, June 24-27. Any Junior eligible players who advance will also earn an exemption to the Ontario Jr. Girls (U19) Match Play Championship.
Cataraqui hosted several provincial events in its heydays between the 1930s and 1970s, including the Ontario Amateur Championship (1939, 1952, 1963), the Ontario Ladies’ Amateur Championship (1937, 1965, 1973) and the Ontario Open (1955, 1958, 1966, 1973, 1979).
Nobelle Park– Recently qualified for the 2024 U.S. Junior Girls Amateur. She is a current member of the Team Ontario squad. With her recent results from play, she has shot up the rankings and is No. 182 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Her most recent accolades include winning the Junior Girls Spring Classic last month, the Ontario Junior Players Invitational in March, and a third-place finish at the Next Gen Ontario Championship. Nobelle is currently leading all U15, U17, and U19 rankings on the Junior Golf Pathway Rankings.
Kaprice Park– A current member of Team Ontario. After just missing the qualifier for the U.S. Junior Girls Amateur, she remains the first alternate.
QUOTES
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership running the Ontario Women’s Match Play at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club concurrently with the Empire Life Eastern Provinces Championship. Cataraqui’s dedication and support have played a crucial role in making this prestigious tournament a resounding success year after year.
Since we began this partnership in 2019, we have seen continued growth and once again have another strong field of competitors featuring many high-level juniors and college affiliated players.” – Rob Watson, Tournament Director.
FAST FACTS
Championship Venue: Cataraqui Golf and Country Club, Kingston, ON.
Fun Fact: The Name: “Cataraqui” is the original Mohawk name for Kingston, the “Limestone City,” where the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club course is located.
Charles Fitzsimmons (Summit Golf & Country Club), two-time winner of the Ontario Men’s Match Play Championship (2021 & 2022), returns to match play action after missing last year’s championship due to injury.
Connor Doyle, Tournament Director: “The Ontario Men’s and Senior Men’s Match Play Championship is always a great way to kick off the men’s & senior amateur championship season. We have another very competitive field which we saw almost 400 players attempt to qualify across the province along with multiple past champions in the field. Tarandowah will certainly be an excellent test for the players with the fast, and firm conditions, it should create many excellent matches next week.”
Ted Pease, Tarandowah Golfers Club General Manager & PGA of Canada Executive Professional: “Tarandowah Golfers Club is honoured to host the top men’s and senior men’s golfers across Ontario as they go one-on-one in match play. Having this level of competition is a great venue for us to showcase the unique challenges our course presents.”
Fun Fact: Tarandowah Golfers Club only has two par fives (holes 9 and 14), yet the course still measures 7,067 yards due to nine of its 12 par four holes having a length of over 400 yards.
Top 100: Tarandowah Golfers Club was ranked the No. 75-best golf course in Canada according to SCOREGolf.
Orr Lake Golf Club Stepping Up to Make Impact on Youth, Under-Represented Communities
Golf Ontario
Since partnering with Golf Canada, First Tee – Ontario has been bringing the joy of golf to youth across the province through various in-school and after-school programs.
These initiatives have not only introduced young people to the sport but have also played a crucial role in building character, instilling values, and teaching the importance of integrity, perseverance, and respect, thereby enriching their lives both on and off the course.
“The whole purpose of First Tee is to help communities that are under-represented,” said Sue Westwood, PGA of Canada professional with more than 20-years of experience.
Orr Lake Golf Club in Elmvale was named an official First Tee – Ontario location by Golf Canada on April 26.
Jason Harris, general manager and facility owner, was a heavy influence in having his course host. Why? His passion for growing the game of golf in Ontario.
“We’ve been doing these things (to grow the game) within the community for 10 years now,” he says.
While running the First Tee program from Orr Lake Golf Club, Harris and Westwood have already worked together to bring several programs to both youth and adults either new to the game or in under-represented communities.
The most notable program is Golf in Schools, which teaches elementary school students the game of golf, whether they are first-timers or have heard bits of the game, and helps them build character and confidence to play.
“When I see a child go out there and hit a ball for the first time, their expression on their face is priceless,” says Westwood. “They have a big smile on their face, that’s what the big payoff is for me.”
When teaching children who are just picking up a golf club, Westwood might teach the basics of hitting a ball, but the ways she does it are centred around team building and passion for the game.
“I get little sayings that are helpful for the kids to remember, like hot dog and a bun when they go to grip the clubs, so they make sure to keep their hands together,” she explains. “From there, I say ‘in golf, do you want to have your hands apart or together,’ then they’ll all say ‘together.’”
Other lessons Westwood would give to children are the “triangle” position (feet lined up with ball) and lining up the club face to the target on swings.
“Now they all want to come back to class because they all had so much fun,” she said.
Orr Lake Golf Club currently sponsors five schools: Hillsdale Elementary School (Hillsdale); Our Lady of Lourdes School (Toronto); Wyevale Central Public School (Tiny); Huronia Centennial Elementary School (Elmvale) and St Antoine Daniel Catholic School (Toronto).
Recruiting schools and children into the Golf in Schools program is a lengthy process for both Harris and Westwood, who started reaching out to them early in the year before the golf season even starts.
“I’d go into the schools, and I’d introduce the sport to grades one thru five, and I just set up little putting station, chipping and a full swing station,” Westwood says.
Then, once Orr Lake opens for playing around mid-April, Harris and Westwood arrange for the children of each school at a time to be bussed to the course.
“We pay for the buses to come here (Orr Lake), and expenses allow buses to go back and forth to the schools, pick up any grade, they come here, then we take them around our three-hole, Par-3 golf course,” explains Westwood.
For purposes of having fun, the children are paired into groups and go out on to the Orr Lake’s three-hole course and not just hit off a driving range or putt on a practice green.
“We basically invested in that as part of our ‘Growing the Game’ initiative,” explains Harris. “We needed a spot where beginners and where Sue (and Paul Jennings – previous pro – before her) had a location where they can go and teach.”
The most recent school to join the Golf in Schools program was Christian Island Elementary School, located on an island in Georgian Bay that is an Ojibwa reserve and home of the Beausoleil First Nation.
Despite the location, Harris and Westwood went to even greater lengths to get more children into the game, going to them by ferry and setting up their own mini course.
“We ended up setting it up in their baseball field, and we set up five small holes,” Westwood said. “They all had a really good experience once they started playing.”
Westwood taught four separate classes, which showcased both the basics of the game, team-building exercises and the spirit of playing golf.
“Some of them had never heard of golf before, some had and it was a really good experience,” she said.
In total, Harris and Westwood expect to see around 600 students come to the course this year.
“Paying for the buses, paying for Sue’s time to go into the schools, paying for the kids to come out here with Sue and one of our inspectors to organize everything, so we’re investing quite a bit with the focus of introducing more people to the game of golf,” Harris says.
The club doesn’t just host the Golf in Schools program, but some of their other programs include Ladies Learn to Golf, which has 180 members, Kids Play Free and other programs for more under-represented communities that both Harris and Westwood believe don’t get a lot of opportunities.
“We’re not in a big, populated area, we’re sort of in the middle of nowhere, we’re a small community-based golf course, and that’s where we decided to put all our energy and our focus (into growing golf),” he said.
Each program, particularly Golf in Schools, was at risk of being shut down when the COVID-19 Pandemic was in full swing.
“We missed a bunch of COVID years, but we started back up again last year, so our second year back at it again since COVID,” says Harris.
For getting people in his community into golf, Harris expresses gratitude for having staff that understand and have the same feelings of growing the game as he does.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have started off with Paul Jennings (former CPGA Professional), we’re very fortunate we ended up with Sue Westwood, and both of those golf pros had the same philosophy and really wanted to focus on growing the game of golf,” he said.
Harris believes the latest recruitment of Christian Lake Elementary School, and the upcoming recruitments of Tay Shores Public School (Harbour) and Mundy’s Bay Elementary School (Midland), can lead to future expansion and bring more schools into the fold.
“Teaming up with Golf Canada and the First Tee program is basically giving us access to funds to expand this (Golf in Schools) program further than what would just benefit our golf course,” Harris explained.
By raising enough funds from running First Tee – Ontario out of Orr Lake Golf Club, Harris hopes to take a “big lead” to sponsor more schools further away from the course in order to further grow the program and bring more children into the sport.
“Ultimately, we are in the golf industry, it’s not just about my golf course, and the bigger we can make this and the more we can expand this, the better it’s going to be for everybody around,” he says.
Golf Ontario is proud to announce a renewed and expanded partnership with BioSteel Sports.
The partnership sees BioSteel become the “Official Hydration Partner” of Golf Ontario and the title sponsor of the “BioSteel Golf Ontario Amateur Order of Merit Rankings.”
“This is a very exciting partnership for Golf Ontario,” says Golf Ontario CEO Kyle McFarlane. “Having BioSteel products on hand at all our provincial championships will greatly elevate the experience for all participants,” he says, adding, “additionally, all the 125,000 Golf Ontario members from all across the province will have the opportunity to purchase discounted BioSteel products through an online program.”
“We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with Golf Ontario as the Official Hydration Partner and the title sponsor of the Golf Ontario Amateur Order of Merit Rankings,” said a representative for BioSteel Sports Inc. “This partnership underscores our commitment to supporting athletes at all levels with top-quality, reliable hydration solutions. By being present at every provincial championship and providing our trusted products, we are excited to enhance the competitive experience for all participants and further engrave our brand into the grassroots of sports.”
Located in Ontario, BioSteel is a complete sports nutrition solution for the active consumer. All the company’s products contain only the highest quality ingredient sand are certified by the world’s leading regulatory agencies. BioSteel products are trusted in the daily routines of professional and elite amateur athletes across the world.
Another element of the partnership will allow Golf Ontario members to purchase BioSteel products at a discounted rate through an online web portal.
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance, and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With more than 125,000 individual members and 500 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the most significant golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur championships in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to Shaping Lives Through Golf.
Fourteen Ontario Golfers Set to Compete in RBC Canadian Open
Golf Ontario
The PGA TOUR returns to Ontario for the RBC Canadian Open from May 30 – June 2.
The national championship will be hosted by Hamilton Golf and Country Club, which has hosted numerous Golf Ontario championships in the past.
FIELD NOTES
The field features 28 Canadian-born players, 14 of which will represent Ontario.
Of the 14 Ontario golfers, eight of them either received or qualified for exemptions. Some of the most recent players to receive exemptions or play their way into the championship, include Richard T. Lee of Toronto, Cam Kellett of London, Michael Blair of Ancaster and Ben Silverman of Thornhill.
Team Ontariowill see four of its former members compete this weekend: Matthew Anderson of Mississauga; Ashton McCulloch of Kingston; Justin Matthews of Little Brittain and Max Sear of Markham.
The field will also see former Golf Ontario athletes and PGA TOUR winners, Corey Conners of Listowel, Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas.
Corey Conners is a former Ontario Men’s Amateur Champion (2010).
Michael Gligic of Burlington competes in his seventh RBC Canadian Open. He has appeared in two PGA TOUR events this season.
PGA TOUR veteran and former Ontario Men’s Match Play Champion (1998) David Hearn of Brantford will make his 20th appearance at the RBC Canadian Open.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famer, two-time winner of the Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship (1990 and 1992) and Ontario Junior (U19) Boys Champion (1988) Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove will make his 31st appearance in the RBC Canadian Open. He is one appearance shy of George Cummings’ record of 32 starts.
FAST FACTS
Championship Venue: Hamilton Golf and Country Club
Championship Dates: May 30 – June 2
Field: 28 Canadian players (14 Ontarian players)
Format: 72-hole, stroke play, 36 Hole Cut
Fun Fact: Ten of the 14 Ontario competed in at least one Golf Ontario championship.
Tickets for the 2024 RBC Canadian Open are available here. Children aged 12-and-under get free admission with a ticketed adult.
Keeping Scores While Enjoying Golf: Pierre Choquette
Golf Ontario
While Pierre Choquette might play the game of golf, his passion and personality of enjoying every round is something to behold.
The 81-year-old has so much fun with the sport, he has kept track of every single round he has shot his age (or lower) in his lifetime. Choquette has done so 402 times to date.
“I thought to myself ‘that’s crazy.’ I thought that was pretty incredible,” Choquette says.
Choquette is a member of Rocky Crest Golf Club in MacTier, Ont. He plays there three times a week and buys everyone drinks whenever he hits a significant milestone.
“When I got to 400, I had to buy everybody a drink,” he said with a chuckle.
It all started for Choquette when he caddied his father when he was eight-years-old.
“I remember beating him (his dad, in golf) for this first time when I was 10,” Choquette says. “He was left-handed, so initially, I had to play left-handed, we didn’t have any right-handed clubs.”
He slowly learned the ins-and-outs of the game while caddying at a private course in Montreal between the ages of 13 and 16-years-old. He also started playing golf himself from local courses throughout Quebec.
“When I went to the University of Laval, I was on the golf team there,” Choquette says. “It was kind of neat, but we didn’t do very well (chuckles).”
Choquette first started keeping track of how many times he shot his age or lower when he read an article from the Georgia State Golf Association about another golfer doing the same thing.
“A couple of months ago, there was an article in there about an individual who was 85-years-old, who plays almost every day, and he’s holding the Guiness World Record for the number of rounds he’s shot his age or better,” he says.
Choquette believes the exact number of times this individual shot his age or lower was more than 1,100 times. He then started wondering how many times he had shot his age or lower.
“I remember that if I went back to 2012, I could then look at all the statistics and look at by year how many times I shot 70 or below,” he explains.
By going back all the way to look at what he shot when he turned 70, Choquette found that he shot 70 on his 70th birthday.
“I don’t think I ever shot my age until I was 70-years-old,” he said. “But I was still playing from around 6000-6500 yards.”
Out of the 402 rounds he shot his age or lower, Choquette recalls his most memorable one being at a course in Georgia at age 76.
“I had 13 pars, five birdies and shot 67,” he says. “I think I only missed one green.”
In fact, Choquette has played numerous courses across Ontario, Quebec, the U.S. and various parts of the world for either competitive fun or business trips.
“We had customers in China, Asia, they all had great courses there,” he said. “I lived in Europe for about five years, Belgium, Switzerland, I played a few courses there.”
It was only a few years ago that Choquette began posting his scores in the Golf Canada score centre. His current handicap is 7.2, and he once had a handicap of +1 in 1977.
Not only does Choquette keep track of each round he shoots his age or lower, but he also tracks how many rounds he plays by age.
“I think in the past, 40 per cent of my 402 games came when I was 78,” he says. “When I was 79, I had 83 games. When I was 80, I had 112 games below my age. Since my 81st birthday, which was last September, I had 71 games.”
He even keeps all scorecards from each time he shoots below par to remember his rounds by.
Of course, where would the passion for keeping track of such a stat be without passion for the game of golf itself?
“I cannot think of any sport where you can still be physically competitive and have such a good time and good exercise,” Choquette says.
Exercise is key for Choquette whenever he plays the game. He prefers walking Rocky Crest because it is a physical activity.
“I don’t carry my bag anymore, but to me, the best experience of all my years of playing golf is four guys walking down the fairway either carrying their bag or playing with a caddy,” he said.
Not only does Choquette live and play the game for fun and health, but he still shares his connection to Laval University’s golf team with the Choquette Family Foundation.
“We put $50,000 a year from the foundation into scholarships and the funds for them to go practice in Florida,” he says.
From giving back to former schools to playing all sorts of different courses to keeping track of fascinating stats, Choquette does it all for the bottom line: his passion for golf.
“It’s such a fantastic sport,” he said. “It’s so nice to be out there on courses that are well designed, with people you enjoy playing with.”
National Golf Day Highlights Golf’s Positive Impact on Canadians
Golf Ontario
After a four-year pause due to COVID-19, the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) are on Parliament Hill leading National Golf Day and discussing with Parliamentarians the many positive benefits of golf for Canadians.
The golf industry representatives are also releasing the results of a new Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study highlighting golf’s financial contributions and incredible popularity as the number one participation sport in Canada.
National Golf Day also celebrates golf’s physical and mental health benefits, its safe sport attributes, social merits, environmental stewardship, diversity, life skills for youth, and economic value to the business community. National data indicates that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have entered the sport since Covid-19, totaling six million Canadian golfers and further strengthening golf’s status as the number one participation sport in the country.
“Canadians played 74 million rounds of golf in 2023, a considerable 24% increase from the last Study in 2019,” stated Jeff Calderwood, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada, and Chair of NAGA.
“Existing golfers have been playing more often and new golfers have been taking up the game at impressive levels,” said Calderwood. “The broad appeal of golf as a safe, healthy, outdoor recreation that can be enjoyed by all ages, genders, abilities, and budgets, anywhere in Canada, generates continued growth in the game. The impressive economic impacts that are then generated reflect that popularity.”
NAGA conducts an economic impact study every five years to measure such financial contributions as employment, charitable support, tourism, and gross domestic product. The sport and business of golf are thriving post-pandemic and continue to be an important economic engine for Canadians and their communities across Canada. Some of the highlights from the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study include:
Golf contributes a massive amount to Canada’s GDP at $23.2 billion, an increase of $4 billion since the previous Study.
Golf supports 237,000 person-years of employment, illustrating its importance as a vital source of livelihood for countless Canadians. Nearly 135,000 Canadians work directly in golf, with 45,000 being student employment.
Golf-related activities generated over $14.2 billion in labour income, sustaining families and generating significant economic spin-off spending.
$382 million was raised through golf activities for charities across Canada, a return to the pre-Covid-19 range and tops among all participation sports.
Approximately 6 million Canadians played golf in 2023, an all-time high for the number one participation sport in the country, generating 74 million rounds played.
Golfer spending totalled $14.2 billion in 2023.
Golf course operations contributed $8.1 billion to Canada’s GDP.
Capital expenditure by golf course operations in 2023 was $907 million.
Taxes paid to governments by the Canadian golf industry were $4.7 billion in 2023.
“Golf is a sport that brings so many benefits to Canadians – not just the economic contributions. It is also a holistic solution to many of life’s necessities and an activity that can enjoyed for a lifetime,” said Laurence Applebaum, CEO, Golf Canada.
“Golf is a healthy, safe activity, promoting environmental stewardship, providing exceptional social value, and is great for business. And importantly, we’re seeing tremendous diversity in our growth with incredible levels of engagement,” said Applebaum. “In addition, the recent success of our Canadian LPGA and PGA Tour Pros has further propelled the enthusiasm for the sport, with such stars on the world stage as Brooke Henderson and Nick Taylor.”
Other attributes of Canadian golf include:
18 holes of golf burns up to 2000 calories, a very healthy 15 km walk and active exercise in nature.
95% of golfers in Canada feel that golf is very good for their mental health, which has also been clinically proven.
83% of Canadian golfers state that the social aspects of golf are important to them and improve their lives.
Spectator interest in professional golf is at an all-time high. The RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Women’s Open are setting records for attendance and commercial success.
Golf is a trusted Safe Sport environment for both recreational and competitive play.
Canadian golf has been experiencing great diversity, including a 6% increase in active women golfers and 33% growth in BIPOC golfers in 2023.
Off-course golf including simulator play and virtual golf experiences have bolstered the growth in participation.
Sustainable golf has become a leading environmental stewardship movement in Canadian golf, with golf courses throughout the country embracing sustainability pledges and best practices.
Golf flourished during the pandemic as the nature of the sport easily allowed for social distancing while delivering a social recreation experience that could not be found elsewhere.
With golf now better recognized as an important part of the solution, and all of the health, social and economic benefits, the positive spotlight on golf and its impact on Canadian communities has since sustained most of that increased demand.
In summary, the study clearly shows that golf is good for Canada and Canadians.
After posting a career low (66) in round one, Park set herself up for success for the rest of the championship.
In the final round, she secured the victory after a thrilling two-hole playoff win over Team Canada’s Michelle Xing (NextGen) and Team Ontario’s Wendy Li.
Javier shot a final round 7-under-par 65 to clinch the win, finishing three shots clear of his nearest competitor. With the 54-hole total of 202—14-under-par, Javier sets a new low scoring championship mark.
Luke Smith (The Thornhill Club) won the U17 division for the second straight year, after finishing the championship at 9-under-par.
The top five players in this tournament have qualified to the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in Innisfail, AB. They are: Matthew Javier, Aidan Talent, Rylan Hall, Luke Smith & Rowan MacDonald (Royal Ottawa Golf Club).
In his four-year playing career, Javier has won the Ontario Juvenile (U17) Championship twice in 2022 and 2023, and now, he adds the Ontario Junior (U19) Boys Spring Classic to his resume.
The Ontario Senior Women’s Ada Mackenzie Matches Team was victorious with a 12-8 win over the squad from Upper New York. The matches are an annual two-day event and were hosted this year at the Heron Point Golf Links in Ancaster, Ont.
Ontario’s championship team consisted of: Debbie Court, Carolyn Gallinger, Shelley Lothian, Mei Wang, Sandy Byckowski, Denise Schaefer, Kim Legge, Jayne Chalmers, Judith Kyrinis and Meredith Standford.
The Ada Mackenzie Matches have been conducted since 1960 and are an annual team event with Upper New York State. The format for the competition consists of two match-play rounds. The first day consists of Chapman-format team matches. Chapman format is where both players drive, then hit each other’s tee shot for the second shot, before the best ball is selected and players play alternately on the selected ball for the remainder of the hole. The second day features Better-Ball matches.
