RCGA Announces Canadians Competing in British Amateur Championship
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:17:53
The four member Canadian contingent includes Matt Ion Young of Burlington, ON, Lee Curry of Ottawa, ON, Michael Hospodar of Brantford, ON and Dan Swanson of Surrey, BC. The players were selected on the basis of national rankings, competitive results and observation by Canadian National Team coaches. According to Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of Player Development, the event ties in with the Player Development Program's mandate to provide international experience for Canada's best amateur golfers at top golf courses against the highest calibre fields.
"The British Amateur Championship is a major amateur event that has not had adequate Canadian representation for many years," said Roxburugh. "By sending Canadian players to this event we in turn hope to invite top international players to the RCGA Canadian Amateur and increase the status and quality of the field."
This year, the 98th Canadian Amateur Championship will run August 12-18 at Fraser Edmundston Golf Club in Endmundston, NB.
Recently, three members of the Canadian contingent competed for The St Andrews Links Trophy, one of the premier international amateur strokeplay events in the world. The event, which ran May 25-26, was played over the Old Course and Jubilee Course at the 'Home of Golf', St. Andrews Links in Scotland. Swanson finished in a tie for 20th position while Hospodar was 37th. Curry missed the 36-hole cut. The entry requirement was scratch or better as golf associations around the world were invited to nominate top amateurs to compete.
The RCGA, the governing body of men's amateur golf in Canada, determines national policies and standards relating to the game on behalf of more than 300,000 of its members. In addition to conducting Canada's six national amateur championships, the RCGA also conducts three professional tournaments: the Bell Canadian Open, The AT&T Canada Senior Open and the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open. Information about all RCGA events and programs can be found on the Internet at www.rcga.org.
