Golf Canada championship season comes to a close
Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:31:17
by Brent McLaughlin, Director, Rules, Competitions and Amateur Status, Golf Canada
The 2011 Canadain Men's Mid-Amateur Championship at beautiful Coppinwood marked the competition of another successful champion season for Golf Canada.
The final event of the season was one a great one. Trenton, Ont., native Rob Couture, who now lives in Dallas, carded a final-round 4-under par 68 to capture the title and an exemption into the 2012 RBC Canadian Open.
There were several other great stories written at our championships this season.
Dundas, Ont. golfer Mackenzie Hughes put on a terrific performance to win the Canadian Men's Amateur Championship, also earning a spot into next year's RBC Canadian Open.
Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto won the Royale Cup Canadian Women's Amateur Championship in a playoff, earning her a spot into the 2012 CN Canadian Women's Open, which will be the 19-year olds fourth LPGA Tour event.
Both are members of Golf Canada's national amateur team program and you can bet great things are in store as these two players continue with their golf careers.
Of course, we also crowned our Canadian Junior Boys and Girls champions. Kevin Kwon shot an outstanding 16-under par over four rounds to win the junior boys and juvenile titles, while Jennifer Yang won the junior girls title with a 7-under par performance.
The CN Canadian Women's Tour continued to be one of the world's premier developmental tours for women, attracting rising Canadian and international female golf professionals as well as top female amateurs. Oakville, Ont.'s Jessica Shepley was awarded as the Jocelyne Bourassa player of the year after winning the Tour's Order of Merit and topping the money list.
And, our six CN Future Links stops across the country continued to attract the best junior golfers, while providing them the opportunity to develop and showcase their competitive skills at the highest level of tournament golf.
While many will notice the champions of all these events, few ever take into consideration the tremendous amount of effort that goes into running these championships.
I'd like to personally thank this year's host clubs, particularly their staff and volunteers. Canada's amateur championships would not be possible without them.
