Taylor Craig/ Golf Canada

Play the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis during the Golf Ontario St. Kitts 2Ball, January 7-14. For more information see: https://gao.ca/st-kitts-2-ball-invitational/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXskznltLwU

GORMLEY— Men’s club champions from across the province were at Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club on June 3 for the playing of the Golf Ontario 2016 Champion of Champions tournament, presented by Turkish Airlines.

It was a beautiful day for the 53 champions who teed it up, as they all looked to be crowned 2016 Champion of Champions. The event had a wide range of ages competing, as the youngest champion was just 15-years-old while the oldest was 68.

Taking the title was Brampton Golf Club’s Russell Bowie. The 24-year-old Mississauga resident fired a two-under (69) to win the title by one stroke. Following the win, Bowie spoke about how honoured he was to be following in the footsteps of other Brampton Golf Club members who have won the Ontario Champion of Champions. “It means a lot to me to win this. It is a collection of club champions, so it’s pretty special to win. For Brampton, we have had a few previous winners: Stu Hamilton won it years ago and just a few years back, a good friend of mine, Binupa Wijesinghe, won it. I’m happy to bring it back to Brampton.”

Bowie credited his win to avoiding any major mistakes during the round. “I think I just avoided any major errors. I was never in any trouble. I hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I was never really scrambling. It was a good straight-forward round.”

This is the first provincial championship for Bowie.

Finishing in second place was Cherry Down’s Golf & Country Club’s Mathew Iceton. Iceton, from Brooklin, shot a one-under (70) to take home the silver.

Rounding out the podium in a tie for third were Deer Ridge Golf Club’s Ryan Kings and St. Catharines Golf & Country Club’s Robert Ellis. Kings, from Kitchener, and Ellis, from St. Catharines, each finished at even par (70).

For full tournament information, including the final leaderboard, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao1619/index.htm

Golf Ontario would like to thank Meadowbrook G&CC for hosting the event, as well as all of the staff and the Golf Ontario volunteers who contributed. Thanks also to Turkish Airlines, the title sponsor of the championship.

About the Ontario Men’s Champion of Champions

The Ontario Men’s Champion of Champions was first contested in 1946 and features men’s club champions from Golf Ontario member clubs across the province. Past champions of the event include Ontario Golf Hall of Fame members Bill Morland, Gerry Kesselring, Warren Sye, and Stu Hamilton, as well as Big Break Indian Wells champion David Byrne.

Meet Golf Ontario’s 2016 U19 Team Ontario.

BOND HEAD — The George S. Lyon Team Championship returned to the Golf Ontario schedule, on May 31, as 22 teams looked to claim the top prize. The event was not played in 2015 in order to accommodate a move in the schedule from the fall to the spring. By making the move, Golf Ontario hoped it would encourage more club participation. If 2016 was any indication, clubs certainly sent their best to compete for the title.

Conditions were windy as 87 players teed off at The Club at Bond Head. The wind would be an issue that participants battled throughout the round. When all of the cards were in and tallied, it was the team from the Sarnia Golf & Curling Club who finished on top at a combined 18-over (306) to take the championship.

Sarnia was lead by Heath McCormick who had the low round of the day at one-under (71) and won the Crofton Harvey Shield. McCormick credited his round to a 100-foot eagle putt on his second hole of the day, the par-five ninth, that gave him momentum moving forward. The rest of Sarnia’s results were also strong. Next on the team was Eric Pattenaude at three-over (75), followed by Ethan O’Meara at seven-over (79) and Brian Reinholt at nine-over (81).

After the win, McCormick spoke about what the win means to the team and their club. “It feels really nice to do something like this for our club. They are an awesome club and all of the members are very supportive. We weren’t sure if we were quite good enough but my card was the last to go in, so at that point we started to think we might have it. The guys had been following it on their phones as the scores came in and then we started to get texts from friends back home, so it was pretty special.”

Finishing second was the team from Weston Golf & Country Club. The team was made up of: Justin Allen at one-over (73), Keith Joel at six-over (78), Steven Poulos at seven-over (79) and Will Gavarkovs at seven-over (79).

Rounding out the top three was the team from Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club, the defending champions of the event. Their team was made up of: Marc St-Germain at four-over (76), Cole Hague at five-over (77), Robert Gibson at five-over (77) and Joseph Kremer at nine-over (81).

For full results, including the final leaderboards, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao1616/index.htm

Golf Ontario would like to thank The Club at Bond Head for hosting the event along with their staff. Thanks also to the Golf Ontario volunteers for their continued support.

About the George S. Lyon Team Championship

The George S. Lyon Team Championship was first played in 1931 and ran consecutively until 2000. Originally an inter-club championship, the event was reinstated in 2006 and is named after 1904 Olympic Golf gold medalist George S. Lyon, who still stands as the reigning Olympic champion of the sport. After a one-year hiatus in 2015, to accommodate a move from the fall to the spring, the George S. Lyon resumed in 2016.

ABOUT GOLF ONTARIO

Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest 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 getting the game of golf into our school systems, to keeping the Ontario golf community aware of all relevant issues and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to making golf better for everyone in Ontario. We share a love and passion for golf, while preserving its past, fostering its future, and championing golf’s best interests for everyone who enjoys the sport.

For more information, please contact:

Darren Matte, Communications and Marketing Coordinator

Golf Ontario

905-852-1101 ext. 234

dmatte@gao.ca

Taylor Craig/ Golf Canada

MIDLAND, Ont. – A hot and humid day, punctuated by a booming thunder clap, closed out the 2016 edition of the CN Future Links Ontario Championship at Midland Golf & Country Club. Brandon Lacasse and Team Ontario’s Isabella Portokalis emerged from tight groups of competitors to claim the Junior Girls and Junior Boys titles.

The Junior Boys leaderboard was crowded throughout the final day of competition. Lacasse separated himself from the group and the Châteauguay, Que., product matched his second-round 70 to finish 212 overall. The 18-year-old, who entered the day with a share of the lead, finished with two birdies for a two-stroke victory.

“I just tried to play as if it was a fun round,” said Lacasse. “I always finish second or third, so I’m happy to finally win a big tournament.”

Lacasse noted the bittersweet nature of the victory with this being his final year of eligibility on the junior circuit. “It’s fun to finish with a win,” he said. “Last year, I finished sixth at the Canadian Juniors, so maybe a win this year will help me perform better.”

Toronto’s Tyler Nagano remained competitive throughout the round, tallying four birdies, but could not catch the leader. The 17-year-old finished 4-over 214, while Beaconsfield, Que., native Remi Chartier earned third-place with a 69 – his lowest round of the weekend.

As the Top-5 in the Junior Boys division, Lacasse, Nagano, Chartier, Team Ontario’s Ty Celone (Long Sault, Ont.) and Team Ontario’s Jake Bryson (Dunrobin, Ont.) earned spots into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. from August 1-4. Kelvin Young Woong Lim claimed the sixth available spot following a playoff-victory over Charles-David Trépanier of Québec City and Anthony Occhiuto from Guelph, Ont.

A clap of thunder forced the brief suspension of play with players being evacuated from the field due to safety concerns. After players returned to the course, Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong and Surrey, B.C., native Hannah Lee began play before the championship committee had allowed the resumption of play. After careful review of the situation, the committee decided to waive the penalty of disqualification as per Rule 6-8: Discontinuance of Play; Resumption of Play, and to issue each with a two-stroke penalty.

Isabella Portokalis tallied a pair of birdies en route to a 2-over 72 on the day. The London, Ont., native made par on hole 18 to sit 6-over 216 alongside Kong. When the two-stroke penalty was applied following the round, Portokalis claimed the win by two strokes.

“I just tried to keep calm and keep making pars, and if a putt went in then that was great,” said the 14-year-old when asked to reflect on the day. “I got into the scoring tent and everybody said that I won and I didn’t even realize it.”

Portokalis sees this victory as a building block towards future success, including the 2016 Canadian Junior Girls Championship in August. “Now I know that I can win any tournament,” she said. “I was three back on the first tee, but I bounced back on the back nine.”

Kong and Lee – members of Team Canada’s Women’s Development Squad – claimed second- and third-place in the tournament. Kong collected four birdies and an eagle on hole 15, but finished with a 2-over 72 showing. Lee finished third following a 75.

All players within the Top-6 in the Junior Girls division earned entries into the 2016 Canadian Junior Girls Championship from August 2-5 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S. Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont,), Team Ontario’s Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.), and Grace St-Germain (Orleans, Ont.) will compete alongside Portokalis, Kong, and Lee.

For full results click here.

LONDON— Windy conditions greeted the 59 players who took to the course at West Haven Golf & Country Club on May 25, for the 2016 Ontario Senior Men’s Champion of Champions, presented by Turkish Airlines. The event featured senior club champions from all across the province, who were all looking to take home the title.

When all was said and done, it was Pickering’s Christopher Kertsos who came away with the low round. The York Downs Golf & Country Club member fired a one-over (72) to take the title. The 60-year-old Kertsos is no stranger to provincial honours, as he was the individual medalist at the 2014 George S. Lyon team competition.

After the win, Kertsos spoke about where the it ranks for him. “This win is pretty special to me. Other than the George S. Lyon, it’s my first individual win among my peers. I didn’t think it was going to happen the way I started the day as I double bogeyed the first hole and I was four-over after nine. Then things started to click and I started to make some birdies. I got to one-over with two holes to go but bogeyed my second last hole, which I was quite upset about, but I birdied my last one to finish at one-over. I didn’t think that one-over was going to hold up though, I really didn’t.”

Kertsos attributed the win to his strong turnaround on the back nine. “I didn’t feel great at the beginning of the round, but I just hung in there and tried to keep making pars until I had some birdie chances. I converted a few back-to-back birdies, followed by some pars and a few more birdies and that was the difference.”

Following Kertsos was a four-way tie for second place. Among the four players to all finish at three-over (74) were: 2014 Senior Men’s Amateur Champion Larry Cooper, from Oakville and the Mississaugua Golf & Country Club; 2014 Senior Men’s Champion of Champions Dan Partland, from Bolton and The National Golf Club of Canada; Jim Chapman, from Ancaster and the Hamilton Golf & Country Club; and Paul Nielsen, from Kingsville and Point West Golf Club.

For full tournament information, including the final leaderboard, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao1615/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

About the Senior Men’s Champion of Champion

The Ontario Senior Men’s Champion of Champions was first contested in 1970 and features senior men’s club champions age 55 and over from Golf Ontario member clubs across the province. Golf Ontario would like to thank West Haven Golf & Country Club for hosting the event, as well as all of the staff and volunteers who contributed to the event. Thanks also to Turkish Airlines, the title sponsor of the championship.

UXBRIDGE/WATERLOO — The first 2016 Golf Ontario junior event came to a close on May 23, as the Investors Group Junior Boys’ and Girls’ Spring Classics wrapped up after three days of great golf. In the end, Peyton Callens and Ellie Szeryk outlasted the competition at Wooden Sticks Golf Club and Grey Silo Golf Course, respectively, to hoist the championship trophies.

Investors Group Junior Boys’ Spring Classic

Entering the day, Langton’s Peyton Callens had a two-shot lead. The Delhi Golf & Country Club member had played some consistent golf throughout the weekend and the final round would be no different. Back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes helped him finish the front nine at one-under. That would be key for the Team Ontario member as he was one-over on the back nine. Still, the 16-year-old’s even-par (72) was good enough to hold off the field as he capped off the week at four-under (71-69-72-212) earning the championship. Callens also took home the Juvenile title.

The consistent play definitely turned out to be the key factor as one player, Elmvale’s Andrew Nagel, from Barrie Country Club, was on fire. Nagel carded a six-under (66) to put the pressure on Callens. While his run would fall just short, Nagel picked up the silver at two-under for the tournament (77-71-66-214).

After the round, Callens spoke about the pressure he faced from his challengers. “Coming into today I was up by two on John (Burghardt) and didn’t quite know how he would play. It turned out that he ran into some trouble, but meanwhile Andrew (Nagel) was just hitting everything. He was three-under at one point while I was two-under so I knew I just had to keep playing my best. My lead was only three shots at one point and in golf a three-shot lead is really nothing. I started to put some distance on the back nine and that’s when I started to feel good. I knew if I just stayed calm, played well, hit good shots, hit fairways and greens I would be able to pull it out.”

Rounding out medals was a four-way tie for third. Earning a share at one-over for the tournament were Guelph’s Anthony Occhiuto (74-72-71-217), from Cutten Fields Golf Club, Thornhill and Team Ontario’s Jason Chung (76-68-73-217), from Thornhill Golf & Country Club, Thornhill’s Kelvin Lim (71-73-73-217), from Station Creek Golf Club, and Richmond Hill’s Angelo Giantsopoulos (75-71-71-217), from York Downs Golf & Country Club.

For full tournament information, including the final leaderboard see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao162/index.htm

Investors Group Junior Girls’ Spring Classic

The final round for the girls at Grey Silo looked like it would be anything but dramatic. Port Credit’s Chloe Currie entered the day at three-under and had a five-shot lead. However, the Team Canada Development Squad and Mississaugua Golf & Country Club member got out to a rough start. She double bogeyed the first hole and bogeyed the second bringing her right back to the rest of the field. Her struggles continued on the back nine and she went on to finish the day five-over (76), brining her three-day total to two-over (68-71-76-215) good enough for a share of second.

Meanwhile, one of her playing partners was having a solid outing. Ellie Szeryk, a dual United States and Canadian citizen who plays out of London when in Ontario, began the day at one-over in a tie for second. After an even front nine, she finished one-under on the back for a final round of one-under (70). That was good enough to secure her the title as she ended the three rounds at even par (69-74-70-213).

“It feels amazing to win. It was a grind out there today, Chloe (Currie) and Monet (Chun) were really close, at one point I think there were about four players all pretty close to one another so I am so happy I could finish it off and pull out a win,” said Szeryk.

Szeryk credited her ball striking as the key element of her game that helped her capture the win. “My ball striking was really good, I put myself in good places. Of course I had some bad shots but I learned to recover and got over whatever happened.”

The win was the first provincial championship for the 14-year-old Szeryk.

The silver medal was also shared by three Team Ontario players who, in addition to Currie, all finished at two-over for the tournament. Hornby’s Alexandra Naumovski, from Brampton Golf Club, had the low round of the day finishing three-under (68). First-round leader London’s Isabella Portokalis, from West Haven Golf & Country Club finished one-over (72) as did Richmond Hill’s Monet Chun, from The Summit Golf & Country Club.

Full information, including the final leaderboard can be found on the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao1618/index.htm

Golf Ontario would like to thank both Wooden Sticks and Grey Silo along with their staffs for hosting the events. Thanks also to the Golf Ontario volunteers and to title sponsor Investors Group for their continued support of golf in Ontario.

About the Investors Group Spring Classic

The Investors Group Junior Spring Classic is a 54-hole stroke-play competition contested annually over the Victoria Day long weekend that features many of Ontario’s best male and female junior golfers. The field of competitors gained entry to the competition through a qualifying process earlier in the season.

WOODBRIDGE— Golf Ontario hosted the first meeting of all of its newly created Golf Advisory Teams (GAT) on May 18 at The Country Club in Woodbridge. The event was a chance for all of the six teams (Championships, Communications, Golf Services, Handicapping and Course Rating, Golf Communities, and Next Gen) to all meet and brainstorm ideas how Golf Ontario can enhance it’s support and leadership for the golf industry.

Golf Ontario Executive Director Mike Kelly kicked off the session with an overview of the association’s new strategic plan and presented the golf community model along with the pilot project: Golf Barrie. It was a chance for all members of the GAT to see the direction that Golf Ontario is moving towards. Afterwards, the participants broke off into their own teams and met to discuss their own issues and brainstormed ideas to make the project more successful going forward.

“Our inaugural Golf Advisory Team Day was an important step in aligning our staff and golf industry advisors as we work to strengthen our commitment to the delivery of quality programs and services that have impact,” said Kelly. “From juniors to parents to facility owners and PGA professionals, we are thrilled that we are moving forward together.” 

The new Golf Advisory Team model aims to support the Golf Ontario Strategic Plan. The GAT will help to accomplish the goal of becoming the Best Provincial Sport Organization in Canada; innovate golf by providing industry leading services; drive more people to play the sport and encourage more children to get into the game; support golf clubs/facilities and all people involved in the game by aligning golf organizations, creating positive partnerships and ensuring that golf remains the most popular sport in Ontario.

With files from the Golf Association of Michigan

LAKE ORION – The Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) team won each of the four-ball matches on the first day to power themselves to a win in the sixth annual International Senior Matches against Golf Ontario at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion, Michigan, May 17-18.

The GAM took a 4-0 advantage in the Ryder Cup-style competition after four-ball play on day one on Indianwood’s Old Course, and held on as Golf Ontario’s team rallied with a 5-3 advantage in singles play on day two.

After falling behind on the first day, Golf Ontario saw some positive signs during the second round. Dave Bergeron picked up the first win with a 2up victory in his match. Richard Evoy then captured a 5 and 4 win. Marty Quincy also picked up a win 4 and 2, while Rich Dobbs-Hebron and Lars Melander earned splits in their matches. However, despite their charge on the final day, the Golf Ontario team fell just short losing the matches 7-5.

The GAM and Golf Ontario alternate hosting the matches that are presented to promote international sportsmanship. Each four-ball match was worth one point, and each singles match was worth one point. All halved matches earned each team one-half point.

RESULTS

Golf Association of Michigan 7, Golf Ontario 5

Four-Ball Matches

Randy Lewis/Mitch Wilson (GAM) d. Michael Jackson/Lars Melander (GO) 2 and 1

Ian Harris/Rick Herpich (GAM) d. Dave Bergeron/Rick Dobbs-Hebron (GO) 3 and 2

Mike Tungate/Mike Fedewa (GAM) d. Richard Evoy/Robert O’Hagan (GO) 5 and 4

Mike Raymond/Bill Zylstra (GAM) d. Michael Mealia/Marty Quincey (GO) 4 and 3

Four-Ball Totals: GAM 4, Golf Ontario 0

Singles Matches

Harris (GAM) d. O’Hagan (GO) 3 and 2

Lewis (GAM, Dobbs-Hebron (GO) all-square

Bergeron (GO) d. Herpich (GAM) 2-up

Evoy (GO) d. Zylstra (GAM) 5 and 4

Wilson (GAM) d. Jackson (GO) 4 and 2

Tungate (GAM), Melander (GO) all-square

Quincey (GO) d. Fedewa (GAM) 4 and 2

Mealia (GO) d. Raymond (GAM) 5 and 4

Singles Totals: Golf Ontario 5, GAM 3