MAYNOOTH, Ireland – Denmark, bolstered by the stellar play of 17-year-old identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, held off a surging field to win its first World Amateur Team Championship at 39-under-par 541 by one stroke over the USA.

The Danes claimed the Eisenhower Trophy in their 25th appearance as Nicolai Hojgaard, the 2018 European Amateur champion, posted a 7-under-par 66 and his brother Rasmus fired a 6-under-67 for a team total of 13-under-par 133 on the par-73 O’Meara Course. Teammate John Axelsen posted a non-counting 4-under 69. Previously, in 2010, Denmark had claimed the silver medal.

“It means a lot,” said six-time Danish captain Torben Nyehuus. “Everybody is watching. It’s just amazing. I was with the team in 2010 when we came in second, so this is just amazing. It’s pretty nice to go one better.”

Nicolai notched five birdies in his final nine holes and Rasmus logged three as they took the lead from a tightly-packed leaderboard. Four teams, Denmark, USA, Spain and New Zealand, were tied at 34-under as the last groups made the turn.

“I feel wonderful,” said Nicolai. “This is a dream come true for all of us. I had a tough start to this tournament, so I was just trying to play some good rounds to help the team. I did that the last two rounds so this is perfect. This is the biggest team event we could have won and to do it with Rasmus is perfect. But, also with John, John is a great friend and we are all having fun. This is just wonderful.”

The USA used a strong finish by University of Texas freshman and 2018 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Cole Hammer (7-under 66) and University of Southern California senior Justin Suh (4-under 69) to pass Spain for the silver medal at 38-under-par 542.

“It says a lot,” said Hammer, the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion. “It speaks a lot to the way our team jelled and how much fun we had together. When you are having fun playing golf, good things happen. To medal in my first international competition, especially on a stage as big as this, is really special.”

Spain took the bronze medal at 36-under 544. New Zealand, which held the lead through 36 and 54 holes, was fourth at 545, followed by Norway, Italy and Thailand tied for fifth at 548; England in eighth at 549, Canada in ninth at 550 and host Ireland and Germany tied for 10th at 553.

Although there is no official recognition, Spain’s Alejandro “Alex” Del Rey was the low individual scorer at 23-under 267. He and England’s Matthew Jordan shot the low scores in the fourth round at 8-under 65.

The Canadian squad carded a final-round of 10 under par to climb into sole possession of 9th place overall. The trio finished at 30 under par, with Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que., leading the way at 13 under. Fellow Quebec native Hugo Bernard finished at 11 under par while Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., closed out at 7 under par.

9th of 72 in the ⁦@IGFgolf⁩ #WATC2018 ⁦@CartonHouseGolf⁩ this year. Not what we wanted but super proud of the effort! ⁦@Hbernard63⁩ ⁦@savoiejoey⁩ #Grank ⁦@wavephysio⁩ represent ⁦@TheGolfCanada⁩ and themselves with class! Congrats men! ??? pic.twitter.com/Ap2V8Y8oj1

— Derek Ingram (@dingramgolf) September 8, 2018

Last week, the Canadian women’s team rallied back from T39 to finish in 7th place.

In 29 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours five times. In 25 appearances at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has earned runner-up honours four times.

The 32nd World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy and the 29th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy are set for Hong Kong in 2020.

Click here for full scoring.

American Brady Exber is the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior champion.

The Las Vagas, Nevada golfer stroked a four-day total of 278 at the Gowan Brae Golf Club in Bathurst, New Brunswick to win by seven shots.

Saskatchewan’s top golfer was Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg. The Golf Kenosee player fired a 304 over the 72-hole event that concluded Friday evening. Hallberg at one point had climbed into fifth place, Saskatchewan’s senior champion played great finishing in a tie for 22^nd overall.

Regina’s Ken Rodgers finished in a tie for 43^rd at plus-19, Colin Coben of Delisle cared a 23-over, good enough for a tie in 61^st.

As a team, Saskatchewan finished just two shots off the lead and placed fourth overall.

Saskatoon’s Tony Turay, Biggar’s Keith Silvernagle, and Stu Innes of Regina also took part in the tournament.

The complete leaderboard can be found here.

Flirting with a potential top-five finish at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg slipped to a tie for 17^th at the event in Bathhurst, New Brunswick Thursday.

Hallberg started the day in a tie for fifth overall at plus-3, his stellar play continued during round three at the Gowan Brae Golf Club until the Golf Kenosee player completed his round with bogeys on holes 15 and 16. He then picked up an eight on the par-3, 17^th. Hallberg is at plus-9 for the tournament.

Regina’s Ken Rodgers carded an 8-over, 80 on Thursday, he’s tied for 54^th place. Colin Coben of Delisle is tied for 63^rd at plus-18. Team Saskatchewan with Hallberg, Rodgers, and Tony Turay finished in a solid fourth-place in the inter-provincial championship portion of the event. That part of the tournament is over the first two rounds.

Las Vegas, Nevada golfer Brady Exber is the leader at 11-under-par. The championship concludes Friday.

Online scoring is here.

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak didn’t have the average summer for a 12-year-old.

The avid swimmer didn’t spend her days at the local pool or beach enjoying the water with her friends, her break from school was on the golf course. Kozak jumped into the world of competitive golf head first and the foray paid off. Rob Kozak, Ella’s dad caddied for her at the Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship as well as the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship. He said the season taught both him and Ella some lessons.

“The summer was incredible looking back on it now,” he told Golf Saskatchewan. “When we were in the moment it was pretty intimidating. Looking back now we are so thankful for that experience. For me I can’t wait to get back there because we have a better idea of what it’s like to compete at that level.”

Kozak played in 12 tournaments across the Golf Saskatchewan Order of Merit Tour (OMT), the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT), and Future Links Tour. The highlight for her was the three weeks she spent in British Columbia. The national amateur was played at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver and the Canadian Junior Girl’s Championship was in Tsawwassen, B.C.

“It was such a great experience for me,” she said. “I had so much stuff to learn. It was intimidating and I was nervous, but the tournaments were cool. I think I got used to it after a couple days.”

Kozak was edged by Saskatchewan junior girl’s champion Brooklin Fry in the OMT standings in the under-15 age category. She finished the year with three MJT wins in the same age group. She said overall, playing in a dozen competitive events increased her passion for the game.

“Yeah, I have become more interested in the tournaments. Knowing what’s going on, last year I was kind of just day dreaming. I’m into them now and I’m older and I think matured. I can understand what’s going on,” she said.

The Kozak’s also got to experience the professional side of women’s golf as well. The pair spent a day inside the ropes at the CP Women’s Open event in Regina late in August. Ella said watching the players was beneficial for her own game.

“It was cool to see the similarities and differences between the pros and me. How pros don’t hit every perfect shot, I need to understand that, I always found pros perfect. When I saw them play I was more interested with how they deal with their mistakes,” she said.

She didn’t get to see Brooke Henderson win the event and become the first Canadian to be victorious at the tournament since 1973. Kozak said she was very happy that she did pull off the win.

“It was cool to see her in person, I always see her on tv, but I was like wow, it’s Brooke Henderson. I am proud of her that she won. It was neat to see her and watch how she plays the game,” she said.

Saskatoon’s Anna Young was in the LPGA event making her debut. The five-time Saskatchewan champion didn’t make the cut at the CP Open. Despite her result, Kozak was cheering her on as well.

“I was rooting for her lots. She did really good, it was cool to see her and meet her. It was nice,” she said.

Kozak had another highlight of the summer, she hit her first career hole-in-one at an MJT event in Winnipeg as well.

She will play in the MJT National Champion in Phoenix, Arizona in November to wrap up the golf year. Kozak is a competitive swimmer in Yorkton so she will now return to the pool and the classroom until next season.

You can hear more from the Kozak’s who spoke to Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork on Wednesday.

Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg is in position at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship to make a run going into the final two rounds of the tournament.

The Golf Kenosee member fired a 1-over, 73 during Wednesday’s second round. Hallberg, the reigning Saskatchewan senior champion is 3-over par after 36-holes and tied for eighth place, eight strokes behind leader Brady Exber.

Regina’s Ken Rodgers made the cut, he is in a six-way tie at plus-8 at 32^nd. Delisle’s Colin Coben is in 60^th place at 12-over with 14 others. Plus-8 was the cutline of the event.

Tony Turay of Saskatoon shot 7-over Wednesday, Regina’s Stu Innes fired a plus-11 during round two and Keith Silvernagle carded a plus-16. The three players missed the cut and won’t play the third and fourth rounds.

The tournament concludes on Friday at the Gowan Brae Golf Club in Bathhurst, New Brunswick.

Online scoring is available here.

Highlighted by the stories of the “Goose”, the 2018 Synergy 8 golf tournament and gala was a rousing success.

On Aug. 28, 260 people took part in the golf tournament at the Willows in Saskatoon. Later in the day almost 1,000 attended the banquet at Prairieland Park. Long-time golf commentator Gary McCord, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen, and Golf Channel personality Holly Sonders took the stage highlighting the program. During the evening, Premier Scott Moe presented the Synergy 8 group with the Saskatchewan Premier’s Service Club Award for their charity work over the last decade. Synergy 8 member Rob Lozinski said the 10^th annual event was a memorable one.

“From our award from the province given by Premier Moe, to the silent and live auctions, to the meal, to NHLers Eric Gryba and Cam Talbot auctioning off some Edmonton Oiler hockey tickets and arena tours. The Humboldt Broncos and Saskatoon Blades event announcement on Sept. 22, to the question and answer session with Holly Sonders, Gary McCord, and Retief “The Goose” Goosen, it was quite an evening,” he said.

The Blades are going to honour the families effected by the bus crash in April involving the Broncos. Canadian LPGA golfer Alena Sharp used a specially designed Broncos golf bag at the CP Women’s Open in Regina last month. The bag was auctioned off for $19,000 with the proceeds benefitting the Humboldt & District Hospital Foundation. The emotional portion of the event was short lived, Lozinski said the three celebrity guests kept the crowd laughing all night.

“Retief regaled us with his story of being struck by lightning and talking about his two US Open wins. McCord was delightfully hilarious and spontaneous with stories of the best putters and strikers of the ball he’d ever encountered. Holly added beauty to the two golf beasts up on stage,” he said.

The proceeds from the overall event are going to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. Lozinski said they are still gathering the total. Since the group’s inception they’ve raised $3.6 million.

The team of Rick Hallberg, Tony Turay, and Ken Rodgers have put themselves in a position to win the inter-provincial championship at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

Team Saskatchewan is tied for first place at plus-4 with Alberta after 18 holes of the event in Bathhurst, New Brunswick. Rodgers and Hallberg, both shot 2-over, 74’s during the first round at the Gowan Brae Golf Club. They sit in a tie for eighth. Turay carded an 8-over, 80 in his first round.

Also, in the 156-player field are Colin Coben, Keith Silvernagle, and Stu Innes. Coben is in a tie for 97^th at plus-9, Silvernagle shot a 10-over, 82. He is in a tie for 109^th, Innes is in 144^th place at 14-over par.

Round two starts Wednesday morning, online scoring is available here.

The hype of the CP Women’s Open in Regina is starting to fade but the legacy of the event will continue for years.

Golf Canada Tournament Director Ryan Paul said the event is still the “talk of the office” since Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson captured the title on Aug. 26 at the Wascana Country Club. Paul said the first LPGA Tour event held in Saskatchewan was spectacular.

“Seeing this province hasn’t had an event before, it was important for Golf Canada as we look to grow the game across the country. Saskatchewan has a short summer but a strong golf community so being able to bring a professional, international sporting event to the province was big. I think everyone in Regina, Saskatchewan, and the surround ding provinces bought in and made it a great event,” Paul said.

Henderson, a native of Smith Falls, Ont. became the first Canadian to win the event since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Only four Canadians have won professional golf tournaments in their native land. Paul said the event would have been a huge success even without Henderson captivating the fans for four days.

“You could see it when she was in the hunt,” Paul said. “It will do wonders for the game, when you see the little boys and girls in Ping hats and ‘Brooke’s Brigade’ tee-shirts, it really impacts the sport in a positive way. Her winning was celebrated throughout the country. Our event has a national reach but when a Canadian wins, and a Canadian like Brooke wins it really inspires new golfers and puts the CP Women’s Open on the global scale.”

The tournament, the first ever LPGA event in Saskatchewan saw over 47,000 people attend. Last year’s CP Women’s Open event in Ottawa at Henderson’s home course is the only other event more attended. Paul said the spectators were incredible all week long.

“We’re trying to prepare our closing ceremonies and we have a guy that is going to sing Oh Canada, it’s the first time we have ever done this, so we’ve got it all set, and everyone starts singing it on their own. That was pretty special, that makes you proud to be a Canadian,” he said.

The LPGA and Golf Canada base their decision on host tournament sites with several qualifications. Canadian Pacific, through their sponsorship encourages destinations with a healthy supply of customer and client relationships as well as a strong charitable focus. The Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation was the recipient of a portion of this year’s proceeds. Paul said the idea of an LPGA event returning to Saskatchewan is exciting.

“I can’t really talk about why this is the first time, it’s definitely not the last. The event on many levels was positive for us,” he said.

A handful of Saskatchewan golfers are in the field to start the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship Tuesday in Bathhurst, New Brunswick.

Saskatchewan senior champion Rick Hallberg leads the list of five players in the 72-hole championship. The Weyburn product is in the 156-player field as well as Regina’s Ken Rodgers; Tony Turay; Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Coben; Regina’s Stu Innes; and Saskatchewan super senior champion Keith Silvernagle of Biggar.

The Gowan Brae Golf Club is playing at 6,624 yards for the tournament. A champion will be crowned on Sept. 7. You can follow the scoring here.

Following suit of other national sports agencies, Golf Canada is experimenting with a year-round residency program for elite junior golfers.

Set up at Bear Mountain Golf Resort, 10 of the top junior players in Canada, up to five of each girls and boys, live with billets at the Victoria, B.C. property. Director of Golf at the 1,100-acre property, Mike Ridout said Golf Canada investigated several locations before choosing Bear Mountain for the three-year pilot project.

“I think Bear Mountain is a terrific choice because of the facilities and amenities,” Ridout said during the CP Women’s Open in Regina. “With 36-holes of (Jack) Nicklaus golf, with a resort community the athletes are able to live right on the mountain. We had the infrastructure and resources to create the partnership with Golf Canada.”

The nation’s mountain biking association and Tennis Canada have programs stationed at Bear Mountain as well. Ridout said recent success of other amateur sports in Canada and the “Own the Podium” strategy incorporated prior to the 2010 Olympics are reasons for the golf program test.

“When you look at the other sports that they are building upon these residency programs, that’s the only way to compete in their minds. Golf Canada said let’s take that step forward and let’s see what a residency program does for our athletes and to our program,” he said.

Athletes in the golf program are full-time students while attending. The golfers have access to sports psychologists, nutritionists, and personal trainers to assist in their development. Ridout said the entire program doesn’t just progress the athletes in a certain discipline, the level of Canada’s coaches elevates too.

“It shows externally we’re not only looking at the high-performance athlete, but it provides our coaches a tremendous opportunity to learn from the best coaches. To have elite players around to understand teaching philosophies,” he said.

“Whether it’s golf, or tennis, or mountain biking, you have that mindset of winning and how to get better,” Ridout added.

Golf Canada is looking at utilizing the facility with members of the national team as well. Their games can be developed at Bear Mountain, plus the juniors can learn from the more experienced players. Ridout said having a couple other teams visit will make the program better.

“The National Team and Young Pro team, so Brittany Marchand who played in the CP event, they will travel out as well. That’s going to be more of an importance for Golf Canada to have other teams come out for significant training periods at Bear Mountain,” he said.

The announcement to have the national teams work with Bear Mountain was made by Golf Canada in November, 2015.