Lindsay Bernakevitch is one of five inductees that make up the 2020 class of the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame. Bernakevitch won four consecutive men’s amateur championships in the early 2000’s.

The 40-year-old becomes the youngest member of the Hall of Fame. Bernakevitch joined Golf Saskatchewan’s Director of Communications Clark Stork this week via Zoom to speak about the honour.

Ralph Bauer is taking on the role of Director of Instruction at Hamilton Golf and Country Club (HGCC) starting December 1, 2020.

After spending the past 12 years coaching full-time on the PGA TOUR, Ralph is looking forward to working with members and calling Hamilton home in his new full-time position.

“After the US Open at Winged Foot in September, I decided it was time to transition off the PGA TOUR and stay closer to home, the Director of Instruction job at HGCC was always my dream job since the day I first applied for it 25 years ago,” says Bauer, who has spent four stints in quarantine and isolation as a result of COVID-19 and has had lots of time to consider his options moving forward. He called his PGA TOUR players and other students to let them know of his change of plans and he is thrilled to have accepted the job.

This is the next step in elevating the member learning experience at HGCC.

“Ralph’s down to earth personality, dedicated skill set to improve the player and increase enjoyment in the game is one that fits well within the HGCC Golf Academy’s mission, visions and values,” says HGCC Head Golf Professional, Emerson Mahoney. “The mission of the HGCC Golf Academy is to provide the HGCC membership with access to world-class instruction and coaching. Under Ralph’s leadership, we will develop programs to improve and elevate the enjoyment of our most novice to most seasoned members of the club.”

Ralph says his goal is to continue to improve as a coach and an instructor. The 25-year member of the PGA of Canada views himself as a holistic golf coach/teacher. He teaches his students to practice properly and efficiently, so they get the most out of their time on the range, avoid injuries and enjoy the game more. He has a deep and abiding love of the game and everything that goes into enjoying it more and all things related to game improvement.

“I have spent the past two decades trying to become the best golf coach in the world and now I’m focused on being the best Director of Instruction in the world,” Ralph says. He has collaborated with many of the top trainers and coaches in the world, has visited and taught students at more than half of the top-100 courses in the world and seen vibrant teaching programs in action. He was the Golf Ontario Head Coach for several years and also had several roles with Team Canada, notably as the Assistant Coach from 2010 to 2012.

Ralph has coached competitors at all four majors, the past two Presidents Cups, the 2016 Summer Olympics and at every PGA Tour stop. His past and present students include Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson, Lucas Glover, Gary Woodland, Kyle Stanley, Jhonny Vegas, JJ Spaun, Kevin Chappell, Anirban Lahiri and Brandon Harkins. His players have won 25 Golf Ontario provincial championships and 19 of the last 20 years, he has had a student make Golf Canada’s national amateur team.

“I don’t treat a tour player any different than I would any other student. My goal is to work with the student to improve their game” says Bauer. “I started in the business teaching beginner women golfers at Turkey Point GC 27 years ago. I still remember it as a nerve-racking experience. It took me a few years to understand that my students were nervous too. Now, I try to get my students to feel relaxed during a lesson, so they can be in a calm mental state and ready to learn and improve.”

He lives in Turkey Point, with his wife Margaret. They have three grown daughters; Rebecca, who was the Women’s Golf Team Captain at McMaster University; Rachel who is the Women’s Golf Team Captain at the University of Guelph and Leah, who attends King’s College.

Bauer is looking forward to developing a strong junior program at HGCC. “I believe we can have the best junior program in the world right here at HGCC,” he added.

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the field for the 75th U.S. Women’s Open Championship is complete with the addition of 28 players who earned their way into the championship through the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The final major championship of the 2020 golf season will be contested Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The 156-player field for the championship is composed entirely of exempt players due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic 75th anniversary field boasts nine U.S. Women’s Open champions, while 42 players will be making their championship debuts in Houston. The field will also have seven Texas residents, including 2016 champion Brittany Lang, who grew up in McKinney.

The 28 players who gained entry via the Rolex Rankings are: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kirstine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu, Wei-Ling Hsu, Ye Rim Choi, Asuka Kashiwabara, Sarah Schmelzel, and So Yi Kim.

Hae Ran Ryu won the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in 2019 to earn her LPGA of Korea Tour card and successfully defended her title in August. The 19-year-old also has two runner-up finishes among her six top-10s this year. She will be making her U.S. Women’s Open debut.

Popov will be making her second U.S. Women’s Open start. Since turning professional in 2014, Popov has mainly played on the Symetra Tour, but she earned three tournament wins on the Cactus Tour during the COVID-19 break before earning her first major victory at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon in August.

Kerr is one of the nine U.S. Women’s Open champions set to compete in Houston. The seasoned veteran earned her first major title in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, finishing two strokes ahead of the runners-up. Kerr has 20 LPGA Tour wins, including a second major championship title at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2010. This is Kerr’s 22nd straight Women’s Open appearance, with seven top-10 finishes in addition to her victory.

The USGA announced on April 3 that the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, initially scheduled for June 4-7, would be moved to Dec. 10-13. To account for reduced daylight, the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club will be used in Rounds 1 and 2 along with the Cypress Creek Course, which was originally slated to host all four rounds of championship play. In June, the USGA announced that the championship would be conducted without traditional qualifying and on Oct. 21, the USGA announced that the championship would not have fans on-site due to health and safety concerns resulting from the ongoing pandemic.

Considered the world’s premier women’s golf championship, the U.S. Women’s Open is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. The championship began in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie.

Click here for the full field.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced today the 2021 portion of the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2020-21 combined schedule, featuring 23 tournaments to be played during the next calendar year, with the season culminating at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in August. The one-time wraparound season will result in a slate of 46 total events.

“Korn Ferry Tour graduates are prepared to compete with the world’s best on the PGA TOUR from day one as we’ve seen with our last two PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honorees in Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “With a supersized 2020-21 schedule that bridges two years, we’re extremely confident the Korn Ferry Tour will once again deliver an exceptional class of graduates to the PGA TOUR in the upcoming year.”

The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, which has been held at The Club at Indian Creek in Omaha, Nebraska, since 2017, moves to the finale of the Tour’s Regular Season, where the first 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2021-22 season will be awarded based on the season-long points list. The event is set to be contested August 9-15 and will be broadcast on GOLF Channel.

“The season-long race for 25 PGA TOUR cards is at the foundation of the Korn Ferry Tour, and we are excited to bring that incredible atmosphere to the passionate golf fans in Omaha,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna has been one of our Tour’s premier events over the last four years, and we are looking forward to continuing that tradition leading into 2021 and beyond.”

The 2021 season will open with the third annual LECOM Suncoast Classic, which returns to Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, the week of February 15-21, 2021.

The Tour also announced two new events to the schedule with the Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin and the Paiute Las Vegas Championship. The Emerald Coast Classic will be contested at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort’s Raven Golf Club the week of March 29-April 4. The Paiute Las Vegas Championship will be played the week of April 12-18 at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort’s Sun Mountain Course.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 tournaments from the Tour’s original 2020 schedule were canceled. Of those 10, the Lake Charles Championship, Veritex Bank Championship, Huntsville Championship and Live + Work in Maine Open were all set to make their respective tournament debuts. While the inaugural Lake Charles Championship will be postponed to 2022 due to the impact from Hurricanes Laura and Delta along the Louisiana coast, the other three tournaments will be contested between April and June.

Other 2020 events impacted by COVID-19 set to return in 2021 include the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS, Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, Visit Knoxville Open, KC Golf Classic and REX Hospital Open.

The Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, contested in Nashville since 2016, will move to The Grove in nearby College Grove, Tennessee, the week of May 3-9, 2021.

The Korn Ferry Tour Finals will be comprised of the Albertsons Boise Open (August 16-22), Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (August 23-29) and Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance (August 30 – September 5). The Finals events will represent three of six tournaments broadcast on GOLF Channel, beginning with the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation (June 7-13), which will feature the debut of the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021. The Utah Championship presented Zions Bank (August 2-8) will also be broadcast on GOLF Channel.

More than 25 linear TV partners broadcast tournament programming is available in 145+ countries & territories. Over 80 hours of LIVE tournament coverage is available in 135 countries and territories.

For more information on the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour season, please visit PGATOUR.com.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Nothing ever comes easily for Dustin Johnson in the majors, except for when he slipped his arms through that Masters green jacket Sunday.

Johnson overcame a jittery start that conjured memories of past majors he failed to finish off. He turned that into a command performance, making sure this one-of-a-kind Masters with no fans also had no drama.

Not even close.

Johnson tapped in for par on the 18th for a 4-under 68 to finish at 20-under 268, breaking by two shots the record set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and matched by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

His five-shot victory was the largest at the Masters since Woods won by 12 in 1997. All that was missing were the roars from a crowd for any of his pivotal putts early and his birdie putts on the back nine that put it away.

“It still feels like a dream,” Johnson said. “As a kid, you’re dreaming about winning the Masters, having Tiger put the green jacket on you. I’m here and what a great feeling it is. I couldn’t be more excited.”

The Masters, postponed from April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was forced to do without patrons for the first time. Johnson still received a warm reception coming up the 18th from club members and their wives, his partner, Paulina Gretzky, and a few champions.

Green suits you well, DJ. Congrats ?#TeamRBC pic.twitter.com/4qcQ7AHW8x

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) November 15, 2020

Two-time champion Bubba Watson was there to congratulate him.

“I always dreamed of having one of those,” Johnson said as he went to sign his card. “Now I got one.”

Johnson’s four-shot lead was reduced to one after five holes, and then he quickly restored control. Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im each shot 69 and were the only ones who really had a chance.

Smith got quite the consolation. He became the first player in Masters history to post all four rounds in the 60s, and all it got him was a silver medal. Johnson became the 12th Masters champion to never trail after any round, and his closing 68 broke another record held by Woods — it was his 11th consecutive sub-par round at Augusta National.

Canadian Corey Conners shot a 3-under 69 following through on a streak of solid gameplay that began with the Listowel, Ont., native posting a 65—the lowest score of the second round. An overall score of 9-under 279 earned him a tie for 10th place, securing a Masters appearance in 2021 for the fourth time in his career. The first appearance took place in 2015 as a member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad when he qualified via the U.S. Amateur and finished as the lowest scoring amateur on the course.

Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.,) finished off his first Masters appearance in a tie for 29th, after a round of 72 and a final score of 3-under 285. 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir (Brights Grove, Ont.,) shot a 76 during his fourth round and closed the tournament at 2 over, finishing tied for 51st.

“Squeaked in the cut;  leaving Friday night I thought it was more likely to miss than actually make it, so I was really happy to make the cut,” said Taylor. “I knew my game was kind of trending in the right direction, and it was great to play with Weirsy yesterday and not only play with him in a practice round but the tournament. It was pretty special, and I played well. All in all, it was a really good week.”

 

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No one had a better finish than defending champion Tiger Woods, but only after the five-time Masters champion posted the highest score of his career — three balls in Rae’s Creek for a 10 on the par-3 12th hole. He finished with five birdies over the last six holes to salvage a 76.

The betting favourite and biggest basher in golf, Bryson DeChambeau, couldn’t even beat 63-year-old Bernhard Langer, who shot 71 and wound up one shot ahead of the U.S. Open champion.

These were only sideshows on a quiet Sunday at Augusta National.

Johnson, the first No. 1 player in the world to win the Masters since Woods in 2002, was the main event. He won for the 25th time worldwide and his second major — he won the U.S. Open from four shots behind at Oakmont in 2016 — comes with some big perks. He can return for the rest of his life and will host the Masters Club dinner next April for champions.

But even a record score, and the widest margin of victory since 1997, didn’t mean it was easy. This is Johnson, after all, who for all his talent has dealt with more than his share of misfortune, not all his own doing.

He was the 16th player to take at least a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters, and only four had failed to win, most recently Rory McIlroy in 2011.

That lead was down to one shot after five holes.

From short of the bunker on the par-5 second, Johnson muffed his flop into the bunker and had to scramble for par at the easiest hole on the course Sunday. After he settled himself with a birdie on No. 3, he came up short of the green and took three putts for bogey, then found a fairway bunker off the fifth tee, had to lay up and made another bogey.

Im started with two birdies in three holes, and saved par with a fabulous flop over a bunker behind the fifth green. Suddenly, he was one shot behind. Ahead of them was Smith, suddenly two shots behind.

Just when it looked as though Johnson might he headed to a meltdown, it all changed on one hole.

Johnson’s tee shot to a pin on the top-right shelf at the par-3 sixth settled 6 feet away for birdie. Im chipped from just behind the green to 3 feet and missed the par putt. Johnson’s lead was back to three.

Then, with Johnson blocked by pine branches and having to punch low into a front bunker at No. 7, Im from the fairway sailed the green into a bunker, blasted out through the green and made bogey.

Smith was still within two shots when they made the turn, and the wind was stronger that it had been all week, but the Aussie could manage only one birdie, and by then it was too late.

Nothing is sweeter than that walk up the steep hill to the 18th green with a five-shot lead and a green jacket waiting. Except in this case, there was no one to cheer, hardly anyone to watch.

There were no roars this week. White and pink blooms of azaleas and dogwoods were replaced by gold and brown hues of Augusta in autumn. It really was a Masters unlike any other, except there was no mistaking that green jacket.

It’s a good fit for Johnson.

The 2020 class of inductees into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame have been announced.

Lindsay Bernakevitch, Pat Buglass, Melodie Lawrek, Brad Phelps, and Ken Rodgers will make up the group going into the Hall.

Lindsay Bernakevitch – Player (Saskatoon)

• Four-time (consecutive) Saskatchewan men’s amateur champion
• Member of Team Canada 2001-2004
• Represented Canada at nine international events
• Six Canadian amateur appearances
• Two-time Glencoe Invitational winner

Pat Buglass – Builder (Indian Head)

• 20-year club captain at Saskatoon’s Holiday Park
• 25 years in roles as Saskatoon Women’s Golf Sports Council, City Championships chair
• President Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association Saskatchewan branch
• Chair, Western Canada Women’s Golf Tournament in 1998, committee member for Canadian Women’s Amateur at Riverside in 1986
• Course rater since 1992, referee since 1997

Melodie Lawrek – Builder (Regina)

• Three-time Royal Regina Golf Club lady’s president
• 16 years on Regina City Ladies’ Tournament (1994 – 2000)
• Former Golf Saskatchewan president
• National referee since 2007
• Observer/official U.S. Women’s Open Championship

Brad Phelps – Player (Saskatoon)

• Two-time Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion (2008, 2017)
• 12-time national competitor (two-time medal winner at nationals in team event)
• Six-time Saskatchewan mid-masters (40+) champion
• Three-time Order of Merit champion (2009 – 2011)
• Publinx, Lobstick, Central Amateur, Prince Albert Northern, Wildwood Open, and Holiday Park Open winner

Ken Rodgers – Player (Regina)

• Two-time Saskatchewan senior men’s champion (2017, 2019)
• 13-time national event competitor
• Four-time Tor Hill club champion
• Four-time PGA of Saskatchewan sales rep of the year
• 2011 Titleist Canadian sales rep of the year

The 2020 induction banquet has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new date will be announced in the future.

Golf Saskatchewan will have full video features with all five inductees over the next few weeks.

Now that winter is officially here in Saskatchewan the focus for golfers, both competitive and recreational is shifting to indoor facilities.

Luckily for residents in many areas of southern and central parts of the province your community or one nearby has a facility you can hit balls in. Some provide a simple space with a net and warmth, others like Garrett McMillan’s First Tee Indoor Golf Centre in Regina have top of the line equipment to give golfers a feel for the real thing. First Tee is western Canada’s largest indoor facility with 10 simulators that were upgraded last year. McMillan said the spill over from a tremendous golf season is evident.

“From October to November (2019) we weren’t overly busy and we figured it’s because people had played so much in the summer they didn’t want to come inside and play or they were going to Phoenix or whatever, there was some sort of golf hangover. Our first two months are genuinely slow but since we put in this new technology we’ve got more and more people practicing and playing. I’ve got 15 to 20 people in here right now at 11 a.m. on a Friday trying to improve their golf swing,” McMillan said.

First Tee’s Swing Golf Simulators are the same brand used by PGA players Jordan Speith and Tiger Woods. McMillan is also a PGA of Canada professional. He said the data feedback off his simulators provides top of the line responses to elevate any players skill set.

“It’s really easy for them to come in and if they’ve taken a lesson it shows this is what you should focus on and this is what you should look at. They can come in and see that. Why can’t I get my path a couple degrees inside today? The overhead cameras give you a slow-motion playback of the golf club travelling through impact which is pretty cool,” he said.

Being a coach, McMillan strived to provide the best technology to allow himself the data to share with his clients. From a teaching standpoint he said no matter how you can play in the winter; the offseason is the best time to make changes to your game.

“The winter time is the perfect time to making changes especially if you want to commit to making big pattern changes,” he said. “There’s really no consequence, if you shoot a high number inside it’s easier on the ego than inside. You can really develop a new pattern over the winter and not be overly concerned about the consequence side of it. If you develop your pattern properly over the winter by the time you get to the course you hopefully have new shots in the bag you can roll with.”

First Tee has weekly men’s and ladies’ leagues and is open seven days a week.

Bunkers Indoor Golf

For the first time in 13 years, Cam Koch is back owning an indoor golf facility in Yorkton. Cymbob’s was owned by another person in Koch’s building but upon retiring he took over the business again revamping it as Bunkers Indoor Golf for the first time since 1998. Koch said he’s expanded beyond golf to provide several different indoor activities.

“I decided to move the business to a year-round business from a six-month business when my bingo hall client wanted to reduce their size. In March when we had the COVID shutdown that allowed significant time to do renovations and increase my footprint. Now I offer three golf simulators, two axe throwing booths, a baseball simulator, pool tables and a soccer sized pool game that kids really enjoy,” Koch explained.

Bunkers’ simulators have almost 60 golf courses loaded onto them and every major league baseball park is in play on the ball screen. Koch said business has been steady since the weather turned in October.

“We mostly had customers for the axe throwing, golf was second and the pool stuff is third. It was a real nice start to the season. Usually starting mid-October it’s a lot of opening at 10 a.m. and staring at the walls until 8 p.m. then closing. Not this year, it’s been busy from the get-go,” Koch beamed.

He isn’t running any league play, but he said the groups of golfers have made weekly nights their own and taken on the inside games among themselves.

YXE Golf Lounge

Jordan Orr felt there was an indoor golf facility need in Saskatoon so opened one up prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was busy at YXE Golf Lounge until the lockdown in March. Orr said even with the weather starting to warm up at that point he had ideas of staying open to provide more entertainment in the Bridge City.

“It was a good year last year, every week we broke the previous week’s record until we had to close down,” he said. “I had a couple plans like video games and other ideas because essentially the screens are like theatres. I hung out there a lot even after the lockdown watching Netflix and stuff. My kids loved hanging out there and playing video games, so I had some ideas that never got off the ground.”

“The last week before we closed it was like a party all week in there,” Orr continued. “I thought things were going to slow down in March, but we were booked solid for the first two weeks before we were forced to close.”

YXE Golf Lounge has five golf simulators with 10 feet by 14 feet screens and TruGolf hardware. Orr hasn’t planned for any events or weekly leagues this winter due to the uncertainty the pandemic continues to control. He said the business is currently following provincial health guidelines regarding capacity, a limited food menu and cleaning. Orr said if the province can avoid another shut down he expects to build offer a record-breaking summer of rounds across the nation.

“People are still enjoying it,” he said. “It’s going to be a while before we can get back to the real fun times, but I mean it’s still something for people to do in the winter. Keep swinging, get out of the house, that’s pretty much why I started it, to bring more entertainment. Hopefully we will be able to stay open for the winter.”

OTHER INDOOR SASKATCHEWAN FACILITIES:

• Divots Indoor Golf – Regina – Seven simulators, 80 courses, men’s, ladies, and senior leagues
• Nutrien Sportsplex – Moosomin – Four simulators, 100 courses, different leagues (men’s, ladies, snowbird, and yacht club), several other simulated sports options
  
• The Sweet Spot – Moose Jaw – Four simulators, 90 courses, various leagues four days of the week
• Humboldt Golf Club – Humboldt – Two simulators, 95 courses, three 8-week leagues
• Let’s Golf – Lloydminster – Four simulators, 27 courses, men’s, ladies, and couples leagues
• Royal Regina Golf Club – Coming in December
• The Willows Golf Club – One simulator, 50 courses
• The GolfDome – 37 hitting bays, senior’s discounts, mini-golf course

They are some of Canada’s most renowned golf legends, a list amassed of professional and amateur players, course architects and administrators. They have all contributed to the growth of the game of golf in this country. However, their contributions to golf pale in comparison to their contributions to the fabric of our nation.

November 11 is Remembrance Day. A day we remember and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. What better day to remember Canadian golfers of the past who helped our nation during its greatest times of need.

The following are just some of the contributions Canadian golf legends made to the Allied forces during the First and Second World Wars.

Florence Harvey

During World War I, Hamilton, Ont. native Florence Harvey, along with other women golfers in Canada, raised enough money to purchase an ambulance for use in Serbia.

A staunch advocate of women’s golf, Harvey founded and held the position of Secretary of the Canadian Ladies Golf Union – later known as the former Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association (CLGA).

One of the top players of her day, Harvey won the 1903 and 1904 Canadian Ladies’ championship, while capturing the Ontario Ladies Championship on four occasions.

During WWII, the CLGA also raised money, this time their money went towards the purchase of a Spitfire plane.

Karl Keffer is best known for becoming the first Canadian-born golfer to win our national championship – the Canadian Open – in 1909. He also won in 1914.

Keffer, from Tottenham, Ont., was a founding member of the PGA of Canada and held numerous positions during his 29-year involvement with the association including; secretary-treasurer, captain and president. Keffer, a war veteran, pleaded with other golf professionals of his day to join the war effort.

Stanley Thompson

Stanley Thompson

Most golf enthusiasts will know Stanley Thompson as a renowned Canadian golf course architect. Thompson, who was born in Toronto, has 200 course designs to his credit throughout an illustrious career as an architect with a majority of them residing in Canada.

However, many don’t know Thompson was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in WWI.

Donald Carrick

Donald Carrick, born in Thunder Bay, Ont., was a standout amateur golfer. A two time Canadian Amateur champion, Carrick also won the 1924 US Junior Boy’s Championship, several Ontario amateur titles and played for Canada against the British Walker Cup team before retiring from competitive golf in 1933 to focus on his family and law practice. Carrick would become a political figure and also competed as a boxer in the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Carrick also received the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E) for his service in the Royal Artillery during WWII.

Winnipeg’s Geoffrey Cornish, one of the legendary Stanley Thompson’s protégés, fashioned a career in golf course architecture. He was one of the best Canada has ever produced. With a career that included more than 200 golf course designs or remodellings, Cornish turned his attention towards chronicling the history of his field, becoming an author and penning several internationally-acclaimed books on golf course architecture in the later part of his career.

Cornish was a Major in the Canadian Army, serving in Europe from 1940-45.

To these and other notable figures in Canadian golf who have supported our troops as well as all of the brave men and women who have served our country – thank you.

Saskatchewan’s 2019 junior girls champion is going to play college golf in Florida next year.

Autumn Neiszner has committed to the Keiser University Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The grade 12 student at Regina’s Campbell Collegiate said she started searching in the spring for a post-secondary opportunity. After visiting several colleges she decided on a school she never got a chance to see first hand.

“I actually went to eight different colleges, but I didn’t visit Keiser, I did not go there,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “I think going to the other schools helped me realize what I wanted and what I liked about those schools, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go because of the Coronavirus.”

The Seahawks’ women’s golf team are three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) champions. Keiser student Michela Tjan won the individual NAIA Women’s Championship last year. Neiszner said joining a successful program is a dream come true.

“I didn’t know if going to Keiser was an option because they have such a really great team. I kept in contact with them and this past summer we had a Zoom call and I met representatives from the school. They made me an offer and it was good. They made it sound like they really wanted me, so I was really happy about that because I was never really sure if they were an option,” Neiszner added.

Nov. 11 was national signing day for United States universities. The Neiszner family had a small celebration to acknowledge the accomplishment. The day after Neiszner was still lost for words.

“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going down there. I really don’t even know how to put it into words honestly. I’m just really happy to sign and make it official and continue my golf career and see where it takes me.”

She said there is many thanks to pass along as well.

“I want to thank my family for always supporting me in golf and everything. I want to thank Jeff Chambers, my coach for helping me get to where I am in golf. I want to thank the Wascana Country Club and my friends from there, the ladies that played there with me. I want to thank Golf Saskatchewan and the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, and I really want to thank my grandpa for getting me started in the sport,” she said.

Neiszner will graduate from high school this spring, complete her last year of junior golf in Saskatchewan and plans to head to Florida around August pending the COVID-19 situation. For now she will work on her academics and her game.

Neiszner will study in golf management at the university and hopes to work in the industry once she has convocated from the four-year program.

On November 4^th, 2020, members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC), took part in an online discussion on the topic of Municipal Golf in Canada. This inaugural GJAC Virtual Summit is part of an ongoing series intended to help golf journalists across Canada stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.

Format of these events consist of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees.

Panelists for the first summit included:

• Jeff Moore, CPGA Head Professional, Golf Operations, City of Brantford
• Ryan Logan, Director, Membership, Golf Canada
• Malcolm Bromley, Former GM, Vancouver Parks and Recreation Facilities

SCOREGolf columnist Rick Young acted as moderator.

The one-hour event was recorded and is available to watch below.