Breezy Bend & Transcona win Women’s Four-Ball Championships
Brian Munz
Breezy Bend Country Club & Transcona Golf Club captured the Women’s Four-Ball Championships Thursday at Portage Golf Club.
Charmaine Hayden and Veronica Van der Meer won the “A” Championship Gross Division at 2-over par 74. India Young and Keira Krahn of Carman Golf & Curling Club finished second, just one stroke back.
Stacey Borowski and Jennifer Jones of Breezy Bend finished first in the Net Division at 8-under par 64. Jody Bieber and Gail Carswell of St. Charles Country Club won the silver medal two strokes back.
For the Manitoba Blue Cross leaderboard, click here.
Loretta Wallace and Debra Deboer of Transcona Golf Club won the “B” Championship Gross Division with a combined score of 20-over par 92. Gwen Shorten and Sandy Sager of Breezy Bend Country Club finished in second place, just one stroke back.
Rachelle Krasny and Marilyn Sippel of Transcona finished first in the Net Division at 4-under par 68. Brenda Prystayko and Jacqui Sair of Pine Ridge Golf Club ended with a silver medal two strokes back.
For the Manitoba Blue Cross leaderboard, click here.
Golf Manitoba would like to acknowledge our Official Performance Partners:
Taylormade Canada – Eric Johnson, Sales & Marketing Territory Manager
We appreciate the time and effort of the host club, Portage Golf Club led by General Manager Robby Moar, Superintendent Farrol Asham and Head Chef Mike Zebransky, their staff, club members and volunteers for their warm welcome.
Portage Golf Club hosts Women’s Four-Ball Championships
Brian Munz
49 two person teams are at Portage Golf Club this morning to compete in the Women’s Four-Ball Championship.
The “A” Championship features 28 teams representing Transcona Golf Club, Portage Golf Club, Pine Ridge Golf Club, St. Charles Country Club, Rossmere Country Club, Niakwa Country Club, Elmhurst Golf & Country Club, Larters at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, St. Boniface Golf Club, Shilo Country Club, Selkirk Golf & Country Club, Carman Golf & Curling Club, Breezy Bend Country Club and Southwood Golf & Country Club.
21 teams will compete in the “B” Championship representing Tuxedo Golf Club, Portage Golf Club, Larters at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, Transcona Golf Club, Rossmere Golf Club, Selkirk Golf & Country Club, Southwood Golf & Country Club, Windsor Park Golf Course, Kildonan Park Golf Course, Carman Golf & Curling Club, Shilo Country Club, Pine Ridge Golf Club and Breezy Bend Country Club.
Kuntz T2, one stroke off the lead entering final round at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship
Brian Munz
Braxton Kuntz (Breezy Bend Country Club) shot a 3-under par 69 in his third round at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship Wednesday in Saskatoon.
Currently at 11-under par 205, Kuntz is in a three way tie for second place on the leaderboard, just one stroke back of American Tyler Mawhinney for first place.
Kuntz’s round featured an eagle on the 16th hole, four birdies and 10 pars along with three bogeys.
Team Manitoba finishes 3rd in Inter-Provincial Team Championship at Canadian Men’s Amateur; Kuntz & Trstenjak make the cut
Brian Munz
Team Manitoba (Ryan Blair, Drew Jones & Braxton Kuntz) finished in third place today in the 36 hole Inter-Provincial Team Championship at the Canadian Men’s Amateur in Saskatoon.
The trio combined to finish at even par, nine strokes back of first place British Columbia.
Kuntz is T2 on the leaderboard carding a 5-under par 67 in his second round while Trstenjak is T31 following a 3-under par 69. Trstenjak’s round featured a hole-in-one on the seventh hole.
Teams taking shape as 2024 Presidents Cup approaches in 50 days
With exactly 50 days to go until the Presidents Cup returns to The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, U.S. and International Teams are starting to take shape with just three more events until the top six automatic qualifiers are locked up following the BMW Championship on Sunday, August 25.
Over the last two weeks, the only movement inside the top six for the U.S. Team has been Sahith Theegala and Patrick Cantlay switching spots, currently sitting at No. 5 and 6, respectively. The top four players have remained unchanged with Scottie Scheffler further cementing his spot at No. 1 following a final-round 62 in Paris to secure a gold medal in the Olympic men’s golf competition.
“I think any time you can be part of the Olympics is really special and for golf to be on the Olympic stage is a tremendous amount of fun for us. I think after the first Olympics, I think it held pretty high place in our game and I think it still stands today,” said Scheffler.
The 2024 U.S. Team will be comprised of six (6) automatic qualifiers and six (6) Captain’s picks, with a weighted system based on FedExCup Points from January 1, 2023, through August 25, 2024. The automatic qualifiers will be the top six eligible U.S. players in the OWGR after completion of the 2024 BMW Championship.
Top-6 U.S. Team standings:
1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Collin Morikawa
4. Wyndham Clark
5. Sahith Theegala
6. Patrick Cantlay
For the International Team, Matsuyama remained atop the standings after earning the bronze medal in Paris, while Tom Kim moved up to No. 2 following an eighth-place finish. Outside of Kim and Sungjae Im switching spots between Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, the rest of the top six remains unchanged over the last two weeks with Jason Day, Byeong Hun An and Adam Scott rounding out the group.
With Canadian icon Mike Weir serving as captain of the International Team, much attention has been put on the top players from the host country for this year’s Presidents Cup. With three weeks to go, there are currently five Canadian players inside the top 15 in the International Team standings: Corey Conners (8), Nick Taylor (10), Adam Hadwin (12), Taylor Pendrith (13), and Mackenzie Hughes (15).
The 2024 International Team will be comprised of six (6) automatic qualifiers and (6) Captain’s picks, with the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) being used to determine the former. The automatic qualifiers will be the top six eligible international players in the OWGR after completion of the 2024 BMW Championship.
Top-6 International Team standings:
Hideki Matsuyama
Tom Kim
Sungjae Im
Jason Day
Byeong Hun An
Adam Scott
To view the complete 2024 Presidents Cup standings for both teams, please click here.
Kuntz top Manitoban to open Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship
Brian Munz
Braxton Kuntz (Breezy Bend Country Club) was the only Manitoban to shoot under par Monday in Saskatoon to open the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
With a 3-under par 69, Kuntz is T14 on the leaderboard.
After the opening round in the 36 hole Inter-Provincial Team Championship, Team Manitoba (Blair, Jones & Kuntz) is sixth in the standings at even par. British Columbia and Ontario are tied for first place at 6-under par.
11 Golf Manitoba members set to tee off at 119th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in Saskatoon
Golf Manitoba is well represented this week as the 119th playing of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO tees off this morning at both the Riverside Country Club and Saskatoon Golf and Country Club in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
This year’s field features a number of top amateur golfers from around the world including, Max Kennedy of Dublin, Ireland, currently ranked no. 28 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Joining Kennedy are Wang Ngai Shen of Hong Kong, China (no. 155 WAGR), Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia (no. 264 WAGR) as well as defending champion, Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. McCulloch (no. 135 WAGR) has enjoyed a successful season at Michigan State and competed at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open and qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open.
The following 2024 Provincial Men’s Amateur Champions will also be competing in the field: Brett Jones (Alberta), Team Canada NextGen member Cooper Humphreys (British Columbia), Braxton Kuntz (Manitoba), Team Canada NextGen member Matthew Javier (Ontario), Ryan Lamswood (Newfoundland and Labrador), Alexander Mercier (Quebec) and from the host province, Kye Fisher (Saskatchewan).
Along with Humphreys, Javier and McCulloch there will be an additional nine Team Canada members competing in Saskatoon including, Laurent Desmarchais (Bromont, Que.), Isaiah Ibit (Orleans, Ont.), Alex Long (Toronto, Ont.), Ben MacLean (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Jean-Philippe Parr (St-Célestin, Que.), Luke Smith (Toronto, Ont.), Hunter Thomson (Calgary, Alta.), Ethan Wilson (St. Albert, Alta.) and Eric Zhao (North York, Ont.).
“We are excited to get the 119th playing of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship underway next week at two beautiful golf courses here in Saskatoon,” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Adam Cinel. “The staff and volunteers at both Riverside Country Club and Saskatoon Golf and Country Club been working tirelessly to ensure those competing will enjoy the test both courses present. We look forward to hosting a full field of 264 players as they compete for our prestigious national championship.”
Golfers from all 10 provinces and one territory are represented in the field along with 11 additional countries: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, England, France, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, Ireland, South Africa, United States and Wales.
The first two rounds of this year’s tournament will be contested on both courses with the field playing each course once. Following the opening 36-holes of the championship, the field will be reduced to the top 70 players plus ties. Wednesday and Thursday’s rounds will both played at Riverside Country Club with an awards ceremony following Thursday’s final round.
“We are thrilled and honoured to co-host this prestigious national golf championship along with Riverside Country Club. It has been a great partnership as we work together with Golf Canada to make this a memorable experience for the players, spectators and volunteers,” said Warren Proctor, Host Club Committee Chair, Saskatoon Golf and Country Club. “We have had an unbelievable positive response from our membership in support of hosting this championship. I must also recognize our Club management, including course superintendent Terry McNeilly who, along with his staff have been working tirelessly to get our golf course in wonderful condition to be challenging and a fair test for the players.”
“Riverside Country Club has a long history of hosting prestigious golf events, and we look forward to welcoming some of the top tier national and international players for the 119th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship,” said Robert Klombies, Executive Director, Riverside Country Club. “It is heartening to see the level of excitement and engagement that our members and golf community exhibit to ensure players enjoy an incredible experience both at Riverside and within the City of Saskatoon.”
Established in 1895, the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship is the third oldest amateur championship in the world. The tournament was first contested as one of the newly formed Royal Canadian Golf Association’s (RCGA), now known as Golf Canada, first orders of business in 1895 at the Ottawa Golf Club.
The national championship originally began as a match play competition but changed to stroke play for the 1969 championship. It remained that way through 1994 when it reverted to match play in honour of the RCGA’s and the championship’s centennial in 1995. The championship once again reverted to stroke play in 2008 and in 2010, the tournament changed to a double field format for the first time ever.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famer George S. Lyon won the Amateur eight times between 1898 and 1914 and was runner-up two more times. Fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Sandy Somerville made it to the match play final ten times between 1924 and 1938, capturing six championships. Other past champions include Canadian Golf Hall of Famers and four-time winners, Nick Weslock (1957, 1963, 1964, 1966) and Doug Roxburgh (1972, 1974, 1982, 1988). Most recently, two-time PGA TOUR winner and two-time Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion, Mackenzie Hughes (2011, 2012) and 2023 RBC Canadian Open and four-time PGA TOUR winner Nick Taylor (2007). The last time the Canadian Men’s Amateur was held in the city of Saskatoon was in 2007 at Riverside Country Club, when Taylor won.
Nick Taylor is the only Canadian male golfer to have won the Canadian Junior Boys (2006), Canadian Men’s Amateur (2007) and RBC Canadian Open (2023) titles. Brooke Henderson is the only Canadian female golfer to win the national championship trifecta, having won the Canadian Junior Girls (2012), Canadian Women’s Amateur (2013) and the CPKC Women’s Open (2018).
The national championship will also feature an Inter-Provincial Team Championship that will take place over the first 36-holes of the tournament. Team Ontario will be defending their title as 10 provinces and one territory will be vying to etch their names into the Willingdon Cup.
The 2024 Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion receives an exemption into the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course) in Caledon, Ont. and the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship taking place at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. from August 12-18. The winner will also receive an exemption from local qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur Championship. In addition, the winner will receive $1,200 CAD.
For the full player field competing in the 2024 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
Kartusch concludes Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship
Brian Munz
Addison Kartusch (Team Manitoba / St. Charles Country Club) capped off the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in Victoria, British Columbia with her best round of the week.
Carding a 1-over par 73, Kartusch moved up five spots on the leaderboard to finish T48 at 12-over par 300.
Fun fact: Kartusch birdied the par four, sixth hole in all four rounds.
Yurang Li of California finished at 8-under par to win the national championship.
Kartusch cards 2-over par 74 in Round 3 at Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship
Brian Munz
Addison Kartusch (Team Manitoba / St. Charles Country Club) shot her second consecutive 2-over par 74 Thursday at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in Victoria, British Columbia.
Sitting T53 on the leaderboard at 11-over par 227, her third round included four birdies, 10 pars, two bogeys and two double bogeys.
Fun fact: Kartusch has birdied the par four, sixth hole in all three rounds entering Friday’s finale.
