Golf Manitoba President Susan Wright-Cassan (Emerald Greens Golf Course & Driving Range) has been named as a nominee for the 2025 Lorie Kane Community Spirit Award.

TO VOTE FOR SUSAN, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

The Community Leader Award is given to a community member:

• Whose passion for the sport of golf extends beyond the game.
• Those who use golf as a tool to better their community or raise awareness for other causes.
• Impacts the community through volunteerism or charity.
• Implements D&I initiatives to grow the game.
• First Tee contributors/leaders.

This year, Golf Canada received a record number of nominations for the Community Leader Award and the Future Leader Award.  Each winner will receive $5,000 towards a donation to a golf-related charity / non-profit of their choice or Post-Secondary education.

The nominees for the Community Leader Award are:

• Penny Baziuk (BC)
• Glenmore Brown (ON)
• Susan Wright Cassan (MB/ON)
• Natalie Gleadall (ON)
• John Gravengard (BC)
• Jackie Hellard (BC)
• Steve Pronger (ON)
• Linda Shephard (ON)
• Kerri Slaughter (ON)
• Shayne Stevens (NS)
• Graham Turrentine (ON)
• Claudia Wood (BC)

More details on the Lorie Kane Community Leader Award nominees can be found here.

Casting your vote is anonymous and should be completed by January 31, 2025. 

Golf Manitoba / Canada members can look back and celebrate their 2024 golf season with the return of #MyGolfYear presented by BDO.

Members get access to a snapshot of their season highlights and their personal #MyGolfYear can be proudly shared with friends and fellow golfers across their social media channels.

New for 2024 is the addition of health statistics. As part of Golf Canada’s Golf and Health campaign, members are now able to review elevation gained, distance walked, and number of steps taken during the season. For more information on Golf and Health and all the benefits the game provides, click here. 

Members can share their #MyGolfYear stats, highlighting total rounds, best round, total holes played, total distance played, health statistics along with personalized achievements from the 2024 golf season.

The #MyGolfYear campaign wraps up another successful year in Canadian golf including back-to-back years of 10 million scores posted by Golf Canada members. Last year marked the first time that the 10M milestone had been reached and Golf Canada members surpassed that number in 2024!

“Golf Canada members enjoy looking back on their seasons and having the opportunity to share their accomplishments and milestones with their networks through their #MyGolfYear stats, following another record number of rounds played in 2024,” said Tim McLaughlin, Chief Marketing Officer, Golf Canada. “We are proud to be able to include health data through the advancement of our app so members can track their progress and highlight the many health benefits that the game of golf can provide. We encourage all members to take advantage of this fun initiative to share their stats from the past season.”

The full list of #MyGolfYear achievements for 2024 include:

Top Golfer: Your handicap ranks you in the top 15 per cent of golfers in Canada.

Every Day I’m Golfing: You played golf every day of the week this year, joining 127,450 other Canadians who accomplished the same feat in 2024.

Golfer For All Seasons: You played at least one round in each of April, May, June, July, August, September and October.

Have Clubs, Will Travel: You and 39,908 Canadians played a round in three different cities within Canada in 2024.

You and another 933 Canadians played a round in 15 different cities in Canada this year.

#MyGolfDay: You play golf on Saturday. That’s your day and you’re sticking to it!

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: You managed to play at least one round, five weeks in a row this year.

Peak Summer: Canada’s warmest day in 2024 was July 22. On that day, you and 56,842 other Canadians played a round of golf.

From Sea to Sea: You and just two others played golf in 10 different provinces this year.

I am Canadian: You and 120,028 others celebrated Canada Day weekend with a round of golf.

Golf Supporter: You have been a supporter of Golf Canada and golf in Canada for more than five years – Thank You!

Golf Protector: You have supported Golf Canada for over 10 years and helped us grow the game – Thank You!

Breaking Not Bad: You broke 100/90/80/70 this year – Congrats!
A round under 70 puts you amongst the top 5 per cent of golfers in Canada.
A round under 80 puts you amongst the top 38 per cent of golfers in Canada.

New to the Club: You joined the Golf Canada community in 2024 – Welcome!

After the successful launch of #MyGolfYear following the 2021 golf season, the 2022 campaign saw the addition of new achievements and golfing milestones available for every member who logged their scores into the Golf Canada Score Centre over the course of the season.

To learn more about Golf Canada and the benefits of membership, please visit golfcanada.ca/join/.

To view your #MyGolfYear graphic, check your e-mail associated with your Golf Canada account or log into the Golf Canada Mobile App.

Thank you for being a Golf Canada member and enjoy sharing #MyGolfYear across your social networks!

Old friends Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson usually have to keep tabs on each other from afar, but this week they’ll get to see one another up close.

Conners and Henderson will team up once again at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a unique event where some of the best golfers from the PGA and LPGA Tours compete as pairs. The tournament is quickly becoming an annual reunion for the two graduates of Golf Canada’s junior program.

“Since turning professional, our careers have gone separate ways, and we haven’t been able to cross paths too much,” said Conners, who finished the men’s season 39th on the FedEx Cup standings. “I’m always cheering her on from afar, and always have my eye on the LPGA Tour leaderboard when she’s playing.”

Henderson, likewise, has been keeping tabs on Conners’s exploits.

“It’s just been really fun to watch his career and cheer him on,” said Henderson, who finished 13th in the women’s tour’s rankings. “I think this event has reconnected us, in a way, and it’s been really special and great to be able to know his family and just to watch this game and be his partner here is really cool.”

Both were on Team Canada back in 2013 when they won the Copa de las Americas along with Albin Choi and Augusta James.

Conners and Henderson also represented Canada at the last two Olympics but due to COVID-19 restrictions they didn’t get to interact at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The men’s and women’s tournaments were on different weeks at the Paris Games this past summer.

The two Canadians finished second at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational last year with a combined score of 25 under, a shot behind New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Australia’s Jason Day.

“It’s been great to be able to share some experiences like the Olympics and this event last year and spending more time together has been awesome,” said Conners, who is from Listowel, Ont. “She’s this amazing person, amazing golfer, and a fun partner at this event.”

The stacked leaderboard will see 16 pairs tee off on Friday at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla. American Tony Finau withdrew from the event on Wednesday afternoon. He was replaced as top-ranked Nelly Korda’s partner by Daniel Berger.

“I feel like we make a great team, and I’m excited for Friday to tee it up and hopefully make some birdies and be inspired by (Conners’s) great shots,” said Henderson, who is from Smiths Falls, Ont.

PGA TOUR — Six Canadians are vying for a PGA Tour card at the PGA Tour Q-School this week. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Edmonton’s Wil Bateman, Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., Toronto’s Sebastian Szirmak, as well as Matthew Anderson and Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., will all be in the field at Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., this week.

LPGA TOUR — Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., both earned full status on the LPGA Tour for 2025 after solid showings at the final qualifying stage of the Q-Series on Monday. Sharp tied for 21st at 7 under and Leblanc tied for 24th at 6 under. The top 25 finishers in the tournament earned their status.

With one international event now under his belt representing Team Canada and a full calendar of academics underway at Ball State University, Braxton Kuntz (Breezy Bend Country Club) catches up with Golf Manitoba Director of Communications & Development Brian Munz.

Team Canada earned a second place finish at the 52nd Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade (Copa Tailhade) at Los Lagartos Country Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday.

Canada shot a combined score of 575 over four rounds, finishing four shots behind Colombia (571). Host nation Argentina finished third with a total score of 576.

Canada was represented by Team Canada NextGen members Braxton Kuntz (Breezy Bend Country Club) and Antoine Jasmin of Quebec.

Jasmin finished T5 at 3-over in the individual standings following rounds of 71-73-70-73-287. Kuntz finished T8 at 4-over with rounds of 73-68-72-75-288.

Juan Martin Loureiro of Argentina won individual honours, finishing the tournament at 5-under.

Canada has won the Copa Tailhade four times in tournament history winning titles in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2023. Austin Connelly (Clare, N.S.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) won in 2014, Eric Banks (Truro, N.S.) and Tony Gil (Vaughan, Ont.) in 2015, Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.) and Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.) in 2017 and Brady McKinlay (Lacombe, Alta.) and Felix Bouchard (Montréal, Que.) in 2023.

Since 1996, Australia has won five titles (1998, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2012), in addition to Canada, England and Argentina have also won the tournament four times.

Braxton Kuntz of Winnipeg has been selected to the 2025 Team Canada – NextGen program. The announcement was made earlier today when Golf Canada announced it’s 2025 Team Canada roster. The Breezy Bend Country Club member and four-time Manitoba Men’s Amateur Champion and Team Manitoba Alumni is one of only ten male athletes selected from across the country to join the program. Kuntz is currently in his senior year at Ball State University as member of the Cardinal Men’s Golf team.

Golf Canada’s National Team program supports a group of experienced amateurs on the path towards playing professional golf along with a group of young professional golfers building their careers as touring pros. The program provides individualized training and competition support with a goal to help advance 30 Canadian athletes to the LPGA and PGA TOUR by 2032.

For more information about the 2025 Team Canada announcement, please click here.

Golf Manitoba, in association with Golf Canada, is pleased to welcome Deer Ridge Golf Course as our newest member club.

Located just north of Brandon along Highway #1, this locally owned and operated 9 hole course can be played from two sets of tee boxes ranging from 2,563 to 2,766 yards.

Deer Ridge Golf Course features a driving range, chipping green and putting green. The fully licensed clubhouse is available to host fundraisers, weddings and corporate gatherings.

As an official Golf Manitoba / Canada member club, all rounds played at Deer Ridge Golf Course are acceptable for handicap purposes and may be recorded toward establishing or maintaining an official Golf Canada Handicap Index.

To reserve a tee time or for more information, call the proshop at (204) 726-1545 or click here for their website.

Canadians Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes have been named to the International Team’s for the upcoming Presidents Cup in Montreal.

It’s the first time three Canadians have played in the prestigious international event at the same time.

Canadian golf legend Mike Weir used three of his six captain’s selections on Pendrith, Conners and Hughes. He also picked South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

Fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin had also been vying to join the team but missed out.

Pendrith finished the 2024 season on a heater, earning his way into the PGA Tour’s playoffs and finishing the Tour Championship tied for 14th.

Corey Conners

• Country: Canada
• Age: 32
• PGA TOUR Wins: 2
• Presidents Cup: 1 (2022), 0-4-0

2024 Highlights: Has notched three top-10 finishes in 2024 including a season-best, solo-sixth-place effort at the RBC Canadian Open.

Captain Weir on Conners: “Corey is one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA TOUR and his ability to consistently put himself and his playing partner in a position to attack is invaluable in team competition. He has looked towards the 2024 Presidents Cup for two years now, and I know he’s eager to compete in front of his fellow Canadians.”

Mackenzie Hughes

• Country: Canada
• Age: 33
• PGA TOUR Wins: 2
• Presidents Cup: First appearance

2024 Highlights: Has recorded three top-10 finishes including a season-best T3 at the Valspar Championship. Only missed four cuts in 22 starts, marking a career best.

Captain Weir on Hughes: “Canadian golf fans have followed Mackenzie’s career for nearly two decades and it’s incredible to know he’s going to make his Presidents Cup debut in his home country. He is steady and calm under pressure and is without doubt one of the best putters on the PGA TOUR, which is a great combination for our team.”

Taylor Pendrith

• Country: Canada
• Age: 33
• PGA TOUR Wins: 1
• Presidents Cup: 1 (2022), 0-4-0

2024 Highlights: Picked up the first win of his PGA TOUR career at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Recorded five additional top-10 finishes while advancing to the TOUR Championship for the first time.

Captain Weir on Pendrith: “Taylor is in the midst of his best year on the PGA TOUR, and it was great to see him breakthrough for his first win in Dallas and advancing to the TOUR Championship. He has built a reputation as one of the longest hitters in our game, and that length should be advantageous in match play competition at Royal Montreal.”

Weir’s International side will face off against Jim Furyk’s U.S. squad in the match-play competition, Sept. 24-29, at The Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Pendrith and Conners — close friends — also played for the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.

That was the first time two Canadians had played at the elite event.

Ultimately, the Internationals lost 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 to the United States.

The International team has only won once in the event’s history, emerging victorious at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1998 when captain Peter Thompson led them to a 20 1/2 – 11 1/2 triumph over Jack Nicklaus’s American squad. 

Golf Manitoba, in association with Golf Canada, is pleased to welcome Lake of the Sandhills Golf Course at Buffalo Point as our newest member club.

Located in the southeast corner of Manitoba off Highway #12 along the shores of Muskeg Bay and Buffalo Bay, this 18 hole course can be played from five sets of tee boxes ranging from 4,996 to 6,829 yards.

Lake of the Sandhills Golf Course at Buffalo Point features a driving range, putting green and fully licensed restaurant. The fully stocked proshop also offers both club and cart rentals.

Unique to the course is The Gambler, a 19th hole measuring 137 yards that plays to an island green, located just off the patio for closest to the hole competitions.

As an official Golf Manitoba / Canada member club, all rounds played at Lake of the Sandhills Golf Course at Buffalo Point are acceptable for handicap purposes and may be recorded toward establishing or maintaining an official Golf Canada Handicap Index.

To reserve a tee time or for more information on stay and play packages, call the proshop at (204) 437-2777 or click here for their website.

Golf Manitoba, in association with Golf Canada, is pleased to welcome Sandy Beach Golf Club as our newest member club.

Located on the southeast side of Dryden, Ontario along the shore of Wabigoon Lake, this nine hole course can be played from three sets of tee boxes ranging from 2,843 to 3,348 yards.

Sandy Beach Golf Club features a driving range, putting green and fully licensed restaurant. The fully stocked proshop also offers both club and cart rentals.

As an official Golf Manitoba / Canada member club, all rounds played at Sandy Beach Golf Club are acceptable for handicap purposes and may be recorded toward establishing or maintaining an official Golf Canada Handicap Index.

To reserve a tee time or for more information, call the proshop at (807) 223-3345 or click here for their website.