CANADIANS
ON TOUR

with
Barry Sharpe

December 10, 2003

Who else but Eldrick T. Woods, the number one ranked golfer in the world, has been named Player Of The Year. For the fifth year in a row Woods, three weeks shy of his 26th birthday, has dominated his sport and left little doubt in the minds of his peers, his fans and the media that Tiger truly is ‘the man.’

A winner of five tournaments this season, including the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Woods collected $6,673,413 in earnings, finished in the Top 10 12 times in 18 tournaments and closed the season with a scoring average of 69.38 while breaking Byron Nelson’s long-standing consecutive cuts record with 114. This is the 6th time Woods has been named Player of the Year since since turning professional and joining the PGA TOUR in 1996. In his career Woods has 39 PGA TOUR wins, including the 1999 Bell Canadian Open, and seven International victories.

Also in the running for 2003 POY honours were Mike Weir, the first Canadian to win the Masters Championship; U.S Open Champion Jim Furyk; Players Championship winner Davis Love III and Vijay Singh, ranked number two in the world with four wins and a season leading $7,573,907 in regular earnings.

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Mathias Gronberg of Sweden snuck up from behind with a sterling 4-under par 68 and captured medalist honours at the PGA TOUR’S Qualifying School tournament by two shots. Gronberg completed 108 holes of qualifying in Orlando, Florida by shooting (67-69-67-71-70-68—412) 20 under par, two strokes ahead of Danny Ellis.

The top 30 players and ties (34) received their TOUR cards for the 2004 season. The remainder of the field received either full exempt or conditional status on the Nationwide Tour.

Once again, Jim Rutledge, the all-time leading money winner on the Canadian Tour, failed in his bid to play regularly on the PGA TOUR. Rutledge has performed as a Tour player since turning professional in 1978.

Results for Canadians who were among the 170 players competing at Q-School:

Jim Rutledge, Victoria, BC - - - T44 69-73-70-72-73-71—428
Jon Mills, Oshawa, ON - - - T52 69-68-70-78-73-71—429
Ahmad Bateman, Windsor, ON - - - T96 75-72-69-77-73-70--436
Brian McCann, Mississauga, ON - - - T128 75-74-74-75-74-70--442
Bryan Decorso, Guelph, ON - - - 162 71-72-72-75-79-84--453
David Morland IV, Aurora, ON - - - T166 74-73-77(withdrawn)--224
170 players started in round 1

Champions Tour Q-School

Mark McNulty, medalist 67-71-69-68—275 $45,000

Canadian results at the senior Champions Tour Qualifying School:
Ray Stewart T34 74-73-75-70--292
Dan Halldorson T57 75-74-70-78--297
Wayne McDonald 75 73-75-77-76--301

The top-seven players earned full exemptions into all cosponsored events on the Champions Tour next year, while the next eight players are conditionally exempt on the circuit in 2004. 110 players started in round 1

Heading into this week’s Volvo Masters Asia event at the Bangkok Golf Club in Thailand, the season ending Tour Championship for the Asian PGA circuit, Canada’s Rick Gibson of Victoria, BC has an excellent chance to finish in the top 10 on the Order of Merit Money List for the second year in a row. A past OOM winner, Gibson T60 last week to boost his season’s earnings to $83,515 and presently is in 12th position through 14 tournaments. Last year Gibson won $139,595 in 12 outings and wound up in 8th place. Married to Filipino actress Josephine Garcia and a resident of Manila for the past 15 years, Gibson owns the distinction of being the only player to ever capture the Canadian PGA and the Philippine PGA championships in the same year, 1990. In 1991 he won the Philippine Order of Merit title.

Two of amateur golf’s most prestigious season-ending honours for male golfers in 2003 have gone to players from British Columbia.

James Lepp of Abbotsford has been named Canada’s top male amateur golfer after finishing the season in first place on the RCGA’s National Order of Merit. Earlier this week Delta’s 17-year-old Ryan Lidkea was named Canada’s top Junior Male Golfer for 2003.

Named earlier in the year as the U. S. College’s Big Ten Player of the Year, the 20-year-old Lepp, returned home to Canada this summer and proceeded to successfully defend his BC Amateur championship, then shocked the Canadian pro Tour by winning the Greater Vancouver Classic by a decisive five shots. A week later Lepp shattered course and tournament records en route to his third consecutive title when he led a BC team to victory for the first time ever in the prestigious Pacific Coast Amateur. The following week he made it to the semi-finals of the Canadian Amateur.

“James Lepp is a tremendously talented golfer who has proven to have the dedication and determination necessary for success,” said Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of Player Development. “His results this season are a testament to his hard work and James is truly deserving of this honour. From a player development perspective, it’s very satisfying to look through the rankings and realize how deep the talent pool is in Canada.“

Other notable names in the top 10 include 2003 Canadian Amateur Champion Richard Scott and Canadian Amateur runner-up Chris Baryla of Vernon, who also competed in the 2003 US Open. Number three-ranked Lindsay Bernakevitch won Calgary’s prestigious Glencoe Invitational, his fourth Saskatchewan Amateur and qualified for the Bell Canadian Open. Mike Mezei is the 2003 Alberta Amateur champion and made the cut in two professional events this season. Garth Collings won both the Canadian Club Champions and Canadian Mid-Amateur championships, while Peter Laws won the Ontario Amateur and teamed up with Lepp to win the Copa de las Americas for Canada.

For complete Order of Merit results:

http://www.rcga.org/english/News/news_details.asp?ID=688

With the release of the RCGA’s BMO Financial Group Future Links Junior Order of Merit list, Lidkea was selected on the basis of his consistent play this season, which included a win at the BC Junior Championship, runner up at the Future Links Pacific Championship and a top-15 finish at the Future Links Prairie Championship. He qualified for match play in both the US Junior and Canadian Amateur and finished 25th at the Callaway Junior Worlds.

"Ryan Lidkea is a gifted young player who has shown he has the game to compete with not only the top juniors, but the top amateurs in Canada," announced Roxburgh. "The BMO Financial Group Future Links program is having a tremendous impact on junior golf across Canada. This was the closest finish yet in the Order of Merit and the future of golf in our country is very bright."

The battle for Canada's top junior was hotly contested, with 2003 Canadian Junior champion Ryan Lecuyer just 10 points behind Lidkea and East coast sensation Marc Bourgeois just 15 points back.

For complete Future Links results:

http://www.rcga.org/english/News/news_details.asp?ID=686

Roxburgh, who was voted into the Golf Hall of Fame of British Columbia earlier this year, also announced last month that Lindsay Bernakevitch of Regina, SK and Garth Collings of Winnipeg, MB would be representing Canada this weekend in the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup competition at Lagarlos Country Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The international team tournament features two-man teams in which both players' scores count towards the team total.

Bernakevitch is no stranger to international competition having represented Canada earlier this year at the 2003 Four Nations Team Championship in New Zealand. The 23-year old is the four-time defending Saskatchewan Amateur champion and has won the Glencoe Invitational in 2001 and 2003. He qualified for the US Amateur in 2001 and 2002 as well as the 2003 Bell Canadian Open. Collings is coming off a stellar 2003 run that saw him string together one of the most successful seasons in Canadian amateur golfing history. The 45-year old started the summer with a win at the 2003 Canadian Club Champions Championship and capped it off with victories at the Manitoba Mid-Amateur Championship, Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Championship and Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship.

"This will be an exciting and challenging competition for Lindsay and Garth to participate in," said Roxburgh. "They've both had tremendous success in 2003 and this will be a great event to wrap up their seasons." Both players are products of the RCGA Player Development Program, which provides promising Canadian golfers with the finest coaching, training, competition and support services.

The 101st playing of the British Columbia Amateur Golf Championship, an event that dates back to 1894, will begin it’s second century of tournaments with a new sponsor. The nation-wide Investors Group has signed a two year agreement with the BCGA and will assume their new role with the 2004 Investors Group BC Amateur at the Vernon Golf & Country Club and Spallumcheen golf courses July 12-15.

"Our goal is to make a positive contribution in each of the communities we serve," says Peter Bent, Investors Group Marketing Manager. The company's Community Investment program initiatives include bursaries for active senior national team athletes and a long-standing partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada and its coaching education programs.

"We are delighted to have Investors Group on board as our title sponsor," says BCGA executive director Kris Jonasson. "The company is a perfect fit for us. We take our provincial championship events to our zones throughout the province." Last year's 72-hole tournament, staged in the northern region at Fort St. John for the first time, was an outstanding success both on and off the courses.

James Lepp, the Abbotsford phenom who successfully defended his 2003 provincial title at Fort St. John before going on to win the Pacific Coast Amateur and the Canadian Tour's Greater Vancouver Open, is now a sophomore at the University of Washington who has committed to completing his college education and thus is expected to be the star attraction in the BC Amateur for the next couple of years.

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Following the 78th Annual General Meeting of the British Columbia Golf Association In Kelowna at Gallagher’s Canyon, November 28 the following members have been elected to the 2004 Board of Directors:

Wayne Haddad, zone 1E, Cranbrook Golf Club; Chris Andrews, zone 1E, Kimberley Golf Club; Barry Jackson, zone 1W, Castelgar Golf Club; Keith Larson, zone 2, Aberdeen Hills Golf Links; Bernie Monteleone, zone 2, Kelowna Golf Club; Scott Vannatter, zone 3, Peace Portal Golf Course; Craig Lennon, zone 4, Seymour Golf & Country Club; Menno Martens, zone 4, Fraser Golf Club: Lawrie Kerr, zone 5, Royal Colwood Golf club; Robert Bagnall, zone 6, Eaglecrest Golf Club: Gerry Walker, zone 6, Nanaimo golf Club: John Ross, zone 7, Skeena Valley Golf & Country Club; Jim McKinnon, zone 8N, Lakepoint Golf Club; David Wright, zone 8S, Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club. With the exception of Chris Andrews, who has one year remaining, this Board will remain in office through 2005.

Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.

(Will Rogers)