RCGA National Team Roundups

A lucky few are on full golf scholarships, some are receiving partial financial aid while a majority of the 188 young men and 89 women playing for their school teams are attending the institution of their choice strictly for their education.

These student golfers compete with a few thousand others in either the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Their playing records are maintained and rankings compiled by GolfStat, the Bloomington, Illinois-based official source for all college golf scores and statistics.

Based on their scoring averages for this season, the five top ranked Canadian players are:
Byron Olson, Alberta, Sr., MT Tech, NAIA - - 70.42
Matt Hill, British Columbia, So., North Carolina State, NCAA 1- - 70.79
Cory Renfrew, BC, Sr., UBC, NAIA - - 70.71
Mitchell Evanecz, AB, Sr., UVic, NAIA - - 70.83
Brandon Markiw, BC, Jr., UBC, NAIA - - 71.64

Here is a rundown of the upcoming NCAA Division events where Team Canada members will compete.

Matt Hill
Event: The River Landing Intercollegiate
Where: River Landing Golf Club - Wallace, North Carolina
Date: April 10-11

Event: ACC Men's Golf Championship
Where: The Old North State Club - New London, North Carolina
Date: April 17-19

* Hill was recently named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Month and the Southern Golf Association National Amateur of the Month for March.

Nick Taylor
Event: Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship
Where: Seattle Golf Club - Seattle, Washington
Date: April 27-29

Eugene Wong
Event: ASU Thunderbird
Where: Karsten Golf Course - Tempe, Arizona
Date: April 10-11

Event: US Intercollegiate
Where: Stanford Golf Course - Stanford, California
Date: April 18-19

Event: Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship
Where: Seattle Golf Club - Seattle, Washington
Date: April 27-29

Maude-Aimee LeBlanc
Event: Ladies Midwest Shootout
Where: Kampen Golf Course - West Lafayette, Indiana
Date: April 11

Event: Big Ten Championship
Where: Kampen Golf Course - West Lafayette, Indiana
Date: April 24-26

Stephanie Sherlock
Event: Sun Belt Conference Championship
Where: Cypresswood Golf Club - Houston, Texas
Date: April 20-22

Nicole Vandermade
Event: Big 12 Women's Championship
Where: The Rawls Course at Texas Tech - Lubbock, Texas
Date: April 24-26

- - - - - - - - - -

Richmond, B.C. native Kira Meixner was in Daytona Beach, FL. April 3-5 competing in her second Duramed Futures Tour event of the season, the iMpact Invitational held at the 6,464 yard LPGA International Golf Club. Meixner started well, firing a 2-under par 70 to sit T2 when first round action concluded.

The Canadian rookie holed out from 138 yards with a three-quarter 7-iron on the ninth hole for eagle, which helped take the sting out of a round that had included a double-bogey on No. 3 and a bogey on No. 5. However, it was Meixner's short game which played a large role in her auspicious start.

"I missed my first five greens and I was three over after five holes," said Meixner, who played collegiately at Kent State University. "My short game held me together and there at the end, I felt like it was my chance to make a couple - to get a few shots back."

She would go on to shoot 2-over 74 in the second round and 82 in the third-round to finish at +10, good enough for a T59th.

The event also featured Kelowna B.C.'s Samantha Richdale, who cracked her first top-10 of the season and now ranks 8th on the tour in average scoring (72.5) and 16th in earnings $2,915.

Montreal's Lisa Meldrum, who T59 with Meixner, sits 12th on the tour's money list with $4,011 in earnings.

Other Canadians on the FUTURES Tour include Oakville, Ont.'s Jessica Shepley and Oshawa, Ont.'s Angela Buzminski.

- - - - - - - - - -

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was named Pacific-10 Conference Golfer of the Month for March 2009.

A junior at the University of Washington, Taylor competed in two tournaments, winning one and finishing second in the other. He became the first Husky to win three medalist honors in the same season, capturing the Oregon Duck Invitational, leading Washington to the team title in the event. He also finished tied for second in the Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic. Taylor shot par or better in five of his six rounds for the month. Earlier this year he won the CordeValle Collegiate and the Hawai'i-Hilo Intercollegiate.

In Georgia April 5-7 at the U.S. Collegiate Championship, Taylor finished at 5-over par (69-75-77--221) to T17 and is currently ranked as the 11th best amateur golfer in the world in the Royal and Ancient's recent World Amateur Golf Ranking.

- - - - - - - - - -

University of Texas freshman Nicole Vandermade (76-73-85--234, +18) tied for 10th at Indiana Invitational after beginning the final day tied for the 36-hole lead. She dropped five strokes after starting bogey-double-double on her first three holes, and fell out of the mix for medalist honors. Vandermade's final-round 85 dropped her to a tie for 10th place at 18-over 234. The Canadian native now has a team-high five top-25 finishes this season.

- - - - - - - - - -

Team Canada members Stephanie Sherlock and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc squared-off this past weekend in the Ping-Arizona State University (ASU) Invitational. Sherlock, from Barrie, Ont., plays for the University of Denver Pioneers, and LeBlanc from Sherbrooke, Que., represents Purdue Boilermaker ,

While neither player played their best golf, LeBlanc (+11 (79-74-74--227, T27) did aid her team to a second place finish while Sherlock (+13 (77-75-77--229, T36) helped her team to a ninth place finish.

Upcoming Events:

Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ont. will travel to Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla. from April 9-12 to compete in the largest tournament of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) season, the Mizuno Junior.

For live scoring, visit: http://www.ajga.org/TournResults/2009res.asp

ABOUT THE RCGA NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
The RCGA National Team Program incorporates advanced coaching, sport science expertise, training camps and world-class competition. The RCGA allocates over $1 million of its resources annually to the National Team program, encompassing strength and conditioning, sports psychology, nutrition, biomechanics and technique development. Players who are selected to the National Amateur and National Developmental Teams represent Canada at six to 10 internationally-sanctioned golf competitions throughout the year. The intent of this comprehensive program is to aid Canada's top up-and-coming amateur players in all areas of their development, helping Canada produce the best golfers in the world.

Team Canada, the pinnacle of the RCGA's High Performance Program, provides access to world class resources including coaching, nutrition, sport science, mental management, equipment and elite competitive opportunities. For more information about Team Canada or to make a donation towards the development of Canada's future golf stars, please visit www.rcga.org.