Inaugural CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge

CN, the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) and the Canadian Professional Golfers Association (CPGA) will host the national finals on Saturday, August 29 at the RCGA Golf Centre at Four Season in Calgary.

A total of 22 competitors will travel to Calgary in the hope of becoming an inaugural CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Champion. The event will feature the top-four boys and girls qualifiers within each age group (11 and under, 12-14 and 15-18) who achieved the highest skills challenge scores from events held at various golf facilities across Canada during the 2009 golf season.

"We are very excited to be hosting this event for the first time just prior to tournament week at the CN Canadian Women's Open," said Jeff Thompson, RCGA's Chief Sport Development Officer. "These young players will get the chance to learn valuable playing skills that will help them develop as competitive golfers, and allow them to showcase their skills against other players their age."

Each participant will test their skills in three skills competitions including: putting, chipping, and driving with one overall winner per age group and gender.

The event will kick-off tournament week at the 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open held at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary. Canada's only stop on the LPGA Tour will feature additional CN Future Links programming, including the CN Future Links Walk with a Pro held on Wednesday, September 2.

The CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge is part of the national grassroots junior golf initiative, CN Future Links, which gives children ages 6-18 the chance to enjoy and learn the game of golf via affordable and accessible programs that align with and support the principles of golf's long-term player development guide as set by Sport Canada. More than 748,000 junior golfers have successfully participated in Future Links programming since its inception in 1996.

Those participating include:

Boys 11 and Under
Name Course Province
Brendan Brown RCGA Golf Centre Alberta
Sam Diamond St. Charles Manitoba
Trenton Louie Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia
Landon Stellingwerf RCGA Golf Centre Alberta

Boys 12 to 14
Name Course Province
Patrick Murphy RCGA Golf Centre Alberta
Logan VanDamme Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia
Phil Patterson Gowan Brae New Brunswick
Adam Struch Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia

Boys 15 to 18
Name Course Province
Jarome Thorne Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia
Kurtis Stewart Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia
Brayden Hori Rivershore Golf Club British Columbia
Johnny Tsafalas RCGA Golf Centre Alberta

Girls 11 and Under
Name Course Province
Isabella Portokalis Firerock Ontario
Jamie Wainman The Golf Clinic Ontario
Brynn Todd St. Charles Manitoba
McKenzie Morrow Firerock Ontario

Girls 12 to 14
Name Course Province
Rachelle Nielsen Fairview Mountain British Columbia
Molly MacDermaid Gowan Brae New Brunswick
Danielle Forhan Shanty Bay Ontario
Carlee Calver Gowan Brae New Brunswick

Girls 15 to 18
Name Course Province
Cassandra Louie Rivershore Golf Club Brutish Columbia
Chelsea Crawford Firerock Ontario

Notable CN Future Links alumni include Canadian Tour Professional Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., two-time Women's Tour champion Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., and 2007 Canadian Men's Amateur champion Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C.

CN FUTURE LINKS
CN Future Links is Canada's national junior golf program conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association (CPGA) and Canada's provincial golf associations. The program is designed to forge a link between Canada's youth and golf to ensure the future of the game in Canada.

Additionally the CN Future Links Championships provide Canada's best junior golfers a chance to hone their competitive skills in multiple day championships. Almost 5,000 top juniors have competed in these premier championships since their inception in 2000. For more information about CN Future Links, please visit www.future-links.org.

NORTH AMERICA'S RAILROAD
CN - Canadian National Railway Company - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For further information please visit www.cn.ca.

CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER'S ASSOCIATION
Established in 1911, the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association is a non-profit association comprised of approximately 3,500 golf professionals across the country with a mandate to promote and advance the game of golf, serving the needs of both its membership and the golf public through professional and junior golf development programs and high-calibre competitive events. The National Office is located in Acton, Ontario with nine Zone Offices across the country. For more information, visit http://www.cpga.com.

ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA's mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community visit www.rcga.org.