Capilano Set to Host Zone Qualifier for 2009 World Junior Golf Team Championship

Team Canada members prepare for final events of 2009 NCAA season

Oakville, Ont. (RCGA) – Top junior golfers from Canada, Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico will gather at Capilano Golf & Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C. from April 13-15, as the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) plays host to the Zone Qualifier for the World Junior Golf Team Championship (WJGTC).

The four-player teams will compete over 54-holes with the top two teams advancing to the World Junior Golf Team Championship, which takes place June 16-19 in Japan.
This year’s Canadian contingent consists of; London, Ont. native and reigning Canadian Junior Boys and Canadian Juvenile Champion, Mitch Sutton, Toronto natives Richard Jung and Albin Choi, as well as Julien Goulet of St-Roch de L'Achigan, Que. All four players play on Canada’s developmental golf team.

“We are proud to have these four young, talented golfers representing Canada,” said Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of High Performance Programs. “These young men have excelled in junior golf over the past few years and are all hungry to do their country proud.”

Henry Brunton, Canadian PGA master professional and men’s head coach for Team Canada will accompany the team.

Canada has been competing in the World Junior Golf Team Championship since its inception in 1992. Each year, more than 60 countries attempt to qualify for the event via regional qualifiers with only 14 teams earning the right to play in Japan.

Canada has showed well in the past earning seven top-10 finishes in the event’s 16 year history. There has only been two years (1992 and 2008) where Canada did not make it through regional qualifying.

Post-round results for the 2009 Zone Qualifier for the World Junior Golf Team Championship can be found on the Internet at www.rcga.org.

Other Team Canada results and news:
Team Canada Members Prepare for NCAA Regional qualifyingAs the golf community watches the worlds best professional golfers take on Augusta National at the 2009 Masters Tournament, Canadian student-athletes who compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) continue with their golf schedules in preparation for the conclusion of their golf season.
With a mere five weekends left before the NCAA conducts its regional championship qualifying, a number of Canadians competing south of the border have solidified themselves in the collegiate rankings and now have only a few events left to prepare for their chance at capturing their respective titles.

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

Matt Hill
Event: The River Landing IntercollegiateWhere: River Landing Golf Club - Wallace, North CarolinaDate: April 10-11
Event: ACC Men's Golf Championship Where: The Old North State Club - New London, North CarolinaDate: 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 ChampionshipWhere: Seattle Golf Club - Seattle, WashingtonDate: April 27-29

Eugene Wong
Event: ASU Thunderbird Where: Karsten Golf Course - Tempe, ArizonaDate: April 10-11
Event: US IntercollegiateWhere: Stanford Golf Course - Stanford, CaliforniaDate: April 18-19
Event: Pac-10 Men's Golf ChampionshipWhere: Seattle Golf Club - Seattle, WashingtonDate: April 27-29

Maude-Aimee LeBlanc
Event: Ladies Midwest Shootout Where: Kampen Golf Course - West Lafayette, IndianaDate: April 11
Event: Big Ten ChampionshipWhere: Kampen Golf Course - West Lafayette, IndianaDate: April 24-26

Stephanie Sherlock
Event: Sun Belt Conference ChampionshipWhere: Cypresswood Golf Club - Houston, TexasDate: April 20-22

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

Meixner in-the-mix at Second Duramed Futures Tour event Richmond, B.C. native Kira Meixner travelled to Daytona Beach, FL. from April 3-5 to compete 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 Tour include Oakville, Ont.’s Jessica Shepley and Oshawa, Ont.’s Angela Buzminski.

Taylor Named Pac-10 Conference Golfer of the MonthNick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., has been named Pacific-10 Conference Golfer of the Month for March 2009.

Taylor, a junior at the University of Washington competed in two tournaments, winning one and finishing second in the other. Taylor became the first Husky ever to win three medalist honors in the same season as he won 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. He earlier this year won the CordeValle Collegiate and the Hawai'i-Hilo Intercollegiate.

Taylor’s recently travelled to Georgia where he teed-it-up from 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.

Vandermade Ties for 10th at Indiana Invitational
University of Texas freshman Nicole Vandermade (76-73-85--234, +18) began the day tied for the 36-hole lead, marking the first time she has slept on the lead in her college career.

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.

Sherlock and LeBlanc Battle at PING ASU Invitational
Team Canada members Stephanie Sherlock and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc squared-off this past weekend as action heated up at the Ping-Arizona State University (ASU) Invitational.

Sherlock, from Barrie, Ont. and LeBlanc from Sherbrooke, Que., butted heads as their respective University of Denver Pioneer and Purdue Boilermaker teams took to the links from April 3-5.
While neither player played their best golf, LeBlanc did aid her team to a second place finish while Sherlock helped her team to a ninth place finish. LeBlanc shot a +11 (79-74-74—227) to finish T27, and Sherlock shot +13 (77-75-77—229) to T36.

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.

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.

ABOUT THE 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, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, 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.