Junior Golfers Shine at Inaugural CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Finals

CN Future Links programming to be featured at 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open

Calgary (RCGA) — CN, the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) and the Canadian Professional Golfers Association (CPGA) welcomed 22 qualifiers from across Canada to the inaugural national finals for the 2009 CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge held Saturday, August 29, 2009 at the RCGA Golf Centre at Four Season in Calgary.

The event featured 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 180 golf facilities across Canada during the 2009 golf season.

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

Taking home top spot in their respective divisions was Manitoba’s Sam Diamond (Boys 11 and under), Patrick Murphy of Alberta (Boys 12 to 14), Jerome Thorne of British Columbia (Boys 15-18), Isabella Portokalis of Ontario (Girls 11 and under), Molly MacDermid of New Brunswick (Girls 12-14) and Cassandra Louie of British Columbia (Girls 15-18).

“The national finals were a perfect way to top off what was an excellent first season of these CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge events,” said Jeff Thompson, RCGA’s Chief Sport Development Officer. “The RCGA Golf Centre at Four Seasons is a great facility, the weather was ideal, and spectators were treated to some great golf by a talented group of junior golfers.”

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.

The CN Future Link Junior Skills Challenge National Finals helped to kick-off tournament week at the 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open which will be held August 31-September 6 at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary. Canada’s lone LPGA Tour stop will feature additional CN Future Links programming, including the CN Future Links Walk with a Pro held on Wednesday, September 2.

The following are final results for the 2009 CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge Finals.

Boys 11 and under:
Sam Diamond - Manitoba - 250
Brendan Brown Alberta - 187
Trenton Louie – BC- 162
Landon Stellingwerf – Alberta - 122

Boys 12 to 14:
Patrick Murphy – Alberta - 190
Adam Struch – BC - 162
Phil Patterson – New Brunswick - 118
Logan Van Damme – BC - 99

Boys 15-18:
Jerome Thorne - BC- 187
Kurtis Stewart – BC - 173
Brayden Hori – BC - 116
Johnny Tsafala - Alberta 65

Girls 11 and under:
Isabella Portokalis - ON - 192
Brynn Todd - MB - 99
Jamie Wainman – ON - 95
MacKenzie Morrow – ON - 40

Girls 12-14:
Molly MacDermid – New Brunswick - 162
Rachelle Nielson – BC - 141
Danielle Forhan – ON - 75
Carlee Calver – New Brunswick - 31

Girls 15-18:
Cassandra Louie – BC - 110
Chelsea Crawford – ON - 32

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.

ABOUT THE 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.

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, 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 please visit http://www.rcga.org/.