Lorne Rubenstein recently assembled this introduction to the 2008 Canadian golf scene. This comes from the Globe and Mail, here.
Fans crave more success from Canadians
LORNE RUBENSTEIN
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
December 21, 2007 at 10:01 PM EST
The 2007 golf season had its highs and lows from a Canadian perspective.
The high of highs was Mike Weir's win against Tiger Woods in their Sunday singles match at the Presidents Cup in September, while the low of lows is the fact that only three Canadians will play the 2008 PGA Tour — one more than this year.
Those three are Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., Calgary resident Stephen Ames, and Oshawa, Ont., native Jon Mills. Weir and Ames won late-season events to set themselves up for a strong 2008, while Mills finished fourth on the Nationwide Tour to earn his PGA Tour card for the second time. He played in 2006, but finished 227th on the money list.
Mills, 29, is full of talent and experienced enough to win on the PGA Tour. He's a more mature golfer than the one who appeared to go for most pins a few years ago. One example will make the point.
During the 2001 Bell Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club's Blue course, Mills bombed a drive on the par-five 12th hole. The hole was cut to the left, behind a deep bunker. Mills went for the green with a towering shot, but his ball caught the bunker and left him with hardly any shot. He bogeyed the hole.
Woods came through around the same time and hit his drive to nearly the identical spot as Mills. Woods played far to the right of the hole, thereby taking the deep bunker on the direct line out of play. He hit the green and two-putted for a birdie.
Mills has since learned to manage his game. He plays smart golf now, which doesn't mean he won't use his power at the right time. Golf Magazine noted in its current issue that he makes a boatload of birdies, and included Mills in a list of five lesser-known players who could do big things in 2008.
Away from the PGA Tour, it should be interesting to follow Hamilton's Alena Sharp. She had her best season on the LPGA Tour, finishing 57th on the money list. Her finest moment came when she tied for 10th at the CN Canadian Women's Open. Sharp is getting close to a win.
Then, there's Charlottetown native Lorie Kane. Kane's been slipping in recent years. She finished 74th on the LPGA money list. Kane did tie for fourth at the Long Drugs Challenge in October, and believes she can win again. The 2008 season will go a long way toward determining whether Kane has much of a future left on the LPGA Tour.
Over on the Champions Tour, Toronto's Craig Marseilles might be worth watching, but this doesn't mean he can win there.
Marseilles has very little experience at this exalted level, as he's played most of his professional golf on the Canadian Tour.
But the 50-year-old did get through qualifying school. That gets him into a qualifying round before each tournament, where up to 90 players compete for seven or eight spots in that week's competition.
Richard Zokol also plans to play the Champions Tour after he turns 50 in August. As a PGA Tour winner and veteran member of the Tour, the Vancouver native gets into the same qualifying rounds as Marseilles. He's played no competitive golf the past few years, so he'll have quite a challenge ahead.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Open has a new sponsor in the Royal Bank of Canada.
On the Canadian Tour, commissioner Rick Janes and deputy commissioner Dan Halldorson continue to make strides toward a coherent, coast-to-coast schedule. They don't have it easy.
Nor does the Canadian PGA have it easy. Its Canadian PGA Championship was played from 1912 to 2005, and the roster of winners includes Gordon Brydson, Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman. Efforts have been made to revive the important championship, but no luck so far. That's too bad.
It's also too bad that the Royal Canadian Golf Association has yet to come up with a rotation of courses for the Canadian Open, or announce a venue for 2010. Tournament director Bill Paul said Friday that the RCGA plans to announce a number of courses for future Opens by the 2008 tournament in July.
Paul added that the RCGA is working hard to bring the 2010 Open to St. George's in Toronto, but that significant challenges remain. The 2008 and 2009 tournaments will return to the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.
Canadians love their golf. The pro game gave them some excitement this year. Revved up by Weir and Ames in particular, they crave more.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
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