Despite being one of the best Canadian golfers on the PGA Tour, Taylor Pendrith didn’t really grow up dreaming of playing in the Masters.

Instead, his goal was to play in Major League Baseball or the NHL.

Pendrith, who was the MVP of his high school baseball team in Richmond Hill, Ont., and also played junior A hockey, will make his Augusta National Golf Club debut on Thursday. 

“Honestly, even the first few years in college playing college golf, I didn’t really know I was going to play professionally,” Pendrith told reporters on Tuesday. “So obviously I watched the Masters tournament and followed golf, but never really thought I would be here until probably the last year of college.

“Once I got my PGA Tour card it became more of a reality that, ‘hey, if I do play well I could get here.’”

Pendrith played at Kent State University before turning pro in 2014, working his way up from the PGA Tour Canada to the Korn Ferry Tour and finally the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old qualified for the Masters, the first major of the men’s golf season, when he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on May 5.

“I had been a couple times as a spectator and it will be a really special week,” said Pendrith. “It’s already been such a cool week, and to have all my family and friends here, it’s awesome.”

Pendrith will be joined at Augusta by Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont.

Conners and Pendrith played together at Kent State and were the best men at each other’s weddings. They’ve gone on to play together on Golf Canada’s national team and were twice members of the International Team at the Presidents Cup.

“(Pendrith) looked great out there,” said Conners after the four Canadians practised together. “It was awesome to share that experience with him. 

“Tried to tell him a few of the things that I learned over the years. But I think this golf course is great for him.”

Conners is the highest ranked Canadian on the FedEx Cup standings, sitting sixth heading into the Masters. He’s played in the tournament seven times, finishing in the top 10 in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“I think there is an added comfort level knowing you had some good rounds out here, knowing what it takes to play well,” said Conners, who is also 33. “I think that’s definitely huge here compared to some of the weeks.

“Obviously, it’s the biggest golf tournament in the world. Just fun to be here any time, but definitely having had some decent results, there is lots of positives I can draw from.”

Taylor is 16th on the FedEx Cup rankings and Pendrith is 39th. 

The 54-year-old Weir primarily plays on the Champions Tour and is therefore unranked on the PGA Tour, but automatically qualifies for the Masters as the 2003 champion. Weir is still the only Canadian man to win a major.

Taylor, 36, has won on the PGA Tour five times, including three playoffs. He thinks a major win could be close for him.

“I know I’m not far off, it’s just getting through that barrier of probably the belief standpoint and then I’ve played well enough at a vast majority of golf courses that there’s no reason I can’t compete out here,” said Taylor, who will be competing at the Masters for a third time. “So getting that belief is definitely probably the next step and then from there I can shoot some good scores.”

Golf Manitoba, in association with Golf Canada, is pleased to welcome Shooters Family Golf Centre as our newest member club.

Located along Main Street in Winnipeg, this executive18 hole par 57 golf course can be played from three sets of tee boxes ranging from 2,076 to 2,879 yards.

Shooters Family Golf Centre also features a 100 stall driving range, mini golf course, putting green and a full service restaurant for all guests to enjoy.

As an official Golf Manitoba / Canada member club, all rounds played at Shooters Family Golf Centre are acceptable for handicap purposes and may be recorded toward establishing or maintaining an official Golf Canada Handicap Index.

To reserve a tee time or for more information, call the proshop at (204) 339-2326 or go online www.shootersgolf.ca.

Jeri Lafleche (Niakwa Country Club) has her first victory of the 2025 season winning the Girls 14-18 Division of the Mission Resort + Club Spring Junior Open in Florida.

Jeri carded rounds of 79 and 81 to finish at 16-over par in the 36 hole event, good for a three stroke victory over Noha Ghadi of Morocco.

Jewel Lafleche (Niakwa Country Club) earned a fourth place finish at 24-over par shooting an 81 and 87.

TSN’s James Duthie joins Golf Manitoba Director of Communications & Development Brian Munz to talk all things golf.

Duthie shares his passion for the sport, favorite places he has played and takes us behind the scenes on TSN’s coverage of The Masters.

Cala Korman (Killarney Lakeside Golf Club) has been named the Big Sky Conference Golfer of the Week while representing Weber State University.

Korman visits with Golf Manitoba Director of Communications and Development Brian Munz about her success this past week, her second full season at Weber State and looking forward to another summer at home.

Tickets are now on sale for the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Induction Banquet.

To purchase tickets, click here.

The Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2024 features Donald Craig, James Scollan and Danny Stack along with the 1995 Willingdon Cup Team of Garth Collings, Dale Goehring, Derron Magda and Rob McMillan.

The Induction Banquet is scheduled for Thursday, May 8 at Glendale Golf & Country Club.

As the calendar turns to April, golf fans worldwide focus their attention on Augusta, Ga. to celebrate a tradition unlike any other and watch in anticipation as to who will be next to don the iconic green jacket.

Canada will be well represented at the 89th Masters Tournament with four Canadians currently set to compete including past Masters champion, Mike Weir (Bright’s Grove, Ont.), Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and 2023 RBC Canadian Open winner, Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.). Winnipeg’s Derek Ingram is the coach for Conners and Pendrith.

Weir will be competing in his 26th Masters Tournament. His iconic win in 2003 was secured on the first playoff hole at Augusta National Golf Club to beat Len Mattiace and become the first Canadian Masters champion and the first Canadian male golfer to win a major.

Conners, who will be competing in his eighth Masters Tournament including 2015 as an amateur, had three consecutive top 10 finishes between 2020 and 2022, with his best finish, T6 coming in 2022. Taylor will be making his third appearance at the Masters, his best finish was T29 in 2020, while Pendrith will be making his Masters debut.

Also returning to Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta National) is Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club’s superintendent, Eric Ruhs, who has been volunteering with the Augusta National Agronomy department since 2014. Ruhs has been the superintendent at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club since 1987 and was honoured as the 2023 Superintendent of the Year by the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association.

Lauren Kim set to compete in second consecutive Augusta National Women’s Amateur

Before the Masters Tournament kicks off, Augusta National will host the sixth annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), from April 2-5.

Team Canada member, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. will be competing at her second consecutive ANWA, looking to build on last year’s T14 finish. Kim is currently a sophomore at the University of Texas where she has enjoyed a great deal of success throughout her season. She claimed her second collegiate title at the Betsy Rawls Invitational in March and has three additional third place finishes along with a top-five and a top-six.

The ANWA features a field of 72 amateurs competing over 54 holes of stroke play with a cut following 36 holes. The opening rounds will be contested at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. on Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3. The top 30 players and ties will advance to the final round at Augusta National on Saturday, April 5. The entire field will play a practice round there one day prior on Friday.

The first two rounds of the ANWA will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. ET. NBC will air the final round on April 5 from Noon – 3:00 p.m. ET.

For more information on the ANWA including the full field, click here.

Three Canadians set to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals in Augusta

Following the ANWA, the 11th annual Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals will be contested on Sunday, April 6 at Augusta National.

Three Canadians will be among the 80 qualified junior golfers that have earned invitations to compete in Augusta. They are:

Allen Kong from Vancouver, B.C. who will be competing in the Boys 7-9 division. Kong earned his spot through a regional qualifying event at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wa., where he gained 133 points, fourth highest in his division among other national final competitors.

Jenny Guo of Langley, B.C. will be competing in the Girls 12-13 division. Guo recorded 143 points at her regional qualifying event at Chambers Bay, where her total was the second highest among other national finalists in the division. Guo also finished second at the inaugural Canadian U15 Championship last August at the Elmira Golf Club in Elmira, Ont.

Riviera Lindholm of Toronto, Ont. will also be competing in the Girls 12-13 Division. Lindholm earned her qualification at a regional event at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa. where she totaled 150 points, the highest total among national finalists in her division. Last season, Lindholm earned a T4 finish at the Canadian U15 Championship and placed second at the 2024 Junior Skills Challenge National Event in the Girls 12-13 division.

Canadians have enjoyed past success at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, with three current Team Canada members having previously won their respective divisions. LPGA Tour member Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. won the Girls 14-15 division in 2017. Vanessa Borovilos of Etobicoke, Ont. won the Girls 10-11 division in 2018 and Nicole Gal of Oakville, Ont. won the Girls 14-15 division in 2019. Fellow Canadian Alexis Card of Cambridge, Ont. won the Girls 7-9 division in 2021.

Drive, Chip and Putt is conducted in partnership with the USGA, the Masters Tournament and the PGA of America and is a free youth golf development program. The competition tests the skills of the game, measuring accuracy in driving, chipping and putting. Each competitor is scored on a 30-point system – the player with the best drive is awarded 10 points, the closest cumulative chips, 10 points and the player with nearest cumulative putts, another 10 points. The player with the highest total combined score will be named the winner from each age and gender division.

For more information on the 2025 national finalists and regional qualifying results, click here. 

For more information on Drive, Chip and Putt, click here

Golf Manitoba, in association with Golf Canada, is pleased to welcome Killarney Lakeside Golf Club as our newest member club.

Located in southwest Manitoba, this 18 hole course can be played from four sets of tee boxes ranging from 3,942 to 6,180 yards.

Killarney Lakeside Golf Club features a driving range, chipping green and putting green. The fully licensed clubhouse and restaurant is available to host fundraisers, weddings and corporate gatherings.

As an official Golf Manitoba / Canada member club, all rounds played at Killarney Lakeside Golf Club are acceptable for handicap purposes and may be recorded toward establishing or maintaining an official Golf Canada Handicap Index.

To reserve a tee time or for more information, call the proshop at (204) 523-8277 or click here for their website.

Early registration for all 2025 Golf Manitoba championships is now available as of Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9am CST. Golf Manitoba is entering its fourth season using Golf Genius for its Tournament Management Software including all registrations. Early registration is for competitors based on their past results.  

General registration for all interested competitors will open on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 9am CST.

To be eligible to compete in Golf Manitoba competitions, players must be an active Golf Manitoba/Canada member through a member club or the Golf Manitoba Public Player Program, and must also hold an up-to-date Golf Canada Handicap Index visible on the Golf Canada Score Centre at the time of registration.

If you do not have a Golf Manitoba/Canada membership you can click here to join.

Golf Genius

The championship registration process is easier, less time consuming and accessible through Golf Canada’s Score Centre. To enter all Golf Manitoba events, you must first log into your Golf Canada Score Centre profile using a web browser, please note that you will not be able to log-in through the Golf Canada app. 

Please ensure the following is updated in your Golf Canada Score Centre profile:

• Date of birth
• Address
• City, province and postal code
• Cell number
• Email address
• Current handicap index

How To Register

To enter an event, you must first log-in to your Golf Canada Score Centre account.  Next, you must select the competitions tab found under the user menu on the top right-hand side of the web page. Please see image below:

This competitions tab will take you to the championship page. From here you will select the event that you wish to register in and complete the registration process.

Please note that personal Golf Genius accounts that are active at the club level will not permit you to register for any Golf Manitoba Championship. 

You MUST access registration through your Golf Canada Score Centre Account.

If you have any questions regarding registration, please do not hesitate to contact Amy at amy@golfmb.ca.

You can view our 2025 championship schedule and register, click here.

Playing recreational golf became one of the go-to activities during the COVID-19 pandemic as the nature of the game made it safe under Canada’s public health measures.

Golf Canada’s 2024 annual report, released on March 6, shows that the pandemic bubble growth wasn’t just a passing fad. Nearly six million Canadians played golf last year, including more than 360,000 Golf Canada members who posted nearly 11 million rounds to the national sport body’s scoring centre.

“This surge that we felt has really stabilized with continued growth,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “Technological advancement, the shifting of lifestyles and the work week has really helped the participation side, as has the expansion of new formats for golf, like shorter formats, simulator golf.

“It’s actually all these factors have come together to help continue that growth.”

Golf Canada’s youth and accessibility programs have also fuelled the growth of its participation numbers.

First Tee – Canada, a youth development program that gives children life-enhancing experiences, was rolled out in every province in 2024 with more than 100,000 participants since it was launched in 2021. 

Youth on Course, another program that aims to make golf more financially accessible for kids, expanded across nine provinces with 105 golf courses participating. Over 32,900 rounds of golf at $5 or less were played by 5,382 unique golfers thanks to Youth on Course.

“(First Tee) is a life skills program that uses golf, and they’re having a blast,” said Applebaum. “We were seeing a lot of really strong participation from golfers and our demographics had been getting older but in ’23 and ’24 we saw the demographic ages actually slide younger and skew younger and more female.”

First launched in Calgary in 2023, She Plays Golf festivals were also held in Toronto and Vancouver last year. Organized by Golf Canada, the weeklong events are designed to introduce women and girls to the game in a safe, fun and judgment-free environment.

Applebaum said that these programs that help people try golf when they’ve never picked up a club before, as well as a women’s executive program for professionals in the marketplace that have always wanted to be part of the golf environment, have buoyed those annual participation numbers.

“So it’s not one thing, it’s probably 15 or 20 things that are coming together,” he said. “Golf has hit that moment as an incredible sport for physical and mental health that has really connected with people of all ages and stages.”

Golf Canada also introduced two new championships in 2024: the Canadian U15 Championship and the Canadian Collegiate Invitational, for a total championship schedule that included 36 titles.

The BDO National Golf League, a countrywide, season-long competition created by Golf Canada also encouraged players to get in more rounds over the year. It allows golfers participating in the club’s league to also compete provincially and nationally.

More than 10,000 participants from 107 leagues competed, with 52 pairings qualifying for the league championship at Hamilton Golf and Country Club during the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. 

The champions represented Canada at Royal Troon in Scotland for The R&A 9 Hole Challenge at the 152nd British Open.