Addison Kartusch (St. Charles Country Club), Jeri Lafleche (Niakwa Country Club) and Jewel Lafleche (Niakwa) are ready to take on Toronto this week at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.
The 72 hole event tees off at 7:00 Central time Tuesday morning at The Toronto Golf Club. During the first two days of competition the Inter-Provincial Team Championship will also be contested with the lowest two out of three scores counting towards the team’s total score.
For the opening round tee times, click here.
For the opening round leaderboard, click here.
The 156 person field features many of the top amateurs from around the world led by defending champion and Team Canada NextGen athlete, Michelle Xing of Richmond Hill, Ont. Last year, Xing earned the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup, winning by four shots for her first national championship.
Joining Xing are Team Canada teammates, Aphrodite Deng of Calgary, Alta., who is Canada’s lowest ranked amateur on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), currently at No. 7. Vanessa Borovilos of Etobicoke, Ont. (No. 17 WAGR), 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. (No. 19 WAGR), two-time Canadian Junior Girls champion Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont. (No. 59 WAGR) and Clairey Lin of Langley, B.C. (No. 77 WAGR). Six other Team Canada members include: Ann-Sophie Bourgault (Gatineau, Que.), Eileen Park (Red Deer, Alta.), Jodie Han (Vancouver, B.C.), Nobelle Park (Oakville, Ont.), Ruihan Kendria Wang (Vancouver, B.C.) and Vanessa Zhang (Vancouver, B.C.).
In addition to the Team Canada athletes, 48 of the top 250 players on WAGR will be in the field, with 12 countries represented including numerous tournament winners.
“We are very excited to begin the 112th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship as we welcome a world class field to the historic Toronto Golf Club,” said Madeline MacMillan, Tournament Director, Golf Canada. “We’d like to thank the staff and membership of The Toronto Golf Club for their continued commitment to hosting amateur golf as they celebrate a milestone anniversary. We know the players will enjoy a memorable experience at the club and in the City of Mississauga.”
Founded in 1876, The Toronto Golf Club is the third-oldest golf club in North America and currently located on the banks of the Etobicoke Creek. In 1911, the club commissioned renowned golf architect Harry Colt to design the current 18-hole course and in recent years, has brought back Colt’s heathland design to continue to cement itself as a Canadian masterpiece.
Renowned for its demanding layout and natural surroundings, The Toronto Golf Club offers a historic, memorable and challenging experience for players to uphold its place as Canada’s
first-ever championship course. This year, the club is currently celebrating its sesquicentennial anniversary and 113th year in Mississauga, Ont. while adding another prestigious national championship to its acclaimed history.
“For The Toronto Golf Club, hosting a national championship is more than an opportunity—it is the continuation of a tradition that spans 150 years. Since our founding in 1876, the Club has embraced its responsibility to support and advance the game of golf, with a longstanding commitment to amateur competition and the development of women’s golf,” said Neil Rooney, Chief Operating Officer, The Toronto Golf Club. “As we celebrate The Toronto Golf Club’s 150th anniversary, it is especially fitting that we once again welcome the country’s premier women’s amateur championship to our Club. We are proud to partner with Golf Canada in staging this historic event and look forward to a memorable week of outstanding competition that honours our Club’s rich heritage while helping shape the future of Canadian golf.”
The Toronto Golf Club has played host to the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship – formerly the Canadian Ladies’ Association Championship, seven times, with the most recent edition taking place in 1947. The Club has hosted 11 Canadian Women’s Senior Golf Association Championships, two Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association Championships, five RBC Canadian Open’s and nine Canadian Men’s Amateur Championships.
The Toronto Golf Club will play to a Par 71 with a cut following Wednesday’s second round. The low 70 players and ties will advance to the final two rounds of the national championship. Along with earning the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup, the winner will receive an exemption into the field for the 2026 CPKC Women’s Open at Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton, Alta., August 19 – 23 and the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Ooltewah, Tenn., August 4 – 9.
Having debuted in 1901 at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Que., the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship stands as one of the oldest amateur golf events in the world. Current LPGA Tour stars Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Brooke Henderson (2013), Hye-Jin Choi (2016), Jennifer Kupcho (2017), and Yealimi Noh (2018) have all lifted the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup, presented annually to the Canadian Women’s Amateur champion – though none have matched Marlene Stewart Streit’s 11 victories that helped her become the first-ever Canadian inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame (2004).
(Courtesy Golf Canada)
