Halifax, N.S. – The 109th installment of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, gets underway next week at Ashburn Golf Club (New) in Halifax, N.S.
The championship, which was first contested in 1901, is one of the longest standing amateur golf events in the world. The inaugural tournament at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Que., featured only three players and over a century later, 156 players will look to etch their name onto the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup in 2023.
“Golf Canada is extremely excited to bring the storied Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship to Halifax and welcome a premiere field of Canadian and International talent,” said Golf Canada tournament director Mary Beth McKenna. “The 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship will be a memorable event for all players, officials, club staff and volunteers involved, and we are grateful to our hosts, Ashburn Golf Club, for all their efforts. We know the players will enjoy this incredible course and the club’s Atlantic hospitality.”
Practice rounds are scheduled for Monday July 31, before the official 72-hole stroke play competition begins on August 1. Play is scheduled to wrap up on August 4, followed by an awards ceremony and champions reception. The field will be cut to the low 70 players (including ties) after 36 holes.
The tournament will welcome the return of 40 international players 21 from the United States, nine from Australia, three from Chinese Taipei, and representation from England, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are slated to tee up at Ashburn Golf Club this week.
Also being reintroduced this year is the Inter-Provincial team competition. The Inter-Provincial Championship will be played in conjunction with the first 36 holes of the competition with three-player teams vying for the team title. Team British Columbia – composed of Yan Jun (Victoria) Liu, Leah John, and Ha Young Chang are the reigning champions from 2022.
The 156 player field features 10 members of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad led by defending champion Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) along with teammates Angela Arora (Surrey, B.C.), Brook Rivers (Brampton, Ont.), Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame-De-l’île-Perrot, Que.), Katie Cranston (Oakville, Ont.), Lauren Kim (Surry, B.C.), Lauren Zaretsky (Thornhill, Ont.), Leah John (Vancouver, B.C.), Michelle Liu (Vancouver, B.C.), and Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont.).
The NextGen Squad will also be well-represented with 10 members of the junior team slated to compete: Alissa Xu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Anna Huang (Coto De Caza, Calif.), Carlee Meilleur (Lansdowne, Ont.), Lindsay McGrath (Oakville, Ont.), Luna Lu (Burnaby, B.C.), Martina Yu (Coquitlam, B.C.), Michelle Xing (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Vanessa Borovilos (Etobicoke, Ont.), Vanessa Zhang (Vancouver, B.C.) and Yeji Kwon (Port Coquitlam, B.C.).
West Vancouver’s Jenny Guo is the youngest player in the field at the age of 11 and there are five members of Ashburn Golf Club teeing it up this week: Abbey Baker, Annika Parkash, Haley Baker, Lori Diturbide and Brittany Anderson.
The purse payout that was introduced in 2022 will continue at this year’s championship. To align with the modernized Rules of Amateur Status, players at the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship will compete for a purse of $8,000 CAD. Amateur golfers may accept prize money up to a maximum of $1,200 CAD, and payouts will be awarded to the top-10 finishers and ties.
Ashburn Golf Club is one of the most esteemed clubs in Canada and has played a significant role in Halifax for almost a century. Designed by legendary architect Stanley Thompson, the development of the new course at Ashburn commenced in 1965. Land near Kinsac Lake in Windsor Junction was identified and acquired, spanning an impressive 600 acres. To lead the project, the club turned to the expertise of Geoffrey Cornish, a distinguished member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and renowned golf designer who had previously worked alongside Thompson. New Ashburn rapidly became recognized as one of the finest courses in Eastern Canada.
“New Ashburn has a long history of hosting world-class events, and our team is excited and ready to showcase our golf course and facilities to some of the best female golfers in the world,” said Gordie Smith, General Manager at Ashburn Golf Club. “With over 100 volunteers in place, our membership has fully committed to ensuring that the event is spectacular. The whole club has stepped up in preparation and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the East Coast to get this incredible championship started.”
The Championship was first contested in 1901 and operated by the former Canadian Ladies Association (CLGA) until the amalgamation of CLGA and Royal Canadian Golf Association (now Golf Canada) in 2005.
The Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship was last played in 2022 at Westmount Golf & Country Club in Kitchener, Ont. Team Canada National Squad member Monet Chun was crowned champion after firing 5-under to win the national championship by two shots over Alissa Xu.
With Lauren Zaretsky’s win in 2021 and Chun’s win in 2022, the competitors became the first Canadian duo to win back-to-back since Brooke Henderson and Augusta James captured the national title in 2013 and 2014.
Along with the championship’s storied history comes a coveted roster of competitors including Marlene Stewart Streit, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, who sits atop the class with 11 victories and five runner-up finishes at the national event. The tournament has proven to be a launch pad for some of golf’s brightest young stars—Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Brooke Henderson (2013), Hye-Jin Choi (2016), Jennifer Kupcho (2017) and Yealimi Noh (2018) are previous winners who now compete on the LPGA Tour.
The 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion will receive an exemption into the 2023 CPKC Women’s Open, 2023 U.S Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2024 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.
More information about the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship can be found here.
GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/championships.