TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - RBC ROCKS THE OPEN, AND COMING TOGETHER AT THE FRAZE

Pictured from L to R: Mike Kray, the executive director of the Mike Weir Foundation, the Reach Out Centre for Kids’ Director of Operations Kirsten Dougherty, RCGA Executive Director Scott Simmons, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, the RBC’s Group Head of Canadian Banking, Dave McKay, and the ROCK’s Ron Rodgers.

During a press conference at the RCGA headquarters in Oakville last week, Halton’s Region’s Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK) was officially named the local charity for the 2009 RBC Canadian Open. This marks Year One of a five-year plan in which the tournament hopes to raise more than $5 million for charitable causes, with the national partner being the Mike Weir Foundation and one local charity to be selected each year.
It was a really wonderful feel-good story for those present, especially in light of generous $50,000 donations to ROCK from both the Mike Weir Foundation and RBC. Other local charities also benefit from the Open whenever it’s held at Glen Abbey, including Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Oakville, who are given rights to running local parking lots during tournament week.
The Reach Out Centre for Kids provides mental health services for local children, with specialists seeing 11,500 children and their families a year. There, however, are still 700 youngsters on the waiting list. “When I got the news that we’d been selected, I sat at my desk and cried,” explained ROCK Event Coordinator Marilyn Smith, whose group helps cater to a population that averages one psychiatrist for every 32,000 young people.

“Imagine a preschooler having to wait a year to get a psychological assessment,” explains ROCK’s Executive Director Ron Rodgers, who notes their usual $8 million operating budget is $1.6 million short of what’s required to meet the ever-increasing demand for their services in Halton Region. “This decision is going to directly impact those 700 kids on the waiting list. For Canada’s premier banking corporation to say they will come to the table like this is just a huge investment.”

BIG NAMES ROUND OUT RBC OPEN FIELD
Sean O’Hair, two-time US Open champ Retief Goosen and Hunter Mahan have helped round out what’s shaping up to be a pretty decent field for the RBC Canadian Open (http://www.thecanadianopen.ca/default.aspx), which runs July 20-26. Those who had already committed to a field that’s twice as strong as 2007 (the year before RBC joined as title sponsor) included Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Trevor Immelman, Camilo Villegas, Anthony Kim, Fred Couples, Mark Calcavecchia, Luke Donald and defending champ Chez Reavie. Others added to the list today are Nick Watney (10th on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings), long-bombing Bubba Watson, Brian Gay (7th on the FedEx standings), US Open runner-up Ricky Barnes, 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Charlie Hoffman, Dustin Johnson (14th on the FedExCup standings), two-time winner and another big hitter J.B. Holmes, former US Amateur champ Jeff Quinney, rising star Kevin Na, 2001 Open champ Scott Verplank, five-time Tour winner Billy Mayfair, three-time winner Jerry Kelly, 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton, 15-time winner and 2010 US Ryder Cup Team captain Corey Pavin, two-time US Open winner Lee Janzen, 2003 PGA Championship winner Shaun Micheel, 2003 Canadian Open winner Bob Tway, 2002 Canadian Open Champion John Rollins, four-time Tour winner Steve Flesch and the top two ranked amateurs in the world: Abbotsford, BC’s Nick Taylor and Forest, Ontario’s Matt Hill.

MARLENE & ME

I got to play again with arguably Canada’s greatest golfer in history, Marlene Stewart-Streit, yesterday at Mississaugua G&CC during the annual FRAZE, a golf-media-and-friends get-together that celebrates the life and times of former Toronto Star sportswriter Rick Fraser. It was the fourth time I’ve gotten to play with Marlene, who can still get up and down from a well and hits the ball laser straight virtually every time. We’ve won a couple events together in the past, but I think the rest of her team may have held her back yesterday (my backswing was becoming so short and fast by the end of the round that I was seriously considering inventing a new game where you were only allowed to have a followthrough). Fortunately, Marlene–75 years young–is evidently as strong as an ox, considering how many holes this World Golf Hall of Famer carried us through.

24 MORE HOURS FOR JESSIE
Andrew Fazackerley and Edward Goodfellow teamed up for another 24-hour marathon of golf at Rivendell GC near Kingston late last week. Despite the economic downturn, these two young men managed to raise $30,000 for the Kingston Cancer Clinic, which, when matched with the government’s 9-1 agreement, brings the total to a whopping $300,000. Read all about their most recent epic journey via an email from Edward’s mother, Cathy.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - A MARATHON FOR CHARITY, OUR NATIONAL TEAMS, AND NEWS FROM THE US OPEN

Edward Goodfellow and Andrew Fazackerley are back at it. The two young men who inspired a cover feature in Ontario Golf last year are repeating their Strokes Fore Hopes charity golf marathon at this very moment—24 hours of non-stop golf—in an attempt to raise funds for the Kingston Cancer Clinic. Here are some early pics from the event (the picture with the group of four is Andrew, Scott McLeod from Flagstick Magazine, Tim Derkin, a DJ with Corus entertainment’s radio station, 104.3, and Edward.

WRAPPED IN THE FLAG
I got the chance to meet the Canadian national amateur team two days ago during an RCGA function at Coppinwood GC in Uxbridge. Impressive bunch of youngsters–and you tend to forget exactly how young they are. We’re talking about kids still fighting acne, two of which are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the world: BC’s Nick Taylor and Forest, Ontario’s Matt Hill.
Clearly the RCGA’s much-maligned developmental program is starting to pay dividends–literally. The team’s performances in international play have resulted in its national team members being considered fully carded athletes by Sport Canada, meaning they get paid $3,000 month for competing when not in college, over and above their expenses. Richmond, BC’s Kira Meixner, for example, gets $18,000 a year.
Barrie’s Stephanie Sherlock, though, is supplementing her income by working at her home club of Simoro Golf Links, where the University of Denver star says she’s graduating from cleaning golf carts all the way up to beverage cart girl.
The passion of RCGA Executive Director Scott Simmons has a lot to do with the group’s success, explains girls’ team coach Dean Spriddle. “Obviously, Scott has helped. He has energized our entire team. It helps when the players see how serious and passionate he takes this. And the merger of both the Canadian men’s and women’s associations has also helped.”
And while it was great to play Coppinwood again yesterday as part of the media day, I was reminded of a comment I recently heard about the course: “If they’d spent $3 million less, it would have been a truly great course.”
In other words, instead of using about a million acres to lay out 18 holes, course architect Tom Fazio could have made that wonderful piece of property into a classic, walkable layout. Instead, you have to be a mountain goat to contemplate attacking this course by foot. Still, the new arrival of Kevin Thistle (Canada’s most famous–and enthusiastic–director of golf, formerly of Angus Glen) should help shine the spotlight of the beautiful facility for years to come.

GOOD SHOWING FROM FOLEY’S GANG AT US OPEN
Canadian golf instructor Sean Foley saw another solid outing from his three students at the US Open. Hunter Mahan tied for sixth, Stephen Ames tied for 10th and Sean O’Hair finished 23rd after faltering to a final-round 76. Mahan got the worst break of the championship when his approach to the par-4 16th struck the pin dead on and ricocheted off the green, leading to a bogey instead of a an easy birdie that would have tied him for the lead with two holes to go.
“We had a good number. I think it was like 172,” Mahan said. “Had an 8-iron downwind and just flushed it. I hit that thing pretty hard and it ricocheted off the green. That happens. It’s a U.S. Open. You’re going to get stuff like that.”
What a ridiculous break, though. He hit arguably his best shot of the US Open, when it mattered the most, and lost because of it.

POULTER DOESN’T WINE THAT MUCH
Telus Skins Game participants were given some Mike Weir wine to take home with them. Ian Poulter, however, forgot the traditional liquids ban, resulting in his gift of wine being confiscated at the airport in Montreal. “When r airports going to use common sense again?” he twittered this morning. “I had to give away my mike weir wine. they refused to let me take it through the scanner.”
At least Poulter enjoyed himself while in Canada. “Had a great day with Garcia, Weir, Ogilvy, Couples,” he wrote. “Geoff won the tourney.”
For those of you who haven’t read GolfStyle Magazine’s cover feature on the bright English fashion plate, click here.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - IMMELMAN MORE INJURED THAN FIRST THOUGHT, AND HINDS/KING FALL SHORT VS QUEBEC

Dave Haggith, Director Communications for IMG, writes, “As you are already aware, Trevor Immelman was forced to withdraw from this week’s U.S. Open due to a wrist injury, which was originally diagnosed as tendinitis. Doctors have since detected two small tears in the left wrist as well as some damage to the bone, in addition to the tendinitis.” Immelman had already pulled out of next week’s Telus Skins Game in Quebec, but should be back in time for the RBC Canadian Open, says Haggith.

KING AND HINDS COME UP SHORT IN QUEBEC
Ontario Golf Magazine contributing instructor Danny King and his partner Jerry Hinds of Heritage Hills lost the final of the $100,000 VIA Rail Canada Cup 4-up to the Quebec PGA team of Carl Desjardins (Le Blainvillier) and Yvan Beauchemin (Grand Mere).
In earning the right to represent the Ontari PGA in the final, Hinds and King battled the elements yesterday afternoon in what was an up-and-down match against the team of Dave Levesque (Rattlesnake Point) and Billy Walsh (Beacon Hall).
“Those were the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in,” said a rain-soaked Hinds, who made a clutch birdie putt on 17 to bring the match back to all square. The real turning point in the match, though, came when King jarred a seven-Iron approach from 158 yards into the wind on the par 4 14th hole, which brought the match to all square.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - WORLD’S TOP 2 AMATEURS ARE CANADIAN, AND NEWS FROM THE OPEN

We’re pretty sure this has never happened before (and there’s a good chance it’ll never happen again), but the top two amateur golfers in the world right now are both Canadian. National Amateur Team members Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. and Matt Hill of Forest, Ont., are currently ranked 1st and 2nd respectively on the Royal and Ancient’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Nick Taylor, who was sixth on the rankings last week, climbed into the top spot after he fired a six-under-par 136 over 36 holes to win the U.S. Open sectional qualifier event in Roslyn, Wash. Hill, meanwhile, has remained in the No. 2 position since his win at the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship on May 29, 2009. Prior to the final round of The Memorial tournament on June 7, 2009, the Bright’s Grove, Ont. native was awarded the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, given annually since 1988 to the best college players in NCAA Division I, II and III.

WHAT’S UP AT THE OPEN?
There’s no shortage of news coming out of a very soggy Bethpage Black today. Here are the links to a couple of the better bloggers typing away today (suspended play aside). The first is the award-winning Jim Huber, and the second is from The Golf Channel’s Shag Bag correspondents.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - CURRY TO FILM WITH TIGER’S COACH AND KEVIN COSTNER’S COMING TO GLEN ABBEY

Kelly Curry, inventor of the Swingnature training aid, continues to roll. He’s posted a five-minute snippet of the Swingnature’s upcoming infomercial on his homepage, www.swingnature.com. He will be filming with Tiger Woods’ coach Hank Haney on June 29th and has negotiated a deal with former Tour player-cum-commentator Gary Koch to be the host of the show. This is becoming one of those Trivial Pursuit-type success stories that you wish you’d invested $5,000 when Kelly was first starting out.

KEVIN COSTNER COMING TO GLEN ABBEY

Kevin Costner will be among the list of celebrities participating in the inaugural Mike Weir Charity Classic the Monday of RBC Canadian Open week July 20-26. The actor and avid golfer was lured here by Mike Weir, whose comedic actor friend George Lopez will also be attending the 20-team event. Costner’s band, Modern West, will kick off the three-day concert series beginning after Round One Thursday, July 23. Incidentally, the $115 weekly pass for the Open might be the best ticket value in sports, giving you the Weir event, the Wednesday pro-am, practice rounds, four rounds of Canadian Open golf and the three concerts (the last two of which will feature Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, as well as Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman).
Other Mike Weir Classic celebrities will include Cochrane, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, NHL all-stars Rick Nash and Martin Brodeur and TV actor Thomas Gibson of Criminal Minds (formerly of Dharma and Greg).

GARCIA REPLACING IMMELMAN AT TELUS SKINS GAME
The Telus Skins Game traded up in charisma when Trevor Immelman was forced to withdraw from next week’s Telus Skins Game yesterday. The event, to be played at La Tempête Golf Club near Québec City June 22-23, will now feature two of the top five players in the world, with Garcia (#4) and Geoff Ogilvy (#5). Rounding out the field are crowd favourites Mike Weir, Fred Couples and Ian Poulter. Immelman, a former Masters champion, is being sidelined by tendinitis in his left wrist, which is also keeping him out of this week’s U.S. Open.
Garcia’s addition won’t affect attendance, however, since tickets for the event initially sold out in less than an hour.

GLEN ABBEY MAKES A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER!
Just heard that Glen Abbey’s 16th hole is being switched back to a 516-yard par-5 for the RBC Canadian Open. It was always a source of drama, being an eagle-able hole near the end of the tournament, but became a fairly boring par-4 at last year’s event. The change allows for some nastier pin positions this year, and more excitement for the big crowds that always surround that green, while also making the Abbey a 7,253-yard par-72.

GOLF TRENDS TO DISTRIBUTE TOUR EDGE
Mississauga-based Golf Trends has just announced it will be distributing Tour Edge and the Tour Edge Exotics lines of golf products in Canada, which should finally get some of the brand new stuff in shops soon. Golf Trends will also now be distributing Chromax golf balls, which you need to see to believe. My girlfriend Mary was playing a silver Chromax at the Donalda Club two days ago and it it looked like a miniature sphere from that Dustin Hoffman science fiction flick of the same name.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - FOLEY ADDS IMMELMAN TO THE FOLD

Well, it’s official. Sean Foley has added another big name to his student roster: 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman. The struggling South African has fallen from a World Golf Ranking high of 13th in 2006 to 43rd and presently sits at 118th in FedEx Cup points—his best finish on the PGA TOUR in 2009 being a tie for 19th at the Transitions Championship. Foley, a Burlington, Ontario native who now calls Orlando home as the Director of Instruction at the Core Golf Academy, already has some of the best ballstrikers on tour in the form of Stephen Ames, Sean O’Hair and Hunter Mahan.

Incidentally, Immelman’s former instructor of choice, David Leadbetter is still listing Immelman among his top students. Check halfway down the page of this link, which was updated just five days ago.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - COOL CANADIAN OPEN TRIVIA, AND GLEN ABBEY’S NEW ROUTING

Photo Courtesy the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

I just came across this tidbit on the very cool RBC Canadian Open website. Toronto’s St. Andrews Golf Club hosted the Open in 1936 and 1937—the only place to hold back-to-back Opens until the creation of Glen Abbey—before it felt the impact of the growth of the city and was plowed under to create the Highway 401.

NEW ROUTING FOR CANADIAN OPEN
In order to alleviate congestion and improve pace of play, RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bill Paul has conceived of a new routing for the front nine at this year’s event. The tournament course will now begin at the par-4 fourth hole, which is situated the same distance from the clubhouse as the old first tee. After completing the par-4 ninth, players will now make the shorter walk to the par-3 third. After completing No. 3, they will exit left, behind the green, and double back to what used to be the first tee. They will then complete the front nine at the par-4 second, which sits directly beside the 10th tee.
There were no player complaints that motivated the new routing, assures Paul. “The change was my idea. I looked at the flow of player movement from nine to 10, from the range to the first tee, as well the general congestion in a number of areas. I spoke with 24 players during last year’s Open, asked for their thoughts, the feedback was all positive.”

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - PLAYING THE GTA TOUR

I got a chance to tee it up in my first legitimate golf tournament in a few years last month at Piper’s Heath GC in Oakville when GTA Amateur Tour owner and president Mark Young kindly invited me to experience what his tour had to offer. It was a lot. The goodie bags that new players receive must have included $250 worth of stuff, including pair of Sundog sunglasses, an adidas golf shirt; coupons and a VIP card for Alice Fazooli’s restaurant, a coupon for a six-pack from Mill Street Brewery, shaving oil, a hat, a towel, an Ecco golf shoe coupon, a metal water bottle, a box of Nature Valley bars…pretty impressive considering the registration fee for the Tour is $155. Players pay individual tournament fees after that, depending on which of the 18 tour stops they’d like to participate in, with host courses including such award-winning tracks as Devil’s Pulpit and Devil’s Paintbrush, Timber Ridge, Wildfire and Coppinwood, as it covers the wider GTA from the end of April through September. Fields are limited to 120 players with an official handicap of 22 or under, with prizes going to the top four in each of four flights.

I was quite taken with how professional, yet easygoing the competition was, from the registration to the leaderboards outside the clubhouse, and from the marshals keeping an eye on play to how supportive my playing partners were.

Mark’s been running this show (formerly the Golf Town Tour) for six years now, and is relentless in his encouragement of players to support the tour’s sponsors. And while many in the industry are complaining about how business is down, the GTA Tour registration and participation is up in 2009—a credit to how well oiled a machine this tour continues to be.

For further information on the tour, visit www.gtaamateurtour.com.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - NIKE’S OVEN AND MICHIGAN’S GR8 ESCAPE

Nike Golf has formally unveiled the expansion of its full service, state-of-the-art research and design (R&D) facility known as “The Oven,” in Fort Worth, Texas. The newly enhanced 49,100 square-foot facility, which originally broke ground in October 2002, has increased its total square footage by 17,600. Dedicated to research and design for the development of golf clubs, as well as the testing and fitting of both clubs and balls, the Oven is the idea tank where Tom Stites, Nike Golf’s Director of Product Creation for Clubs, and his staff of engineers and technicians develop, research and test their new technology.

The most significant component of the expansion is the addition of a 129,000 square-foot short-game area that includes three synthetic greens, one natural grass green, bunkers and practice holes. The practice holes and hitting areas are designed to provide various distances for short irons so that iron and ball testing is both extensive and constructive for Nike engineers and athletes.

MICHIGAN’S GR8 ESCAPE

Not to dissuade anyone from playing locally, but if you want to check out your American neighbour next door this season, Boyne Resorts, the Midwest’s premier golf resort destination with 162 holes of golf, is offering a seriously impressive deal this season. The Gr8 Escape is an unlimited golf package—quite possibly America’s best golf value—and includes seven acclaimed courses, accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, along with cocktail parties, an optional scramble, casino voucher, unlimited practice and range balls, plus premium freebies like lessons, spa treatment or 18-holes at Bay Harbor Golf Club, ranked among the best in the U.S. and normally a seriously pricey golf club.
Lodging is offered at a choice of Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls, Michigan, or Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Rates start as low as $555 for a three-night stay or $855 for five nights—less than half the normal rate. What’s better—Canadians can book at par for the weeks of Sept. 6-11 and Sept. 13-18. (Package requires Sunday check-in and double occupancy.)
Call 800.GO.BOYNE (462-6963) or visit www.BOYNE.com.



TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - GLOBAL COOLING

I see a Bill on climate change and global warming is being tabled in the Quebec National Assembly. Uhhh, has anyone been outside this season? It’s called Global COOLING, thank you very much. It’s like the friggin movie The Day After Tomorrow. The next ice age is probably just months away.

MATT HILL RECEIVES AWARD FROM NICKLAUS
Matt Hill has been named the NCAA Player of the Year–big surprise considering he won everything in sight, including his regionals and then the national championship last week. The Golden Bear himself will present the Bright’s Grove native with the award on Saturday at The Memorial, the event Jack Nicklaus annually hosts at Muirfield Village GC in Dublin, Ohio.