Golf Canada – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club to host July 4-6 competition

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club will host a field of 109 junior golfers from July 4-6 for the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship. The fifth of six CN Future Links Championships is conducted in partnership with CN to promote and develop the game of golf among the nation’s junior-aged athletes.

The host club of the 54-hole competition was first established in 1913 at the top of Porter Hill, just east of the city. In 1934, the club relocated to its current location, perched atop scenic cliffs overlooking the South Saskatchewan River.

“Golf Canada is thrilled to bring this year’s CN Future Links Western Championship to the city of Medicine Hat and its golfing community. Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club is in fantastic shape and will serve as a great backdrop for this event, while drawing out the best from our competitors,” said Tournament Director Dan Hyatt.

Team Canada Development Squad member Alexander Smith of Calgary and Kade Johnson from Yorkton, Sask., will attempt to improve upon the shares of fourth they claimed at the 2015 edition of this tournament at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta. They will be joined by Chris Horton (Calgary), Max Sekulic (Rycroft, Alta.), and Ethan Choi (Pincher Creek, Alta.) who look to best their Top-10 results from one year ago.

The Junior Girls division will welcome back five players from last year’s Top-10. Kenna Hughes will defend her 2015 title alongside fellow Calgarians Kehler Koss (2nd), Sharmaine Rapisura (4th), and Annabelle Ackroyd (T10). Redcliffe, Alta., product Lauren Koenig will play in hopes of building upon her T7 result.

The host city of Medicine Hat will be well-represented with five local players in contention. Matt Bering and Michael Valk will have a chance to win on home soil, while Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club members Ronnie Postnikoff, Ryan Hodgins and Sam Bratvold hope to hold home-course advantage.

The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship – the junior series’ final event of the 2016 season – will be conducted at Countryview Golf Club in Fairview, P.E.I., from July 12-14.

The top six finishers in the Junior Boys division will earn exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship to be contested August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via hole-by-hole playoff. All players in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will earn entry into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.

Additional information regarding the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship, including participants, start times and up-to-date results can be found here.

– 30 –

ABOUT CN FUTURE LINKS
CN Future Links is Canada’s national junior golf program conducted by Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada and Canada’s provincial golf associations. The program is designed to forge a link between Canada’s youth and golf to ensure the future of the game in Canada. Since the inception of the program in 1996, more than 1.2 million young Canadians have taken part in CN Future Links. A number of new initiatives, including Field Trips and Learn to Play, have succeeded through CN’s sponsorship of the program. For more information, visit www.cnfuturelinks.com.

Golf Canada’s CN Future Links program is proudly sponsored by CN, Acura, Cobra Puma Golf and supported by ClubLink, Heritage Canada and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA).

ABOUT CN
CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries — serves the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at www.cn.ca (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI).

PGA OF CANADA—THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE GAME OF GOLF
Established in 1911, the PGA of Canada is the second oldest and third largest professional golf association in the world. The PGA of Canada is a non-profit Association comprised of 3,700 golf professionals across the country. The association’s mandate is to develop, promote and support its members in living a better life and earning a better living while growing participation, excellence and passion for the sport of golf. The association consists of the national office located in Acton, Ont., and nine Zone Offices across the country. www.pgaofcanada.com

GOLF CANADA – LOVE THE GAME. GROW THE GAME.
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing close to 310,000 golfers at more than 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

For more information:

Herb Fung
Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
Golf Canada
(t) 1-800-263-0009 x 258
(c) 647-709-3167
(e) hfung@golfcanada.ca

Taylor Craig
Intern, Media and Public Relations
Golf Canada
(t) 1-800-263-0009 x 256
(c) 905-599-9001
(e) tcraig@golfcanada.ca