Adam Stanley/ Golf Canada
GATINEAU – When a number of the finest male beginner golfers on the planet come to this nation for the a hundred and twentieth version of the Canadian Males’s Novice Championship, offered by BDO, they’ll have the chance to tee it up at certainly one of Canada’s most storied layouts.
The Royal Ottawa Golf Membership is about to host the Canadian Males’s Novice for the report tenth time, and this yr will achieve this alongside close by Rivermead Golf Membership as a companion membership. The occasion may have a full discipline of 264 gamers, and the 2 programs are positioned simply throughout the bridge from close by downtown Ottawa.
“From small greens with excessive inexperienced speeds and thick tough, coupled with the should be correct off the tee to attain properly—this high 100 rated course in Canada will present an amazing problem to even the highly-skilled gamers,” stated Greg Richardson, normal supervisor at The Royal Ottawa Golf Membership.
“Golfers from all world wide are set to make their expertise memorable.”
There will probably be greater than a dozen nations with golfers teeing it up at Royal Ottawa together with each the reigning Australian males’s beginner champion and the reigning Japanese males’s beginner champion, together with golfers from 10 provinces and one territory. The Canadian contingent is led by Justin Matthews, who’s the second-highest Canadian within the World Novice Golf Rankings (WAGR).
The final time Royal Ottawa hosted the lads’s beginner, the profitable rating was 11 below, however since then, there have been loads of adjustments to the course – particularly over the primary 5 holes. On the again 9 golfers have a singular begin with a brief par-4 tenth after which back-to-back par-3s on Nos. 11 (that includes a diabolical back-to-front sloped inexperienced) and No. 12.
5 of the closing six holes are sturdy par-4s earlier than golfers face a beefy par-5 nearer. Small greens are featured all through, and club-grabbing tough will even problem gamers who’re inaccurate off the tee or with their irons.
This reporter had a possibility to play 18 holes alongside Ottawa’s Michael Vivone, a 16-year-old who’s within the discipline – and in addition a member of Royal Ottawa. Vivone, who grew up enjoying tennis, stands not less than 6-foot-2 and usually hits it additional than 300 yards off the tee. He’s had a group of stable outcomes recently and attends the Matt DeJohn Golf Academy in Port St Lucie, Fla. as he goals to chase his professional golf goals.
He stated, together with his tennis background, he’s but to must “chase velocity” like so many different gamers. Golf’s expertise is simply getting youthful and youthful, and he stated he’s as dedicated as ever to discovering a course of that works for him – regardless of acknowledging the truth that different star juniors (like Charlie Woods, whose father you will have heard of) are on “one other degree.”
That stated, Vivone actually has the sport to compete – and possibly even contend – at Royal Ottawa, regardless of his age. On the entrance facet he had a stretch of three birdies in 5 holes with tap-in pars the remainder of the best way round. A simple recreation.
“One thing the membership helps all through so properly is beginner golf,” Richardson stated. “We perceive that not everybody will probably be competing at this course (after the minimize) however we would like them to stroll away, whether or not they make the minimize or not, with an expertise they’ll bear in mind for the remainder of their lives.”
Winners of the match previously embrace each Nick Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes who’ve each, after all, gone on to win on the PGA Tour – with Taylor changing into simply the primary male golfer to win all the Canadian Junior, Canadian Males’s Novice, and Canadian Open (with Brooke Henderson doing the identical on the ladies’s facet).
When the lads’s beginner was hosted by Royal Ottawa in 1991 Mike Weir completed runner up. And, within the 2016, Sahith Theegala (one of many recreation’s extra in style gamers because of his look on the Netflix docu-series ‘Full Swing’ and a part of Staff RBC) was within the discipline on the membership.
Established in 1895, the Canadian Males’s Novice Championship is the third oldest beginner championship on this planet.
This yr’s occasion goes from July 28-31. The winner receives an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Novice Championship, the 2026 U.S. Open Closing Qualifying, and the 2026 RBC Canadian Open.
Royal Ottawa’s nationwide championship internet hosting duties are additionally set to proceed subsequent yr, because the backdrop for the 2026 World Junior Women Golf Championship.
