Canadians dominated the leaderboard at the Monroe Invitational which saw Kent State senior Taylor Pendrith hold off Team Canada teammates Adam Svensson and Garrett Rank. Pendrith started the final round tied with Rank but went eagle-birdie on Nos. 12 and 13 to forge ahead. Bogeys on two of his final three holes were not enough to deny him the victory, a two shot cushion over Svensson, who shot a final round 66 to finish one better than Rank. It was Pendrith's second major amateur title in less than a year, having won the 2013 Porter Cup and continues a very successful season that saw him earn Co-Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year honours.
The victory enabled Pendrith to climb 22 spots in the world rankings and take over second in the Canadian rankings from fellow Kent State teammate Corey Conners, who ended tied for 17th – one of seven Canadians who finished in the top 20 at the prestigious amateur event.
Svensson's second place result saw him jump 13 spots to a career-high 15th in the world rankings, inside the top 20 for the first time in his amateur career.
Both Rank and Chris Hemmerich, who finished tied for fifth, each climbed 34 spots in the world rankings.
Stephane DuBois (T15) moved up 13 spots while Eric Banks (T17) jumped 53 places in the world rankings.
Blair Hamilton (T33) picked up 40 spots.
Outside the top 10, Aaron Cockerill climbed 106 spots in the world rankings, moving from 20th to No. 13 in Canada after making it all the way to the quarter-finals of the Manitoba Match Play Championship. Cockerill, who finished atop the leaderboard in the qualifier to nab the No. 1 seed, was the two-time defending champion at the event.
Canada's top ranked female amateur, Brooke Henderson, tuned up for the U.S. Women's Open championship by carding a bogey-free final round 62 to erase a nine shot deficit and claim the Women's Porter Cup. The result keeps Henderson No. 3 in the world as she heads to Pinehurst No. 2 for her second LPGA major this year.
Jennifer Ha finished in a tie for second at the Porter Cup, picking up 11 places in the world rankings to get to a career-high No. 50 in the world.
NC State teammates Brittany Marchand and Augusta James both finished in a tie for fourth at the Porter Cup, giving Canada four of the top five placings. For Marchand, she picked up 10 places in the world rankings to move up to No. 4 in Canada. James picked up 12 spots in the world rankings.
On the professional side, Ashley Sholer of Hamilton, Ont. makes her debut in Canadian rankings, coming in at No. 633 in the world – No. 10 in Canada after she finished in a tie for third at the Symetra Tour event in Illinois. Back-to-back rounds of 70 gave her her first top-10 result of the season in 6 events on the LPGA development tour. It was her best career result and comes on the heels of a tie for 24th in her previous event. She went from No. 120 to No. 48 on the Tour's money list.
MEN'S TOP 10
HOMETOWN | TOUR | WR | + / – | ||
1. | Graham DeLaet | Weyburn, SK | PGA | 35 | -3 |
2. | David Hearn | Brantford, ON | PGA | 90 | -1 |
3. | Mike Weir | Brights Grove, ON | PGA | 244 | +3 |
4. | Richard T Lee | Toronto, ON | ASIA | 259 | -3 |
5. | Brad Fritsch | Manotick, ON | PGA | 340 | -2 |
6. | Adam Hadwin | Abbotsford, BC | WEB | 341 | -2 |
7. | Mackenzie Hughes | Dundas, ON | WEB | 647 | -2 |
8. | Lindsay Renolds | Christina Lake, BC | ASIA | 678 | -7 |
9. | Nick Taylor | Abbotsford, BC | WEB | 698 | -6 |
10. | Eugene Wong | North Vancouver | PGAC | 704 | -11 |
WOMEN'S TOP 10
HOMETOWN | TOUR | WR | + / – | ||
1. | Alena Sharp | Hamilton, ON | LPGA | 225 | -1 |
2. | Rebecca Lee-Bentham | Richmond Hill, ON | LPGA | 231 | - |
3. | Jennifer Kirby | Paris, ON | LPGA | 299 | +1 |
4. | Brooke Henderson | Smiths Falls, ON | - | 308 | -1 |
5. | Lorie Kane | Charlottetown, PE | LPGA | 311 | -2 |
6. | Sue Kim | Langley, BC | LPGA | 388 | - |
7. | Maude-Aimee Leblanc | Sherbrooke, QC | SYMT | 402 | -2 |
8. | Sara-Maude Juneau | Fossambault, QC | SYMT | 491 | -7 |
9. | Samantha Richdale | Kelowna, BC | SYMT | 579 | -10 |
10. | Ashley Sholer | Hamilton, ON | SYMT | 633 | - |
MEN'S AMATEUR TOP 10
HOMETOWN | SCHOOL | WR | + / – | ||
1. | Adam Svensson | Surrey, BC | Barry University | 15 | +13 |
2. | Taylor Pendrith | Richmond Hill, ON | Kent State | 24 | +22 |
3. | Corey Conners | Listowel, ON | Kent State | 27 | +2 |
4. | Kevin Carrigan | Victoria, BC | 74 | +11 | |
5. | Garrett Rank | Elmira, ON | Team Canada | 138 | +34 |
6. | Chris Hemmerich | Kitchener, ON | Univ. Guelph | 178 | +34 |
7. | Kevin Kwon | Pitt Meadows, BC | Univ. Washington | 431 | -100 |
8. | Blair Hamilton | Burlington, ON | Houston | 468 | +40 |
9. | Stephane Dubois | Brantford, ON | Lamar | 499 | +13 |
10. | Jared du Toit | Kimberley, BC | Idaho | 564 | +13 |
WOMEN'S AMATEUR TOP 10
HOMETOWN | SCHOOL | WR | + / – | ||
1. | Brooke Henderson | Smiths Falls, ON | Team Canada | 3 | - |
2. | SooBin Kim | Coquitlam, BC | Univ. Washington | 21 | - |
3. | Jennifer Ha | Calgary, AB | Kent State | 50 | +11 |
4. | Brittany Marchand | Orangeville, ON | NC State | 72 | +10 |
5. | Anne-Catherine Tanguay | Quebec City, QC | Oklahoma | 74 | - |
6. | Augusta James | Bath, ON | NC State | 75 | +12 |
7. | Delaney Howson | Newmarket, ON | Murray State | 134 | +25 |
8. | Jenna Hague | Burlington, ON | Ball State | 168 | +4 |
9. | Taylor Kim | Surrey, BC | Kent State | 192 | -4 |
10. | Robyn Doig | Seaforth, ON | Univ. Central Florida | 252 | -2 |