The development arc continues for two rising Island golfers.
Naomi Ko of Royal Colwood and Jeevan Sihota of Gorge Vale have been named among the 17 athletes who will represent Canada internationally in 2019 in amateur and junior events.
The 21-year-old Ko, the 2016 Canadian junior champion now in NCAA Div. 1 with the North Carolina State Wolfpack, was named to the Canadian amateur women’s team along with Jaclyn Lee of Calgary and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemère, Que.
The national men’s amateur team will consist of Chris Crisologo of Richmond, Brendan MacDougall of Calgary, Josh Whalen of Napanee, Ont., and Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que.
Meanwhile, it is the selection of 14-year-olds Sihota and Emily Zhu that is truly eye-popping among the 10 men’s and women’s golfers named Thursday to be centralized on Bear Mountain with the Canadian junior team.
Zhu, from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Victoria’s Sihota are by far the youngest members of this U-19 group that will centralize on Bear Mountain from February to early June at the Golf Canada national training centre, where the best young golfers from across the country receive intensive coaching in technical matters and biomechanics, mental performance and nutrition.
Golf Canada’s national training centre joins the Cycling Canada mountain biking centre and the projected Tennis Canada junior training centre on Bear Mountain. They are part of a grouping of national training centres based in Greater Victoria, including those for Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada, Triathlon Canada, Field Hockey Canada, Swimming Canada, Athletics Canada and Surfing Canada.
Also named to the men’s team to be centralized on the Bear are 18-year-olds Kai Iguchi of Banff and Olivier Ménard of Valleyfield, Que., and 17-year-olds Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., and Laurent Desmarchais of Longueuil, Que.
Vandette will be a returnee from the first year of the program, which was established this year. Sihota is the second Islander in as many years named to the centralized men’s team, following Nolan Thoroughgood of Royal Colwood last year.
Joining Zhu as the women centralized on Bear Mountain are 17-year-olds Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perot, Que., Ellie Szeryk, a Canadian from Allen, Texas, Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., and 16-year-old Sarah Beqaj of Toronto.
Dao, Szeryk and Chun are returnees.
“Golf Canada is pleased to select this outstanding group of elite athletes based on their remarkable performances this past season,” Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada chief sport officer, said in a statement.
“These squads are a product of an immersive training environment led by our head coaches alongside sport science staff, parents, provincial high-performance programs, along with member clubs. They will be fantastic representatives of Canada on the global golf stage.”
Derek Ingram of Winnipeg will coach the Canadian amateur team while Robert Ratcliffe of Comox will mentor the men’s junior team on Bear Mountain. Tristan Mullally of Waterdown, Ont., returns as women’s amateur team coach and Matt Wilson, of Newmarket, Ont., will coach the women’s junior team on the Bear.
“We are excited to build on the success of Team Canada’s new centralized program in helping our young stars make the jump to the next level in their careers,” Thompson said.
Canadian sport clearly believes centralization works.
“Our country has huge footprint, so we have to bring out the best athletes to be with the best athletes. We believe that produces results,” Thompson said at a Golf Canada summit in June at Bear Mountain.
“Our mantra is to produce champions by design, not by chance.”
Like the other national training centres, funding comes from a variety of sources, including Own the Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee.
“Why do we spend so much money on so few players?” Thompson said.
“Because it produces champions, which in turn inspires a nation of young people to play our sport. We believe in the importance of producing champions. I call it the Brooke Henderson effect. So many more Canadian girls across the country are playing golf because of [LPGA player] Brooke.”
On the men’s side, Thompson added: “We’ve never had more Canadians contending on leaderboards, both pro and amateur, around the world.”
Golf Canada’s Young Pro Team for 2019 will be announced in December.
