Three rising Island golfers have been named to Team Canada for 2022, which means more than simply getting to wear the Golf Canada Maple Leaf logo at tournaments. It gives them access to a barrage of physical and mental training support and service systems, including opportunities for national carding.
Selection takes place at this time each year and is based on objective performance results from throughout the year that are reviewed by a national committee.
Jeevan Sihota of Victoria and Gavyn Knight of Parksville have been named to the national men’s junior (U-19) team and Tristan Mandur of Duncan to the Canadian men’s amateur team.
The trio proved themselves, objectively, or by any other measure. Gorge Vale’s Sihota was fourth in the Canadian junior championship and then top-six in two of his first three pro tournaments, including tied for second in his hometown Reliance Properties DCBank Victoria Open at Uplands.
Mandur was 2020 B.C. men’s amateur champion and top-20 this year in NCAA Div. 1 with the University of Utah Utes of the Pac-12. Knight, out of Morningstar, had a breakout year by winning the B.C. junior boys’ championship and placing third in the B.C. men’s amateur as a 17-year-old.
The 2022 Team Canada amateur squad consists of 21 golfers, eight women and 13 men. The junior team includes 25 golfers, 12 female and 13 male who are U-19. The perks have already kicked in with the 46 Canadian team members invited to a national team camp held recently in Arizona, with an appearance by Canadian PGA Tour player Adam Hadwin.
“We had so many questions for Adam, about life and golf routine,” said Mandur, a member of Duncan Meadows.
“That’s because everybody picked for Team Canada are all great players and we all have the same goals of making it to the pro game and onto the Tour. Being on the national team will help in our development.”
Mandur said he will play in the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada qualifiers in the spring. But before that comes another swing at NCAA glory with Utah.
“But the Pac-12 is tough to win because Arizona State and UW Huskies are powers,” he said.
Meanwhile, announced as Canadian men’s team head coach for 2022 is Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, who coached Canada at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont., is Canadian female squad head coach and was Canada women’s head coach at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2015 Toronto and 2019 Lima Pan Am Games and guided Canada to the silver medal at world amateur team championship. Robert Ratcliffe of Bear Mountain is the 2022 national junior team coach along with Jennifer Greggain of Langford.
“We are in the process of additional analysis and strategic planning, and we look forward to further system enhancements in 2022 with the goal of helping more Canadian players reach the LPGA and PGA Tour,” Kevin Blue, chief sport officer with Golf Canada, said in a statement.
The Golf Canada national training centre is located on Bear Mountain and the national team golfers can avail themselves of the support systems and coaching available to them there.
The golfers receive mentoring on Bear Mountain from the national team coaching staff regarding technique, form and game management and also advice from experts in the fields of nutrition, mental performance, physiotherapy and biomechanics. The Team Canada sport science team includes psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, physiotherapists Greg Redman and Andrea Kosa and strength and conditioning coach Bryan Katz.
“Our mantra is to produce champions by design, not by chance,” said Jeff Thompson, former chief sport officer for Golf Canada, when the centre opened on Bear Mountain in 2018.
