DECEMBER 21, 2022 – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of the 57 athletes and eight coaches named to Team Canada as major enhancements to Golf Canada’s national team program continue to take effect.
Golf Canada’s 2023 national team system now features three program tiers: Team Canada (both amateur and professionals); Team Canada – NextGen (U21 amateurs); and a national talent identification system aimed at growing the pool of future national team prospects.
The updated program tiers for 2023 including a record-breaking number of athletes and coaches reflect the enhancements to the high-performance program announced last year to accelerate Canada’s position in the global professional golf landscape with a goal to increase the number of Canadians on the LPGA and PGA Tours to 30 by 2032.
The Team Canada tier (formerly the Young Pro Squad and Amateur Squad) now includes both professionals and amateurs with training focused on helping players reach the major tours. Feeding into Team Canada is a new tier called Team Canada – NextGen (formerly the Junior Squad) focused on supporting top juniors and bridging the gap for players transitioning into amateur golf and the U.S. college system.
“Thanks to the Golf Canada Foundation as well as our generous donors and partners, the enhanced Team Canada program structure is well positioned to support more of this country’s top athletes towards our goal of getting 30 Canadians to the major tours over the next decade,” said Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Kevin Blue. “We have continued to evaluate and analyze the current player development system, have made refinements to competition and training environments, and are working collaboratively with athletes, parents and PGA of Canada coaches toward a shared goal of enhanced Canadian excellence on the global golf stage. Canada has made significant progress in the development of world-class golfers and is poised to take another step forward.”
The enhancements to Golf Canada’s high-performance program, which were outlined in a detailed update authored by Blue in 2022, were made possible through major gift funding support from the Golf Canada Foundation’s network of Trustee donors.
TEAM CANADA – MEN
| A.J. Ewart (23) | Coquitlam, BC | Barry University (Sr.) | The Vancouver GC [AM] |
| Ashton McCulloch (20) | Kingston, ON | Michigan St. (So.) | Cataraqui G&CC [AM] |
| Johnny Travale (22) | Hamilton, ON | UCF (5th Yr.) | Hamilton G&CC [AM] |
| Laurent Desmarchais (21) | Bromont, QC | Tennessee (So.) | Vallée Du Richelieu Golf Club [AM] |
| Matt Anderson (22) | Mississauga, ON | San Francisco (5th Yr.) | Credit Valley G&CC [AM] |
| Piercen Hunt (21) | Hartland, WI | Illinois (Jr.) | The Club at Lac la Belle [AM] |
| Remi Chartier (21) | Naples, FL | East Tennessee State (Sr.) | Royal Montreal GC [AM] |
| Brendan MacDougall (25) | Calgary, AB | High Point/Nevada (’21) | The Glencoe C&CC [PRO] |
| Chris Crisologo (27) | Richmond, BC | Simon Fraser (’18) | Marine Drive GC [PRO] |
| Chris R. Wilson (27) | Toronto, ON | Colgate University (’17) | |N/A| [PRO] |
| Etienne Papineau (26) | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC | West Virginia (’21) | Pinegrove CC [PRO] |
| Henry Lee (24) | Coquitlam, BC | University of Washington (’21) [PRO] | |
| Jared du Toit (27) | Kimberly, BC | ASU (’16) | [PRO] |
| Jeevan Sihota (18) | Victoria, BC | turned pro after high school [PRO] | |
| Joey Savoie (28) | La Prairie, QC | MTSU (’17) [PRO] | |
| Max Sekulic (23) | Rycroft, AB | Washington State (’22) | The Glencoe C&CC [PRO] |
| Myles Creighton (27) | Digby, NS | Radford (’18) | Banyan GC [PRO] |
| Noah Steele (25) | Kingston, ON | Sam Houston State (’20) | Cataraqui G&CC [PRO] |
| Stuart Macdonald (28) | Vancouver, BC | Purdue (’16) | [PRO] |
| Sudarshan Yellamaraju (21) | Mississauga, ON | turned pro after high school [PRO] |
TEAM CANADA – WOMEN
| Angela Arora (18) | Surrey, BC | Tennessee (Jan 2023) | Marine Drive GC [AM] |
| Brooke Rivers (17) | Brampton, ON | Wake Forest (2023) | Brampton GC [AM] |
| Celeste Dao (21) | Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, QC | Georgia (Sr.) | Summerlea G&CC [AM] |
| Katie Cranston (18) | Oakville, ON | Auburn (Jan 2023) | Oakville GC [AM] |
| Lauren Kim (17) | Surrey, BC | Texas (2023) | Morgan Creek GC [AM] |
| Lauren Zaretsky (18) | Thornhill, ON | Texas Tech (Fr.) | Maple Downs G&CC [AM] |
| Leah John (22) | Vancouver, BC | Nevada (Sr.) | Marine Drive GC [AM] |
| Michelle Liu (16) | Vancouver, BC | High School (grade 11) | Shaugnessy GC [AM] |
| Monet Chun (21) | Richmond Hill, ON | Michigan (Jr.) | Summit GC [AM] |
| Nicole Gal (18) | Oakville, ON | Ole Miss (Fr.) | Oakville GC [AM] |
| Sarah-Eve Rhéaume (22) | Boischatel, QC | Furman (5th Yr.) | Royal Quebec [AM] |
| Savannah Grewal (21) | Mississauga, ON | Clemson (Sr.) | Piper’s Heath GC [AM] |
| Brigitte Thibault (24) | Rosemere, QC | Fresno/Texas (’22) | Rosemère Golf Club [PRO] |
| Maddie Szeryk (26) | London, ON | Texas A&M (’18) [PRO] | |
| Selena Costabile (24) | Thornhill, ON | turned pro after high school | Ladies GC of Toronto [PRO] |
The 2023 Team Canada roster is comprised of 35 players who are competing at the highest levels of amateur golf and refining their games on developmental professional tours. The program provides individualized training and competition support by collaborating with players’ support teams, including personal and college coaches, and adding value where gaps are identified. Members of Team Canada have access to The Legacy Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz. where players can live and train in the winter months.
Salimah Mussani returns as the Stollery Family Team Canada Women’s Head Coach supported by Associate Coach and fellow PGA of Canada professional Jennifer Greggain. Derek Ingram returns as Men’s Team Head Coach and will be supported by Assistant Coaches Louis Melanson and Benoit Lemieux.
The Team Canada coaching staff will be joined by an integrated support team that includes Greg Redman (Strength, Conditioning & Physio, Men’s Team), Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood (Mental Performance & Psychologist, Men’s Team), Andrea Kosa (Strength, Conditioning & Physio, Women’s Team), Lindsay Berard (Mental Performance & Psychologist, Women’s Team), and Kelly Anne Erdman (Performance Dietician).
TEAM CANADA – NEXTGEN (BOYS)
| Alex Zhang (14) | Richmond, BC | High School (grade 9) | Marine Drive GC |
| Ben MacLean (18) | Niagara Falls, ON | Kent St. (Fr.) | Cherry Hill Club |
| Cooper Humphreys (17) | Vernon, BC | Oregon St. (2023) | The Harvest Golf Club |
| Eric Zhao (15) | Toronto, ON | High School (grade 10) | Bayview G&CC |
| Ethan Wilson (18) | St. Albert, AB | University of Illinois (2023) | Glendale G&CC |
| Félix Bouchard (19) | Otterburn Park, QC | Univ. of Kansas (2024) | La Vallée du Richelieu GC |
| Gavyn Knight (18) | Parksville, BC | Boise St. (Fr.) | Morningstar GC |
| Hunter Thomson (19) | Calgary, AB | University of Michigan (So.) | Calgary G&CC |
| James Newton (19) | Ottawa, ON | Rutgers (Fr.) | Royal Ottawa |
| JP Parr (18) | Saint-Celestin, QC | University of Tennessee (2023) | Club de Golf Ki-8-Eb |
| Owen Kim (18) | Oakville, ON | Coastal Carolina University (Fr.) | Hamilton G&CC |
| Owen Mullen (19) | Shortts Lake, NS | University of Notre Dame (So.) | Truro Golf Club |
TEAM CANADA – NEXTGEN (GIRLS)
| Alissa Xu (17) | Richmond Hill, ON | Dartmouth (2023) | Station Creek GC |
| Anna Huang (14) | Coto de Caza, CA | Junior High (grade 8) | Coto De Caza G&RC |
| Carlee Meilleur (14) | Lansdowne, ON | High school (grade 9) | Loyalist G&CC |
| Lindsay McGrath (15) | Oakville, ON | High School (grade 10) | RattleSnake Point GC |
| Luna Lu (15) | Burnaby, BC | High School (grade 10) | Pitt Meadows GC |
| Martina Yu (16) | Coquitlam, BC | High School (grade 11) | |
| Michelle Xing (14) | Richmond Hill, ON | High School (grade 9) | Station Creek GC |
| Vanessa Borovilos (16) | Etobicoke, ON | High School (grade 11) | Weston G&CC |
| Vanessa Zhang (16) | Vancouver, BC | High School (grade 11) | Marine Drive GC |
| Yeji Kwon (16) | Port Coquitlam, BC | High School (grade 11) | Swaneset Bay Resort & CC |
The 22-player Team Canada – NextGen roster will include both top junior golfers and U21 amateurs in a program to support their transition from junior competition to high-level amateur golf.
The NextGen coaching staff will be led by Head Coach Robert Ratcliffe with support from Assistant Coaches Jennifer Ha and Jeff MacDonald. The coaches will be joined by an integrated support team that includes Dr. Emily Wiggin (Strength & Conditioning) and Dr. Adam Kingsbury (Mental Performance & Psychologist).
Supporting the overall growth of elite golf in Canada is the national talent identification system, established in 2022 and led by Tristan Mullally, Head of National Talent Identification. The talent identification system provides assistance to younger juniors (11-16 years old) and their existing coaching support teams to grow the pool of future Team Canada prospects.
A key activity within the talent identification system will be the engagement of the National Talent ID Network, a group of more than 80 coaches across Canada working towards collaborative player development initiatives. Additionally, 2023 will see a broader introduction of talent ID camps across the country led by network members to deliver educational and skill-building opportunities to players, parents, and coaches.
The strategic enhancements for Golf Canada’s player development program were shaped by in-depth feedback from numerous stakeholders in Canadian high-performance golf and a global comparative analysis of other countries’ efficiency success in producing world top-200 players. The analysis considered factors such as participation base, culture, and financial investment into high-performance golf, with a particular focus on countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Australia, and England that are geopolitically and culturally similar to Canada.