Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of 39 amateur athletes and 10 coaches named to the 2024 men’s and women’s Team Canada – NextGen and Team Canada squads.

The Team Canada – NextGen program supports juniors and young amateurs who are transitioning to college golf. The Team Canada program supports a group of experienced amateurs who are on the path towards professional golf along with a group of young professional golfers who are building their careers as touring pros.

Teams are selected based on results from the previous season (September-August), with the Team Canada – NextGen program considering performance at Golf Canada’s Selection Camp in September. Professional players that will be part of the 2024 Team Canada squad will be announced at a later date, upon the completion of Qualifying schools.

“We are excited to formally announce the amateur athletes who will be part of our 2024 Team Canada and Team Canada – NextGen teams, and we look forward to supporting their journeys to the LPGA and PGA TOUR,” said Kevin Blue, Chief Sport Officer. “I would like to extend our sincere thanks as well to our generous donors who support the player development program through the Golf Canada Foundation, along with our critical and fully aligned corporate partners for the continued commitment that is enabling the Team Canada player development program to help more Canadians excel at the highest levels of our sport.”

Golf Canada’s player development program provides individualized training and competition support to athletes on their journey to the LPGA and PGA TOUR. National team coaches work with athletes and their personal support teams to develop annual training plans and identify areas where impact can be made to help athletes improve in all areas of their game. Athletes are also supported by a comprehensive sport science team that includes mental performance, physical conditioning, and mental health supports. The players are brought together regularly for training camps where they receive support from national team coaches and sport science staff, and train with their peers. 

The coaching staff for the men’s and women’s Team Canada squads will return in full for the 2024 season. Team Canada – Women will again be coached by Stollery Family Women’s Head Coach Salimah Mussani (Vancouver, B.C.) and Associate Coach Jennifer Greggain (Vancouver, B.C.). Team Canada – Men return Head Coach Derek Ingram (Winnipeg, Man.) and Assistant Coaches Louis Melanson (Moncton, N.B.) and Benoit Lemieux (Montréal, Que.).

The men’s amateur Team Canada squad features reigning Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion Ashton McCulloch. McCulloch also represented Canada along with teammates Piercen Hunt and Brady McKinlay at the 2023 Men’s World Amateur Team Championship. McKinlay will be joining Team Canada for the first time in 2024. Earlier this month, McKinlay was part of Canada’s fourth Tailhade Cup winning team in Buenos Aires, Argentina and also took home individual honours at the Argentina Amateur Championship. McKinlay and Hunt are expected to turn professional in 2024 and receive support alongside the group of young pros that will be named to Team Canada in the coming weeks.

The women’s amateur group features reigning Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion, Lauren Kim, along with World Amateur Team Championship teammates Monet Chun and Katie Cranston. Savannah Grewal also returns to Team Canada and has announced her intention to turn professional as she pursues LPGA Tour status at Q Series in early December. Ellie Szeryk returns to the team for her third year after being part of the junior squad in 2018 and 2019. Szeryk won her first collegiate title, representing Southern Methodist University at the Jim West Challenge this October.

Team Canada – Men

Team Canada – Women

The Team Canada – NextGen coaching staff is led by Head Coach Robert Ratcliffe (Qualicum Beach, B.C.) with support from Associate Coach Jeff MacDonald (Fall River, N.S.) and Assistant Coaches Jennifer Ha (Calgary, Alta.) and Darcy Dhillon (Red Deer, Alta.).

Tristian Mullally of Dundas, Ont. will continue as the Head of National Talent Identification overseeing the national talent identification system that was established in 2022. In this role, Mullaly provides support to a promising group of younger junior golfers (11 – 16 years old) and their existing coaching teams to grow the pool of future Team Canada prospects.

The NextGen team features 15 returning players and eight new members for 2024. The boys team features 2023 Canadian Junior Boys Champion, Alex Zhang, two-time Canadian Junior Boys Champion, JP Parr along with 2023 tournament winners, Isaiah Ibit (NextGen Ontario) and Matthew Javier (Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp).

The girls team features all three members of Canada’s winning side at the 2023 World Junior Girls Championship: Vanessa Borovilos, Anna Huang and Vanessa Zhang. Reigning Canadian Junior Girls Champion, Eileen Park, will be joining the team for the first time in 2024.

Team Canada – NextGen Boys

Team Canada – NextGen Girls

For full Team Canada bios and additional information, please click here.

Team Canada is proudly supported by RBC, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Hilton, Puma, Foresight, Golf Canada Foundation and Sport Canada.

ABOUT GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing more than 319,000 golfers and 1,435 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

(Source: Golf Canada Media Release, Oakville, ON, November 23, 2023)