Alena Sharp, Myles Creighton, Stephen Ames produce Canadian trifecta
It doesn’t happen often but three Canadians prevailed in separate tournaments over the weekend:
Alena Sharp victorious on Epson Tour
NEW BERN, NC – Hamilton’s Alena Sharp has won her second Epson Tour title of her career.
Sharp emerged victorious in the Champions Fore Change Invitational, securing a two-stroke lead on Sunday. When asked about her performance Sharp expressed “Today, I played really steady, I was really happy with my play. It was a little windy today, but I controlled my trajectory really well and am just really proud of myself.”
Gigi Stoll from the United States finished second overall, ending the tournament at 15-under par at Taberna Country Club.
Sharp previously won the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic in 2014 when it was still known as the Symetra Tour. A 19-year LPGA veteran, has experienced numerous close final rounds throughout her career, accumulating 15 top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour and an additional 11 on the Epson Tour.
Sharp also shared her mindset during the tournament, saying, “I stayed present all day, and if I had a negative thought, I backed off and started again. You need luck when you win as well, and I had some luck, so I am just really happy right now.”
Selena Costabile, representing Thornhill, Ontario, tied for 14th place at 7-under par.
Sharp currently holds the eighth position on the money list of the second-tier tour.
Myles Crighton wins on Latinoamerica Tour
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA – Myles Creighton, native of Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada, has achieved his first-ever victory on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.
Finishing at 19 under, Creighton emerged victorious by a single stroke in the Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship on Sunday.
Austin Hitt of the United States secured second place, finishing at 18 under.
On Monday, Creighton is anticipated to ascend to the top position in the Totalplay Cup standings.
The Latinoamérica Tour still has two more events scheduled for this season.
The golfer who concludes the Totalplay Cup standings in first place earns exempt status on the second-tier of the Korn Ferry Tour.
Players ranking from 2nd to 5th in the third-tier Latinoamérica Tour standings will obtain conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the following season.
Additionally, the top five players in the Totalplay Cup standings receive an exemption into the final stage of the 2023 PGA Tour Q-School.
Stephen Ames tops field at Principal Charity Classic
DES MOINES, IOWA: Stephen Ames of Canada shot a final-round 5-under 67 on Sunday to secure his third win of the PGA Tour Champions season at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Vancouver resident made a crucial birdie at the par-3 17th hole and a short par putt at the par-4 18th at Wakonda Club to finish at 17-under 199 and beat defending champion Jerry Kelly and red-hot Steve Stricker by one stroke.
The 59-year-old Ames previously won the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco and the Mitsubishi Electric Classic last month outside Atlanta and is now tied with American Steve Stricker for the most PGA Tour Champions victories of 2023 with three.. It was also Ames’ second victory at the Des Moines-area event after also capturing the title in 2021.
“When you consider the fact how well [Stricker] has played all year … I figured I had to do something this week,” Ames told the Golf Channel broadcast. “And the putter got really nice and warm, which is good for me, because I’ve had problems with it the past couple of events that I’ve played. It’s thrilling again to come back here and win.”
