By Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Sports
A quartet of pro golfers were at Bath’s Loyalist Golf and Country Club on Friday to use their skills to give back, first offering tips to the next generation of golfers and then competing in a skins game for charity.
Augusta James was joined on her home course by fellow LPGA members Alena Sharp, Jen Ha and Brittany Marchand for the second annual Freedom Financial Charity Skins Game. Prior to that event, the women held a golf workshop for a group of girls aged 10-16 and then invited the girls to join them as they hit the links for a best-ball scramble.
“These junior golfers are where we were or maybe even better than us at that age,” said James. “The fact that we got to work directly with them, that was a real treat.”
Sharp, who represented Canada at the Olympic games in Rio, was happy to give back as well.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the juniors to have an opportunity to come and see a clinic and then get to play with professionals and just ask the questions they need to ask,” said Sharp. “This is a great thing for them just to be involved with and just being inside the ropes instead of being outside watching or watching it on TV.”
Sharp noted a lot of the junior girls already had some pretty polished swings and looked to be well on their way to a professional career. She hoped her advice offered that day might be able to get at least a few of them to perhaps seriously pursue the sport.
“I thought about making it a career when I was a little bit older, like 18,” said Sharp. “Seems like the age has gotten younger and younger as I’ve gotten older. I think a lot of these girls are going to maybe give it a go. If anything you can get a good scholarship out of it and get a good education.”
When it came to the skins game, Sharp and her partner Marchand were able to beat James and Ha. The winning team was given the opportunity to split the $4,850 prize between charities of their choice, with Marchand opting for the Alzheimer’s Society of Peel and Sharp the Kingston OSPCA.
“There was a lot of carr overs and they won some of the clutch holes for that. I didn’t play very well, Jen Ha carried our team and she did a good job, I needed to help her out a bit more,” said James with a laugh.
Just prior to the event, James had finished second to Marchand at the DATA PGA Women’s Championship of Canada in Scarborough.
The pair were tied after 36 holes and needed a playoff to determine the winner. James will hope to build on that success as she nears the close of the season.
“I’ve got about six or event events left so it’ll be nice to finish strong,” said James. “It’s been a little up and down, but I’ve gained a lot of experience, that’s for sure.”