News

Montréal, August 11, 2025 – The Whitlock Golf and Country Club hosted the very first edition of the Golf Québec Family Tournament on Sunday, bringing together 140 participants in a friendly and festive atmosphere. This event allowed us to collect funds for the Golf Junior Optimiste program, which supports the province's young athletes on their way to the prestigious Optimist International Junior Golf Championship in Florida. A total of $3,000 was raised.

 

The tournament was played under the Modified Chapman format, encouraging participation and collaboration between playing partners. Parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren came together on the course to share their passion for golf, before rounding off the day in style with a cocktail reception and door prizes.

 

"The goal of the tournament was to raise funds to help young golfers who are taking part in the qualifying tournament and, eventually, in the Optimist International Tournament in Florida. It was a festive, family-friendly day, and that's exactly the kind of atmosphere we wanted," said Benoit Latreille, President of the Club Optimiste Golf Junior - Région Saint-Laurent.

 

The event celebrated the next generation of golfers, with the participation of Lennox Chaif (Le Versant) former Québec representative at the international Optimist tournament. While playing with his mother, he hosted the “Beat the Junior” competition on hole #5, raising additional funds during the round.

 

“It was a great day; I was able to hit some really, really good shots, but I got beat a few times too,” he admitted with a laugh. “People enjoyed the little challenge, and it helped support a very good cause. The Club Optimiste Golf Junior has helped me a lot recently and will continue to do so in the future.”

 

Among those present were a number of well-known faces on the junior scene, including Mia Poirier, a member of the Québec team and Victoriaville Golf Club. The latter took part in the competition with her father, even taking top honours in an on-court competition.

 

"It wasn't our best round, but we had a lot of fun. I even won a skill contest by putting my ball about three feet from the hole. I see all the work that the Club Optimiste Golf Junior does year after year and I always take part in the Assante Optimiste Classic, so it was obvious that I wanted to be here for this first edition," she said.

 

In sporting terms, victory went to Alexandre Mercier (Le Blainvillier) and Elliott Edmond (Le Versant), who combined fun and competition to contribute to the cause.

 

"We didn't really have a target result, but everything went really well, and we had a lot of fun. The Club Optimiste Golf Junior has helped us in the past, and it was important for us to give back to the next generation," said Mercier, who finished the round level par (72) with his playing partner.

 

They were followed by Justin and Zachary Fedele (Summerlea), in second place at 73 (+1). Nolin and William Richard (Rosemère Fontainebleau) and Jérémy (Vallée du Richelieu) and Michel Godin followed in third place, tied at +2 (74).

 

At the end of the day, Sandrine Bigras, Competition Director at Golf Québec, said she was delighted with the inaugural event, which she hopes will become an annual tradition.

 

"We were approached to find a way of financing the program so that we could send more of our young athletes to the tournament in Florida. We wanted to give them a helping hand while allowing families to come and celebrate golf together, just for fun. People seemed to enjoy their day. It was a great opportunity to play at Whitlock and celebrate golf as a family. We're already looking forward to the next edition," she concluded.

 

Founded in 1920, Golf Québec is the provincial sport federation whose mission is to increase participation in golf, to develop excellence in golf, and to promote and govern the game of golf. Golf Québec provides discovery and introduction programs such as First Tee – Premier départ Québec as well as core services such as the Rules of Golf, Course Ratings, World Handicap System, Sport-études golf, and the Québec Golf Hall of Fame. In addition, Golf Québec conducts regional and provincial championships to bring the local golf enthusiasts to surpass themselves and eventually reach the upper spheres of professional tours. For more information, please visit https://www.golfquebec.org.

 

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Source:

 

Sandrine Bigras, Competition Director

514 560-7699 - sbigras@golfquebec.org

 

Émilie Bérubé, Marketing and Communications Director

514 463-5229 - eberube@golfquebec.org