MURRELLS INLET | Can-Am Days on the Grand Strand have taken a hit this year.
Political rhetoric and imposed and further threatened tariffs have created discord between the United States and Canada that has caused some Canadians to cancel trips to Myrtle Beach.
The air of cooperation and celebration remains, however, between a pair of junior golf organizations in the two countries, along with members of the private Wachesaw Plantation Club.
This weekend marks the 26th anniversary of the Can-Am Matches, which began in 1999 at now-closed Bay Tree Golf Club and moved to Wachesaw Plantation after three years.
The matches annually feature the top eight boys and eight girls junior golfers in Ontario facing the top eight boys and eight girls in South Carolina based on the state’s Heritage Classic Foundation junior rankings. The South Carolina Golf Association and SC Junior Golf Association operate the event in cooperation with Wachesaw Plantation members.
Because Golf Ontario is a non-profit, government-sponsored organization, there were concerns that politics would interfere with this year’s event.
“There were definitely a lot of questions probably about a month ago if we were even going to be able to come down here,” said Alexandra Taylor, Golf Ontario’s manager for junior performance and the Canadian team’s manager who is in her third year of the Can-Am Matches. “We didn’t know what was going to happen, especially being a government-funded organization.
“. . . There’s fires, there’s tariffs, there’s everything going on right now. I’m happy we’re even here right now playing.”
While goodwill reigns between the two junior golf organizations, U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and the imposing of tariffs has created additional motivation for the Ontario team.
“It kind of makes it a little more fun, the Can-Am event, because there’s obviously so much going on between the countries,” Taylor said. “So we’re super excited to kind of use that as momentum. They’re kind of stepping on us so we’re going to try to step back.”
The Can-Am matches are held Saturday and Sunday at Wachesaw with an additional junior-am Friday.
Saturday’s format is a two-person team best ball with a boy and girl from each country paired, and Sunday features 16 singles matches.
The Ontario team has been on the Strand since March 7 while team members are on spring break from schools, and they were among 61 boys and 23 girls registered for the 54-hole Ontario Junior Players Invitational that was played Monday and Tuesday at Legends Golf Resort’s Parkland Course.
“A lot of the players love to come down here. They look forward to the event,” Taylor said. “I know how dedicated this team is and they’re super excited to be down here playing in it. It’s a different event. It’s the only time they really get to compete as a team in an individual sport, so that’s always been a lot of fun to bring the team together and have them work and play.”
South Carolina leads the event 19-4, including a narrow win last year that still bothers the Ontario juniors.
“If we’re going to do it, this is the year. They are fired up,” Taylor said. “I know how much they want this. There were so many tears last year just because you could tell how much they cared. It’s more to us than just a two-day golf event.”
Noteworthy participants
The event has an impressive alumni list.
Past participants from Canada include PGA Tour winners Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, and current or former LPGA Tour members Brittany Marchand, Augusta James and Rebecca Lee-Bentham.
Past participants from South Carolina include current or former PGA Tour members Dustin Johnson, Bill Haas, Kevin Kisner, Carson Young, Andrew Novak, Matt NeSmith and Jacob Bridgeman, former LPGA Tour member Lauren Stephenson and U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle.
This year’s South Carolina team features 2023 Jay Haas SC Junior Boys Player of the Year Bennett Scaletta of Belton, 2024 Jay Haas award winner Erik Erlenkeuser of Anderson, and three-time Beth Daniel SC Junior Girls Player of the Year Madison Messimer of Myrtle Beach.
The SC team features players who are committed to Tennessee, Clemson, Kentucky, Wofford, Georgia Southern, UNC Wilmington, Winthrop, College of Charleston, Mercer, Anderson, Jacksonville, and William & Mary.
The Ontario team features players who are committed to Tennessee, Virginia, N.C. State, Michigan, Ohio, and Longwood University.
The event is open to and free for spectators. Matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
Last year, Wachesaw’s membership approved an agreement to host the tournament for 10 more years through 2034.
John Lopez, a 36-year Wachesaw Plantation member and former 24-year South Carolina Golf Association board member, has been the tournament director since he helped bring the event to Wachesaw in 2002.
“We have steadily increased the participation from the membership. It was my goal to get the membership to say this is our tournament and you can’t take it away from us,” Lopez said. “I believe in giving back.”
