With 2017 coming to a close, Golf Canada has announced the final standings for their National Orders of Merit.
The ranking system was developed to help identify Canadian golf talents and provide an objective platform for comparisons of players based on tournament performance. Canada’s National Sports Organization for golf also uses the system to help them determines Team Canada player inclusions and to select teams for International events.
For 2017 the top-ranked amateurs at the end of the year are Napanee, Ontario’s Josh Whalen and Maddie Szeryk. Seryk is a dual citizen with family ties to both London, Ontario and Allen, Texas.
Coincidentally, at this year’s CP Women’s Open in Ottawa, while Szeryk was competing, Whalen as also on site as a caddy for another player.
Whalen’s career amateur season included a 3rd place finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The 22-year-old also posted a T6 finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur and recorded six NCAA top-20s in his senior year with the Kent State Golden Flashes, including a runner-up finish at the Boilermaker Invitational. He is also teamed up with fellow Canadian Joey Savoie to win the Talihide Cup in Argentina.
For Szeryk, the top spot in the National Order of Merit is familiar ground – this is the 3rd year in a row that she has claimed the honours. The 21-year-old recorded three victories this season—the B.C. Women’s Amateur and Women’s Western Amateur Championships, as well as the NCAA’s Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational as part of the Texas A&M Women’s Golf Team.
On the Future Links, driven by Acura National Junior Order Merit, Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que. and Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., took home top honours in their respective divisions.
Vandette, 16, tallied five victories this season, including the Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship, Canada Summer Games and the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship. He also finished third at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
Dao topped the junior girl’s Order of Merit after a prolific 2017 season where she picked up wins at the Canada Summer Games, Quebec Junior Girls Championship, NIVO Quebec Women’s Provincial Championship, U.S. Junior Girls Qualifier at Fitchburg, Ma., Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship and the CJGA Quebec Junior Open. The 16-year-old also represented Canada at the World Junior Girls Championship in late September.
The following are top-10 National Order of Merit finishers from each respective division:
Men’s National Order of Merit Top-10
| Name | Hometown | Counting Events | Points | |
| 1. | Josh Whalen | Napanee, ON | 10 | 51,223.34 |
| 2. | Hugo Bernard | Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC | 10 | 48,162.93 |
| 3. | Joey Savoie | La Prairie, QC | 10 | 42,250.58 |
| 4. | Matt Williams | Calgary, AB | 10 | 32,472.50 |
| 5. | Garrett Rank | Elmira, ON | 8 | 31,795.00 |
| 6. | Henry Lee | Coquitlam, BC | 10 | 30,040.83 |
| 7. | Chris Crisologo | Richmond, BC | 9 | 27,766.25 |
| 8. | Luke Moser | Waterloo, ON | 10 | 27,010.14 |
| 9. | Blair Bursey | Gander, NL | 8 | 21,675.00 |
| 10. | Emmett Oh | Calgary, AB | 8 | 21,517.86 |
Women’s National Order of Merit Top-10
| Name | Hometown | Counting Events | Points | |
| 1. | Maddie Szeryk | London, ON | 10 | 63,646.67 |
| 2. | Naomi Ko | Victoria, BC | 10 | 54,018.33 |
| 3. | Jaclyn Lee | Calgary, AB | 10 | 44,576.10 |
| 4. | Grace St-Germain | Ottawa, ON | 10 | 43,812.50 |
| 5. | Valérie Tanguay | St-Hyacinthe, QC | 10 | 33,613.75 |
| 6. | Jessica Ip | Richmond Hill, ON | 9 | 29,417.50 |
| 7. | Sabrine Garrison | Calgary, AB | 9 | 20,751.72 |
| 8. | Michelle Kim | Surrey, BC | 8 | 19,592.17 |
| 9. | Sophie Liu | Surrey, BC | 9 | 18,423.50 |
| 10. | Vanessa Ha | Montreal, QC | 5 | 17,361.00 |
Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Boys Order of Merit Top-10
| Name | Hometown | Counting Events | Points | |
| 1. | Christopher Vandette | Beaconsfield, QC | 8 | 28,985.00 |
| 2. | Nolan Thoroughgood | Victoria, BC | 8 | 24,565.00 |
| 3. | Ethan Choi | Pincher Creek, AB | 8 | 23,430.00 |
| 4. | Tristan Mandur | Mill Bay, BC | 6 | 21,850.00 |
| 5. | Callum Davison | Duncan, BC | 8 | 21,115.00 |
| 6. | Calvin Ross | Fredericton, NB | 7 | 19,977.50 |
| 7. | Kelvin Lim | Thornhill, ON | 8 | 19,562.06 |
| 8. | Louis-Alexandre Jobin-Colgan | Québec, QC | 8 | 18,967.08 |
| 9. | Taylor Beckstead | Alliston, ON | 8 | 18,330.00 |
| 10. | Jeevan Sihota | Victoria, BC | 6 | 18,319.00 |
Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Girls Order of Merit Top-10
| Name | Hometown | Counting Events | Points | |
| 1. | Céleste Dao | Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que. | 8 | 32,840.00 |
| 2. | Monet Chun | Richmond Hill, ON | 8 | 31,156.88 |
| 3. | Susan Xiao | Surrey, BC | 8 | 28,262.00 |
| 4. | Ellie Szeryk | London, ON | 8 | 28,170.00 |
| 5. | Hannah Lee | Surrey, BC | 8 | 23,378.88 |
| 6. | Alyssa DiMarcantonio | Maple, OnN | 8 | 21,220.00 |
| 7. | Mary Parsons | Delta, BC | 7 | 21,115.00 |
| 8. | Euna Han | Coquitlam, BC | 8 | 18,160.00 |
| 9. | Emily Zhu | Richmond Hill, ON | 8 | 17,535.00 |
| 10. | Brigitte Thibault | Rosemère, QC | 7 | 17,445.00 |
