New Leader in the Top 100 Program & Change to the Program Rotation Year
29 September, 2022
With the Top 100 Program presented by Foresight Sports Canada & TaylorMade Golf Canada finishing on September 30th, members are doing all they can to move up in the rankings to finish inside the exclusive top 100 list. Points in the following two categories have recently been awarded to members that qualify; Mentorship Program and PGA of Alberta Committee Involvement.
After a recent point update, we now have a new leader in the program! Sam Kirkness (Inglewood G&CC) has taken over top position in the standings at 88 points overall. Sam is aiming for his first Top 100 Award but was the winner of the former Professional Development Program back in 2018. The Professional Development Program was revamped in 2019 to today’s Top 100 Program.
The competition is not over yet though with our former point leader Greg Johnson (Inglewood G&CC) sitting only one point back of Sam at 87. This is setting up for an interesting finish to the program year as both Greg and Sam hail from the same club so bragging rights are on the line. Remaining in third place is Assistants’ Board President Bryce Halverson (Carnmoney GC) at 81 points.
Please remember that points are still being tallied and will continue to be tallied in the first week of October. Award Finalists for 2022 will be counted in this program year, as well as Extracurricular Approval Form submissions before the end of day on Friday, September 30th.
UPDATE FOR 2023 - NEW PROGRAM ROTATION YEAR
After review of the program, the Association will now use a calendar year moving forward for the program year rather than the previous October to September of the following year model. For 2023, the program year will begin October 1, 2022 and go until December 31, 2023 to cover the gap of the rotation change. After that year is finish, the Top 100 Program will run from a January 1 to December 31 timeline.
There are several reasons for this change in the program year rotation. One of the primary goals was to better spread out major Association programs and events allowing for a balanced calendar. The Association will be able to focus more on specific programs and events throughout the year with a more balanced schedule. Another objective was to increase engagement with the membership during the off-season. With the program year now ending December 31st, members will continued to be engaged with the program until the end of the year to ensure they are maximizing their point total.
The winner of the Top 100 program for 2023 will be recognized at the Annual General Meeting in March of 2024. The current top 10 in the standings (as of September 29th) are listed below.
Current leader Sam Kirkness
1st - Sam Kirkness (Inglewood G&CC) - 88 points
2nd - Greg Johnson (Inglewood G&CC) - 87 points
3rd - Bryce Halverson (Carnmoney GC) - 81 points
4th - Chad Feener (Leduc GC) - 76 points
5th - Murray McCourt (The Ranch G&CC) - 74 points
6th - Stephen Yanitski (Valley Ridge GC) - 73 points
7th - Josh Fleming (365 GOLF) - 71 points
8th - Matt Seifert (Golfutue YYC) - 69 points
9th - Tyler Willner (Lakeside GC) - 68 points
10th - Todd Halpen (Golfuture YYC) - 66 points
Cash Prize Increase
The PGA of Alberta will now be offering 20 cash prizes at the end of this program year valuing $8,200! The cash prizes will be sent after the Buying Show to the top 20 point earners for the program. See cash prize breakdown by clicking here.
New Cash Bonuses
In addition to the 20 cash prizes, the Association will also giveaway 8 cash bonuses of $100 each to the top point finisher(s) in the below member categories (number of cash bonuses dependent on total number of members in the categories). This added amount puts the cash prize total at $9,000 for the Top 100 Program (cash prizes + bonuses).
- Apprentice Professionals - Top 2
- Class “A” / Teaching Professionals - Top 3
- Head / Head Teaching Professionals - Top 2
- Executive Professionals - Top 1
Please note that cash prizes and the Top 100 Professional initiative are still based off the overall standings and not by the member category standings. Click here for standings by membership category.
How to Earn Points
See where you can earn points by clicking the link below and looking under the "Point Allocation" tab. Please remember that the program year officially ends on September 30th at 11:59pm. Click Here for the Extracurricular Approval form.
Top 100 Professionals
Remember that the Top 100 point earners will be recognized as a “Top 100 Professional” for this program year. The annual Top 100 Award is given out to the member who accumulates the most points for the program year.
