Canadian golfer Alena Sharp’s progress in the Rolex Rankings helped her make the cut at the Evian Masters tournament held at the prestigious Evian Masters Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.  The tournament, founded in 1994 is not listed as a major in the LPGA tour however it is scheduled in the LPGA tour just after the British Open, making it easy for the American based golfers to participate in the event.

Alena Sharp will be one of the 90 contestants fighting for a place in the second round of the $3,250,000 tournament played over 4 days. Prior to 2007 the tournament was played over 4 days by 90 participants fighting for the ultimate prize; the changes made in 2007 were designed to make the tournament more competitive. Past winners include such legendary names such as Ai Miyazato of Japan, Annika Sorenstam of Sweden and American Paula Creamer.

Alena Sharp’s game is all about endurance and hard work; her never say die attitude and resilience has won her many fans. Rolex encapsulates this never say die attitude and timeless elegance in its collection of wristwatches and timepieces. Each watch is precision made with the highest degrees of craftsmanship; just the kind of skills needed in the game that calls for equal demonstrations of dexterity as well as power.

Alena Sharp will be hoping to the bring these qualities to the Evian Masters in order to bridge the gap between her and the top professional golfers like Ai Miyazato and the rest. The 29 year old golfer was born in Ontario, Canada in 1981. She graduated from New Mexico State University, where she played on the Golf team for a few years. She turned professional in 2003, playing in the Futures tour and minor tournaments before qualifying for the LPGA tour in the year 2005.

Since then she has participated in several majors in the LPGA tour which includes a best finish of 23rd in the 2007 Women’s British Open.

According to Alena Sharp, she has been waiting for a chance to participate in the Evian Masters ever since she turned professional in 2005, and now that she has made the cut, hopes to turn in a good performance. A good performance will give her a much needed boost in the Rolex Points Standings.

She is naturally thrilled to participate in the Evian Masters: however, she does not want to put too much pressure on herself, which explains why she intends to spend the new few days de-stressing at her home in Arizona; so, by the time the tournament begins she is perfectly composed to take on competition.

The $2.25 million, 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open is expected to feature the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.  The tournament will be held in the picturesque locations of the St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg.

Cristie Kerr, 2006 CN Canadian Women’s Open Champion, is expected to be the star attraction of the event that will showcase the talents of the top female golfers in the world. Cristie Kerr has had a terrific season, including five top 10 finishes in nine events. With $ 904,971 in prize money, she is second in the Tour money prize list, trailing Ai Miyazato, with Tour prize money of $963,910.

The world No. 2, has won four times this season, including victories at Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, HSBC Women’s Champions, Tres Marias Championship and ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Teenage sensation, Jiyai Shin has had a dream run, with four third place finishes in eight 2010 LPGA tours starts this year.  2009 was a dream year for the young golfer as she grabbed 12 top 10 finishes in the year including three wins, en-route to Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors.

The tournament will also feature the defending champion, Suzann Petersen, who will return to defend her title. The six time LPGA winner has had a great season so far, with three runners up finishes, including the season opening Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Bell Micro Classic. She is fourth on this year’s Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.

The tournament will also feature, LPGA Tour sensation, Yani Tseng, who is sixth in this years Rolex Ranking and the LPGA Official Money List. Her accomplishments during the season include two third place finishes and a victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Sean Van Kesteren, Tournament Director, CN Canadian Women’s Open, is confident that the majority of the players at the tournament will endear themselves to fans at Winnipeg and in the rest of the country.

The Winnipeg tournament will also feature 15 year Alexis Thompson and 20 year Jennifer Song. Both have tasted success of late, with Alexis Thompson, leading the Americans to a victory at Curtis Cup and Song winning her debut tournament at the Duramed Futures Tour event.

The tournament will feature a fair number of Canadians looking forward to winning at the event, following in the footsteps of Jocelyne Bourassa, when she became the first Canadian to win at the tournament in 1973. Some of the Canadian competitors include Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, Samantha Richdale, Lisa Meldrum and Jessica Shepley.

The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the Brumos Porsche 250 event after a pulsating close at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Race Course. The Michael Shank Racing team will pair the Canadian racer Michael Valiante with co-driver Mark Patterson in round eight of the competition that features many world class drivers.

Michael Valiante started his Rolex Sports Car Series career in 2005 when he made four successful Rolex Series Daytona Prototype starts leading to one fifth place finish at the Watkins Glen event. In 2006 he made 14 starts in the Rolex Sports Car Series. However, he was able to convert only two of these starts into decent finishes; fifth place positions at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Crown Royal 200 at The Glen. Year 2007 was marginally better as it featured a second placed finish in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype competition at Iowa Speedway along with seven other top 10 finishes in the racing calendar.

The year 2008 saw the team making a spectacular comeback after the team’s racing equipment was destroyed while in transit to the tournament venue. The team put the incident behind to finish third at the Watkins Glen Event. Later, Michael Valiante combined with Max Angelelli, to form a potent combination; finishing the season with one victory, three podium finishes and six top-10 finishes.

In 2009 Michael Valiante joined Michael Shank Racing to post two podium finishes at the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The team ended in the seventh position in overall team standing.

The Rolex Sports Car Series originated in the year 2000 after the rolling back of the United States Road Racing Association. The main attraction of the series is the endurance class events at Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Watkins Glen event. The racing series originally featured Sports Racing Prototypes and GT class vehicles. Later, the SRT was phased out because it was felt that it made the tournament difficult to manage. The Daytona Prototype was included in its place.

The main objective of the tournament was to usher an era of competitive racing.  In order to do so the organizers choose to control the racing environment with a string of rules and regulations that kept a tight leash on technological developments. These rules and regulation put all the competitors on an equal footing greatly increasing the quality of the races and drawing more crowds as a result.

The Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16 begins with the Rolex 24 at Daytona and concludes on September 11 at Miller Motorsports Park. The series also features races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Barber Motorsports Park, Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen Event, Mid-Ohio Sports Race Course, Daytona International Speedway, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen Short, Circuit Giles Vileneuve and Miller Motorsports Park.

Spruce Meadows’ Organizing Committee succeeded in restoring the FEI Rolex Ranking points for the events covered under its banner, after it was controversially removed by the FEI, following the new regulation that required the tournament to demarcate a minimum of $25,000 as guarantee money.

In the past, Spruce Meadows National had ten FEI jumping events that guaranteed valuable Rolex Ranking points to the winner. However, after the devaluation, many of these tournaments could not fulfill the minimum prize money requirement for FEI Rolex Ranking Point awarding events.

Spruce Meadows President, Linda Southern-Heathcott said that previously many of the $25,000 Spruce Meadows events allowed the riders to gain Rolex points; however, after the devaluation these tournaments were relegated non-ranking events, reducing their credibility. However, she was quick to add that the Organizing Committee had already made arrangements that restored the tournament to its earlier status, allowing the competitors to gain valuable Rolex ranking points.

The tournament is widely respected by the horse riding community, who flock to the venue because of its location and the quality of competition. Olympic champions Eric Lamaze and Rodrigo Pessoa can’t hide their displeasure at the FEI for relegating the competition.  According to them, Rolex points are very important for them but they would rather earn them against the best in the business than against much lighter competition in Europe. The exchange rate system adopted by FEI awarded the European tournaments and penalised the Spruce Meadows tournaments, due to currency rate fluctuations.

This view was seconded by Rodrigo Pessoa, who said that too much importance was being given to prize money, ignoring other factors like competitiveness, location, popularity of the venue and so on. The three time world champion said that any points won at the Spruce Meadows were well earned because of the higher level of competition.

The new FEI guidelines have the potential to adversely affect 16 FEI ranking events conducted by the Spruce Meadows Organizing Committee.

The Swiss watchmaker, Rolex, has been associated with sports since 1927, when Mercedes Gleltze swam across the English Channel wearing a Rolex Oyster wristwatch for the first time. At present the Swiss Watchmaker supports more than 150 events worldwide including golf, sailing, tennis, motorsports and equestrian tournaments. Rolex has given many a prominent names in the world of sports an opportunity to compete on a global platform and prove themselves. Rolex also sponsors cultural and arts programmes around the globe. The Rolex Young Laureates Programme is another Rolex initiative which nurtures young innovators in the field of science and technology, culture, education, and so on.

Eric Edwards of Salisbury, N.C., led the Boys Division at the Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All- Star event scoring 2-under par 68 on Tuesday. The Girls Division was led by Rachel Dai of Suwanee, Ga., at even-par 70.

The Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star event, designed for boys and girls in the age group 12-15, is one of the 10 events held under the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series. This tournament has been designed to develop young golfers, who can use it as a platform to launch their career in the AJGA Open tournaments. The Junior All-Star Series ends with the Montverde Academy Junior All-Star Invitational on Columbus Day for winners and top finishers.

The Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star is held under the aegis of the American Junior Golf Association at the WindStone Golf Club. This 54-hole event is played over 6,347 yards in the Boys Division and 5,679 yards in the Girls Division. The competition at the Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star event features 75 boys and 24 girls coming together from far off places like Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Canada.

Edwards’ run of good scores at the event included a bogey at the first hole, followed by birdies at holes 8 and 9, making the turn at 2-under-par. He finished the day with a one shot lead on the back of an even-par 35. Edward was upbeat about the day’s performance as this was the first time he was leading in an AJGA event.

Edwards was closely followed by the trio of Andy Shim, William Martinez and Ethan Wall. The fifth place is tied between three golfers, Greyson Sigg, Adam Wood and Christopher Guglielmo.

The leader in the Girls Division, Rachel Dai said that her tee shots gave confidence and helped her make birdies on holes 8, 10 and 11. She was also pleased with her approach shots as she hit a lot of fairways, guaranteeing birdies on holes 8, 10 and 11. Surprised that she was leading the tournament, she said that her strategy for the rest of the tournament would include hitting the fairways.

The Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy is the official partner of the American Junior Golf Association, providing a platform for many budding golfers to perform on the professional circuit. The AJGA is a non- profit organization with a membership of 5000 junior golfers spread over 49 states and 30 countries. The organization believes in nurturing young talent by providing financial assistance from time to time through the ACE program, also known as the Achieving Competitive Excellence program. Rolex Watch USA has been supporting the American Junior Golf Association for the last three decades. In the year 2004, it became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

AJGA alumni have been doing their association proud with over 400 victories in the PGA and the LPGA tour. The stars that have risen from this program include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

The duo of Canadian racer Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel are upbeat after finishing second at Lime Rock Park. The performance increases their chances at the upcoming event at the Watkins Glen International Raceway, starting on Saturday, June 5. The Starworks team owner Peter Baron is expecting another podium finish at the Grand- Am Rolex sports car series beginning this week.

After the Lime Rock Rolex Grand-AM win, Ryan Dalziel, co-driver, stated that he is looking forward to returning to Watkins Glen with fellow driver Mike Forest. He further stated that Mike Forest had done a great job with the car and they were hoping to better their standing at the Championship. Teammate, Mike Forest, is currently ranked 5th in the 2010 Grand-Am Rolex Sports car series driver’s standing. He stated that he was looking forward to working with his new teammate, James Davison at the Six Hour Sports Car race at the Glen. The Glen has hosted some of the greatest race driving since its inception in the 1950’s.

Mike Forest is one of the brightest stars in the Grand-AM Rolex sports car series and his podium finish at the Lime Rock Park justifies his promise. In order to remain competitive he follows an aggressive training schedule that includes swimming, cycling, weight lifting and core training.

This talented race driver first showed his talent in the Pacific F2000 series in 2004 when he finished second overall. He did better in 2005, winning the Spring Cup and the championship title. Next year, he moved to the Champ Car Atlantic series, where he missed the entire season due to a broken vertebrae caused by a stuck throttle in the first race. The year 2007 was no better for the champion driver as he was crashed out by his competitors, often in the opening lap.

Forest moved over to Grand Am Rolex GT Series after the merger of the Champ car and the IRL made the start of 2008 uncertain. Forest and his team     PR1 entered the season as rookies, beginning with low placed ranking and then steadily graduating to podium finishes.

Forest competed in his first Rolex 24 hour in the year 2009, when the PR1 Pontaic GT was well placed for a fifth place before being pushed back to the 11th position courtesy a Daytona Prototype, which damaged the car. Four races into the 2009 season, Forest took a move over to the Prototype class, a step up from the GT series. This was the highest standard of racing in North America, teamed with Ricky Taylor, the two raced for the new team Beyer Racing. The team negotiated some of the most difficult driving conditions to post a fourth place position at the Montreal 200.

Rolex, along with a few other major brands, will be seen sponsoring the Open Championship this year. The golf championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious championships among the four major golf championships held across the globe. The Open Championship is being organized by the R&A. The 2010 Open Championship also holds a special appeal following its 150^th anniversary. Other brands sponsoring the event include Doosan and Lexus.

Rolex has been lending its support to several sporting events. The main onus of the support is to bring across a common platform for the players from around the world and to help them display their talents in various fields of sport. The long legacy of support by Rolex in the form of sponsorships has given the career of many a sports stars the required boost and encouragement. Rolex has been a sponsor to sporting events like equestrian events, tennis tournaments as well as many golfing tournaments including the Open Championship which is the newest member. Rolex is a proud sponsor of the Open Championship and recognises the qualities like skill, precision and excellence, which are a prerequisite to earn the title of a champion, all the virtues which are well displayed by brand Rolex as well.

The Open Championship will be watched by a crowd of about 250,000 people live at the venue, while in 163 nations people will be watching the same on their television sets including North America and Europe. The governing body of the golf event- R&A is also the organizing body of the grand golfing event outside Mexico and USA. The Open Championship is also known as the British Open and takes place during the third weekend of July beginning Friday. The event is the third major golfing event to happen each year closely following the Masters and the US Open. The PGA Championship follows suit after the Open Championship. It also stands as the oldest of all four major golf events. The Championship is slated to take place on the Old Course at St. Andrews, which has so far hosted 27 Open Championships and will be staging its 28^th coming July.

To mark the 150^th anniversary of the famous golf championship a few of its past champions are being invited as well. On July 14^th, these champions will be playing four holes with regard to the old course. However, the celebrations will depend on the weather conditions that day. The 2010 Open Championship will reward the winner with prize money of £750,000.

The long list of champions who will be participating in the event includes Paul Casey, a British golfer who has won several titles including the likes of PGA Championships and WGC Accenture Match Play. Another major British golf player, Sir Nick Faldo will be seen competing at the championship. He has been a three time Open Champion and is also considered as one of the most successful players in the history of the Ryder Cup. The Open Championship scheduled to take place at St. Andrews this year will mark a 34^th Open Championship for the player who has also proved his worth at the Masters Tournament and got around 27 European Tour Victories to his credit.

Twice the winner of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex Junior, which is an annual event sponsored by Rolex that recognizes players who have established themselves as the world’s premier junior golfers, Jessica Wallace is a young and ambitious golfer from Vancouver, Canada. As she finishes her sophomore year at Pepperdine, Wallace shifts base to the University of Colorado. The news was announced by CU’s golf coach, Anne Kelly, who feels Jessica will be a positive impact for CU’s overall tournament experience.

Ranked as no. 10 on the AJGA Rolex Junior Golf rankings, Jessica started young with the help of the non-profit organization, which has proved to be a prevalent force in Golf. The largest association of its kind, AJGA is responsible for many PGA and LPGA champions, encouraging young talent to grow and develop as professional golfers. With Rolex supporting the various events at AJGA, many a players get financial support to compete in events they otherwise could not have.

A graduate from the Walnut Grove Secondary School, Jessica belongs to a sports family with her brother Darren on the Washington Golf team and her father Darryl, on the soccer team, earlier at Tulsa. Always known as a dedicated student-athlete, Jessica Wallace believes that the University of Colorado has the finest amenities for training, which will in turn make her a better golfer.

Jessica Wallace started as an All-WCC player in her freshman year and graduated to earning the WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “silver� honors, in no time at all. Also, twice a winner of the B.C. Junior Girls championship, Wallace has already made her mark with as many as 21 career events and 64 rounds.

With a stroke average of 74.94 in 31 rounds with three rounds in the 60s and six rounds under par, Jessica Wallace has one top-five finish and two top-ten finishes, all adding up to her standards of excellence. Jessica would become the sixth player in the history of the University of Colorado from Canada who has played junior golf in Canada with graduates including Dominique Pytlewski and Julie Kim in the Vancouver area. Finishing 21st at the NCAA championships in her sophomore year, Wallace has been ranked the No. 77 player in the country by Golf Week.

Replacing the three departing seniors, Jessica joins the University of Colorado with three more high-school athletes from California, for the session of 2010-2011. With high hopes and expectations, the group plans to keep up with the CU golf history in stroke average.

One of the most successful professional racers, Mark Wilkins, will be seen sharing the steering wheel of the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley with Burt Frisselle during the 2010 Rolex Daytona Prototype Series. This will be the fourth Rolex Daytona series of his career. The racer will also be rejoining Michael Shank for the Rolex 24 At Daytona while driving the No. 60 Ford Riley, together with team mates John Pew and Ozz Negri. At present, the racer drives the Rolex Daytona Prototype for AIM Autosport.

The Canadian racer has long been associated with Rolex Sports Car Racing as well as with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The year 2008 witnessed him deliver one of the most breakthrough performances of his career during the Grand Am Rolex Series with his co-driver Burt Frisselle. The duo registered back-to-back top ten finishes between round four to seven followed by being victorious in the ninth round at Barber. While just twenty minutes remained for the championship to end and they were leading, fate intervened, and the engine of their car gave up. This became one of the most memorable final lap defeats in the history of the event.

Before his stint at Grand Am Racing, Mark Wilkins had proved his worth in a number of sports car racing events, including the North American Fran Am 2000 Pro Championship in 2004 where the performer bagged the fourth position. From there, Mark Wilkins made his way into the Star Mazda Series for the next two seasons. In the meantime, the racer also raced in the Grand Am series occasionally.

For many years Rolex has been tirelessly providing its support to the field of sports and especially sports car
racing. The main onus of several of its racing initiatives has been to provide a global platform to talented racers from across the world where they could display their excellence in their respective fields. Through these racing championships Rolex brings across the pursuit of excellence among the talented league of racers, which is also reflected by the timeless Rolex master pieces. The long list of noted championships sponsored by Rolex includes the likes of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Rolex Sports Car Series is one of the most awaited series in the world of motor sports. It is organised by the Grand American Road Racing Association.

Rolex 24 at Daytona was earlier known as the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the name suggests, the racing championship features a 24-hour endurance race which is held on an annual basis. The event is held at the Daytona International Speedway located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The racing championship was initiated in the year 1966 as a 12-hour race, which was later extended to 24 hours in the following years due to its increasing popularity. The racing event takes place during January’s last weekend or February’s first weekend on a yearly basis as a part of the Speedweeks. The winners of the championship are rewarded with a timeless model of the Rolex Daytona.

Rolex has announced its new mentors under the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative for the year 2010-2011. The selected masters are all set to start a year of artistic odyssey together with their protégés. An International Philanthropic programme, Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative was initiated in the year 2002 to bring across the best artists from around the world and provide them guidance and support, paving way for them to realize their full potential in their respective disciplines. A year long one-to-one creative guidance with the mentors often goes a long way in shaping a successful and satisfying creative future for the young artists.

The onus of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is to provide a common platform to art and creativity which seamlessly flows through nations and crosses borders. The programme helps the young budding artists attain the right kind of mentorship from acclaimed maestros and helps them to share, learn and grow. Keeping with the tradition of withstanding the best talents in arts, Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative brings out the best while nurturing the talents in various artistic streams. The initiative also works as a common thread which tends to bring the best of art from all corners of the world and immaculately beads them together.

There are six main disciplines which are showcased under the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative- theatre, dance, visual arts, film, music and literature. For each discipline, mentors are chosen who thereafter select their protégé for the entire year. The protégés stay under continuous nurturing guidance of their mentors who hone them in the best skills of their respective art. The Rolex announces its team of mentors and their protégé every two years when the advisory board of distinguished artists and practitioners come together to suggest the potential masters for the year. This is followed by a collaborated discussion between Rolex officials and the mentors who decide on the talented artists who would become a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Each of the chosen protégé is given a grant of $25,000 during the year together with a further amount of $25,000 after the mentoring year gets over for the creation of a new piece of art. Each mentor of the initiative is given an honorarium of $50,000.

One of the Canadian protégés who will be becoming a part of the coveted initiative is Susan Platts who will be mentored by Jessye Norman. She is a gifted singer who has been admired for her various performances in United States and in other countries. In her own words, Susan Platts considers the opportunity of being mentored by one of the most revered masters in the world of music as a dream come true. The Toronto based talented mezzo soprano, Susan Platts is known to connect with the audiences very strongly and many even consider her more of a story teller on stage.  Encouraged by her mentor Jessye Norman, Susan Platts is going to record her very first album which will have her singing solo numbers together with Canadian pianist Rena Sharon.