National Junior Skills Challenge crowns eight champions at TPC Toronto
CHRIS HUMENIUK OF TPC TORONTO, GIRLS 9-11 CHAMPION ALEXIS CARD, LAURENCE APPLEBAUM OF GOLF CANADA (JEFF VOGAN/ GOLF CANADA)
Golf Canada (Caledon, Ontario) – By Lukas Weese
The 12th edition of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event is in the books.
Played at the picturesque TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont., a selection of top Canadian junior golfers showcased their skills in one of Golf Canada’s signature events. In partnership with the PGA of Canada and Cobra-Puma Golf, this event saw participating golfers compete in putting, chipping, and driving competitions. It culminates a year-long process, which consisted of 80 qualifying events across Canada and 1,500 junior golfers.
The winners of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event received prizing courtesy of Cobra-Puma Golf with the winners of the 15 to 18 age groups receiving exemptions into their local NextGen Championship in 2022.
Below are the winners in each of the age groups:
Boys 8 and under:
Carrick Frizzell (Hartlen Point Golf Club) captured the Boys 8 and under title honours. Hailing from Halifax, N.S., Frizzell recorded a score of 140. South Surrey, B.C. native Benjamin Hannela (Peace Portal Golf Club & Langley Junior Development Program) finished second posting 100 while Borden Nicholson of Brule Point Golf Course placed third with a score of 80.
Girls 8 and under:
Four participants competed in the Girls 8 and under division. Emily Joy (The Glencoe Golf & Country Club) of Calgary finished in first place with a score of 115, dominating the putting portion with a 40 on the 5-feet and 30 on the 10-feet.
Eily Kim (Pitt Meadows Golf Club) of Burnaby, B.C., placed second, with a total of 100. Kim, like Joy, also had a strong putting performance, posting a 40 on the 10-feet competition.
McKinley Stewart (Sawmill Golf Course) of Fenwick, Ont., placed third (75) while Barrie, Ont., native Brynlee Chappell (Vespra Hills Golf Club) finished fourth (65).
Boys 9 to 11:
One of the closest competitions during the Junior Skills Challenge was the Boys 9 to 11 division. Calgary native Luke MacDonald (The Glencoe Golf & Country Club) secured the title with a 185 score, thanks in large part to his driving (multiple 30 scores) and putting (40 on the 5-feet).
Noah Moreau (Club de golf Lotbinière) of Saint Gilles, Que., placed second, only 20 points shy of first with a score of 165. Dutton, Ont., product Andrew Sudicky finished with 100+ points in third, recording a score of 115.
Girls 9 to 11:
Former Drive, Chip and Putt champion Alexis Card (Galt Country Club) continued her strong play with a complete performance, winning the Girls 9 to 11 division with a score of 205. The Cambridge, ON native shined in the driving portion of the event, posting 30+ point scores in the first, second and third driving competitions.
Claira Frizzell (Hartlen Point Golf Club) also shined with her driving, finishing in second place (145). Brooke Halbauer (Leduc Golf Club) of Edmonton, Alta., placed third registering 100 points.
Boys 12-14:
Jager Pain (Eagles Nest Golf Club) recorded the best score out of any golfer at the Junior Skills Challenge on Sunday, posting a score of 265. Winner of the 2018 MJT Ontario Series tournament, Pain delivered impressive scores in the driving and putting portions, recording 30 and above with the driver and all ’40s with the putter.
Robin Benoit (Golf Saint-Prime sur le Lac) placed second with a score of 160 while Calgary, Alta., native Andrew Leon (Lakeside Golf Club) finished third with 120 points.
Girls 12-14:
The Girls 12-14 division came down to the wire, with all four golfers separated by just 25 points.
Tatum Lohnes (Osprey Ridge Golf Club) came out on top with 160, which included a 40 on the 5-feet putting portion. Sitting in second just five points back of Lohnes was Claire Hu (Whitlock Golf and Country Club), who demonstrated her impressive driving abilities with two scores in the 30’s.
Just 20 points back of first, Sophie Dhaliwal (Wingfield Golf Club) placed third with a score of 140. Rosemere, Que., native Alexandra Botsis (Club de Golf Rosemere) finished fourth recording 135 points.
Boys 15-18:
Like Jager Pain in the Boys 12-14 category, John Kingdon (Sawmill Golf Course) had multiple 40 scores en route to winning the Boys 15-18 competition. The Grimsby, Ont., native recorded scores of 40 in two of the driving events and the 5-feet putting competition. Last season, Kingdon won two tournaments on the Golf Ontario circuit; the US Kids Niagara—Southbrook and U15 NDJT Bridgewater.
Finishing second was Jackson Wingert (The Willow’s Golf & Country Club) with a score of 175. Toronto amateur Griffin Patterson (Centennial Park Golf Course) placed third with 140 points.
Girls 15-18:
Fresh off of winning the 2021 Ontario Juvenile (U17) Girls Championship Title in Windsor, Ont., Joline Troung (Trafalgar Golf & Country Club) captured top honours in the Girls 15-18 event at the Junior Skills Challenge. The Mississauga, Ont., native posted a score of 230, the best among the Canadian girls competing at TPC Toronto. Troung’s best individual score was a 40 in the 5-feet putting competition.
In second place was Ava MacDonald (Antigonish Golf Club) with a score of 175. MacDonald, like Troung, also recorded a 40 in the 5-feet putting portion.
Sarah Maude Lefebvre (Golf Saint-Prime sur le Lac) placed third posting 115 points. The St-Prime, Que., native showcased her powerful driver, recording a 40 in the second driving event.
Kucy and Flick crowned Champions at AJT Tour Championship
Alberta Golf (Ponoka) – By Dunc Mills
Golf, like any sport, can be either mundanely predictable or wildly random, with some degree of both in almost every tournament.
Wolf Creek Golf Resort near Ponoka was once again the site of the annual McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour presented by Crowe MacKay season-ending Tour Championship as 125 of Alberta’s best juniors from across the province descended on Ryan Vold’s beautifully groomed and eminently challenging layout an hour south of Edmonton. Skies were mostly sunny but there was just enough wind to give the Wolf some bite, combined with as one youngster put it, “some really greasy pin placements.”
The pre-tournament favorite in the junior girls’ division had to be Camrose’s Jayla Kucy, the three-time defending Tour Champion, and the ‘mundanely predictable’ held form this afternoon, as Kucy four-peated with a 4-over par 74. But the Camrose junior needed every one of her four birdies, as Brynne Davies of Earl Grey was hot on her heels with a 75. Paired together in one of the feature groups, Davies and Kucy more or less went about their business on the course, as Kucy admitted, “I didn’t even know where I stood with Brynne” during the round. “I was just playing golf.”
Jayla Kucy
Kalee Seto of the Royal Mayfair, who captured the Alberta Golf U17 Championship last week at rain-soaked Alberta Springs Golf Resort in Red Deer, completed the podium with an 80. What was very encouraging to see was that we had what we believe to be an all-time Tour Championship record total of 34 junior girls on hand to compete today. Over half of these girls were aged 14 and under, which certainly bodes well for the future of girls junior golf in Alberta. These youngsters will thrive with more and better tournament competition and once they gain some additional experience, the sky’s the limit. They’re coming for you, Jayla!
The junior boys’ division didn’t have that one overwhelming pre-tournament favorite, as any of a dozen or more junior boys would not have been classified as an upset had any of them won. I have to admit I might not have had 14-year-old Christian Flick of Carnmoney GCC in Calgary included on that list, but that’s what makes athletics so much fun, the unpredictability of competition. Flick perhaps doesn’t yet have the resume of some of his contemporaries on the junior golf scene in the province, but this kid can roll his rock. He backed up a confidence-building 68 in his practice round on Sunday with another 2-under par 68 this afternoon when the guns had real bullets. Six birdies, one double, a couple of bogies and his first major junior win! Voila!
Christian Flick
FULL SCORES IN ALL DIVISIONS HERE
One player who WAS on the favorites list was another 14-year-old Calgarian, Tyler Kidd of Priddis Greens GCC. Kidd, who won the Alberta Golf U15 Championship last week at Alberta Springs, had one of the best rounds on the Tour this summer, an 8-birdie 69 at the very difficult Trestle Creek Golf Resort early in July. Kidd probably wished he had saved one of two of those birdies for today as his 1-under par 69 fell one shot short of forcing a sudden-death playoff. Josiah Tong of Heritage Pointe finished solo third with a 1-over 71.
WATCH: 1 ON 1 INTERVIEWS WITH JAYLA KUCY AND CHRISTIAN FLICK
Today’s Tour Championship brings down the curtain on the 27th season of the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour. Thanks so much to Ryan Vold for generously providing his spectacular golf course as a venue. Thanks to our roster of Corporate Partners, whose financial support makes the Tour possible. Thanks to the host sites around the province, for their vision in making their courses available to help not only grow the game, but to help grow good young people learning all the life skills that golf provides. Thanks to the parents and families who support their children in their athletic endeavors and their passion for junior golf. But most of all, I want to thank the players themselves. I’ve said this many times over the years, but you can have all the sponsors and all the golf courses and all the infrastructure you want, but if you don’t have players, you don’t have anything. These kids are willing to endure a lot of frustration and disappointment at times, because the payoff is the fun and the making of friends and the sense of accomplishment from the game that makes it all worthwhile for everyone.
See you on Tour in 2022.
6 Provincial Champions crowned at U17, U15 and U13 Championships
Alberta Golf (Red Deer) – The morning wave at the U17, U15 and U13 Championship on Tuesday at Alberta Springs Golf Resort saw the 4 age divisions that were rained out Monday get one round in to crown a champion.
FULL PHOTO ALBUM FROM EVENT HERE
In the U17 Girls Championship, Kalee Seto from Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton shot a 4-over 76 for a 2 shot win over Alexa Wingnean.
Kalee Seto
WATCH VIDEO: 1 ON 1 WITH KALEE SETO
In the U15 Girls Championship, Aastha Savadatti from Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in Calgary shot 4-over 76 for a 4 stroke win over Tessa Ion.
Aastha Savadatti
WATCH VIDEO: 1 ON 1 WITH AASTHA SAVADATTI
In the U13 Girls Championship, local product Eileen Park from The Red Deer Golf and Country Club shot a 1-under 71 for a convincing 7 stroke victory to defend her title.
Eileen Park
WATCH VIDEO: 1 ON 1 WITH EILEEN PARK
The final division from the morning wave was the U15 Boys Championship where Tyler Kidd from Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club shot a blistering bogey free 7-under 65 with 7 birdies including a birdie on 18 for a 3 stroke victory over Tate Bruggeman.
Tyler Kidd
WATCH VIDEO: 1 ON 1 WITH TYLER KIDD
The afternoon wave saw the 2 Boys divisions where they got both rounds of play in.
In the U17 Boys Championship, Aneesh Kaura from The Glencoe Golf and Country Club had the low round of the day, a 65 with 7 birdies and an eagle which was a 14 shot improvement over Monday to finish 4th. The battle for the trophy was between Jaiden Koonar and Brett Jones, back and forth all day until a double bogey by Koonar on the 16th hole opened the door for Jones who made a stress free birdie on 18 for a one shot victory.
Brett Jones
WATCH VIDEO: 1 ON 1 WITH BRETT JONES
In the U13 Boys Championship, Jalen Apedoe from Serenity Golf Club shot rounds of 70 and 75 for a 5 shot victory over Chase Lassman. Apedoe accomplished a goal he set for himself this season, to win a provincial title.
Jalen Apedoe
Heavy rain disrupts day one at U17, U15, U13 Championships
Alberta Golf (Red Deer) – Heavy rain at Alberta Springs Golf Resort cancelled 4 of the 6 divisions Monday at The Alberta 2021 U17, U15, U13 Championships. The Girls U17, U15, U13 as well as the Boys U15 Championship will be reduced to a one day event on Tuesday due to the course taking on too much water and unplayable course conditions late Monday afternoon. The morning wave did see the completion of day one for the Boys U17 and U13 divisions.
In the Boys U17 Championship, 9 golfers are within 4 shots of the lead including a 4-way tie for 1st place with one round to go.
In the Boys U13 Championship, Jalen Apedoe from Serenity Golf Club has a 5 shot lead on local Red Deer golfer Bennett Love with one round to go.
Playing conditions were very tough on Monday, listen to Boys U17 co-leader Jaiden Koonar talk about staying mentally tough in the rain.
FINAL ROUND PAIRINGS FOR ALL DIVISIONS
FULL DAY ONE SCORING FOR U17 & U13 BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
Alberta Golf distributes $53,000 in scholarships to 42 students
Alberta Golf (Calgary) – The Alberta Golf Association Foundation is pleased to announce the distribution of $53,000 in scholarships to the following 42 students.
LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS HERE
Scholarships are made possible through the contributions from the AGLC as well as from the following funds:
Bob Rintoul Memorial Fund
Charles C. Reid Memorial Fund
Frank Lindsay Memorial Fund
Lola Rozsa Memorial Fund
Mike Bower Memorial Fund
Carol Stevens Memorial Fund
Christa Spahmann Memorial Fund
Jeff Llewellyn Memorial Fund
Marg Condon Memorial Fund
R.E. Courage Memorial Fund
For more information about the Alberta Golf Association Foundation visit www.albertagolffoundation.org
Brandon Markiw wins Alberta Match Play Championship
Senan Foley goes wire to wire to win Alberta Senior Mens Championship
Alberta Golf (St. Albert) – Senan Foley is your 2021 Alberta Senior Mens Champion. The Elbow Springs golfer out of Calgary lead wire to wire all week long to claim the title but the finish certainly provided drama. James Varnam of Edmonton put on a charge with a front 9 33 that included birdies on 4 of his first 7 holes but cooled off on the back nine to finish in a tie for 2nd.
Mike Mannion from Royal Colwood in Victoria briefly tied the lead before bogey’s on 17 and 18 left him one back in a tie for second with Varnam.
Senan Foley came to 18 with a 3 shot lead but his approach shot ended up in the back bunker, his next shot was past the pin and into the rough and he wasn’t able to get up and down. The double bogey finish was still good for the one shot wire to wire victory.
Senan Foley, 2021 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion
WATCH FINAL ROUND VIDEO RECAP
Floyd Kilgore of Grimshaw won the Super Senior title for ages 65 and over shooting 3 over par for the 3 days.
And Team Alberta consists of Senan Foley, Floyd Kilgore and 2019 Champion Ken Griffith who shot 3 straight rounds of 72 for an even par finish.
Senan Foley, Floyd Kilgore and Ken Griffith
Alberta’s Max Sekulic wins the Canadian Mens Amateur Championship
Golf Canada (WINDSOR, Ont.) – Max Sekulic of Rycroft, Alta., shot a final-round 5-under-66 to win the 116th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ont., at 17 under.
Sekulic, who went birdie-birdie on the final two holes to secure the win, finished two strokes ahead of A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., who was at the top of the leaderboard throughout the opening two rounds. National team members Henry Lee (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Brendan MacDougall (Calgary) finished tied for third at 14 under.
“It means the world to me,” said Sekulic, who started the day three strokes back of the lead. “You get your name on a trophy with a bunch of good players and your name’s permanent on that thing. It means a lot for all the people back in Rycroft and The Glencoe Golf & Country Club, where I spend my time in Canada.”
With the win, Sekulic receives an exemption into both the 2022 RBC Canadian Open from June 6-12 at St George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto, Ont., and the 2021 U.S. Amateur from Aug. 9-15 at Oakmont Country Club & Longue Vue Club in Oakmont & Verona, Pa.
“It’s honestly a little bit career changing. I get to have a PGA TOUR start,” said Sekulic, who also noted that it will be a great learning experience.
The 22-year-old also adds his name to a list of notable Canadian Men’s Amateur Champions to hoist the Earl Grey Cup. He joins PGA TOUR winner and Olympian Mackenzie Hughes (2011-12), PGA TOUR winner Nick Taylor (2007), and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Moe Norman (1955-56).
Another Albertan Brendan MacDougall of Calgary had the lead late in the final round but bogey’s on 16 and 18 left the Glencoe Golf and Country Club golfer in a tie for 3rd.
Third-round leader Noah Steele of Kingston, Ont., finished tied for fifth alongside 2018-2019 Canadian Junior Boys Champion Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que. Top-ranked men’s amateur and NHL referee Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., finished alone in 13th at 9 under.
Senan Foley leads going into final round at Sturgeon Valley
Alberta Golf (St. Albert) – The final round of the Alberta Senior Mens Championship from The Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club is shaping up s a good one with 10 golfers within 5 shots of the lead. Senan Foley of Calgary backed up his first round 68 with a steady 71 with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys to hold a 2 shot lead heading to the final round.
Howard Smith from The Cottonwood Golf and Country Club started on fire with 4 birdies on the front nine for a 32, cooled off on the back but still shot 69 and will be in the final group only 2 shots back.
67-year-old Alan Stewart from Grande Prairie followed up his 68 on Tuesday with a 75 today but sits in 4th only 4 shots back. Stewart has never shot his age but yesterday he shot 68, missing it by one stroke!
WATCH: Alan Stewart and Senan Foley chat with Alberta Golf
Senan Foley and Alan Stewart lead Senior Mens Championship at Sturgeon Valley
Alberta Golf (St. Albert) – Day 1 of the 2021 Alberta Senior Mens Championship saw calm hot temperatures at The Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club just east of St. Albert (Edmonton). At the end of day 1 only 3 golfers are under par and they each got there in very different ways. Check out the scorecard of Alan Stewart from The Grande Prairie Golf and Country Club, yes he had 3 bogeys but went 6-under par on a 4 hole stretch on the front nine that included 2 eagles, one of the eagles on a par 4. Add it all up and it’s a 4-under 68 for the co-lead. Stewart also leads the Super Senior competition since he’s over 65 years of age.
Stewart the 2013 Alberta Mens Mid Amateur Champion co-leads with Calgary’s Senan Foley from Golf Canada Club. Foley, the 2008 Mid Amateur Champion spaced out his 5 birdies to only 1 bogey on the par 3 12th hole to also post 68 on day 1.
Paul Briske from The Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club sits one shot back after posting a bogey free 69 with 3 birdies.
There’s a big pack of chasers at even par including 2019 Senior Mens Champion Ken Griffith and former Canadian Amateur Champion Peter Major.
WATCH AS WE GO 1 ON 1 WITH STURGEON VALLEY HEAD PROFESSIONAL GARY CHRISTENSON ABOUT HOSTING THIS PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP