Even with several days to let this accomplishment sink in, to plan his trip to the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, Calgary’s Steve Blake chokes up as he details the moment he realized he had qualified for his first major championship.

“Sorry, just getting emotional a bit … That tells you how I felt,” Blake said, no apology necessary. “It was just one of those things that I’ve been waiting for so long, you know?

“I was almost in disbelief. When the last numbers went up on the board there, my wife (Kelly) just sort of lost it. It was just … It was awesome.”

Part of the fun of any U.S. Open is storylines like Blake, a 50-year-old financial advisor who will be strolling the fairways from June 28-July 1 alongside some of the legends of the sport.

Blake tried his hand at pro golf as a twenty-something, chasing the old Canadian Tour from stop to stop, hoping to advance through Monday qualifiers to eventually cash a paycheque later in the week.

Also a former instructor, he guesstimates he’s played his way into a dozen or so events over the years but never on this sort of stage.

When Blake arrives next week at the historic Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., he will be trading pars — birdies, preferably — with the starry likes of Bernhard Langer and Davis Love III and Tom Watson and (if healthy) Fred Couples.

Those guys were automatically exempt thanks to their hall-of-fame resumes.

Blake, the reigning club champion at Hamptons, was among 2,379 divot-digging dreamers who signed up for a shot at joining them.

With his wife — a high-school phys. ed teacher — carrying his clubs, he fired a 2-under 70 at a sectional qualifier last Monday near San Diego to turn that dream to reality. (His 19-year-old son Connor, recently named captain of the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm, will be on his bag at Broadmoor.)

“The outpouring has been just crazy,” said Blake, whose support system and fan club also includes 16-year-old daughter Brooklyn, another sometimes-caddie for her proud pops and already committed to play NCAA Div. I soccer at Oakland University in Michigan. “There’s one guy that I hadn’t heard from in a while, and he said: ‘Yeah, I just heard from a roofer that you qualified for the U.S. Senior Open.’

“That’s kind of neat. There’s a buzz that is running through the community a bit, and not just the golf community. It’s been great.”

There have been countless pinch-me moments for Blake over the past week, and the fun is just getting started.

As he watched coverage of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, he marvelled at the fact those same USGA flags would be flying at Broadmoor. (And crossed his fingers that the rough won’t be quite so gnarly for the older gents.)

The staff at Hamptons e-blasted their members to spread the news, so he’ll be bombarded with messages of support and congratulations during his prep sessions.

When Blake tees it up this week at the SVR Alberta Open at River Spirit, he’ll be pointed out on the range. You know, there’s the guy …

“He’s just a first-class person,” said Gord Courage, the director of golf at Hamptons. “He’s low-key, not boastful, but he’s just a great personality. And he’s not this pizzazz type of player. He has a simple little swing. He doesn’t swing at it hard. He has great tempo, and he’s one of those guys that just doesn’t make many mistakes, and then you look back and say, ‘Holy cow, he’s hit some great shots!’

“I’ve played with enough of those seniors in the qualifiers over my years to know that he can compete with them. And he has that mental (approach), almost like a Dustin Johnson, where if he hits a bad shot, it doesn’t really bother him. His emotions don’t really change. He doesn’t get too up, and he doesn’t get too down, which is perfect for golf.”

Johnson, of course, was among the centres of attention at Shinnecock.

Blake will try to play his way into the spotlight at the U.S. Senior Open.

“Just showing up and to be on the same side of the ropes and to be hitting balls beside those guys, it’s going to be special,” Blake said. “But the other side of it is that I’m still a golfer and I’m still competitive, so ultimately I want to go down there and I want to compete and I want to win. Just because of where I come from and my lack of experience, I don’t think that should curtail that any.

“I want to make the cut. And I have to realize, too, I’m not playing necessarily against those guys. I’m just going out there to play my game, put a number up on the board and I’m just hoping it’s good enough to get me through the first two days. And if I’m lucky enough, I’ll be somewhere in contention on the last day.

“As a golfer and as a competitor, that’s always the ultimate goal.”

Original Article

Etienne Papineau patiently posed for photographs after winning the 2018 Glencoe Invitational.

When the shutterbugs stopped, he had a simple request.

Papineau handed his iPhone to a tournament organizer. The 21-year-old golfer from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., needed a trophy shot for his own collection.

“I’ll probably send it to my family, my friends back home, my coaches … ” Papineau said with a smile. “I have a very supportive environment back home. So it’s great for myself, but it’s great for them, too, because they’ve always been supportive to me.

“It’s great to have this win for them.”

The 7,505-yard Forest Course at Glencoe Golf & Country Club is arguably Calgary’s toughest test, and with Mother Nature presenting another set of challenges over the past few days, there were a grand total of 10 sub-par rounds during the latest instalment of the Glencoe Invitational.

Papineau was the only golfer to post two red numbers at the three-day amateur shootout.

A graduate of Golf Canada’s national development program and currently midway through his collegiate career with the NCAA’s West Virginia University Mountaineers, Papineau closed with a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s last lap, punctuated by a birdie on No. 18.

He signed for an overall tally of 1-over 217. When the final putts had dropped, the closest competitor was four strokes in his rearview mirror.

Vancouver’s Scott Kerr owned a one-shot lead after two spins of the Forest Course, but that disappeared when the 21-year-old stumbled to a triple-bogey on Saturday’s opening hole.

Jeevan Sihota, a 14-year-old phenom from Victoria, B.C., climbed to the top of the scoring charts, but his back-nine card included a pair of 6s — one a double-bogey, the other a triple on No. 17 that turned a potential nail-biter into a sure-thing celebration for Papineau.

Ponoka’s Jared Nicolls finished as runner-up at 5-over 221. Kerr and Sihota split third spot with Calvin Ross of Fredericton, N.B., each at 6-over 222.

Papineau’s biggest blip Saturday was a double-bogey on the third hole. The eventual champ rebounded with five birdies to more than erase the damage.

“You really have to play smart here, and that’s what I did today,” Papineau said, while the drizzle started again shortly after the trophy presentation. “This is my fourth time playing the Glencoe (Invitational), and I’ve got better every year. And before coming here, my game was really good. I’d played some great tournaments over the past month, so I was really confident.

“This is a big one for me … It was a great week, a great learning experience … and it’s just going to help me.”

Thanks to this steady performance, Papineau joins impressive company — the list of past champions at the Glencoe Invitational is headlined by PGA Tour full-timers Graham DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes and rising-star Jared du Toit.

“It’s something special,” Papineau said. “I’m always going to be proud of it, and nobody else can take it away from me.”

On the heels of his triumph at the Alberta Match Play Championship, Glencoe’s own Brendan MacDougall was the leading local, closing with a 1-under 71 to climb into seventh.

Original Article

CALGARY – The 2018 SVR Alberta Open Championship is set to begin on Tuesday at River Spirit Golf Club. Defending champion Dustin Risdon is not in the field leaving it wide open for the strong field of 120 competitors.

“We are excited about the expansion of the SVR Alberta Open Championship to 54 holes this year. We have a strong field of touring and club professionals, as well as top amateur and junior competitors. We are in store for an exciting few days at River Spirit,” said Stephen Wigington, Alberta Golf’s Manager of Competitions and the Tournament Director for the Open. Wigington goes on to say that “this is the first year the SVR Alberta Open championship has a 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur team position available to the low amateur finisher.”

KEY INFO

Dates: June 19^th – 21^st

Course: River Spirit Golf Club

Yards/Par: 7,090 /72

Field: 120

2017 champion: Dustin Risdon (@RizzyGolf)

Format: 54 holes of stroke play with a 36-hole cut to the low 60 and ties

North Qualifying Results

South Qualifying Results

Social: #abopen

LOOKING BACK

The 2017 SVR Alberta Open Championship saw Dustin Risdon make 10 birdies on his way to a one-stroke victory over fellow professional James Love.

Risdon cements his place as Alberta's best player. Your 2017 @svrlawyers #ABOpen Champion ? Read about his victory: https://t.co/9Q8ijZFhvF pic.twitter.com/OX18XmmbTs

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) June 21, 2017

HISTORY

The Alberta Open Championship began in 1935. There was a brief pause in the tournament from 2000–2002 which ended with the next Open champion being awarded in 2003. The distinguished Championship continues to bring together some of Alberta’s most outstanding touring professionals, club professionals, amateurs and juniors vying for the coveted “Alberta Open Champion” title.

2008 – Wes Heffernan

2009 – Ryan Yip

2010 – Jamie Kureluk

2011 – Wes Heffernan

2012 – Wes Heffernan

2013 – Riley Fleming

2014 – Riley Fleming

2015 – James Love

2016 – Brett Hogan

2017 – Dustin Risdon

NOTABLES

• Wes Heffernan– 5-time Alberta Open champion (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012) is back and in good form after a T6 finish at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Victoria stop.

• Evan Holmes – The 2016 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion has recently turned professional and will be looking to kick-start his pro career with a victory on home soil.

• Jamie Kureluk – “Mr. 25” is in the field and will look to re-kindle the magic from his Alberta Open victory in 2010 where he opened with a 10-under-par 61 including a record setting back nine score of 25.

• Riley Fleming – The 2-time Alberta Open champion (2013, 2014) has settled into his teaching career but still has the game to compete at the highest level.

FAST FACTS

• The SVR Alberta Open champion will earn a team position for the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. They will also be joined by the Match Play Champion (Brendan MacDougall) and the champion of the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship.

• The field features a wide range of ages including one 16-year old, Theo Sekulic and a veteran competitor, Terry Filewich at age 65.

• The 29 professionals in the field will be competing for the $18,000.00 total purse.

ABOUT THE COURSE

River Spirit Golf Club is one of the most gorgeous golf clubs in all of North America, nestled along the edge of the Rocky Mountains. The Elbow River and Millburn Creek provide a breathtaking backdrop to many of River Spirit’s signature holes. But there’s more than just beauty to this course, with three different 9-hole layouts for a total of 27 holes that can be combined into various interesting layouts. The amenities at River Spirit Golf Club are sure to satisfy even the most discriminating tastes, this is truly a must-play Alberta golf course. More information on River Spirit Golf club can be found here.

ABOUT THE SPONSOR

Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP is a multi-service law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Since its establishment in 1986, Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP has become one of Calgary’s leading legal service providers, focusing on delivering high quality, efficient solutions for clients. The partners, associates and staff of Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP come from a wide range of backgrounds, and this experience enables us to offer responsive, effective and creative legal solutions to our clients.

MEDIA

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The simple answer is to be prepared which means having a plan. The complete plan for an elite player peaking at their provincial and national championships is not possible to present in a short piece but the following outlines some general concepts with a few specifics that standout.

An elite player’s yearly training plan has significant detail within cycles and phases including periodization. Periodization is an organized plan sequencing the events and activities in your training and preparation to get to peak performance at an exact time, when you want it. The general cycles within your yearly training plan would include; training and preparation, pre-competitive and competitive seasons.

Periodization is easily seen in the schedules of top ranked players on the PGA Tour, they are clearly tapering, resting, preparing and then working to peak for each major. Our condensed Canadian season, with a busy competitive calendar adds to the challenge and discipline required for proper peaking. It might be obvious but in order to peak there must also be planned periods of tapering and rest in both June and July.

Every component of your training and preparation fits within the plan. Ideally your integrated support team are all involved and it is all coordinated by your coach. This includes equipment, fitness, technical, tactical, psychological and health and lifestyle (diet, nutrition and rest).

Equipment – Plan your fitting in the spring, re-gripping in June or a grip cleaning a couple weeks ahead of your majors. Be sure you have options for set make up depending on the course.

Fitness – Add strength and power early in the training and preparation cycle, followed by golf specific fitness in pre-competitive and maintenance only during the competitive season. Maintenance is key to staying healthy and to avoid losing speed and distance during the taxing competitive season.

Technical – Changes and the introduction of new skills take place ahead of the competitive season. The competitive season includes assessment and monitoring. Refinement of skills is limited and carefully implemented. If your coach has their hands all over you on the range during warm up at a major event you have a serious problem. When you see a coach on the range with a tour player at an event they are there to reassure and encourage, the feedback to the player is minimal, positive and significantly filtered. Good coaches instill confidence and trust prior to performance.

Checklists – You need to have detailed home and away competition checklists that include exact timing. An executed competition plan will eliminate issues and distraction. Avoiding drama will enhance performance.

Lifestyle – Late nights, pizza and milkshakes are for the fans, not the athletes. Chocolate bars and sugar drinks at the turn won’t get it done either, especially if you end up with a 10 hour round due to weather delays. Enough said on this but if you want to do your best the difference between good and great performance can easily be found here.

Tactical – Complete tactical preparation does not include a money game during your last look at the test that lies ahead. Get the most out of your practice round, have your course mapping, game plan and yardage book ready.

Psychological – Ideally as you get closer to your events the focus on practice shifts to include significant modelling of competition with a much greater focus on your pre-shot routine. Be sure your routine meets pace of play guidelines and practice it being timed for consistency. When you do (and you will) get paired with somebody slow you don’t have to change your routine or worry about being on the clock. Your practice and routine should also include visualization and positive self-talk. Only you control your thoughts and emotions, practising how you think is relatively easy if you have clear process goals with good strategies for managing your focus and emotions.

If you have done the work there is no reason not to trust yourself and be confident. By having a plan and being prepared you will have controlled everything you can and will have taken the steps to have your best performance when it matters most!

Play Your Best When it Matters Most

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Calgary’s Sydney Scraba had some extra motivation for Sunday’s final round of the Future Links Prairie Championship.

One of her biggest fans — her dad, Dwayne —was following and cheering her on.

It was, of course, Father’s Day.

And what better gift for her proud pops than a triumph and trophy presentation at the three-day regional showdown in Manitoba?

“It means a lot to me. And especially with my dad there on Father’s Day, it means even more,” said Scraba, who is part of the Class of 2018 at Ernest Manning and headed south in August to join the women’s golf squad at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “I wanted to do it for him, for all that he’s done for me.”

Scraba, a junior member at Canyon Meadows, finished three laps of Portage Golf Club in 13-over 229, surging to a four-shot victory.

The difference was Saturday’s spin of 1-under 71, the only sub-par round among the girls at one of six Future Links events on the summer calendar. Scraba sandwiched that superb score with a pair of 79s.

The 17-year-old hit her driver especially well over the first two days, putting herself in position to attack pins. Although she wasn’t as solid off the tee Sunday, she scrambled with a sharp short game and continued to sink key putts.

Dwayne must have enjoyed every minute of it.

“When I came off the 18^th green, he was smiling,” Scraba said post-round. “He’s quite proud of my success today.”

On the boys’ side, Calgary’s Jakob Chicoyne (Glencoe) tied for second at 1-over 211, three shots off the pace. Chicoyne sizzled to a 4-under 66 in his final round.

CHIP SHOTS

Next on tee? The SVR Alberta Open is slated for Tuesday-Thursday at River Spirit. Dustin Risdon (National Golf Academy) isn’t in the field to defend his title, but fellow teaching pros Riley Fleming and Wes Heffernan have history with the hardware and should be considered among the frontrunners at the three-round provincial slugfest … Fleming, now an instructor at National Golf Academy after several seasons on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, has been a force on the PGA of Alberta’s tournament circuit. The 24-year-old topped the leaderboard at a two-day shootout at Lynx Ridge, sizzling to a score of 10-under 132 en route to his third victory in just five starts this season … Fresh off a record-setting season with the NCAA’s Ohio State Buckeyes, Jaclyn Lee (Glencoe) finished T-35 — tops among Canadians — as an amateur at the LPGA Meijer Classic in Michigan. Among the highlights of her week, the 21-year-old was grouped with Taiwan’s Yani Tseng — a five-time major champion and former world No. 1 — in Saturday’s third round. Lee will represent Golf Canada’s national amateur team this summer and then return for her senior campaign at Ohio State, where she set a school record in 2017-18 with an overall scoring average of 71.14 … With a three-round tally of 1-over 217, Quebec’s Etienne Papineau finished four shots clear of the competition at the Glencoe Invitational. In addition to a one-on-a-kind carved trophy, the 21-year-old earns an exemption to the Mackenzie Tour’s ATB Financial Classic at Country Hills and a berth in the final qualifier for the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open … Fan favourite Rocco Mediate — best-known for his playoff duel against Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open — has officially booked his ticket to compete at the Shaw Charity Classic later this summer at Canyon Meadows. Mediate, now 55, was the inaugural tournament champion in Calgary.

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

http://www.twitter.com/WesGilbertson

View the full article from the Calgary Herald here.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Amateur, and Team Canada member, Jaclyn Lee, from Calgary Alta., is T10 after firing a 4-under 68 on Thursday in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Maude-Aimée Leblanc from Sherbrooke (70) was one stroke less than Alena Sharp from Hamilton, Ont. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.,  all recorded 73.

After the first round, defending champion Brooke Henderson is T25 at 3-under par.

Kelly Shon played her last six holes in 6 under for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with So Yeon Ryu.

Shon had a 7-under 29 on her final nine, the front nine at Blythefield Country Club. The former Princeton star played the five par-5 holes in 5 under with an eagle on No. 8.

“Honestly, going into the round, I was thinking maybe the front nine was kind of going to be the tougher nine,” Shon said. “So I just was pacing myself, trying to stay in the moment and hit every shot the best as I could. I don’t know, the back side, my putter started getting hot.”

Born in South Korea, the 26-year-old American is winless in four seasons on the LPGA Tour. She began the final-nine run with a birdie on the par-5 first, birdied the par-3 fourth, par-5 fifth and par-7 seventh, eagled No. 8 and closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.

“I haven’t liked this golf course, but to be honest, it’s playing a little bit different than it has in the past,” Shon said. “A couple of the tee boxes have changed and the course itself. The weather’s just perfect, which is also something we’re not used to all the time so far this year.”

The sixth-ranked Ryu birdied four of the par 5s in a bogey-free round.

“It’s more about the putting instead of score,” Ryu said. “Obviously, when you’re putting really well you have a chance for a really low round, but I just really wanted to have like confidence on the putting green. Like I don’t think I have enough confidence on the putting green, that’s why I always struggle. So from now on, hopefully, I can get fully confident when I’m putting.”

She winless this season after taking the major ANA Inspiration and Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year. She also won the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

“Like to be honest, if I talk about this season, I’m not really fully satisfied with it,” Ryu said. “Hopefully, this week I’m going to start playing really well and hopefully I can win this tournament.”

Anna Nordqvist, Su Oh and Celine Herbin shot 66.

“I’ve had a really rough start to the year,” Nordqvist said. “Haven’t really felt like myself, but just trying to make a few changes the last couple weeks and get on a better bit of a roll. I know good golf is ahead of me, but it’s definitely been frustrating.”

Sophia Popov, Caroline Masson and Lee-Anne Pace shot 67, and Lexi Thompson, the 2015 winner, had a 68.

“The weather couldn’t have been any better for us out here,” Thompson said. “The course is in great shape. The last few days it’s actually been pretty windy out here, but today there was like nothing.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, making her first start since winning the U.S. Women’s Open, matched defending champion Brooke Henderson, Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko at 69. Annie Park, the ShopRite LPGA Classic winner last week in New Jersey, had a 76.

Inside the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, the name Michael Harrison is well known as a two time all-Canadian.

On Sunday the rest of the Canadian post-secondary scene found out who he is.

The University of Alberta-Augustana golfer finished in a tie for eleventh with Kyle Claggett and Zach Olson of the University of Fraser Valley at the Canadian University/College Championships in Chilliwack, B.C.

“I’m very happy to represent Augustana at that level, make the cut and finish that way,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who supported me so I could go and play that event, so to take advantage of the opportunity that was given, it’s probably not something that will happen again because I am running out of years of eligibility here. It was a great week, I’m very happy with it.”

At the very least his performance helps put the Augustana golf program on the national map. His Vikings golf bag was the talk of the tournament, garnering questions from Golf Canada officials and fellow competitors about the school.

“Just to get to tell everyone about the school and what I am taking there, it gives you a sense of pride that even though we come from a small town and a small program we are still able to put together a strong program,” said Harrison.

That program has a strong history of producing all-Canadians, including two this year in Harrison and Braeden Clarkson, and consistently is one of the better programs in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

The reigning ACAC men’s golfer of the year’s weekend did not get off to a good start. He opened with a one-over-73 and a three-over-75 in the first two rounds. His tournament turned on Saturday with the arrival of his coach Bill Penny and shooting a four-under-68 to tie for the single best round of the day. He closed the weekend with a one-under-75 to finish with a 1-under-287 for the championship.

“It seemed like when he was there I played a whole lot better,” said Harrison, 23, who just wrapped up his third year at Augustana. “He watched and he talked me through a couple of shots on the tee box here and there. He was just there for good support and cheered me on and helped me feel more comfortable out there.”

Whether it was pure coincidence or a calming effect that Penny brought from Alberta, Harrison’s game started coming together, on the green where he was making putts he was missing on the first two days.

The Chilliwack Golf Club is a course Harrison is familiar with, having finished 32nd there at the CCAA championships in 2015 as a freshman with a score of five-over four the tournament.

“I kind of like the golf course, so when I heard that the Canadian university championship was going to be there I was excited to go back because it was a course I had played well on and was familiar with,” said Harrison.

In the process, he edged out his younger brother Andrew Harrison, who plays for the University of British Columbia, by one stroke. It is a friendly rivalry for the Camrose brothers who play against each other during the summer on various tours and tournaments, but rarely at the collegiate level.

“Earlier in the week I was able to play a practice round with him and we were just joking around about who could beat who during the week,” he said. “That’s always fun, we run into that a lot of times during events during the summer, but this was the first time at a university event.”

Making his performance that much more remarkable is the fact he has only been able to get out on a golf course for the last three weeks due to the late thaw in Alberta. In the lead-up to the championship he played in two MJT tournaments, finishing second in Lethbridge, which was his first actual round of the year, and winning in Banff with a 73 and a 69 over two rounds.

This early season success could potentially set up a big summer for Harrison who will be playing the Alberta Open in Calgary.

View the full article from the Camrose Canadian here.

Focus on Your Stability to Swing Freely

There is no better time than now to start working on your game by preparing your body for better movement.

Stability is a fundamental component of the complex movement of a golf swing. The more moving parts to control, the more the golfer will need to rely on timing and athletic ability to get back to the ball. Sometimes this works, but when you add pressure or different conditions it can lead to missed targets.

Tight areas in our body that should be moving can lead the body to sacrifice stability in another area and create unwanted compensatory movements. Not only can this lead to errant shots, but also an increased risk of injury.

Three areas that you can focus on to create stability include: Balance, Core Activation and Improved Mobility of the upper back and chest. Golfers want to deliver the club efficiently to the ball with the most power and optimal direction consistently. Taking care of your body to improve these areas of stability can allow your body to focus on technique rather than protecting you from falling over. This will help you prevent injury and keep swinging freely at your target.

Here are three corrective exercises that can help improve your ability to swing your club. If you experience pain while doing them, stop and ask for help from a medical professional like a Physiotherapist to fully assess and make recommendations.

CORE ACTIVATION: Start with lying on your back with legs straight. Lift your left leg up with knee and hip and 90 degrees. Using your right hand with right arm straight – squish a sponge hard between hand and knee. Lift head up off floor when doing this exercise and remember to breathe! Hold for count of 5 and repeat 3-5 times on each side.

OPEN BOOKS: This is to help maximize your mobility so you can reduce loading into other areas to reduce sways and maintain posture. Lying on your side with knees and hips bent to 90 degrees, activate your core (no arching of lower back). Lift top arm away from bottom to try to get both shoulder blades on the floor. Look at the moving hand the whole time to minimize stress in your neck. Take a deep breath in at the end of this movement then return to start position. Repeat 5-8 times on each side.

BALANCE: Start with working on your balance by standing on one leg for a count of 20 seconds. Increase the challenge by trying again with your eyes closed! To maximize this skill – work on Air Planes. Get into the start position with back leg extended and arms out – add some turns to left and right. Goal would be to hold this position for 20-30 seconds on each side.

Andrea Kosa BSc. P.T.

Physiotherapist for Team Canada Women’s Amateur Squad

www.yourgolfbody.com

Tune up Your Golf Body

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Calgary’s Steve Blake shot a two-under 70 with just one bogey at a U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., on Monday.

Blake finished second with the top three positions qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, June 28-July 1 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Blake joins Vancouver’s Phil Jonas, Ian Doig of Barrie, Ont., and Toronto’s Rick Todd as Canadians in the field.

Mike Woodcock of Chatham, Ont., is second alternate after a 71 at the Battle Creek Country Club in Michigan.