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Amateur Team Alberta

Preview: 52nd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship

52nd PACIFIC COAST AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP HEADS TO THE OLYMPIC CLUB

Brendan MacDougall, Emmett Oh and Max Sekulic are Team Alberta for the Morse Cup competition

PACIFIC COAST GOLF ASSOCIATION (San Francisco, Calif.) – The 52nd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, hosted by the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA), will take place at The Olympic Club from July 24th– 27th 2018.

Situated in metro San Francisco and holding a revered position among golf fans and competitors alike, The Olympic Club has welcomed a plethora of elite amateur and professional events, with its latest addition being the Pacific Coast Amateur. Remembered in recent memory for the 2012 US Open, The Lake Course (par 70, 7162 yards), where Webb Simpson reigned victorious, will test the world’s top amateurs over the course of 72-holes.

“The Olympic Club is truly a special venue,” stated Troy Andrew, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Golf Association, the governing body for the event in conjunction with the NCGA.

“Our Championship has the pleasure of visiting some of golf’s most sought after locations. The Olympic Club sits near the top of every golfer’s bucket list so to be able to invite the world’s best players to San Francisco for a week and have them compete at their peak levels on The Lake Course, is really a perfect Championship situation. We are extremely grateful of The Olympic Club and their membership for having us for the 8th time in our 52 years of competition.”

Taking place concurrently with the first and second rounds will be the battle for the Morse Cup, a 36-hole stroke play team competition using predetermined rosters representing the 15 member associations of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. The team from the Southern California Golf Association looks to make it three titles-in-a-row in the team competition.

Doug Ghim, unable to defend his 2017 title due to turning professional, has paved the way for a new champion to be crowned. With 32 players in the top 100 competing this week (according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking), the Pacific Coast Amateur is shaping up to be remembered as one of the strongest fields in amateur golf all summer.

Leading the charge in the 90-player field is world-number-one Braden Thornberry of Olive Branch, Mississippi. Thornberry, playing in his second Pacific Coast Amateur, has won on the big stage before, notching an NCAA Individual Medalist honor in 2017 as a member of the Ole Miss Rebel program. He looks to improve on his T9 finish from 2017 at Chambers Bay and hopefully bring the trophy back home while heading into a busy summer of competitive play.

Not far behind Thornberry in the world rankings and with an equally impressive resume is Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge, California. Morikawa, a recent team member of the successful Team USA at the Arnold Palmer Cup, is no stranger to competition or the Pacific Coast Amateur. With an exceptional list of accomplishments and having last played in the PAC Coast in 2016, he looks to utilize his experience and survive the week at the top of the leaderboard and keep the trophy in California.

Arguably the local favorites are a pair of San Jose, California natives in Shintaro Ban & Justin Suh. Both Ban and Suh have grown up playing in the Northern California terrain and will pull on their vast knowledge of the prevailing conditions, to hopefully contend come Friday.

Ban, world number 13, is a recently graduated member of the UNLV Rebel golf team. He saw tremendous success over his four years in Nevada, most notably his Mountain West Conference individual crown in 2018. World-number-two Suh, a leader on the USC Trojan team, won six times individually in 2017/2018.

Riding shotgun for the international contingent is Min Woo Lee of Perth, Australia. Lee, the 2016 US Junior champion and eighth ranked world amateur, has chosen to bring his tremendous talent to the Bay area and see for himself what his countrymen have been sharing about the Pacific Coast Amateur over the years. Fellow Aussie and 2-time Pacific Coast Amateur veteran David Micheluzzi of Hampton Park, Australia will be friendly up to the point the first peg goes into the ground. From that point on, both competitors will fight tooth and nail, along with seven other Australians, through the tree-lined chutes of The Lake Course in an attempt to add the coveted title to their résumés.

Recent NCAA standout Matthew Wolff of Agoura Hills, California, looks to keep his summer heading in the right direction with a strong performance in San Francisco. Wolff, touted for his blazing play and unconventional swing, was a member of the winning Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s program at the NCAA’s in late May and would revel in the opportunity to keep the trophy on the west coast in his home state.

Building off an influx in recent years of international representation, the field in 2018 showcases a tremendous amount of transcontinental leaders in amateur golf. Players representing ten countries will be playing starting Tuesday, including those from New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Chile, England, Norway, Taiwan and the aforementioned Australia.

There will be 12 California residents competing in the field.

All players will be vying for the individual Ed Updegraff Trophy, named after the long-time volunteer and standout amateur golfer who played on three Walker Cup teams (1963, 1965, 1969), won the inaugural Pacific Coast Amateur title at Seattle Golf Club in 1967 and was the 1999 Bob Jones Award recipient from the USGA.

Play for the 72-hole stroke play championship will begin Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. Play will conclude with the individual champion being crowned on Friday, July 27. There will be a cut to the low 70 player and ties following round 3.

Held on an annual basis since 1967, with roots dating back to 1901, the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship boasts a rich history of showcasing some of the most talented golfers in the United States and Canada.

Past champions of the Pacific Coast Amateur who have gone on to successful professional careers include PGA Tour winners Aaron Wise (2015), Billy Mayfair (1987, 1988), Jason Gore (1997) and Ben Crane (1998) as well as Web.com Tour winners Michael Putnam (2004) & Andrew Putnam (2010).

Amateur

Preview: 2018 Alberta Senior Ladies Championship

AIRDRIE– The 2018 Alberta Senior Ladies Championship is set to begin Monday with fifty-three players competing for the provincial senior crown. The 54-hole stroke play tournament field is made up of competitors who are over the age of 50 as of the first day of the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship.

“Woodside is a terrific host for this year’s championship,” said Stephen Wigington, Alberta Golf’s Manager of Competitions and this week’s Tournament Director. “The course has a mission to ‘instigate the creation of insanely outrageous stories’ and we are confident that a memorable story will unfold during the 2018 edition of this championship.”

Wigington goes on to add that “the contingent of competitors is once again one of the strongest senior ladies fields in the country. We are looking forward to a display of great golf next week in Airdrie!”

KEY INFO

Dates: July 23-25

Course: Woodside Golf Course

Yards/Par: 5,490 yards/71

Field: 53

2017 Champion: Kim Carrington (@CarringtonKim)

2017 Super Senior Champion: Alison Murdoch

Format: 54 holes of stroke play

Social: #absrladies

LOOKING BACK

Kim Carrington completed her comeback from an injury after shining in the final round of the 2017 Alberta Senior Ladies’ Championship. With the pressure on, Carrington got better and better as the day went on. She became a two-time champion, surpassed a four-stroke deficient, with a clutch tournament low round of 73.

Carrington wasn’t the only one taking home a second trophy that week. Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member, Alison Murdoch, claimed back to back Alberta Super Senior (65+) titles.

Full story

HISTORY

The Alberta Senior Ladies Championship was first contested in 1964.

2010–Alison Murdoch

2011–Diane Williams

2012–Alison Murdoch

2013–Jackie Little

2014–Jackie Little

2015–Kim Carrington

2016–Lynn Kuehn

2017–Kim Carrington

Past Champions

NOTABLES

  • Kim Carrington – Two-time Senior Ladies Champion (2015 and 2017)
  • Alison Murdoch – Two-time Senior Ladies Champion (2010 and 2012)
  • Jackie Little – Three-time Senior Ladies Champion (2009, 2013 and 2014)
  • Barbara Flaman – 2018 Alberta Ladies Mid Master Champion

FAST FACTS

  • There are three contests up for grabs this week. The Senior Championship for those aged 50 & over, the Super Senior for those aged 65 & over and an overall low net contest.
  • A total of eight out of province competitors are teeing it up in the Alberta Senior, including a six member contingent from British Columbia.
  • The top three competitors at weeks end will make up Team Alberta at the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championship at Lookout Point Country Club in Fonthill, Ontario – August 28-30th.

ABOUT THE COURSE

Woodside Golf Course opened for play in 1989, bringing the dream of it’s founder Otto Steiner to life. From the moment Otto saw this superb spread of land, he was determined to make his dream a reality. Enlisting renowned Canadian golf course architect William G. Robinson, together they thoughtfully shaped Woodside Golf Course through the rolling Alberta parkland and developed a quiet master-planned residential community around it.

More information on the Woodside Golf Course can be found here.

MEDIA

Amateur

AJ Armstrong goes wire-to-wire at the Alberta Amateur

AJ Armstrong of St. Albert goes wire-to-wire to win the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship at RedTail Landing Golf Club.

Armstrong, who plays out of the Windermere Golf & Country Club, shot rounds of 64, 67, 70 and 68 for a four day total of 269.

That 269 mark ties for the lowest 72-hole tally at the Alberta Amateur since Kris Wasylowich shot the same number in 2006 at the Red Deer G&CC.

The 21-year-old senior at Washington State University made more birdies (24) than any other competitor in the field, including a clutch birdie on the 72nd hole to seal the deal.

Armstrong finished two shots clear of Cottonwood Golf & Country Club’s Jesse Galvon. Now 30-years-old Galvon started the day in second place and four shots back of Armstrong.

He quickly closed the gap by going out in five under par 31 and was tied with Armstrong at 17-under-par through 11 holes today. His final round 66 was tied for the low round of the day but was not enough to catch Armstrong.

Armstrong is enjoying an impressive 2018 campaign. Earlier this season he finished as the low amateur at the 2018 SVR Alberta Open. He will look to carry the momentum to the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be contested August 6-9 at Duncan Meadows Golf Course & Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Duncan & Qualicum Beach, British Columbia.

The top three competitors earned a prestigious spot on the 2018 Alberta Willingdon Cup Team that will compete at the Canadian Amateur. The Willingdon Cup squad is AJ Armstrong, Jesse Galvon and Patrick Murphy.

L to R: Patrick Murphy, AJ Armstrong, Jesse Galvon

Special thanks to the RedTail Landing Golf Club, their membership, staff and volunteers for hosting the 2018 edition of the Alberta Amateur.

Final Results

Amateur

Future Links driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event returns to Glen Abbey Golf Club

Junior Skills Challenge National Event takes place on July 21 at Glen Abbey
Stephen Wigington

OAKVILLE, Ont. — The 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event will take place on Saturday, July 21 at Glen Abbey Golf Club, the host of the 2018 RBC Canadian Open.

Twenty-four golfers from three age groups will compete in the 10th edition of the Junior Skills National Event which returns to Glen Abbey Golf Club as a lead in event to Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship.

The participating juniors will compete in a four-part skills challenge (putting, chipping, driving and iron play) with one overall winner per age group and gender.

Golf Canada, in partnership with Acura and the PGA of Canada will host the national finals of the 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge on Saturday, July 21 at Glen Abbey Golf Club. The event is the culmination of more than 3000 Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills participants competing at 171 golf facilities across Canada. The field is comprised of 24 golfers from across Canada: five boys and girls in the 9-11 age group; four girls and boys in the 12-14 age group; and three boys and girls in the 15-18 division; all selected from the top of the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Leaderboard.

FIELD

Girls 9-11
Lea Lemieux (Garson, Ont., Timberwolf Golf Academy )

Sophia Xu (King City, Ont., Kings Riding Golf Club)

Avery Cohen (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Katherine Hao (Vancouver, B.C., Fraserview Golf Course)

Lindsay McGrath (Milton, Ont, Glencairn Golf Club)

Boys 9-11
Manav Bharani (Brampton, Ont., Turnberry Golf Club)

Colby Bent (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Andre Zhu (King City, Ont., King Valley Golf Club)

Grady Cohen (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Brayden Boge (Winnipeg, Man., Golf Mentor Academy)

Girls 12-14
Alissa Xu (King City, Ont., Kings Riding Golf Club)

Annabelle Chapleau (Mont Tremblant, Que., Club des Champions)

Jahnavi Bharani (Brampton, Ont., Turnberry Golf Club,)

Jean Craig (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Boys 12-14
Cale Maclaughlin (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Matis Lessard (Québec, Que., Académie de Golf Fred Colgan)

Brent Chapman (New Glasgow, N.S., Brian Affleck Golf Academy)

Nicholas Colton (Bathurst, N.B., Gowan Brae Golf Club)

Girls 15-18
Taylor Cormier (Corner Brook, N.L., Blomidon Golf and Country Club)

Camille Gagnon (Sainte-Julie, Que., Club de Golf la Vallée du Richelieu)

Chelsea Joseph (Lethbridge, Alta.; Lethbridge Country Club)

Boys 15-18
Owen Gauder (Thornhill, Ont., Bayview Golf and Country Club)

Gregoire Vincent (Québec, Que., Académie de golf Fred Colgan)

Jack Rain (Sudbury, Ont., Idylwylde Golf & Country Club)

 

The winners of the Future Links driven by Acura Skills Challenge National Event in the boys and girls 15-18 age groups will receive an exemption into their local Future Links driven by AcuraChampionship in 2019. All other attending participants of the Future Links driven by Acura Junior Skills National Event will receive prizing courtesy of Titleist Footjoy.

On Sunday, July 22, Future Links, driven by Acura Skills Challenge National Event participants will have the opportunity to play the famous Glen Abbey layout in an exciting match play format, outfitted by program sponsor Cobra Puma Golf. Following that, participants will be provided weekly grounds passes and have an opportunity to be involved in Monday’s Golf Canada Foundation Pro-Am and secure a spot in Wednesday’s Walk with a Pro event during the RBC Canadian Open Pro-Am.

For more information on the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills National Event click here.

Amateur

AJ Armstrong carries four shot lead into final round of the Mens Am

AJ Armstrong kept his lead on moving day in the third round of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship.

Armstrong made four birdies today and finished with a score of 70. This landed his third round score at 2 under par and moving into the final round Armstrong holds a combined score of 201 leading by five shots at 15 under par.

His fellow competitors Jesse Galvon at 11 under and both Carter Graf and Patrick Murphy at 10 under are battling to close the gap and win the coveted title of provincial champion.

Graf, Murphy and veteran Kevin Temple all shot 67 on moving day to sit within the top five.

Jesse Galvon of Calgary sits alone in second place and is the only player to have fired all three rounds in the sixties.

The top three competitors at the end of the championship will earn a lucrative spot on the 2018 Alberta Willingdon Cup Team that will compete at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be contested August 6-9 at Duncan Meadows Golf Course & Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Duncan / Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. Alberta has 24 quota positions available into the championship.

Weather conditions today caused an hour and a half delay due to heavy rain deeming the course temporarily unplayable. After getting back on the course the temperature shot up to 26 degrees this afternoon without a rain cloud in sight.

59 players are moving into the final round of the championship with 18 players under par. Tomorrow’s lead group will consist of AJ Armstrong, Jesse Galvon, and Carter Graf.

Final Round Draw

Leaderboard

 

Amateur

AJ Armstrong opens up four shot lead on cut day at the Mens Am

AJ Armstrong continued his strong play on day two of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship.

He backed up his opening round 64 with a five-under-par 67 that included four birdies in a row on holes two through five, going out in 32 on the front nine.

Armstrong’s two day tally of 13-under-par has him in the lead by four shots.

After completion of his round, Armstrong said that “I started out thinking to play conservatively and tried to aim at the 150 yard stakes. From there I kept hitting it close and was able to make four birdies in a row starting on number two. After I made the turn I made a great par on 11 after hitting it in the hazard, bogeyed the next one and then was two under from there on the back for a 67.”

“The greens out here were rolling really well today and I’m looking forward to the next two days.”

On a day when temperatures soared to 31 degrees many players took advantage of the heat and went low on cut day at RedTail Landing Golf Club.

A total of 19 players are under par for the championship.

The cut to low 60 players and ties fell at seven-over-par with 62 players left to compete over the next two days.

Jacob Thomas of the Edmonton Country Club sits four shots back of Armstrong at nine-under-par. He remains bogey-free for the championship.

Terance Gough, who played with Thomas for the first two rounds as his marker said after the round that “Jacob’s short game is out of this world. Over the course of 18 holes today he made three 20 footers and made over 100 feet of putts. And I can’t even remember how many times he went up and down. It was phenomenal to watch and he was a great guy to play with.”

Jesse Galvon of Cottonwood Golf & Country Club played late in the day and shot back to back rounds of 68 to sit alone in third place.

Jack Wesche of Country Hills Golf Club tied for the low round of the day. He went bogey-free, making five birdies on the day for a solid 67 to sit in a tie for fourth.

62 players will advance to round three, after making the cut which fell at 151.

Round 3 Draw

Leaderboard

 

Amateur

AJ Armstrong opens with a 64 to take early lead at the Mens Am

AJ Armstrong of St. Albert got off to a quick start on day one of the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship.

He opened his mens amateur campaign with an eight under par 64 that included 7 birdies, an eagle and a single bogey.

Armstrong, a senior at Washington State University, was the second group off of the 10th tee in the morning wave of the draw.

He took advantage of the morning conditions getting off to a hot start with an eagle three on the par 5 11th hole and backed that up with birdies on 12 and 13 to start his round four under par through four holes.

He cooled off mid-round while temperatures in Nisku, AB heated up to 29 degrees.

After a bogey on his eighth hole of the day he took advantage of his back nine shooting a bogey-free, five under par 31.

The WSU Cougar finished the day three shots clear of fellow competitors Justin Nagy of Henderson Lake Golf Club, Jacob Thomas of the Edmonton Country Club and Geoff McKay of Lewis Estates.

Thomas, who played in the afternoon wave in the heat of the day, was one of two players to go bogey-free in the first round of the championship.

Armstrong, now a member at Windermere G&CC, was the low amateur earlier this season at the 2018 SVR Alberta Open. As a result of that finish he earned one of three positions on Team Alberta for the Morse Cup competition at the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

Leaderboard

Round 2 Tee Times

Amateur

Preview: 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship

Steven Lecuyer wins the 2010 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship at RedTail Landing GC
Steven Lecuyer wins the 2010 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship at RedTail Landing GC

 

Alberta’s best golfers will converge at RedTail Landing to compete for Alberta’s top prize over 72 holes

 

Just under 250 players attempted to qualify for the 2018 edition of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship. Of those aspirants, 120 of them comprise the final field that will compete next week in hopes of adding their name to the history books. Defending champion Brett Hogan has turned professional which leaves the door wide open for the crop of competitors.

“We are looking forward to getting back to RedTail for the 2018 championship,” said Brooke Kollesavich, Alberta Golf’s Competitions Assistant and this week’s Tournament Director. “They last hosted the Mens Am in 2010 and if we get anywhere close to the drama that ensued during that final round and playoff then we will be ecstatic.”

Kollesavich goes on to add that “the field at RedTail is extremely strong which will make for a great competition. Quota positions for the Canadian Am will be in high demand for the top contenders.”

KEY INFO

Dates: July 16-19

Course: RedTail Landing Golf Club

Yards/Par: 6,881 yards/72

Field: 120

2017 Champion: Brett Hogan (@bretthogan3)

Format: 72 holes of stroke play competition; cut to low 60 players and ties after 36 holes

Social: #abmensam

NOTABLES

  • AJ Armstrong – 2018 SVR Alberta Open Low Amateur
  • Jordan Irwin – 2016 Alberta Mid Amateur Champion
  • Brian Laubman – 2004 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion
  • Brandon Markiw – 2018 Alberta Mid Amateur Champion
  • Patrick Murphy – 2015 Alberta Match Play Champion
  • Tyler Saunders – 2014 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion
  • Kevin Temple – Three time Alberta Mid Amateur Champion (2007, 2010, 2015)
  • Max Sekulic – 2017 Alberta Junior Boys Champion and 2018 Mens Amateur Runner-Up

LOOKING BACK

RedTail Landing first hosted the Mens Amateur in 2010. The event was won by Steven Lecuyer who shot a final round 67 before eventually winning on the fourth playoff hole over Andrew Funk when he rolled home a 70-foot uphill birdie putt to put a giant exclamation mark on a comeback thriller.

Last year Brett Hogan defeated Max Sekulic in a thriller playoff finish for his second Men’s Amateur title:

HISTORY

The Alberta Mens Amateur Championship was first contested in 1908. Sun Life Financial has been a proud sponsor of the event since 1991.

2010 – Steven Lecuyer

2011 – Scott Stiles

2012 – Riley Fleming

2013 – Riley Fleming

2014 – Tyler Saunders

2015 – Brett Hogan

2016 – Evan Holmes

2017 – Brett Hogan

FAST FACTS

  • The champion will earn the final position on the Team Alberta for the Morse Cup for the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. They will join the previously qualified 2018 Alberta Match Play Champion (Brendan MacDougall) and the low amateur at the 2018 SVR Alberta Open (AJ Armstrong)
  • The top three competitors at weeks end will make up Team Alberta for the Willingdon Cup competition at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows GC & Pheasant Glen GR in Duncan & Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. There are a total of 24 quota positions available for the Canadian Amateur. There are also 5 quota positions available for players aged 25 and over for the Canadian Mid Amateur.

ABOUT THE COURSE

RedTail Landing is a must-play course whether you reside in Edmonton, or are just visiting Alberta. Located just moments from the south side of Edmonton, and minutes from Leduc at the Edmonton International Airport, the course has been masterfully crafted by the world renowned team of Puddicombe Golf with many links-style features. The Clubhouse overlooks our state-of-the-art 19 acre learning facility that features 65,000 sq. ft. grass teeing area, five practice bunkers, three putting and two chipping greens.

More information on the RedTail Landing Golf Club can be found here.

ABOUT THE SPONSOR

Sun Life Financial has served Canadians for 150 years. With an array of products and services, Sun Life is able to offer trusted solutions for customer’s needs. Beyond business, Sun Life is committed to operating in a socially responsible way and acting as a good corporate citizen. Sun Life Financial has been a dedicated sponsor of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship for 28 years.

MEDIA

Amateur

STOCK Edmonton Golf Report: Two holes-in-one, same round, same golfer — a completely amazing feat

The odds are staggeringly enormous, but John McCutcheon defied them in late June at the Derrick

“I tried to buy a lottery ticket on my way home from the course, but the machine was down,” said McCutcheon.

The odds against winning the Lotto 6/49 are 1 in 13,983,816.

The odds against hitting two holes-in-one round are 10 times that — about 1 in 144 million, according to Jim Murphy ofVegasInsder.com.

“It was kind of surreal — you don’t got looking for that situation — so there wasn’t pandemonium or anything like that,” said McCutcheon, 65, a 10-handicap golfer, who had one previous ace, at Wolf Creek in 2002.

“One member of our group ‘Captain’ James Busby emailed my wife, Bernadine, after the second ace and she came out to the course with five of our friends to watch me play the 18th hole.

“That’s when I just about it lost it. That’s when it was special.”

Starting on the back nine, McCutcheon’s first ace of the day came on No. 16 from 109 yards with a 52-degree wedge.

“The ball hit in front of the hole and then seemed to have stopped on the edge,” he said. “I bent down to pick up my tee, and when I looked up, it had fallen into the hole.”

The second hole-in-one — on No. 2 from 145 yards with an 8-iron — hit the green about three-and-a-half feet in front of the hole and rolled in.

For the record, McCutcheon shot a tidy 73.

SCENE

Two weeks ago, I wrote a two-part series on how to hit the ball farther and immediately received an email from Fort Saskatchewan’s Kevin Blenkhorn, who recently won the World Long Drive Masters division (45 and up) at Mesquite, Nev., with a 419-yard poke.

Blenkhorn, 47, offered his own take.

“There is way more to it than just swinging harder,” said Blenkhorn, 47, who was also runner-up in last year’s Volvick Open division, also at Mesquite.

“Club and ball speed are all important to hitting it long, but backspin is by far the most important factor. You can swing 150 miles an hour, but if your spin rate is 4,500 revolutions per minute, you won’t get the distance you would if your club head speed was lower and your spin rate was around 2,000.

“If you have too much backspin, the ball just rises and you won’t get very much roll. And hitting into the wind just kills it,” said the six-foot-five, 235-pounder they call the “Ice Man.’

Quite simply, Blenkhorn says if your impact at the ball is on the downswing instead of the upswing you are putting too much spin on the ball.

“I try to hit the ball just above the centre line, which is the best spot to control spin — 1,800 r.p.m. of backspin is about perfect for maximum carry and roll out. The best way to control spin is an inside-out swing and hitting the ball on the upswing. As we say in the Long Drive world, speed comes from the inside and up.

“And to reiterate one of the other pros you talked to getting fit for the right shaft is also key.”

  • Two McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour events to report on: At Innisfail Chase Bodoano, 18, birdied the first playoff hole to edge Broadmoor clubmate Mitch Desjarlais after both tied with 78s in the wind and the rain. And Forestburg’s Jace Shannon, only 14, won at Barrhead with a 78 — one better than Desjarlais, 17, who again had to settle for second.
  • The Quarry’s Keith Whitecotton came from behind to take the PGA of Alberta’s Golf Supply House two-day event at Wolf Creek with rounds of 65-68 to nip Medicine Hat’s Dillon Batsel by one shot after Batsel had opened with a 62, one shot off the course record.
  • Calgary’s Annabelle Ackroyd won the Alberta Junior at Sundre’s Coyote Creek, shooting 3-under for the three days. The Derrick’s Kaitlyn Wingnean finished third — qualifying for Canadian Junior — while another Derrick player, Jenna Bruggeman, tied for fifth.

NOTED

While they naturally pale next to McCutcheon’s theatrics, here are some more holes-in-one:

  • Darren Syvenky aced No. 5 at Tofield with a great 3-wood from 199 yards.
  • Joe Mayowski at Drayton Valley on Hole 13 — a 7-iron from 170 yards.
  • At the Edmonton Country Club, guest Chris Buffi aced the downhill 11th hole from 175 yards with an 8-iron.
  • Country Club member Cynthia MacDonald went to Victoria’s Cordova Bay for her hole-in-one: 113 yards with a 6-hybrid.
  • At Highlands, Mike Bell aced No. 16 from 135 yards with a 9-iron.
  • Two aces at the Edmonton Petroleum Club: Stephen Lines on No. 8 from 176 yards with a 7-iron and Connor Grimes on No. 13 with a PW from 124 yards.

Read the article from the Edmonton Sun here.

Amateur

Kat Kennedy goes low and wins the Alberta Ladies Amateur

It was a final round shootout at Willow Park G&CC on a hot afternoon in Calgary.

Kat Kennedy of Okotoks outlasted Sydney Colwill of Arizona as both players went low on Wednesday shooting rounds of 66 and 67 respectively.

It’s Kennedy’s first provincial title after being on a number of interprovincial teams and claiming a win at the 2017 Canadian University/College Championship.

Kennedy also took home the Feef MacDonald trophy for the low gross round of the championship. Her final round 66 included 7 birdies and a single bogey. It is the new competitive course record at Willow Park.

Skyesong Alexis of Wetaskiwin won the Mid Amateur Championship by twelve strokes over Kali Gordon of Turner Valley G&CC. The Mid Amateur contest is for ladies over the age of 25.

Barbara Flaman of Windermere G&CC claimed the Mid Master Championship by three strokes over two veteran competitors, Andrea Kosa and Kim Carrington. The Mid Master contest is for ladies over the age of 40.

Jayla Kucy of Camrose won the award for overall low net. At age 12, Kucy was the youngest competitor in the field.

Leaderboard

Kat Kennedy, Kenna Hughes and Skyesong Alexis are Team Alberta for the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, July 24-27th at Marine Drive GC in Vancouver, BC.

L to R: Kenna Hughes, Kat Kennedy, Skyesong Alexis