Alberta Golf headed south to Connaught Golf Club for the first time in over 40 years for the 2026 U17 Championship. It was evident based on the welcoming environment that the staff and volunteers were excited to host an Alberta Golf Championship. With a field of over 100 players, the competition was intense all three days.
Day one started out brisk, but as the sun came out it warmed up allowing the morning wave a relatively calm day on the course. A majority of the Boys division went out in the morning and scores were close. Benson White was the only player to shoot even par on day one giving him the solo lead. Luca Marengo and Chase Strang were close behind shooting one over.
The Girls division and the remainder of the Boys division headed out in the afternoon, and they were not as lucky with the weather as wind gusts of up to 40km/h were felt throughout their round. Raylee Denton came out of day one as the solo leader shooting 76 with Alessandra Sundquist and Elle Banister following at 79 and 80 respectively.
The wind turned down on day two allowing all players to focus on their game without the added distraction of weather. The Girls division and remainder of the Boys division went out in the morning during day two. Sundquist shot a 76 to give her the solo lead, while Denton and Banister struggled falling a few spots on the leaderboard. Shylee Kostiuk fired a 73, the only even par round by a female competitor, to bring her up the leaderboard and finishing day two tied for second with Sedona Weitz.
White remained consistent staying even at the end of day two maintaining his solo lead. Strang shot a 76 falling to T3 following day two and Marengo struggled dropping him down the leaderboard. Jayden Arnold and Jeevin Dhaliwal both shot 70’s allowing them to climb the leaderboard and enter day three in second and tied for third respectively. With both division leaders ahead by minimal strokes, anyone could capture the victory on day three.
On the girls side, there were five players within two strokes of one another, leading to a day filled with a changing leaderboard. Sundquist struggled early, starting the day with a double bogey, and while she pared the next three holes, she finished the front at +16 overall. Sela Ogada began day three at +11 and after the front she sat at +13 making her the leader as they entered the back. Denton and Weitz remained close behind both sitting at +14. Weitz doubled on 10, but then birdied both 12 and 13 to keep her in the running. Birdies on 10 and 12 for Sundquist brought her back in the mix as she sat at +14. Ogada and Denton traded pars for the first four holes of the back nine keeping them within a stroke of each other. Denton birdied 14 and 15 to give her a one-stroke lead over Ogada. Pars for both Ogada and Denton allowed Denton to maintain her lead heading into 17. Denton struggled on 17 after having bunker trouble leading her to triple bogey. Ogada bogeyed giving her a one stroke lead heading into 18. Birdies for both Denton and Ogada allowed Ogada to capture the victory by a single stroke. When asked about her win, Ogada said, “It feels really good. Because I wasn’t able to play last year in the U17, so I was really happy I was able to come out this year and come out with the win.”
While it was not as close on the boys side as on the girls as White had a three stroke lead heading into the final day, there was still excitement. Bennett Love managed to jump 13 spots up the leaderboard following an impressive 66, allowing him to finish the tournament at +3. It was clear that White was laser-focused heading into day three as he had seven pars, a birdie, and a bogey on the front nine keeping him even. Dhaliwal went into the back at +5 and made a push with four birdies on the back to finish the day at +1. White’s consistency remained, and with four birdies on the back nine he captured the win finishing the tournament at -3. When asked about how he stayed focused despite leading the entire tournament White said, “I just tried to take it one shot at a time, one hole at a time.”
Notable Highlights
- This was both Sela Ogada and Benson White’s final year in the U17 division.
- Benson White was the only player to finish the tournament under par.
- Sedona Weitz was the youngest player in our field at 13-years-old. She finished the tournament T3.
- Alberta Golf heads to Beaumont next week for the final multi-day Championship of the season. Coloniale Golf Club will host the 2026 Men’s Super Senior Championship on September 3rd and 4th.