Brooklin Fry finished in 27th aT JUNIOR NATIONALS ON fRIDAY.
Clark Stork
The Canadian Junior Girls Championship has concluded in Leduc, Alta.
Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry will finish as the top Saskatchewan golfer, the 16-year-old posted a final round score of 4-over, 76 on Friday to cap the 72-hole event at 23-over, 311. Fry placed tied for 27th.
Regina’s Autumn Neiszner placed in a tie for 43rd at the event at the Leduc Golf Club. The Wascana Country Club member shot 83 in round four, Neiszner finished at 30-over par, 318.
Sarah Grieve (above) capped her final junior Canadian event at 34-over par, she ended in 50th place at 34-over, 322.
Golf Saskatchewan will hear from all three players that made the cut next week.
Ace nets Humboldt’s Lees $5,000
Murray Lees of Humboldt aced hole 4 at Moon Lake's Highlands during the AUto Clearing Senior Men's Championship netting himself $5,000.
Clark Stork
Three and a half years ago Humboldt’s Murray Lees concluded stem cell transplants to battle cancer, along the way doctors suggested golf would no longer be in the cards for the former business owner and pastor. Lees has an extra $5,000 that proves them wrong.
Lees, a regular on the Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour (OMT) dropped his third career hole-in-one earlier this season during the Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club earning the prize payout. He received his cheque in the mail from the event chair this week and spoke with Golf Saskatchewan at the Humboldt Golf Club after the funds arrived.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have my glasses on so that was the one sad part was not seeing it, just hearing my partners yell and scream which was really good,” he said when asked about the 170-yard shot on hole four at Moon Lake’s Highlands.
The threesome made their way to the green and their suspicions were confirmed when they found his ball in the hole. Lees said being a stroke-play event and winning the prize on hole four, he had to stay on track and continue to play the tournament.
“Very little went through my mind, I’m playing and I didn’t want to lose my focus. The guys were yelling and screaming and I’m going, so what. I guess after the round I started thinking about it and thought, it’s pretty cool to win money on a stroke,” he added.
Lees was born and raised in Melfort before becoming a business owner in Humboldt in 1988. He is a fixture in the Humboldt community and on the course in the city. Being a pastor for 25 years, faith is close to his heart as well as his wife Glenda’s. The pair was recently contemplating what to do with the money they admit isn’t needed in their account.
“We have a camp, our hearts are very much in camp ministry, there is camps at Stony Lake and Torch Trail Bible Camp and we’d like to help kids go to camp, some of the money will go to that. We just talked about it today about maybe having a golf tournament in Melfort or somewhere for a fundraiser for at-risk kids that can’t go. We don’t need it, we’re old fogies, we’re just going to be helping out kids,” Lees concluded.
Junior women continue strong efforts in Leduc
Clark Stork
Thursday was an extended day of play at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship thanks to Mother Nature.
Thunderstorms rolled into the Leduc area in the early afternoon forcing a delay almost in the middle of Brooklin Fry’s, Autumn Neiszner’s, and Sarah Grieve’s third round at the national tournament at the Leduc Golf Club.
Play resumed at 4:30 p.m. allowing the round to be complete. Fry and Neiszner each posted solid rounds of 4-over, 76, bringing their identical three round scores to plus-19, 235, through 54 holes. They sit tied for 36th going into the final round Friday. They both moved four spots up on the leaderboard.
Grieve carded an 8-over, 80 during her prolonged third round, the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member is tied for 52nd at plus-24, 240.
All three players will tee off for the final round on hole 10. Fry is first on the course at 7:30 a.m., Neiszner is next at 7:40 a.m., and Grieve will play her last round on the national stage as a junior at 8:30 a.m.
Sask. Golf Hall of Fame announce 2021 class
Clark Stork
The Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame committee is pleased to announce the 2021 induction class.
Three individuals will be enshrined later this year including Brad Birnie (player/distinguished service), Blaine Fagnou (distinguished service), and Bruce Klaassen (distinguished service).
Brad Birnie (Saskatoon)
Brad Birnie was born in Saskatoon and played his early years of golf at Wildwood Golf Course, Holiday Park Golf Course, and Saskatoon Golf and Country Club. He became a professional in 1986 after winning two straight Saskatchewan Amateur Championships. He also has six Lobstick wins and three professional championships. Birnie is a highly respected coach has 26 provincial championships won by his students. He was named the PGA of Saskatchewan Coach of the Year twice.
Blaine Fagnou (Saskatoon)
Blaine Fagnou has spent 26 years as the superintendent of Elk Ridge Resort. While employed at the resort the golf course hosted 11 provincial events and the 2007 Royale Senior Women’s Championship, the only time the event has been held in Saskatchewan. Fagnou also oversaw construction of Elk Ridge’s Tamarack and Birch nines while designing the construction of Aspen nine.
Bruce Klaassen (Regina)
A long-time superintendent, Bruce Klaassen has left his mark on two legendary Saskatchewan courses. Beginning his career in Toronto at St. George’s Golf Club Klaassen returned to the province taking over as turf specialist for the City of Regina. In 1985 he became the head superintendent at Waskesiu Golf Course, he returned to the Queen City and the “home of golf” in Saskatchewan, the Royal Regina Golf Club where “in 19 years as superintendent at the Royal Regina, Bruce has significantly improved and transformed the course.”
The 2021 induction ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sept. 18 at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. The 2020 banquet was cancelled due to COVID-19. The 2020 induction class will also be honoured that evening.
Golf Saskatchewan will feature each 2021 inductee leading up to the induction ceremony.
Ticket details and ticket availability will be announced in the future.
Three Sask. golfers make the cut at nationals
Autumn Neiszner is one of three Sask. players to make the cut at the CJGC in Leduc, ALta. Submitted photo-Hillary Neiszner
Clark Stork
Three of the five Saskatchewan golfers competing at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship made the cut Wednesday in Leduc, Alta.
Autumn Neiszner, Brooklin Fry, and Sarah Grieve will compete for 36 more holes at the Leduc Golf Club courtesy of their play over the first two days.
Neiszner and Fry are tied for 40th after 36 holes of the four-day event. On Tuesday Neiszner shot 79, Fry carded an 80, the duo flip flopped their scores during round two leaving them both at 15-over par.
Grieve was the lowest Saskatchewan player during the opening round with a 77, the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member posted an 83 Tuesday, at 16-over par she sits in a tie for 47th.
The cut line was 20-over par, Yorkton’s Ella Kozak just missed out on playing the final two days, she was 22-over par.
Symone Ripley posted rounds of 86 and 91 to conclude the event with a score of 33-over, 177.
Thursday’s tee times are not available as of publishing time.
Grieve leads Saskatchewan contingent after day one of nationals
Left to right; Brooklin Fry, Autumn Neiszner, Symone Ripley, and Sarah Grieve prepare for their practice round on July 19 in Leduc. Submitted photo-Hillary Neiszner
Clark Stork
Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve had the best start out of the five Saskatchewan players in the field at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Leduc, Alta.
Grieve completed round one with a score of 5-over, 77 at the Leduc Golf Club on Tuesday leaving the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member in a tie for 23rd after the first of four rounds. Grieve finished the round on a high birdying the final hole.
Grieve is seven shots back of the leader who is Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver.
Regina’s Autumn Neiszner sits tied for 34th at plus-7, 79. Saskatchewan champion Brooklin Fry of Shell River is tied for 42nd after her round of 8-over, 80. Yorkton’s Ella Kozak is tied for 78th at 13-over par, Symone Ripley of Saskatoon sits at 14-over par, she’s tied for 87th.
The top 70 players plus ties will make Wednesday’s cut at the championship.
Ripley will tee off first for the second round, she begins the second round at 7:40 a.m. Kozak begins her round at 8:10 a.m. Grieve will tee off at 11:10 a.m., Fry starts at 12 p.m. and Neiszner will be the last local player to start her day, she’s in the 1:10 p.m. group.
Rick Hallberg won the Mercator Financial Southwest Senior Championship in Swift Current. Photo-Mike MCevay
Clark Stork
Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg is continuing his strong season on the golf course. Last week the Golf Kenosee player won the Mercator Financial Southwest Championship at Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club.
The win was Hallberg’s second of the season in four starts. He outlasted Saskatoon’s Warren Proctor by seven strokes over three rounds in Swift Current after carding scores of 69, 71, and 70, Rob Schneider of Regina finished in third place at 223 (74, 73, 76), six behind Proctor’s 217 (72, 72, 73).
Estevan’s Patrick Murphy (pictured above) is the 2021 Bert Beswick Memorial Award winner. The trophy is awarded to the player with the net low score based on the final days results.
Brooklin Fry (Shell Lake), Sarah Grieve (Saskatoon), Ella Kozak (Yorkton), Autumn Neiszner (Regina), and Symone Ripley (Saskatoon) are competing in the 72-hole event that will conclude on Friday.
Grieve tees off for round one at 7:50 a.m., Fry begins her first round at 8:40 a.m. Neiszner will play in the 9:50 a.m. group while Ripley will start at 10:50 a.m. Kozak will be the last Saskatchewan representative to be on the course during the first day, she tees off at 11:20 a.m.
106 players are in the field. This marks the first Golf Canada amateur event since September of 2019. The Canadian Junior Girls Championship is a stroke play event, that features a 36-hole cut for the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes.
The juvenile division will run concurrently with the junior division through the 72-hole competition. The juvenile division is for girls 16 and under. Kozak is the lone local player that qualifies for the juvenile category.
There will be no provincial team competitions this year at the Canadian event due to conflicting health regulations province to province.
Practice rounds are underway on Monday.
Fry cooks up another championship, Kutcher hunts down provincial title
For the second straight year Broklin Fry is the Saskatchewan U-19 and U-17 Women's Champion.
Clark Stork
Third time is a charm for Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry.
The 16-year-old won her third Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship in four years on Thursday at Hillcrest Golf Club in Moose Jaw. She won her second straight championship by eight shots over Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve. Fry was coming off a fourth-place performance in Swift Current in the Women’s Amateur Championship so defending her junior title was important to her.
“It feels pretty awesome actually, this was my goal going into this year, well half of it,” she chuckled. “I was going for the women’s too, but I had some trouble with my irons that week. Right after that I was kicking myself a little bit, so I went to the range every day and worked on myself to get better this week.”
She also claimed her second straight under-17 victory.
Fry will now prepare for the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Leduc, Alberta. The week after that she will compete in the national women’s championship in Spruce Grove.
Grieve and Yorkton’s Ella Kozak will make up the Saskatchewan team as the top three players.
Under-15 – Chloe Wills (Kyle)
Under-13 – Tayla Perry
Regina’s Hunter Kutcher wins junior men’s in playoff
Regina’s Hunter Kutcher is in his final year of junior golf and he made it count.
Kutcher made a birdie on the first playoff hole in Moose Jaw on Thursday to edge Alex Swinnerton for the championship. The Royal Regina Golf Club member said winning the title in dramatic fashion is a special moment.
“This is my first junior tournament win so it’s a pretty incredible feeling,” he said. “I really wasn’t expecting to be in this position coming into the week. It was a little bit of a slow start today, I stuck in it, made some birdies in the end and was able to make another one in the playoff.”
Kutcher climbed five positions on the leaderboard on Tuesday overtaking second round leader Tommy Danielson to punch his ticket to the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in Sainte-Julie , Quebec in August.
He will be joined by Swinnerton and Max Regier on Team Saskatchewan. Regier edged Danielson in a playoff for third place.
The complete results of the tournament can be found here.
Under-17 – Alex Swinnerton (Saskatoon)
Under-15 – Elias Haukeness – Beuna Vista
Under-13 – Kai Kriekle (Regina)
Danielson moves into Jr. Men’s lead, Fry continues control in Jr. Women’s
Tommy Danielson bends to grab his tee after a shot on hole 17 in Moose Jaw.
Clark Stork
Saskatoon’s Tommy Danielson is the new leader of the 2021 Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship at Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club.
Danielson, 16, shot the low round of the day putting up a 2-under, 69 on Wednesday pushing himself up five spots on the leaderboard into first place by two strokes over round one leader Will Blake.
Blake, of Regina is tied for second with Davin Bourassa (Radville), Luke Cote (Regina), and Max Regier (Saskatoon), all are at even par heading into Thursday’s championship round.
Chase Pochylko of Saskatoon and Hunter Kutcher from Regina sit tied for sixth at one over par.
Danielson leads the U-17 age division as well. Elias Haukeness continues to lead the U-15 division, Kia Kriekle of Regina leads the U-13 category.
Bry expands lead in search of second straight junior win
Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry is 18 holes away from her second straight and third junior title overall.
The 16-year-old shot 1-under, 70 on Wednesday to expand her lead in the 54-hole tournament to 10 shots over both Ella Kozak (Yorkton) and Sarah Grieve (Saskatoon).
2019 champion Autumn Neiszner sits in fourth place at 21-over par.
Fry leads the U-17 division too, Chloe Wills (Kyle) is the top player in the U-15 group, Tayla Perry of Regina leads the U-13 category.
