The Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship will continue for the next two days but unfortunately no Saskatchewan ladies will be chasing a national title.

Representing the province was Kim Brown, Chloe Sies (pictured), Brooklin Fry, and Alex Schmidt. All four players missed the cut at the event hosted by the Red Deer Golf and Country Club.

Fry, 14, was the top performer shooting a two-round total of plus-24. The Shell Lake product was in decent shape after day one carding an eight-over, 80 but she shot 88 on Wednesday dropping her back in the field of the world’s best amateur women golfers.

Melville’s Chloe Sies had a much better round during the second day of the event carving ten strokes off her score but unfortunately her 91 on Tuesday left her too far back of the cut line. She finished at plus-28.

Kim Brown also posted a better round during the second day of the championship going from 91 to 88 but her plus-35 leaves her behind the cut line.

Alex Schmidt posted rounds of 95 and 97 meanwhile picking up valuable experience for what is expected to be many more national appearances.

North Carolina’s Jennifer Chang is the leader at minus-eight,

A champion will be crowned on Friday.

Colin Coben has picked up another victory on what is all of a sudden a very busy Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour (OMT). The Delisle product claimed the Regina Dental Group South Sask. Senior Men’s Championship at Deer Valley on July 23.

The 2012 Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame inductee ran away from the field of 42 golfers winning by eight strokes over Regina’s Rick Ledingham. Coben posted back to back even rounds of 72 on route to his second OMT event win of the year. He won the Lobstick earlier on this season. In his four OMT standings qualifying tournaments the Delisle Valleyview member has two wins and two runner-up finishes.

Ledingham, who plays out of the Wascana Country Club posted rounds of 74 and 78 to finish at eight-over par. Harbor Golf and Resort member Percy Murray, Kevin Vollet and Jeff Wood of the Royal Regina Golf Club and Deer Valley player Stu Innes all finished tied for third at plus-10.

The win leaves Coben 187.5 OMT points behind reigning Saskatchewan senior OMT and provincial champion Rick Hallberg.

Estevan is hosting the Woodlawn FrameTech Classic from Aug. 3 to 5 for the next stop on the senior tour. Hallberg and Coben will likely decide the 2019 OMT champion a the 100^th Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Championship at the Royal Regina Golf Club on Aug. 6 to 8.

The deadline to register is Aug. 4 at 5 p.m.

Golf is advertised as a game for life; potentially nobody knows that more than Moose Jaw’s Mickey Gower.

On Tuesday, July 23 at the Deer Ridge Golf Course, Gower’s 100^th birthday was celebrated. Gower still golfs twice a week at the club where she’s been a member for over the last dozen years. She was a long-time member at the Hillcrest Golf Club but transitioned to the executive par-three Deer Ridge over a decade ago. Gower’s husband was in the Air Force and the couple moved several times, but golf was always something they did no matter the location.

“I started golfing when we were first married and he was working in the Air Force,” Gower told Golf Saskatchewan during her birthday celebration. “We moved to different towns for his work and we were in Yorkton at the time. I had never golfed much, but my husband played at Deer Park and there was a tournament that they wanted me to golf in and I said ‘no, no, no.’ Well, I ended up playing in it and I think I doubled the score. From then on, I golfed with my husband in every community we ended up in.”

Gower was also a member at the Lynbrook Golf Club during her years in Moose Jaw. When she started golfing at that club the greens were still sand. She transitioned to the Hillcrest when the curling rink became part of the facility as Gower still curls in the winter. She said being active is the secret to a long, healthy life.

“I think it has a lot to do with being in sports, I really do. Without sports, you don’t get the exercise. When I was younger, I played tennis and ball and I have met so many people through sports,” she said.

The Deer Ridge clubhouse was packed for her centennial celebration with family, friends, and other members of the club in attendance. Gower said the day was a perfect way to recognize the milestone.

“I just think it’s marvelous. All the people that came. I have been contacted by so many people, I can’t even count,” Gower said. “Everything has been super. Denise Corrin [Deer Ridge golf course owner] is so nice. I loved every minute of it.”

Gower passed along a thank you to everyone who attended the event, she also provided a message to young women growing up in today’s world.

“Try to obtain what they have always dreamed of being. There is always a way, if you really want something,” she said.

Corrin said the club was ecstatic to host Gower’s birthday party and said the day was memorable.

“It was a special day for us and her,” Corrin said. “Mickey is our oldest female golfer ever. We have a gentleman who is 94 who is our oldest male. To be above 90 and still be able to go out there and hit the ball is just phenomenal.”

Corrin added that having Gower at the club still playing two times a week adds to her incredible life story.

“I think it’s amazing, I think it’s amazing just to be on the right side of the grass,” Corrin beamed. “She doesn’t look 100, she doesn’t act like she’s 100. She’s an active lady and I think she is as healthy as she is because of how active she is. Golf is one of the few things at 100 years of age that is not too hard on your body that you can still manage to do.”

The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) made a stop at the Dakota Dunes Golf Links just outside Saskatoon this week with over 70 golfers playing in the event.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner continues her impressive season with another victory. The 15-year-old Wascana Country Club member is coming off a provincial junior women’s win and followed it up with a two-round total of 159 (81, 78) to hold off Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve. Grieve, 16, was three shots back after carding rounds of 83 and 79. Sophie Pasitney of St. Paul Alta. placed third with a score of 180 (91, 89).

Braden O’Grady of Edmonton was the low overall boy in the field. He shot 68 in round one and 69 during the final round on Tuesday. His 137 was two strokes lower than Kindersley’s Cort Tunall’s 139 (72, 67) to win the juvenile boy’s division. Cole Bergheim of Red Deer finished third with a total of 140. Jayden Dudas of Estevan placed fourth at 145, Wawota golfer Theoren West rounded out the top-five at 148.

In the junior boy’s division, that played the same 6,310 yards as the juvenile’s was won by Saskatoon’S Josh Nagy. The Riverside Country Club member shot 71 and 69 to finish at 140 and win by seven strokes over Prince Albert’s Cole Jenkins. Colby Friedrich of Battleford carded rounds of 74 and 76 to finish in the top-three. Kyler Cote of Kindersley posted a two-round total of 154 to finish in fourth place, Regina’s Adam Husli recorded a top-five finish with a total of 156.

Bradin Stahl of Priddis, Alta. claimed the bantam boy’s category with a score of 143 (68, 75). Saskatoon’s Tommy Danielson, fresh off his solid performance at the Men’s Amateur Championship last week placed second with a total of 149 (69, 80). Colin Pasitney of St. Paul, Alta. finished third at 152, Darien Herlick out of the Weyburn Golf Club and Estevan’s Ryan Chernoff tied for fourth with scores of 156.

The peewee boy’s division was also won by an Alberta golfer, Brett Jones of Calgary shot 71 and 76 to hold off Warman’s Dane Giesbrecht by nine strokes to win the event. Peyton Stahl, a Priddis, Alta. product placed third with a score of 159. La Ronge golfer Dade Bernatchez was fourth at 163 (81, 82).

All the results can be seen here.

Mini-Tour Results 

Another 21 golfers were involved in the event playing a one-day event known as the MJT Mini-Tour. All the golfers are 12 or younger.

Saskatoon’s Poppy Hudye Baranesky won the 9 – 10-year-old girl’s category with a score of 107.

Keaton Kreklewich of Melville was the winner in the under-8 boy’s division with a round of 77.

In the boy’s 9 – 10 age group it was Saskatoon’s Lucas Sturgean coming out victorious with a score of 83.

Ayden Ross of Swift Current was the low golfer in the boy’s 11 – 12-year-old field. He won with a score of 86.

You can find all the Mini-Tour results here.

There is one more MJT event in Saskatchewan this season, that will be the MJT/Golf Saskatchewan OOM Championship at the Legends Golf Course in Warman on Aug. 24 and 25.

Brooklin Fry is the low Saskatchewan women competing at the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship in Red Deer, Alta.

Fry, 14, of Shell Lake cared a solid round of eight-over, 80 during day one of the championship taking place at the Red Deer Golf and Country Club. The 2018 Saskatchewan Junior Women’s champion posted a couple birdies during her round on Tuesday and sits in a tie for 112^th.

Kim Brown and Chloe Sies both carded rounds of 91, 19-over in the first round of the four-day championship. They sit tied for 152^nd.

Alex Schmidt is at plus-23 after the first 18 holes, she sits in 155^th spot.

Provincially the team of Brown, Fry, and Schmidt is in in seventh place at plus-27.

Zoe Campos, of Valencia, California leads the event at minus-six. Quebec is atop the inter-provincial leaderboard at plus-four.

Sies is first on the tees tomorrow for Saskatchewan, she tees off at 7:30 a.m. Brown will hit the blocks at 2:09 p.m. Fry tees off at 2:20 p.m. and Schmidt hits her first shot with the 2:42 p.m. group.

The leaderboard can be seen here.

Back on July 9 and 10, Riverside Country Club players Don Steele and Warren Campbell went low to hold off a field of over 30 teams to win the Willows Senior Team championship.

Steele and Campbell carded rounds of 65 and 66 to edge Frank Enns and Colin Coben by just one stroke. Enns and Coben were tied for the day one lead but their round of 67 during the second round was a stroke back.

Taking third in the event was the team out of the Legends Golf Course of George Janson and Ian Larocque. They were another shot back at 133.

John Walsh and Rick Hillestad, both Riverside members placed fourth at 137, rounding out the top five was the twosome of Chuck Hainsworth and Keith Silvernagle with a score of 139.

Steele and Campbell collect 250 Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour (OMT) points each for the win. Enns and Coben pick up 200 each, Janson and Larocque earned 175 points each. 150 OMT points were awarded to Walsh and Hillestad. Hainsworth and Silvernagle collected 125 each.

Mercator Financial South West Senior Men’s Championship  

Over the same weekend, the Elmwood Golf and Country Club hosted the Mercator Financial Southwest Senior Men’s Championship over three rounds.

Reigning Saskatchewan senior men’s OMT champion and provincial title holder Rick Hallberg was victorious. The Weyburn product, who calls Golf Kenosee home ran away from the field shooting 222 (73, 73, 76), six-over. Hallberg picked up 750 OMT points for the win to pad his lead atop the standings. He has 2,650 points through five events.

Warren Proctor of Saskatoon placed second behind Hallberg with a score of 229. The member at Saskatoon Golf and Country Club earned himself 600 OMT points for the second-place finish. Proctor sits in third position in the rankings behind Coben.

Swift Current’s Keith Miyashiro used home field advantage to secure a third-place finish at the tournament with a score of 231. Rod Grose, also an Elmwood member stroked a three-round total of 234 to place fourth. Finishing in the top-five was Regina’s Jody Lehmann and Kevin Vollet of Indian Head, they tied with scores of 238.

The complete results of both events and the OMT standings can be found here.

Next up for the senior men’s circuit is the Regina Dental Group South Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Championship at Deer Valley on July 22 and 23.

Regina Ladies Open 

On July 15 and 16 the Joanne Goulet Golf Course hosted the Regina Ladies Open.

Golf Sask. public player, Crystal Piero took the championship with a plus-10, 142. Piero was three strokes better than Wascana Country Club member Kim Walker who went 70, 75 over the two days.

Autumn Neiszner continues her incredible season with a third place showing at plus-20.

Reigning Saskatchewan senior women’s champion Lorie Boyle finished in fourth spot, Denise Wilson, who plays out of the Elmwood carded a plus-24, 156 to round out the top-five.

Saskatoon’s Abra Thompson finished sixth in the event, she earned 200 OMT points for the performance pushing herself into third on the women’s OMT leaderboard. Neiszner is in fifth in the standings.

The complete results of the tournament and the OMT race can all be found here.

The Pharmasave Ladies Open is the next tournament on the schedule, that takes place in Weyburn on July 27.

If a ball subsequently moves after a player has marked, lifted and  replaced the the ball on the putting green, the player must always replace the ball back on its original spot.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

The 2019 Rules include a new form of stroke-play called “Maximum Score” where a player or side’s score for a hole is capped at a maximum number of strokes set by the Committee.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

RED DEER, Alta. – The world’s best amateur golfers are set to compete in the 106th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship taking place at Red Deer Golf & Country Club in Red Deer, Alta. from July 22-26.

The championship was first held in 1901, making it one of the oldest golfing competitions in the world. Red Deer Golf & Country Club will play host to 156 players from 13 countries over four stroke play rounds.

“Golf Canada is delighted to present the 2019 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at such a terrific venue,” said Dan Hyatt, the Tournament Director. “We are confident Red Deer Golf & Country Club will challenge some of the top amateur golfers as they showcase their skills.”

First organized in 1919 and on its current site since 1922, Red Deer Golf & Country Club is among the 150 oldest continuously active golf courses in Canada. The club has hosted numerous provincial and national championships, including the 1976 Alberta Open (won by Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Moe Norman), the Alberta Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championship and the Canadian Golf Club Professional Championship. Red Deer Golf & Country Club is also slated to host the 2022 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

“The Red Deer Golf and Country Club membership and staff are anxious to host the 106th Canadian Women’s Amateur,” said Don McFarlane, General Manager of Red Deer Golf and Country Club. “Our golf course is in great condition, and we feel a great fit for this National Championship. We are proud of our facility, and look forward to showcasing it, and our community to the 156 participants and to those watching. The venue and our enthusiastic and supportive membership will ensure good competition, and a memorable week for all.”

In 2018, Yealimi Noh of Concord, Calif. won the championship by a single stroke over Dylan Kim of Sachse, Tex. Noh trailed Kim by a single stroke entering the final round and her even-par 71 was enough for her to capture the title. It was a tremendous week of golf for Noh, who made only four bogeys over the 72 holes.

Current LPGA Tour star Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) is a recent winner of the event, having captured the title in 2013. Former U.S. Women’s Open Champion Ariya Jutanugarn and reigning Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion Jennifer Kupcho each won the Canadian Women’s Amateur in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

(Red Deer Golf & Country Club)

A full field of competitors will compete for the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup and the title of Canadian Women’s Amateur champion, including Team Canada National Amateur Squad member Brigitte Thibault of Rosemère, Que., and Tiffany Kong of Vancouver, who was the low Canadian in 2018.

An inter-provincial team championship will be played in conjunction with the first 36 holes of the competition, with three-player teams vying for the inter-provincial title. Team British Columbia, consisting of Mary Parsons (Delta, B.C.), Christina Proteau (Port Alberni, B.C.) and Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) shot a combined 8 over par to capture British Columbia’s second straight team championship.

The field will be reduced to the low 70 and ties for the final two rounds.

In addition to claiming the title of 2019 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion, the winner will earn exemptions into the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., and the 2019 CP Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont. from August 19-25.

Additionally, the low Canadian will earn an exemption into the 2019 CP Women’s Open.

NOTABLES

Brigitte Thibault, Rosemère, Que.
The Team Canada National Amateur Squad member is the highest ranked Canadian in the field (No. 176). Having recently concluded her sophomore season at Fresno State University, Thibault is enjoying a successful 2019 season, winning the Mountain West Conference Championship and the 2019 Ontario Women’s Amateur. The 20-year-old participated at the 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship and was named to the 2019 Pan-Am Games team in June.

Sarah Dunning, Waterloo, Ont.
A member of the University of Guelph women’s golf team, Dunning qualified for the championship by winning the 2019 Canadian University/College Championship in May. The victory came in dramatic fashion, with Dunning draining a 25-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to win the tournament by one stroke. She has played the Canadian Women’s Amateur on six occasions.

Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Formerly the No. 1-ranked woman on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Lee has played at the last two U.S. Women’s Open Championships. She led the United States to the gold medal in the team event at the 2017 World University games, placing fourth in the individual competition in the process. Lee finished runner-up at the 2016 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship as a 17-year-old.

Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif.
Li has reached as high as No. 4 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Only 16 years old, Li holds the record for the youngest qualifier at the U.S. Women’s Amateur (10 years old in 2013) and the U.S. Women’s Open (11 years old in 2014). She won the silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.

Tiffany Kong, Vancouver
Kong was among the leaders through the first two rounds of last year’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, eventually finishing in a tie for 14th as the low Canadian. She continued her solid play by finishing in a tie for third at the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship a week later. Kong helped Canada to a fourth-place result at the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, N.C.
Currently ranked No. 9 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Migliaccio is the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference individual champion, having won the event as a member of the Wake Forest University golf team. The 20-year-old participated at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of Team USA.

More information about the 2019 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship can be found here.

It looks like Elmwood Golf and Country Club head pro Brennan Rumancik is just getting rolling in 2019.

Rumancik earned a PGA of Saskatchewan Zone Championship title up at Evergreen Golf Course in Nipawin earlier this week – his first victory of the summer season.

“It felt great – I felt pretty good going into the week, I had a couple good practice sessions before I got out there,” he said. Soon as I got out there, I fell in love with the golf course. It’s fantastic – it’s tree-lined, it’s everything you can want out of a golf course.”

The reigning Sask PGA Player of the Year said, in a tournament that he won by four strokes with rounds of 70 and 69, he used previous tournament results to finish strong.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in this situation a few times now in this event,” he said. “I won it two years ago trailing going into the final round. Then, last year at Chinook here in Swift Current, I was leading going into the final round and fell apart a little bit.”

“I kind of drew on some experience from last year on what went well and didn’t go well, and I took those negatives from last year and turned it into a positive this year.”

Rumancik was the lone golfer to shoot under par both rounds in the northeast, doing so with a tidy effort from tee to green.

“It was kind of everything. I hit my driver well – I didn’t it a lot during the week, but I hit it well,” he said. “My short irons were really good – that’s kind of what fed into most of it. I hit a lot of 2 irons and 4 irons off the tee, which left me a lot of 7s, 8s, 9s, pitching wedges into the greens. That’s what helped me score, I hit a lot of shots close. And, my putting was great. My putting, fortunately, is always up there, and I’m happy with how it went.”

Up next on the PGA of Saskatchewan schedule is the Pro Junior tournament, hosted right here in Swift Current at Rumancik’s home course.

“That’s one of my favourite events on the schedule. It’s not really about us pros for that event, it’s about the kids,” he said. “We get three kids on our team, and they play a fun scramble format between them, and I play my own ball. Whichever gets the best score on that hole, that’s what the kids get for their score.”

“It’s a great event to have out here at Elmwood – we’ve hosted it a few times, and it’s just an awesome event for the kids to experience as well.”

The Pro Junior tournament runs July 29 from Elmwood Golf and Country Club.

Story originally published on www.swiftcurrentonline.com
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