There were two goals at the Pink Ribbon Classic, hosted by the Deer Park Ladies’ Golf Club on July 13. They were raising money for breast cancer research, and they were having fun doing it.

The day involved lots of fun and games, and different ways to approach golf on different holes. Golfers were also decked out in their finest pink gear as part of the program, with some even decorating their carts with matching pink ribbons.

Every dollar donated by players during the event went to the Canadian Cancer Society in Saskatchewan, earmarked for breast cancer research. All operating expenses were donated by either the Deer Park Ladies’ Golf Club or by area businesses.

“It’s really important to us that everybody realizes that every donation they make goes to the Canadian Cancer Society. We don’t touch anything for administration,” said Susan Rubell, event organizer.

The golfers raised more in 2019 than ever before, with a grand total of $5,233.

Story courtesy Yorkton This Week/Devin Wilger

https://www.yorktonthisweek.com/sports/local-sports/golfers-raise-money-for-breast-cancer-research-1.23885906?fbclid=IwAR042tZJ-XqTsRHj7lUyB13xEk5OW1T_sopR98-pfitNHDsxzk4JlLs91vk

It’s been a long time coming but Danny Klughart is finally a provincial amateur champion.

The Prince Albert product battled back from an opening round of two-over, 74 and defeated Jehremy Ryde in a weather-delayed playoff hole at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club on Friday. Klughart was three strokes back going into Thursday’s final round of the 54-hole championship when he started to heat up. He posted the low round of the event going six-under, 66 in round three to force the playoff. After the pair had teed off in the playoff a plow wind blew through the course forcing a delay. Friday morning the playoff resumed with Klughart carding a par, Ryde bogeyed giving Klughart the title.

“I have came in second here at the Saskatchewan Amateur twice so I really didn’t want to finish second again,” Klughart said. “I knew Jehremy was playing well but I knew I had the advantage in the playoff being 60 yards ahead of him. I thought if I hit a good wedge shot in there I’d have a good putt at birdie. It feels really good.”

Klughart, a member at Cooke Municipal Golf Course has been one of the hottest players on the Order of Merit Tour (OMT) winning his last two starts. Despite an opening round of two over par, he felt the championships were in his sight.

“I have been hitting the ball really well, if I just got my putter going I’d have a good chance of shooting five or six under. I figured if I did that for two rounds I’d be awfully close,” he said.

Klughart wins both the amateur championship and the mid-amateur (25-plus) provincials and will represent Saskatchewan at both national championships. He said with the effort he’s put into his game the accomplishment is well worth it.

“I’ve put a lot of work into my game this year. I’ve played a lot and addressed my weaknesses that have held me back in the last few years” he said.

Despite a silver medal performance in both events and a trip to nationals, Ryde is basking in the result. He said after an injury kept him out of the Canadian nationals a year ago he’s excited for the opportunities.

“I am really excited to go back to nationals,” he said. “It was unfortunate I missed last year but I think my game is in a good spot. I’m really happy to make it back, that was one of my goals for the week,” he said.

Justin Wood defeated Roman Timmerman in a playoff for third in the amateur championship to claim the bronze medal. The pair was on the green when the weather disrupted play Thursday afternoon. Wood drained his birdie putt Friday morning; Timmerman never got a chance to shoot. He will attend nationals however with a fourth-place finish.

Shaun Dunphy of Saskatoon placed third in the mid-amateur event, he will represent the province in Toronto. St. Walburg’s Scott Thompson is the alternate.

The national teams are still being finalized, Golf Saskatchewan is sending nine amateurs to the Canadian Championship and 13 to the mid-amateur event.

The complete tournament results can be seen here.

After 54 holes of the Saskatchewan Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club it was Mother Nature doing the driving late Thursday afternoon.

With Danny Klughart and Jehremy Ryde walking towards their balls on the 18^th fairway to decide a winner of both events a plow wind battered the course sending the players to the clubhouse in a panic. Ryde said he thought they had time to finish the hole as the weather moved in.

“It wasn’t in my mind to hurry,” Ryde said. “I saw the TaylorMade flag by the green whipping, I yelled at my caddy to not go anywhere near the trees and let’s get out of here.”

On the leaderboard Ryde was up a stroke on Sean Mills and Shaun Dunphy at the start of the day, Dunphy and Mills both shot three-over, 75 to drop to a tie for sixth. Klughart shot the lowest round of the tournament on Thursday with a 66 to jump seven spots and force the playoff. Ryde said he couldn’t get a putt to fall down the stretch.

“I couldn’t get one to go, I had a couple five to seven footers that I couldn’t get to go down. I had a good putt on 18 that I just missed on the high side. I will come hit some putts in the morning and see what happens.”

Klughart was striding towards his ball when he saw the branches and trees starting to fly across the fairway.

“There was a branch pretty close, I turned around and asked an official if we could go in?” Klughart explained. “I turned around and there was one pretty close to me. That was pretty wild.”

The Cooke Municipal Golf Club member started the week slow with an opening round 74 but found his game the last two days going nine-strokes under par. He said his play has picked up over the last couple days.

“I played really well the last two days. I hit it really well and started to make some putts the last two rounds,” Klughart said.

Meanwhile, Roman Timmerman and Justin Wood were set to putt to decide the third-place finisher in the amateur event. They left their balls marked and headed for cover.

The playoffs were suspended by the referee committee, the four players will pick up where they left off at 8 a.m. Friday.

The national teams and quota spots for the national amateur and mid-amateur championships will be finalized as well on Friday. To see all the results click here.

The two-day golf event at the Tony Cote Games has wrapped up at the Meadow Lake Golf Course.

74 golfers took part in the event across four different age groups, two boy’s groups and two girl’s competitions. The two round event features a two-player scramble format under the Stableford scoring system. Players competing in the boy’s juvenile (under-17) and junior (under-19) age categories play 18 holes; the under-15 and under-13 boy’s age groups play nine holes. The girls, both under-17 and under-19 also play nine holes per day.

The winners of the gold medal in the Under-17/Under-19 boy’s division was Estyn Hyman and Hunter Paskemin. Teigan wapass and Grant Gardiner won the silver medal and Marcus Cameron and Matthew Ryder took home the bronze.

In the under-13/under-15 boy’s category, Keston Gerard and Lebron Thunderchild won the gold. Taking home the silver medal was Chad Robert and Dade Bernatchez, Payton Young and Tyson Naytowhow placed third claiming bronze.

In the under-17/under-19 girl’s competition, Avis Cook and Danica Daniels were the winners, Jayda Thomas and Vanetta Tipewan collected the silver medal and Tori McDonald won bronze. She did not have a partner to compete with and placed third playing her own ball.

The under-13/under-15 division was won by Mya Whitecap and Jennifer Ratt. Caress Bigeagle and Sidonie Pelly are the silver medalists, Aline Head and Chloe Young received the bronze medal.

The complete results can be found here.

The Tony Cote Games, formerly known as the Saskatchewan First Nation Games are open to athletes under 20 representing 13 Tribal Councils across the province.

There’s a new leader on top of the Saskatchewan Amateur and Mid-Amateur championships at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club.

Eston’s Jehremy Ryde shot a four-under, 68 to vault himself up three spots into first overall in both championships on Wednesday. Ryde, who plays out of the Riverside Country Club in the Bridge City sits one stroke ahead of both Shaun Dunphy and Sean Mills, both sit at five-under par going into Thursday’s championship round. Ryde said his 70 was solid on Tuesday but during the middle round of the event everything went right on route to a tie for the lowest 18 holes of the championship.

“I drove it a lot better today,” he told Golf Saskatchewan after the round. “I got myself in position to have some shorter clubs in, I hit a lot of greens. I was 15 or 16 greens in regulation today which really helped.”

Ryde wasn’t the only competitor making a charge on day two, St. Walburg’s Scott Thompson (left) was also four-under on Wednesday, he went from 17^th to sixth place, four strokes back of Ryde. Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart also charged ahead during the second round. The Cooke Municipal Golf Course member moved up nine positions into eighth overall in the amateur. Mills had a tie for the lead after the first round with Humboldt’s Mike Herperger and Calgary’s Jared Hundza. Herperger grinded out a plus-one, 73, he’s in a tie for sixth with Thompson. Hundza was five-over par dropping him to a tie for 17^th.

17-year-old Josh Nagy sits all alone in fourth at minus-four, Justin Wood is at minus-three to round out the top five. Ryde said he won’t change his mindset going into the final round.

“It’s pretty much the same plan for tomorrow. My caddy and I have a distinct game plan about how to play the course and hopefully I hit good shots and get the putts to go in tomorrow,” he said.

Not much changes on the mid-amateur leaderboard which is for players over 25 years old. Nagy and Wood are not in the mid-am field, that pushes Thompson and Herperger into a tie for fourth place. Klughart sits in sixth.

The complete results can be seen here.

A total of nine national amateur spots are up for grabs and 12 Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship positions are open. With many of Saskatchewan’s top amateur’s in the hunt, Ryde said Thursday is bound to be a great round.

“I’m fortunate enough to play with a lot of these guys at Riverside and around the city and tournaments. It will be fun to play with Shaun (Dunphy) again tomorrow, he’s a great guy. We’re all really looking forward to it,” Ryde said.

The final round begins teeing off at 7 a.m.

Saskatchewan’s 2018 mid-amateur champion has picked up where he led off at last year’s tournament.

Humboldt’s Mike Herperger is tied for the first-round lead in both the amateur and mid-amateur championships at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club (SGCC). Herperger, who won the mid-am last year and placed second in the amateur behind Kade Johnson fired five birdies on route to a three-under, 69 on Tuesday. Two Alberta golfers are also on top of the leaderboard, Jared Hundza of Calgary and Beaumont’s Sean Mills also sit at three-under par.

The logjam down the leaderboard continues in second place, Jehremey Ryde (Eston), and Josh Nagy (Saskatoon) are tied for fourth at minus-two. Dave Stewart, Roman Timmerman, and Justin Wood, all of the Bridge City are tied for seventh place at one-under par.

Tied in 10^th at even par, 72 are Ty Campbell (Saskatoon), Brad Phelps (Saskatoon), Micheal Smith (Saskatoon), Johnson (Yorkton), and Kyle Wiebe (Madison).

In the mid-amateur field, which is golfers over the age of 25, Herperger and Mills lead. Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy is tied with Ryde in third at two-under, 70. Stewart sits alone in fifth, Phelps and Smith are tied for sixth place.

The full results can be seen here.

Round two of the 54-hole championships will begin at 7 a.m. on Wednesday at the SGCC.

The winners will be crowned on Thursday afternoon.

The top three players from Saskatchewan in each field will represent the province at the Canadian championships later this summer. Six quota spots will be filled for the national amateur, there are nine quota positions for the mid-amateur national tournament.

Day one of the golf competition at the Tony Cote Summer Games in Meadow Lake is complete.

The two round event features a two-player scramble format under the Stableford scoring system. Players competing in the boy’s juvenile (under-17) and junior (under-19) age categories play 18 holes; the under-15 and under-13 boy’s age groups play nine holes. The girls, both under-17 and under-19 also play nine holes per day.

Leading the juvenile/junior category is Estyn Hyman and Hunter Paskemin with 65 points. Marcus Cameron and M. Ryder Cameron are tied with Teigan Wapass and Grant Gardiner in second place with 58 points.

In the under-13/under-15 category, Keston Gerard and Lebron Thunderchild have the lead with 26 points. Only one point back in second place is Payton Young and Tyson Naytowhow at 25. Chad Robert and Dade Barnatchez are in third with 24 points.

On the girl’s side, Avis Cook and Danica Daniels lead with 17 points.

All the results can be found here.

All 74 players will be back on the Meadow Lake Golf Course on Wednesday to complete the golf event of the Games.

For the next three days the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club will play host to over 100 of the top amateur golfers from the province and beyond the borders.

The 108^th Men’s Amateur Championship and 33^rd Mid-Amateur Championship will run from July 16 to 19 cohesively. The top-three players in each field will have a chance to represent the province at the national events. There is an extra six quota spots for the Canadian Amateur Championship in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia in August. There is nine quota spots up for grabs in the mid-amateur class, the mid-am field is golfers over 25 years of age. Their national championship is at the Summit Golf Club in Toronto, Ont. Players can enter both events or play in just one if they fall into the age bracket.

Players to watch:

Kade Johnson (Yorkton) – The reigning 2018 amateur champion is coming off a third-place finish at a US Amateur qualifier event last week. The Deer Park Municipal Golf Course member placed sixth at the Scotia Wealth Open in Nipawin. He was also sixth at the Glencoe Invitational in Calgary. He lost a six-hole playoff in the Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur.

Roman Timmerman (Saskatoon) – Johnson’s college teammate at Southern Arkansas University won the Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur in his first event back after dealing with an injury.

Danny Klughart (Prince Albert) – The Cooke Municipal Golf Course member is potentially the hottest player in the province. Klughart is coming off back-to-back wins. He outlasted the field at the Lobstick in Waskesiu and the Scotia Wealth Saskatoon Amateur Championship. He currently sits second in the Order of Merit race.

Ryan McNall (Regina) – McNall joins Klughart as the only two-time winner on the Order of Merit tour this year. McNall won the Regina Dental Group Men’s City Amateur and the Men’s Publinx Championship this year. The Wascana Country Club golfer hasn’t finished lower than third in any of his five starts. He leads the OMT tour standings.

Mike Herperger (Humboldt) – Herperger hasn’t played much competitive golf this year (20^th, Lobstick) but he is the 2018 mid-am champion and represented Saskatchewan at both the national championships last year.

Dave Stewart (Saskatoon) – The two-time amateur champion and 2015 mid-am winner is on his home track. He placed second last year in the mid-am behind Herperger and third in the amateur championship.

Other notables; Josh Nagy (2018 junior champion), Ty Campbell, Jehremy Ryde, Colin Coben, Brad Phelps, Liam Courtney, Rick Hallberg (2018 senior champion), Mitch Matichuk, Carson Harcourt, Marc Sweeney, Shawn McNall, Torrie Coghlin

The players begin teeing off at 7 a.m. each day. The champions will be crowned on Thursday, July 18.

Live scoring is available here.

Many small Saskatchewan communities don’t have the luxury of having a golf course to be the hub of summer activity, as for Birch Hills and their surrounding residents, not only do they have a fully serviced nine-hole facility, the track is one of the province’s hidden gems.

Located on Highway 3, just east of Prince Albert, the farming town features an almost 3,000-yard bush and water laden course that will make any trip worth the drive. Board secretary Lorisa Ganes said golfers that visit the course for the first time are always impressed with what the club offers.

“Personally I think they are pleasantly surprised,” she said to Golf Saskatchewan during a recent visit. “I think visitors think they aren’t going to get the services that they get here. We have a kitchen with homemade food, we have the events building, a driving range, and practice green. I personally think our course rivals any in the province, I think they are pleasantly surprised when they come.”

Established in 1926, Birch Hills has over 100 members including “social” and “corporate” packages. On Tuesday they host their ladies’ club and the men have their weekly event on Thursday evenings. The course plays well for all skill levels of golf. Hole five is the course’s claim to fame as it features a tricky island green. Ganes said the course isn’t really long but you will have your hands full.

“Even though it might be a shorter course I think it has some challenging aspects to it for sure. A lot of trees are in play,  fairways are fairly narrow, and the water is in play on four of the nine holes,” she said. “We don’t have any sand, but I think the course more than makes up for that with the challenge aspect of it.”

The community has four certified “community coaches” and is working hard to get a junior program up and running. Last year they had over 40 kids taking part in lessons. Time restraints for a couple of the coaches this year only allotted for 16 kids to take part, but plans are in the works for next season to get the number back up. Adam Morrison is the facility manager at the course, he’s also an avid golfer. He said Birch Hills is a great course for young golfers and top-notch players as well.

“The nice thing about this course, you tee off from the blue tees it can be difficult for anyone but it’s also very family friendly,” he said. “It’s a course that a family with two young kids can come out, enjoy nine holes and not be pushed from behind. It’s a very family friendly course which I love about it.  I think it offers all aspects to all golfers, from beginners to good amateurs.”

The course is adjacent to the Birch Hills airport, the Prince Albert Gliding and Soaring Club uses that as a base for their operations. Watching the gliders along hole two is a neat feature of the course according to the locals.

The town has several recreation facilities along with the course, they boast a curling and skating rink, basketball court, ball diamonds and campgrounds next to the course as well. Morrison said the town and volunteers work hard to give residents plenty to do highlighted by golf in the summer.

“I think in the summer the course is the place to be,” he said. “We have some unbelievable rec facilities here. The people that run them and the boards do a great job with all our facilities. Our town doesn’t have too many businesses, so our rec facilities are the centre of the town. A lot of people in town golf, it’s enjoyable.”

Over the past couple years the course has upgraded their maintenance equipment and purchased 10 new carts for their fleet. The number one goal now is their clubhouse and somehow getting a new one. The event building was donated by C. Ross Wheaton out of Saskatoon. It comfortably holds 60 people and has large windows with a view of the course.

The course has a full slate of tournaments ever season as well, their Town vs. Country Ryder Cup style event features town residents challenging area farmers in a match style tournament. On the first Wednesday in September the Ladies’ Club hosts their annual tournament that in the past has had over 100 players. All the prizes for that event are harvest related. The tournament fills up in a day.

Lastly, the club offers one of the best promotions you will find province wide, on Monday’s and Friday’s green fees are two-for-one. Two people can walk the course for $22. That promotion is all season long.

Birch Hills also partners with other Saskatchewan courses, if you are a member of theirs, Manitou Beach, St. Brieux, Hidden Hills of Shellbrook, Lanigan, LeRoy leisureland, Wynyard, Craik, or Davidson you pay 50 per cent green fees.

For more information on the Birch Hills course visit their website.

Nine Saskatchewan golfers will represent the province at next month’s Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG).

Five boys and four girls will make up Team Saskatchewan at the event that takes place at the Chinook Golf Course in Swift Current from Aug. 16 to 18.

Representing Saskatchewan on the boy’s side is Will Blake (Regina), TJ Baker (Prince Albert), Jackson Wingert (Saskatoon), Theoren West (Wawota), and Alex Swinnerton (Saskatoon).

Representing the girl’s team is junior women’s provincial champion Autumn Neiszner (Regina), Ella Kozak (Yorkton), Sarah Grieve (Saskatoon), and Symone Ripley (Saskatoon).

Golf Saskatchewan director of sport development Steve Ryde  said he’s excited for the event and the players making up the team.

“These kids have worked extremely hard to be named to this team,” he said. “The players that made the teams are in for a great experience both golf wise and life, we know they will represent Golf Saskatchewan to the best of their ability.”

Play begins on Friday, Aug. 16. The WCSG take place every other year.

All the details can be found here.