Prince Albert’s Bobbi Brandon feels she can do more in her second round of the CP Women’s Open at the Wascana Country Club in Regina.

The Moon Lake Golf and Country Club professional qualified for her second career LPGA event on Monday at the Royal Regina Golf Club. She said just getting a chance to play in her first tour event since 1998 was special.

“I was super excited,” she told Golf Saskatchewan after round one at the Wascana. “It looked more and more possible as the numbers got lower. I have been working on my game leading up to the qualifier and I knew if I put something solid together I knew I’d have a chance.”

Brandon teed off in one the early groups on day one of the 72-hole event playing with Jessy Tang and Jackie Stoelting. Stoelting’s caddy is the 2018 Saskatchewan senior men’s champion Rick Hallberg. Brandon said she wasn’t jittery ahead of the round but did have trouble finding the fairway.

“It was nice seeing a lot of familiar faces, I wasn’t actually that nervous either which was good. I just couldn’t get it going, I struggled off the tee which was unfortunate because my swing felt pretty good. I’m not happy with the score and maybe tomorrow I can fix the kinks and put something together that will feel better,” she said.

Brandon shot an 11-over, 83. As of press time she was sitting 100^th overall. Making Friday’s cut will be a challenge, but she said there are still positives to take out of the experience.

“I know I have a good score in me, I want to see what I can shoot on this course. It’s been super fun, and everyone’s been super supportive. I appreciate it,” she said.

Brandon will tee off for round two Friday at 12:37 p.m. with the same two players.

Saskatchewan will have five players stick through cut down day at the Canadian Mid-Master Championship including Travis Fifi who sits in fifth place halfway through the event.

Fifi shot a stellar 3-under, 67 on Wednesday allowing the Regina product to climb to fifth on the leaderboard at 1-under par. Fifi only carded one bogey during the round to go along with four birdies including holes one and two.

Joining Fifi for rounds three and four will be Mike Herperger, Brett Henry, Shaun Dunphy, and Shawn McNall. Herperger, the Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion bounced back from a 5-over, 75 on Tuesday with a 71 to sit at plus-6. He’s in a tie for 33^rd place. Prince Albert’s Henry is also in 33^rd after carding his second straight 3-over, 73.

Dunphy and McNall are in a logjam at 58^th, both are 9-over par, one stroke ahead of the cut line. McNall was even on Wednesday, Dunphy shot 2-over.

Dave Stewart posted an 11-over, 81, the Saskatoon product finished at plus-13. Colin Coben finished at plus-15, Mitchell Matichuk is 16-over. Brad Phelps will finish the tournament at plus-17, Ken Rodgers was 18-over. Scott Thompson shot his second straight 81 to finish at plus-22, Taylor Afseth was plus-31, and Jason Mohr carded a 10-over, 80 to finish the event at plus-25.

In the inter-provincial competition Saskatchewan finished in sixth place at plus-17.

Scorecards and Thursday’s tee times can be found here.

On the eve of the CP Women’s Open at Regina’s Wascana Country Club, Golf Canada’s boss is expecting a fantastic event.

Laurence Applebaum is nearing the one-year mark of his tenure as the chief executive officer for Golf Canada and his second LPGA event in the country. Applebaum was in the position last year when the tournament was held in Ottawa. He said Wednesday during a media conference alongside LPGA commissioner Mike Whan at the Wascana Country Club that expectations are high for the first ever event in Saskatchewan.

“It’s obviously Wednesday of this year, but I already feel all of our metrics for the CP Women’s event 2018 is going to exceed. It’ll be a record on many, many fronts here, so I’m excited about this week. I’m excited about 16 Canadians in the field. I’m excited about our prospects for a great weekend,” Applebaum said.

Among the 16 Canadians in the field are Saskatoon’s Anna Young who was exempted into the event via a sponsorship. Moon Lake Golf and Country Club professional Bobbi Brandon got in through the Monday qualifier at the Royal Regina Golf Club. Young is making her debut, Brandon played an LPGA event in 1998. Applebaum was part of a media day event in early June. At that time the Wascana was facing some challenges but Applebaum said the grounds crew and staff have worked tirelessly to get the course into ready shape.

“The CEO and general manager, Greg Dukart, is here. Just what his team has been able to do in the last 60 days in a challenging. It’s a challenging weather environment and a challenging summer, they’ve put their hearts and their minds, and they’ve put their resources into making this a great event,” he said.

Brandon will tee off at 7:22 a.m. in a group with Jesse Tang and Jackie Stoelting. Young is playing in a group with fellow Canadian Brittany Marchand and Daniela Iacobelli, they will tee off on hole 10 at 12:15 p.m.

Regina’s Travis Fifi and Saskatoon product David Stewart are the low shooters for local golfers on day one of the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship in Victoria, B.C.

Fifi and Stewart both shot opening round scores of 72 leaving them in a tie for 23^rd. Prince Albert’s Brett Henry sits in a tie for 39^th position at plus-3. Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion Mike Herperger of Humboldt is in a tie for 63^rd place after carding a 5-over, 76.

Colin Coben is in 81^st place after firing a six-over, 76, that leaves the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Famer in a tie for 23^rd in the mid-master (40 +) division.

Shaun Dunphy, Brad Phelps, and Mitchell Matichuk are all in a log-jam at plus-7, they are in 90^th place. Phelps also qualifies in the mid-master division, he is tied for 30^th.

Ken Rodgers fired an 11-over, 81, the Regina golfer is in a tie for 135^th, in the mid-masters he’s 44^th.

Shawn McNall is tied for 117^th at plus-9, Scott Thompson is in a tie for 135^th at plus-11. Jason Mohr and Taylor Afseth both shot 85, their 15-over leaves them in a tie for 151^st.

Saskatchewan sits in sixth place in the inter-provincial competition.

Online scoring and Wednesday’s tee times are available here.

Saskatoon’s Anna Young is ready for her “dream to come true.”

The five-time Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s champion is preparing to play in her first ever LPGA event, fittingly in her home province. Young, 24, received a sponsorship exemption into the CP Women’s Open earlier this season. Speaking at a media conference Tuesday at the Wascana Country Club, she said the event is a moment she’s been waiting a long time for.

“It’s pretty awesome, I am so excited to be here. My first LPGA event in my home province, this is a dream come true,” Young said.

She won her last provincial amateur event in 2015, following her amateur career she turned professional and currently plays on the Symetra Tour in the central United States. She has two professional wins on her resume. Young said she is familiar with the Wascana course growing up in Saskatchewan but seeing the club set up for a Tour event is neat.

“I am so excited to be here, it’s really cool to see the stands and everything. I’ve come up a couple times to play the course and familiarize myself. It’s really cool to see it as normal and now there is stuff everywhere, it’s really cool,” she said.

Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart is caddying for Young during the event. The two became good friends in their early teens playing junior golf events together in Saskatchewan. Klughart is missing the Canadian Mid-Amateur Men’s Championship this week to honour a long-time pact between the two.

“We would travel to tournaments, our parents were friends, so we travelled together,” Young said. “We became pretty good friends and I always joked that he was going to caddy for me at my first LPGA event and now he is.”

Young will play in the Pro-Am on Wednesday teeing off at 10:30 a.m. The first round of the tournament begins Thursday morning. She said she’s looking forward to testing her game against the world’s best.

“When I was a junior I played in women’s events, when I was an amateur I played pro events. I jumped one step ahead just to try and get ready. It’s nice I will finally get a chance to compare my game to the best in the world and see how close and how far I am and what needs to be better,” she said.

Young hopes her Saskatchewan roots are beneficial, she said the wind can cause some players some trouble. She hopes that’s an advantage through out the week. She said whatever her result is in the Open, she’s thankful her debut is in her home province.

“Saskatchewan is a very supportive province, I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and tell me they are rooting for me,” she said.

You can hear Young’s complete media conference audio below.

Wascana Country Club superintendent Chad Fawcett is being honoured for his work ahead of the 2018 CP Women’s Open.

On Tuesday, Fawcett was presented with the National Tournament Recognition Award. The 33-year-old has supervised the grounds crew for four seasons in Regina. He said receiving the award was a nice touch.

“It’s pretty special,” he told reporters at the CP Women’s Open media centre. “A lot of work has gone into this. This year in particular with the tough year we’ve had, it hasn’t been the easiest year to grow grass. To host an event like this makes me and my staff feel pretty proud.”

Fawcett oversees a crew of 17 seasonal staff and five full-time, year-round employees. This week he will utilize approximately 10 volunteers. The crew does have experience hosting marquee events, last year the Canadian Mid-Amateur Men’s Championship was held at the Wascana. Fawcett said the course will play similar.

“The rough got a little longer this year just because mainly we had a little more precipitation. A little more fertilizer went on the golf course this year just to spruce it up a bit. Playing conditions will be similar, the greens should be the same firmness as last year,” Fawcett said.

The CP Women’s Open features 89 of the top 100 golfers on the LPGA Tour and will be broadcasted in over 200 countries. The course could be showcased to upwards of one billion viewers. Fawcett said having the Wascana featured throughout the week is exciting to him and the entire staff.

“it’s going to be pretty amazing to everyone. We don’t know what to expect when we see it on television. The golf course itself is different from what you see on tv on a weekly basis. I don’t think there is very many golf courses like this one,” he said.

Tuesday featured the player’s practice round. The second Pro-Am will take place on Wednesday. The tournament will start Thursday morning with the champion being crowned on Sunday afternoon.

REGINA, Sask. (Golf Canada) – Saskatoon native Bobbi Brandon was one of four golfers to claim the final exemptions into the 2018 CP Women’s Open via Monday’s qualifying event at Royal Regina Golf Club.

Brandon, a PGA of Canada Professional who works out of Moon Lake Golf & Country Club, carded a 2-over-par 74 to sit T2 among the 11-player field. This will be Brandon’s second appearance at the CP Women’s Open. She competed in Canada’s National Women’s Open in 1998 at Essex Golf and Country Club in Windsor, Ont., where she missed the cut.

Sweden’s Louise Stahle fired a 2-under par 70 to earn medalist honours.

American Jennifer Hahn (74) and Japanese amateur Kasumi Kuniyoshi (76) earned the final two spots.

Brandon will be the 16^th Canadian in the field at the CP Women’s Open. All are trying to become the first Canadian to win an LPGA Tour event on Canadian soil since Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member Jocelyne Bourassa won La Canadienne in 1973.

Click here for full scores from 2018 CP Women’s Open Final Qualifying at Royal Regina Golf Club.

REGINA – Canadian golfer Alena Sharp will be supporting the Humboldt Broncos this week.

The LPGA Tour veteran has a special golf bag and towel this week for the CN Canadian Women’s Open, featuring the Broncos’ logo.

Sixteen people were killed after the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team’s bus collided with a transport truck in April.

The Hamilton golfer said she’ll donate the bag to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatchewan after the event.

Excited to show my support for @HumboldtBroncos and @theSJHL with my new bag for the week @cpwomensopen ! This tragedy really hit home as it did for so many. I will be donating my bag to @PattisonKids after this week. Thanks @rbc for teaming up on this and Ken Hill @jukasaradio pic.twitter.com/LuwCQArcq4

— Alena Sharp (@AlenaSharp) August 21, 2018

Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy is the 2018 Junior Lobstick champion.

Nagy, 16, defeated four other players during the match-play event at Waskesiu Golf Course from Aug. 13 to 17. On day one, the Saskatoon product downed Cole Jenkins. He outshot Mikhail Tait during the second round of the event. Nagy outlasted Alex Swinnerton in round three setting up a championship showdown with Bradley Moser. Nagy and Moser finished one-two at the provincial junior championships earlier this season at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club with Nagy edging Moser by a stroke. He got the best of his Saskatoon counterpart at the Lobstick as well taking the championship match.

Jenkins was the championship flight consolation winner.

You can see all the Junior Lobstick bracket results here.

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak was the runaway winner in the under-15 girls age group at the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) PGA of Manitoba Junior Championship event late last week.

Kozak, 12, fired a two-round total of 157 (78, 79) in Winnipeg on Aug. 16 and 17 winning her age group by 36 strokes over another young Saskatchewan golfer, Regina’s Autumn Neiszner. The 14-year-old carded a 93 during round one, she shot 100 on day two.

Kozak’s first round featured her first ever hole-in-one.

Two other Saskatchewan golfers were in the field of 67, spread out among seven different age groups. Regina’s Joshua Babcock fired a 159 (81, 80) to finish third in the juvenile boy’s division. Parker Mymyyk of Regina Beach placed 19^th in the same category with a score of 179 (92, 87).

On Aug. 25 and 26 the Elmwood Golf Club will host the Ford Series/Golf Saskatchewan Order of Merit Championship.