Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy has set a precedent for teenage men golfers in Saskatchewan.

Nagy, 17, won the 92^nd Junior Men’s Championship, three Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) events and the Junior Lobstick this past season. Combining the Riverside Country Club member’s Order of Merit (OMT) points he won that too with 3,200 points. Nagy said winning the under-19 OMT race was important.

“It was definitely was a goal, I started the year coming in second which was a kick in the butt but after all the tournaments it was a goal and nice to reach,” Nagy said.

Nagy played in seven tournaments that are OMT regulated, by rule players take their top four tournaments plus provincials for their annual title. Nagy admitted he looked towards a title but winning a couple marquee events was overwhelming.

“I wanted to play the big ones, I wish I had played a little better at the Future Links (12^th) but definitely the provincials and the Lobstick were nice to win,” he said.

Nagy’s 3,200 points were over 1,100 more than second place Bradley Moser. Riverside’s Steven Duchscher placed third. The men’s under-19 was the widest spread race of all the championships this season. Despite the facts Nagy disputed the term of being “Saskatchewan’s best golfer under 16.”

“It’s humbling but I can’t think about that. I just go out every day and try to get better,” Nagy said.

You can see the under-19 men’s standings here.

Almost 100 high school golfers will converge on the North Battleford Golf and Country Club Friday and Saturday for the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association provincial championship.

Over 30 schools will be represented in the field of both girls and boys’ divisions. The players contending for the championship qualified through district playdowns hosted across Saskatchewan by regional athletic conferences. Schools can have teams entered or individuals can also compete. A maximum of three boys or three girls can compete as a team.

The tournament gets underway on Friday morning, the champions will be crowned on Saturday.

You can see the complete field here.

A new age group and stiffer competition wasn’t going to deter Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve a second straight junior girls Order of Merit (OMT) title.

Grieve, 15, was the OMT champion last year in the under-15 category, this season she won the under-19 age group. She said a second straight championship was on her mind from the start of the season.

“It definitely was my goal going into the season because I knew I would be playing all the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) events to get as much experience as possible,” Grieve told Golf Saskatchewan. “It was awesome winning the OMT, I worked really hard.”

Grieve played in seven OMT sanctioned tournaments this season, the maximum number of events that can be counted towards the standings is four plus the provincial championship where Grieve tied for third. Despite growing up at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club where her dad is a part-owner Grieve said the tournament was a struggle, but she was happy to earn a position on the national team.

“I worked really hard, I practiced every day for a couple hours going into provincials. It was a grind, but it was worth it,” she said.

Overall, Grieve accumulated 3,025 points led by 1,050 gained at the 68^th Junior Women’s Championship at Moon Lake. She won her age group in the last two MJT events of the season including the Tour Championship in Swift Current.

Grieve was one of four Saskatchewan junior women to play at the Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, British Columbia for the Canadian Junior Girl’s Championship. She said being a part of Team Saskatchewan was a memorable moment in her young career both on and off the course.

“It was so much fun, I love the three girls (Carey McLean, Ella Kozak, Brooklin Fry) I went with, we all had a lot of fun. It was a really great experience because you get to meet so many new people there and play on courses you’ve never played before. The two girls I played with there were so nice and encouraging, it’s nice to see people from other places that are so nice, it was a great experience,” she said.

Grieve is a multi-sport athlete, she is a figure skater year-round while playing golf. She admitted it’s a toss up between the sports most days, but she said a post-secondary golf opportunity is on her radar once the grade 11 student graduates from high school.

You can see the complete under-19 girls OMT standings here.

This weekend, the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club (PAGCC) will celebrate their 50^th anniversary.

Originally opened on Oct. 11, 1968, on Friday and Saturday the half decade history of the facility will be celebrated. Spearheaded by four Prince Albert residents in the 1960’s, the building now houses a 10-sheet curling rink, the proshop for the Cooke Municipal Golf Course, a year-round restaurant, and a lounge. Board secretary Perry Hulowski said the venue and its history are worth honouring.

“We’re probably one of the unique organizations in the province as far as golf and curling as we are under one roof operating with one name. This is a pretty special moment for us,” Hulowski said.

The facility used to operate on a member only basis, but the amenities are now open to the public. The building has rooms that can be rented for meetings and gatherings. Hulowski has been on the board of directors for four years, he said he’s played golf and curled at the venue for approximately 20 years. He said the city is looking forward to the celebration as well.

“A lot of people use the facility and it’s a big part of their life,” he said. “A lot of people retire and want to golf or curl. It’s a great place to meet people, socialize, get some exercise, the PAGCC is a special facility for us.”

On Sept. 21, a less formal event will be held featuring a meet-and-greet and reminiscing social. TSN’s ‘voice of curling’ Vic Rauter will be on hand for the event acting as the emcee. On Saturday the club will host a full-scale banquet. The four originating members of the club will be honoured during the event. Hulowski said they will recognize one of the key contributors with a dedication.

“We’re going to rename our big banquet room in the basement, the Cosmo Room. We’re going to rename it in honour of T. Gordon Thompson. We’re going to honour him, his family, and his grandson will be in attendance,” he said.

Long-time golfer Ron Stewart and curling champion Sherry Anderson will be recognized as part of the festivities. The club will also honour past presidents and provincial champions. Hulowski said the event will be a special weekend in the city.

“We only have one 50^th anniversary so we want to do it right,” he said.

Tickets are available for both nights in advance or you will be able to purchase them at the door. The cost is $20 for Friday’s social, the gala tickets are $100 which includes a catered buffet dinner and silence auction. For tickets or more information call Hulowski at 306.961.9050 or the PAGCC office at 306.765.5201.

The third time is the charm for David Stewart.

The Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member is the 2018 men’s Order of Merit (OMT) champion. Stewart won the tour title in both 2013 and 2015 as well. He said winning the OMT race was a goal of his going into the season.

“I didn’t feel like a had I tonne of ups and downs this season, it was consistently fairly strong,” Stewart told Golf Saskatchewan. “I felt this year I had the ability to be in contention every week which sort of made this year more fun than past years.”

Stewart started the year strong with a win at the Scotia Wealth Open in Nipawin. The long-sought win was worth 500 OMT points. Stewart placed fourth at the Great Western Brewing Saskatoon Amateur collecting 412.5 points. He won the Mine Supply Central gaining another 750 points. He picked up 700 for a third-place finish at the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship and another 700 for his second-place ranking at the provincial Mid-Amateur Championship. He said he was pushed in every event he played this season adding to the victory.

“The strength of the field and the competition has gone up. A lot of the young guys are going to college now and some of the mid-am’s are playing some very good golf and I’m humbled to win the OMT for sure,” he said.

Stewart was 630 points ahead of Roman Timmerman and just under 800 ahead of Kade Johnson, both of those players attend Southern Arkansas University. The 32-year-old said he feels being a leader on the course is as important as winning events.

“If I can help the young guys to play tournaments and stay in competitive golf and give back to the next generation I feel like I’ve done my job,” he said. “I always looked up to my dad, Colin Coben, guys like John Walsh, the list goes on, those were my mentors growing up. I just hope that I can maintain a sense of character and help them strive to take amateur golf past their 20’s.”

Stewart represented Saskatchewan at both the national amateur and mid-amateur championships in British Columbia this year. He said he was able to share the mid-am with his wife who was his caddy and the Victoria Golf Club was a bucket list course. Stewart said he will work to get back to both championships next year and wants to stay competitive on the course.

“Hopefully next year if I can allocate the time I’d like to play both events again and play a full schedule. My goal is to continue to compete among the best golfers in the province and play as long as I can at a high level. I don’t know how many years I have left but I won’t take it for granted that’s for sure,” he said.

You can see the complete men’s OMT rankings here.

The last time Roger Sloan had long hair, he was playing on the PGA Tour.

After a tie for second at Sunday’s Albertsons Boise Open, the native of Meritt, B.C. locked up a return to the top circuit in men’s golf. And, he said, there was a consensus amongst his family it was time to “grow the flow” again.

While the long locks might make a return, Sloan will hope his scorecards have a different look from when he last played on the PGA Tour full time in 2015. He appeared in 20 tournaments but made only seven cuts that year, and has been playing on the feeder Web.com Tour since 2016.

With his tie for second Sunday, Sloan moved to 10th on money list of the Web.com Tour Finals – a four-tournament series where the top 25 earn status on the PGA Tour – and has already secured a promotion with one event left to play.

“It all came together and I was able to play Roger Sloan golf,” Sloan said in a phone interview. “At the end of the day it was a great score and we had a chance to win and we’re walking away with a job promotion. All in all it was a great tournament.”

The 31-year-old will cap his Web.com season when the circuit’s Tour Championship starts Thursday at the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Florida.

The 2018-19 PGA Tour season starts Oct. 4 at the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

Sloan will join fellow British Columbian Adam Svensson, who earned his first PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 of the regular season money list on the Web.com Tour, along with Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners, David Hearn, and Ben Silverman as part of the Canadian contingent on the PGA Tour next season.

Sloan credited the work he’s done with mental coach Paul Dewland and swing coach Jeff Barton as keys for his success this year.

“He’s worked really hard, and that’s what it takes. Everyone gets mystical about the mental game but it’s just habits and skills. You’ve just got to work at it, and has,” said Dewland. “He’s ready for the PGA Tour.”

Sloan’s runner-up result Sunday was his best finish on the Web.com Tour since he won the Nova Scotia Open in 2014. He finished tied for ninth in Boise in 2017 and said the familiarity with the golf course helped him to a near-win.

“You just really have to be patient and tactical. That combination suits me, and how I prep for a golf tournament,” said Sloan. “Boise is also a very similar climate to where I grew up in Meritt, and there are a lot of similarities. Plus Boise is a great city, and my wife and I love being there.”

Sloan and his wife, Casey, welcomed their first child – Leighton Maddox – last September. Her first birthday is September 19, and Sloan said there would be a small celebration this week, followed by a big family party next week to also celebrate his promotion to the PGA Tour.

He said travelling with an infant while playing golf this year was like “throwing a wrench into an engine” in terms of his routine, but said it was an “easy” adjustment to make.

“I got to see first-hand my daughter growing up, whereas the alternative was to see her a few weeks throughout the course of the season. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world,” said Sloan, whose wife and daughter joined him on the road this year.

The trio will continue to travel together this year on the PGA Tour.

“It was a huge upgrade for my wife because there is consistent, quality health care at every event,” said Sloan. “She is more pumped than I am.”

Sloan played one PGA Tour event this summer, the RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Ont. He made the cut and finished tied for 37th.

He said that week he knew he was “good enough” for the next level.

“I didn’t have the greatest week at the Canadian Open but I still was able to have a decent finish,” he said. “That validated the whole processed we’ve devoted ourselves to, and I’m excited for the next several months, and the rest of my career too.”

MARCHAND, SHARP LOCK UP LPGA TOUR STATUS

After Sunday’s final round at The Evian Championship, both Alena Sharp and Brittany Marchand secured LPGA Tour status for 2019.

At the LPGA Tour’s final major of the year, Sharp, of Hamilton, Ont., finished tied for 37th, while Marchand, of Orangeville, Ont., finished tied for 49th.

The top 100 on the money list after Sunday earned LPGA Tour status for next year.

Sharp was 92nd while Marchand, a rookie this year, was 89th.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. is second on the money list and finished tied for 10th at the Evian.

At just 13-years-old, Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry is the 2018 under-15 girls Order of Merit (OMT) champion.

Fry competed in four OMT regulated events this season winning all of them. Three of the tournaments were Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) events, the other was the Saskatchewan Junior Women Championship. Fry has been competing on the MJT for a couple seasons but admits she never expected to win all her competitions at such a young age.

“It definitely did surprise me a bit, I wasn’t aiming to win all the events I entered but it is really awesome,” she said.

She won the under-15 girl’s division at the MJT event in Lloydminster earning 200 OMT points. Her MJT win in North Battleford was also worth 200 points, the MJT tournament she won in Saskatoon was also 200 points. Winning the junior women championship was worth 2000 points on the OMT tour. Fry finished with 1,600 points, 65 more than Yorkton’s Ella Kozak. She said winning the tour race was a special feeling.

“It was really awesome, it was a really good feeling. I was also surprised I won it. I wasn’t aiming to win it, I was just taking the season one shot at a time and working my way up,” Fry said.

Winning the junior championship earned Fry a trip to British Columbia to represent the province at nationals. She said the trip and tournament was a highlight of her summer.

“It was really fun, it was a privilege to represent Saskatchewan there. It was a blast,” she said.

Fry has hung up her clubs for the time being. She will now turn her focus to hockey for the winter. She said she does make trips into Saskatoon to the Golf Dome a couple times over the winter and hopes to do that again. Fry said having such a strong season has her eyeing even more success going forward.

“I can’t wait to see what I can do in the future. I think I have a pretty good future if I continue to work at it,” she said.

You can see all the junior OMT standings here.

Kim Brown is the 2018 champion in the women’s Order of Merit (OMT) standings.

The Saskatoon golfer played four OMT events this past season collecting 2,025 points to claim the title. The Saskatchewan public player held off Lorie Boyle and won by 175 points. She said the OMT championship isn’t her main reason for playing on the tour, but the win is significant to her.

“It’s a nice thing for Golf Saskatchewan to have and recognize participation of players in Saskatchewan. It may not be top of mind I think it’s a really nice gesture and something nice to have,” Brown said.

She started her season with a win at the Prince Albert Ladies’ Northern. Brown was also victorious at the Ladies’ Lobstick in Waskesiu. She said those two events are staples on her summer schedule. She said having her family, including her three-year-old son attend the tournaments with her is special.

“He doesn’t understand anything, he just wants to run on the green and say hi to mom,” she laughed. “We had a nice summer. I’m from Prince Albert so I go back and play that tournament every year and Waskesiu is really close to my heart. I love playing in the Lobstick, I like the match play format so those are two I get to every year.”

Brown collected 500 OMT points for the Prince Albert win, the Lobstick was worth 750. She played in the Saskatoon Ladies’ Open and placed eighth picking up 175 points, her fourth-place finish at the provincial championship earned her 600 points. Brown qualified to attend the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship, but her schedule didn’t allow her to participate. She said looking to next year she hopes to take another swing at qualifying for the national tournament.

“I would love to play in provincials again and if it’s possible I would go to nationals. I definitely check out the dates and look forward to finding out whether I’m able to play in those or not. I consider it every single year and next year will be no different,” she said.

You can see the complete women’s OMT standing here.

Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg entered the 2018 golf season with a list of goals and the Golf Kenosee player accomplished what he set out to do.

Hallberg is fresh of a 22^nd place finish at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship in New Brunswick, plus he is the Saskatchewan senior men’s Order of Merit (OMT) champion for 2018. Hallberg said the OMT win is a nice touch to end a strong season.

“It’s nice to win that yeah, that was a goal of mine was to finish well in the OMT and make the senior team and get to nationals,” Hallberg said.

During the national championship Hallberg was as high as fifth on the leaderboard but dropped down to the 22^nd spot at the end of the event in Bathurst. One hole cost Hallberg several positions on the leaderboard but he was still happy with his placing. He said overall, he feels he can play with the best seniors in Canada.

“Once I got going out there I was playing well and sticking right with those guys. It gives a guy hope for next year that if I go out there and get it going I could win it,” he said.

Hallberg won the Saskatchewan tour with 2,550 points, 450 more than Golf Kenosee counterpart Paul Grimes. Hallberg gathered 600 points for a second-place finish at the Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship, he placed seventh at the Senior Publinx which earned him 200 points. He won the Mercator Financial South West Senior Men’s Championship which was worth 750 points and he picked up 1,000 points for winning the Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Championship on his home course in Kenosee.

After taking a couple years off competitive golf Hallberg said he will look to build off this season and try to improve on his results.

“I definitely want to play lots next summer too and get back to the senior nationals and maybe even take a crack at the mid-amateur nationals next year. I passed up going to the mid-am this year to caddy in the CP Women’s Open but that was another awesome experience,” he said.

You can see the complete OMT standings for the senior men here.

Another championship season has ended for Golf Saskatchewan and the province.

Year in and year out our provincial championships require endless hours of assistance beyond the staff, that’s where our volunteers step up to ensure top quality events across Saskatchewan. Without volunteers, sponsors, and the media telling the stories of our talented golfers none of this would be possible.

On Sept. 16, Golf Saskatchewan held their volunteer, sponsor, and media appreciation day at Harbor Golf Club and Resort in Elbow. The course was the host venue for the 100^th amateur women’s championship and senior women’s provincials earlier this season. Our year essentially launched at the fantastic 18-hole facility on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker and concluded at the same venue with the appreciation day and board meetings.

During the wind-up banquet, long-time volunteer Richard Smith (above) was recognized for his exemplary service to the organization.

From all of us within the province’s governing body of the greatest social game on earth, we say thank you to everyone that gives back and we will see you next summer.