Colby Friedrich’s national junior golf championship experience will continue for a couple more days.

The Battleford product was the lone Saskatchewan representative to make the cut at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship taking place in Medicine Hat, Alta. The 16-year-old shot 77 on day one of the event at the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club. He fired a 73 during the second round climbing to a tie for 61^st place. Friedrich’s plus-8 was right at the cut line of the 156 player field. He will tee-off at 8:58 a.m. Wednesday for round three of four.

A handful of other Saskatchewan golfers didn’t make the final couple days of the championship. Bradley Moser (Saskatoon) shot 14-over (79, 77); Connor Scissons (Saskatoon) shot 77 and 83. Steven Duchscher (Saskatoon) fired back-to-back 80’s, he tied Scissons at plus-18. Josh Nagy (Saskatoon) finished at plus-19 (79, 82) and Deer Valley’s Cole Obrigewitsch was 22-over after shooting a pair of 82 rounds.

Both Friedrich and Nagy still fall under the “juvenile” age category at the championship, the event is for golfers under 19 years of age. Friedrich is tied for 14^th among the age group which is under 17 as of August 1.

You can continue to follow Friedrich’s rounds here.

In June of last year Loon Lake and District Golf and Country Club lost their clubhouse to a fire. One year later the vision of a new facility tucked into Saskatchewan’s northern forest is becoming a reality.

Construction of a new building that will feature a restaurant, lounge, proshop, meeting room, and 85-seat banquet room got underway at the start of July this year. The building is expected to be complete in November. The course located in Makwa Lake Provincial Park has been using a 60-foot trailer as a clubhouse since the blaze destroyed their facility. Proshop manager Heather Schneider said the golf course traffic hasn’t seen a decline but other avenues of revenue have had to come to a standstill.

“We’ve had to put all our tournaments on hold, we don’t have an eating facility,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “Everyone is excited to get the clubhouse up and going and getting back to normal.”

The nine-hole, grass green course features lake front views, a waterfall, bunkers and plenty of trees “with lots of balls in them,” Schneider joked. She said superintendent Mik Carey has done a great job with the course in his over ten years at the club. Schneider said the trailer has had a few challenges, but the shape of the course has outweighed any shortfalls.

“It’s been fine, people have been really cooperative. People have adapted to the situation. The golf has been great, both last year and this year we’ve been busy with golfers,” she said.

Insurance is covering the costs of the new facility allowing the club to move along nicely with the rebuild. Schneider said now that there are walls formed and progress is being made excitement is building among campers and the locals.

“Now that they see the clubhouse come up there is an excitable vibe in the air and people are anxious, but golfing has continued as usual,” she said.

The club expects to have the new facility operational in May of next year.

The ladies representing Team Saskatchewan are in British Columbia for the Canadian Junior Girls Championship that opens Tuesday at the Beach Grove Golf Club.

Provincial champion Brooklin Fry of Shell Lake leads the team along with Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve, Carey McLean of Deer Valley and Yorkton’s Ella Kozazk. Grieve will be first to tee-off, her round begins at 10:28 a.m. Saskatchewan time. Kozak, who has been in B.C. since her appearance at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship will tee-off at 10:39 a.m. 13-year-old Fry will be on the blocks at 10:50 a.m. and McLean has a late tee time, she will start her round at 3:28 p.m.

The team is coached by Steve Ryde.

All four earned their way to nationals through their performance at the provincial junior tournament held July 9 to 11 at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club.

The national event is four rounds and includes an inter-provincial competition as well.

Online scoring for the championship can be found here.

Team Saskatchewan’s six representatives took on the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club Monday for round one of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Battleford’s Colby Friedrich and Connor Scissons of Saskatoon lead the group shooting plus-6, 77. That leaves the pair in a tie for 97^th overall. Bradley Moser and Josh Nagy, both of Saskatoon shot 79 and sit in a tie for 116^th place at plus-8. Steven Duchscher, another Saskatoon golfer carded an 80, he sits in a tie for 130^th. Deer Valley’s Cole Obrigewitsch shot an 82, plus-11, that leaves him in a tie for 139^th.

Friedrich tees off first among the group, he begins his round at 7:33 a.m., Scissons starts the second round at 7:41 a.m. Duchscher hits the course at 1:36 p.m., Obrigewitsch tees off at 2:09 p.m… Moser is due on the blocks at 2:20 p.m., Nagy is 11 minutes later at 2:31 p.m.

Saskatchewan is ranked 10^th in the inter-provincial portion of the championship.

Online scoring for the tournament is available here.

SCOREGolf released their annual top 100 course list last week with just one Saskatchewan club making the list.

Saskatoon’s Riverside Country Club came in at 90 on the list. According to Golf Canada, there are over 2050 18-hole equivalent courses in the nation meaning the clubs on the list are ranked in the top 4.875 percentile. Riverside executive director Jana-Lyn Fairbairn said the course is happy with the distinction.

“It’s definitely an honour, our turf care team worked really hard getting the conditions top notch. There’s not a lot of western representation, especially the prairie provinces, to be one of the courses recognized is definitely an honour,” Fairbairn said.

The list ranking says “the work of Scottish architect Bill Kinnear, Riverside takes advantage of the natural contours of the land on which it was built with rollicking fairways and wonderful green sites making for a fun round. Stunning views of the Saskatchewan River are available on excellent 18th, which was rejigged by Graham Cooke and Wayne Carleton.” Fairbairn said several Riverside features caught the eyes of course raters.

“The course definitely, the views, just the overall experience at the club I think is top notch. Those are all the things that add up to a really great round and a special day when you are here,” she said.

The list is compiled every other year with assistance from professionals, public players, and members of the media. Riverside was number 84 on the list in 2016, in 2014 the private membership course came in at 88. In 2016 Dakota Dunes Golf Links was the only other Saskatchewan course to make the list. Fairbairn said raters have already visited Riverside preparing for the 2020 list. She is optimistic the club will continue to be recognized among the top courses in Canada.

“It’s exciting to still be on the list, it gets harder and harder, there are more and more incredible courses across Canada. The fact we’re still on the list is an honour,” she said.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Mackenzie Hughes buried his face in his hands after his 14-foot putt on the 18th hole slowed to a stop short of the hole by a few inches.

The 27-year-old from Dundas, Ont., finished in a season-high tie for eighth place at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday, and captured the Rivermead Cup as the top Canadian for the second consecutive year.

But that last oh-so-narrow miss on 18 at Glen Abbey was a fitting ending to a week he’d “sniffed” golf greatness, but fallen just short.

“Talking to me right now, I’d say I’m a bit disappointed, just because right at the end there, those par 5s coming in (16 and 18) were both playing downwind, and if you’re out here playing with your buddies, probably birdie them both, but a little tougher in this pressure,” Hughes said.

“Just to kind of get sniffing around the lead here, I know Dustin (Johnson) is a little bit ahead, but if he was to have faltered, and you were to have posted 18 or 19, which wasn’t that out of the question, all of a sudden it looks like a pretty good chance.”

World No. 1 Johnson won the Canadian Open’s final appearance at Glen Abbey, shooting a 66 to go 23 under for the tournament.

Hats off to @MacHughesGolf, who won the Rivermead Cup as the low Canadian at 15 under par ????#RBCCO #OurOpen pic.twitter.com/odPGMUHHVE

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) July 29, 2018

Hughes, with wife Jenna and nine-month-old son Kenton watching on, began the day in a tie for 13th, and climbed up to fifth before a bogey on 15. He recovered with a birdie on 16, prompting a roar from the crowd when his 21-foot putt rolled in.

The Rivermead Cup was the original Canadian Open trophy, awarded to the tournament winner from 1920 to 1935, until Seagram’s took over sponsorship and wanted its own cup.

Hughes’ strong week is great timing with only two events left on the season to secure a PGA Tour card. Needing to finish in the top 125 in the FedExCup standings, he began the week at 174, but was projected to climb 22 spots to No. 152.

But the Canadian, who grew up about half an hour’s drive down the Queen Elizabeth Way from Glen Abbey, said, with the tour card looming, he felt the pressure on every hole.

“A birdie on 18, and every shot coming in really meant a lot because once you get up to that top five, top three kind of echelon, the points really ramp up,” Hughes said. “I kind of sensed that opportunity coming in and maybe got a little bit tight at the end, I don’t leave that putt (on 18) short ordinarily, so that’s just maybe getting a bit tight.

“I’ve got two weeks left . . . next week I can hopefully keep building on it.”

Fans along the course Sunday hollered “Go Leafs go!” at Hughes, a nod partly toward the Maple Leafs jerseys he wore all week walking up to No. 7. Known as “The Rink,” the seventh hole is circled with hockey boards. Officials wear hockey referee sweaters.

“The Rink’s been awesome, it’s a great addition to this tournament, you kind of feel the additional support, the cheers for myself seemed just a hair notched up, which is pretty cool, and not something we experience very often,” Hughes said. “I had some fun there this week with a chip-in and handing out some Leafs jerseys, so all in all it was a fun week on No. 7.”

Calgary’s Ryan Yip (70) finished at 12 under and tied for 22nd. Roger Sloan (68) of Merritt, B.C., finished at 10 under, one shot ahead of Chris Crisologo (69) of Richmond, B.C., Canada’s only amateur to make the cut. David Hearn (72) of Brantford, Ont., finished at 7 under and in a tie for 61st.

It was a rough day for Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., who both finished a 4 under and tied for 71st place. Taylor (77) went into the week ranked No. 127 in the FedExCup standings, and needing to improve two spots by season’s end to maintain his PGA Tour card. But he plummeted 42 spots down the leaderboard Sunday, and finished with a double bogey on No. 18, eliciting a groan from the crowd when he hit the ball into the water.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Dustin Johnson pulled away from the field after a nearly two-hour rain delay to win the RBC Canadian Open for the first time.

Johnson shot a 6-under 66 to finish the only Canadian stop on the PGA TOUR at 23-under par.

The world No. 1 tied for second in the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in 2013 and 2016.

Byeong Hun An (69) and Whee Kim (69) finished as runners up at 20-under in the US$6.2 million event, with Keegan Bradley (64) placing fourth at 19-under.

Mackenzie Hughes (68) of nearby Dundas, Ont., was the low Canadian, tying for eighth at 15 under overall to claim the Rivermead Cup.

A Canadian has not won the national title since Victoria’s Pat Fletcher accomplished the feat in 1954.

Johnson entered the day in a four-way tie for the lead with Kim, Hun An and Kevin Tway but had seven birdies and a bogey to pull away from the group.

A nearby lightning storm delayed play for an hour and 45 minutes and shrunk the massive crowd that usually trails Johnson from hole to hole.

Hamilton Golf and Country Club will host the 2019 RBC Canadian Open. It is also shifting forward in the PGA TOUR’s schedule, moving to early June in the week before the U.S. Open.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – No. 7 at Glen Abbey Golf Club has become the featured hole at the RBC Canadian Open the past two years. With hockey boards surrounding the tee, goalie masks being used as tee blocks, and officials wearing referees’ stripes, it’s a distinctly Canadian experience.

But with the RBC Canadian Open moving to Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2019 and Glen Abbey possibly slated for redevelopment by course owner ClubLink, there were questions about the fate of the so-called Rink.

“The rink is on wheels, the rink’s going to go where we go,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum on Sunday. “The rink’s going to move with us. We’ve already got those officials from that hole, they want to go with it. The players love it.”

In particular, Applebaum loves how fans pound their fists on the boards after players tee off. Although it caused some confusion among players in 2017 when the Rink was first unveiled, they’re now on board with it too.

“Bring the noise, bring the thunder,” said Applebaum from the media centre in the bowels of Glen Abbey’s clubhouse.

Glen Abbey was the first course designed solely by golf legend Jack Nicklaus and was completed in 1976. It’s become the home of Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, which holds its induction ceremony the same week as the Canadian Open, as long as the tournament is being held at Glen Abbey that year.

Applebaum thinks this year’s RBC Canadian Open – which saw a four-way tie atop the leaderboard between world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Whee Kim, Byeong Hun An and Kevin Tway heading into the fourth round – is the perfect sendoff for the storied course.

“Beer sales are up, food sales are up, merchandise sales are up and attendance will be up,” said Applebaum, who predicted that total attendance for the week would be over 80,000. “For me, it’s a win across the board. Spectacular.”

Hamilton will host the 2019 and 2023 events, with Applebaum believing the host for 2020 will be announced within the next two or three months. His intention is to keep the men’s national championship in the Greater Toronto Area, while the CP Women’s Open will continue to move back and forth across the country.

In addition to changing locations, the RBC Canadian Open will occupy a new spot on the PGA TOUR’s calendar beginning in 2019.

Historically, the RBC Canadian Open was held in September, but starting in 2007 it was played in late July, the prime golf season. But starting in 2019 it will be held in early June, the week before the U.S. Open, essentially turning it into a tune-up event for some of the biggest names in golf.

“The guys that have traditionally played our event seem like they will continue, but all the new people that haven’t played in the past, are talking about it,” said Applebaum. “The Phil Mickelsons, the Rory McIlroys, the Rickie Fowlers, it’s great to have that grouping of players who haven’t played it.”

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Stephen Ames was in the top three after all four rounds this week at The Senior Open presented by Rolex, including T1 after 36 holes. He carded a final-round 69 and finished T3, his best finish and third top-10 in a senior major.

Miguel Angel Jimenez became the first Spaniard to win The Senior Open presented by Rolex on Sunday, edging defending champion Bernhard Langer by one shot.

Jimenez dropped only one stroke en route to a final round 3-under 69 and ended on 12-under 276 at the historic Old Course.

Jimenez was following in famous footsteps as the second Spaniard to win at St. Andrews after Seve Ballesteros won The Open in 1984.

“This is the place where everyone wants to win and the place where Seve won his second British Open,” Jimenez said. “It has always been my ambition to win here. It feels like I am part of history.”

The 54-year-old Jimenez played the sort of round every professional golfer dreams of on the final day at St. Andrews, and often in unpleasant — occasionally vicious — weather conditions.

Langer shot a 68 to come second.

Americans Kirk Triplett (69) and Scott McCarron (68) tied for third alongside Canada’s Stephen Ames (69). All three finished on 10 under.

Jimenez won the Regions Tradition in May, holding off a hard-charging Steve Stricker for his first senior major title.

On Sunday, in the immediate aftermath of his second major title of the year, the self-styled “most interesting man in golf” played down his celebrations but the prolonged raising of his arms was evidence enough of his delight.

And relief. Only by making a vital nine-foot putt for par on the penultimate green had Jimenez held onto his overnight lead.

“I didn’t play too good over the last few holes,” Jimenez said. “I didn’t hit many solid shots. And I missed short putts on both the 14th and 15th. At that stage I was feeling the stress. My heart was really pumping very fast.”

In search of a fourth victory in this event, Langer had cause to regret a couple of lapses, most notably the three-putts he needed to complete the par-4 13th hole. It was his only bogey of the day, but it was enough to give Jimenez a three-shot edge that proved just too much to overcome.

“Miguel played an awesome four days of golf, and he’s a very well-deserved winner,” said Langer, who closed with a 4-under 68. “I was pretty happy overall. It wasn’t easy in some of the conditions that we had.”

The leaders made their share of mistakes down the stretch into a diminishing wind but their problems were nothing compared with earlier in the day. At its height, the wind and rain transformed the back-nine into a succession of par-5s. Despite the late improvement in the conditions, the 72-man field was a collective 136-over par.

Former Australian Open champion Peter Fowler – not exactly the shortest hitter in the field – was short of the 465-yard 13th after a good drive and full-blooded 3-wood. Even worse, two holes later he was unable to reach the fairway on the 455-yard 15th with his best drive. Around three hours later, Jimenez comfortably found both greens with mid-irons.

There was ultimate disappointment for Tom Watson. Playing what could be his final competitive round at St. Andrews, the 68-year old American — five times a British Open champion and three-times a winner of this event — had a closing 77 that left him in a lowly tie for 21st place at 1 under.

Watson was still afforded a rousing send-off.

“As ever, the fans were really very good to me,” Watson said. “I gave it right back to them. I appreciate what they do for me. This is a unique setting in golf, probably the most unique. You come into the town on the last hole and finish amongst all the buildings with the people hanging over the rail up there. There’s no other place like it.”

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Yealimi Noh shot even par 71 to capture the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup at the 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship on Friday at Marine Drive.

It was another beautiful sunny day and Noh carded a single birdie and a single bogey to shoot her only round in the 70s.

Noh and Dylan Kim duked it out all day. Noh made the turn even after recording her only birdie and only bogey and Kim made the turn also firing a birdie and bogey but still sat one shot ahead.

It wasn’t until Kim bogeyed hole 11 where the duo sat tied through the next 6 holes.

Coming up to the 18th tee the two sat tied at even par. Kim pulled her tee off to the left in the rough and hit her second shot fat and it landed only about 20 or 30 yards ahead, that’s when Noh knew she had a chance to take the lead and decided to change her club.

“I changed clubs, I was about to hit the yardage but then I just wanted to be safe and I’m just going to hit it on the green. I clubbed up and just hit a short shot, I was just going for the green,” said the 17-year-old.

Noh hit her ball off the fairway on to the left of the green and successfully pared the hole where Kim bogeyed it.

“I didn’t think at the beginning of the day I would win. I thought I would shoot at least a couple under, because there was also the other group in front of us. I never try to let my guard down. I think coming through 16, 17, 18 I wasn’t really thinking about it, just wanted to get through each hole.” said Noh.

Just this month Noh has won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and the Girl’s Junior PGA Championship, as well as celebrated her 17th birthday on July 26.

“This month has been a whirlwind, the beginning of the year I set my goals for the three this month and this summer, since I’m not playing as much this summer,” said the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion. “The biggest goal of mine was to win, well, all of them, but I didn’t think I would win all of them. I would have been really happy to just win one out of three. Winning three in a row is just crazy.”

Kim finished 2-over for the day and a total score of 10-under 274 for the tournament. The 21-year-old from Sachse, Tex. took home the silver medal as well as the Marlene Stewart Streit trophy which, after almost 15 years, was reinstated this year.

Tiffany Kong remained the low scoring Canadian. She finished the tournament 2-over 286 with a share of 14. The Vancouver B.C. native has earned exemption into this year’s CP Women’s Open in August.

Kong is excited at opportunity to play this year at the CP Women’s Open and feels better equipped to play this year than she did three years ago, at age 14, when she played in the CP Women’s Open at Vancouver Golf Club.

“Well, three years ago I was hitting decent for my age but compared to the pros I was like 60 yards behind — hi, I’m way back here.  I had to hit 3-woods onto some greens. There were some holes where I couldn’t even reach it with a 3-wood. So now I think I have a better chance of playing better.” said Kong.

Three players walked away with a share of third after carding 9-under 275: Lilia Kha-Tu Vu from Fountain Valley, Calif., Allisen Corpuz from Waipahu, HI. and Gina Kim from Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noh’s victory earns her an exemption into both the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.