The golf season in Saskatchewan is winding down but the Order of Merit (OMT) final standings are still unclear.

The men’s race is led by Saskatoon’s David Stewart. The two-time tour winner this year is leading the championship with 2,962.5 points. Stewart likely has the inside track to the title for 2018, Roman Timmerman and Kade Johnson sit second and third in the race with a pair of events left this upcoming weekend. Stewart has breathing room as both Timmerman and Johnson will be returning to Southern Arkansas University this week and won’t be playing either the Molson’s Northwest Amateur or Moose Mountain Classic. Stewart’s closest challenge is Saskatchewan’s mid-amateur champion Mike Herperger who sits fifth with 1,925 points but he won’t be entered into either event. Carson Harcourt will have a chance to put pressure on Stewart and climb over Timmerman and Johnson, Harcourt will play the Moose Mountain Classic at his home course before heading to the United States for university. The top ten in the race will likely remain the same pending any movement from outside the top ten. Liam Courtney could make a charge to climb from the sixth position, he is the lone golfer not playing college or attending the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship later this week in Victoria, B.C. in the top ten. Prince Albert’s Danny Kluhgart is in seventh and qualified for the mid-am as well but has chosen to caddy for Saskatoon’s Anna Young at the upcoming CP Women’s Open in Regina.

The women’s race is much blurrier. The Moose Mountain Classic in Kenosee is Aug. 18 and 19, the Ladies Lobstick in Waskesiu is Aug. 20 to 24 allowing lots of points to be collected. Lorie Boyle leads the championship with 1,850 points, Saskatchewan champion Carla Odnokon is in second place with 1,500. Ann Kirkland is in third with 1,300. Kimberly Brown is in the hunt at fourth with 1,275, Judy Sefton rounds out the top five with 1,162.5.

On the senior men’s circuit, three events remain including today’s Legends Senior Open in Warman. Sasktchewan’s senior champion, Rick Hallberg has a solid lead over fellow Golf Kenosee member Paul Grimes. Hallberg has 2,550 points, 800 more than Grimes. Hall of Famer Colin Coben is in third place with 1,450 points. Keith Silvernagle sits fourth with 1,356,25 and Estevan’s Patrick Murphy sits fifth at 1,237.5. Aside from the Legends Open the seniors have the Moose Mountain Classic and Prince Albert Senior Men’s Northern Championship.

The junior OMT standings are broken up into five different age and gender categories. Their tour still has two events remaining. The Pepsi Junior Men’s Lobstick begins today and continues until Aug. 17. The Junior Girl’s Lobstick coincides with the women’s event from Aug. 20 to 24. The tour’s final event is the Maple Leaf Junior Tour Championship in Swift Current on Aug. 25 and 26.

Saskatchewan junior boy’s champion Josh Nagy leads the under-19 men’s category. Sarah Grieve sits on top of the under-19 women’s race. Will Blake is in first place in the under-15 age group and Darien Herlick is on top of the under-13 men’s standings. In the under-15 women’s race, junior champion Brooklin Fry leads with 1,600 points.

All of the standings, results, and schedules can be found here.

Several non-profit organizations are going to benefit from the CP Women’s Open later this month in Regina, one of those is Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.

The organization will operate a concession tent near the 13^th green at the LPGA tournament that runs from Aug. 20 – 26. Development coordinator Carol-Lynne Quintin told Golf Saskatchewan this week more about their work around the illness.

“We’re a small organization that relies on our volunteers to help us run events like this opportunity at the CP Women’s Open,” she said. “We are also the second largest funding agent for research dedicated to inflammatory bowel disease worldwide.”

The group is still looking for about 40 volunteers for the five days they will operate the booth. The organization will see 10 percent of the proceeds. Quintin said they have various duties available.

“We’re looking for people to work shifts between 2.5 hours to 4.5 hours. There will be a bar-b-cue concession as well as selling adult beverages, and pop,” she said.

Anyone who volunteers will receive a day pass to watch the event at the Wascana Country Club. Quintin said the opportunity will pose other benefits for volunteers.

“We’ve got some people coming from Moosomin and Saskatoon, and all over the province to work with us so it will be a great chance to meet other people. Not just in the golf community but in the Crohn’s and Colitis community too and other volunteers too,” she said.

Anyone interested can contact Quintin at 1-844-664-4420 or email clquintin@crohnsandcolitis.ca

Yorkton’s Kade Johnson and Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy are happy with their performances at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in Duncan, B.C.

The pair were the lone Saskatchewan representatives to make the cut at the event that featured a field of over 250 golfers. Johnson, the Saskatchewan champion, was the top golfer of the nine that participated from the province. Johnson, 19, finished in a tie for 56^th at plus-5. He said overall the tournament was a fantastic experience.

“I feel good, I had a tough day Thursday with the last round (plus-5) but overall it was a really great week. I was able to take a lot of positives out of this week, so I was happy with that,” he said.

The Deer Park Golf Course player opened his tournament with a 73 in round one, he fired a 71 during the second round securing a position below the cutline. Johnson put his best round together on the third day shooting a 67, that elevated him to 20^th on the leaderboard going into the final round where he shot 76 for a four-round total of 287. He said the score reflects where his game is at, among the best in the nation.

“It was a great experience, it shows I can play with the better players in the country and the United States. A lot of these players, especially the last couple days are the top guys and I know I can compete with them. It is a big confidence boost, it feels good,” he said.

The highlight of the tournament likely came during round one at the Duncan Meadows Golf Course when Johnson aced hole seven for his second career hole-in-one. He said having it come on the national stage was a nice feeling.

“It was straight up hill, you can’t see the green from the tee box, but I knew it was good and the club I hit I knew I wasn’t going to be long,” he said. “When I walked up there and didn’t see my ball I saw the pitch mark close to the hole I knew it had to be in. It looked really good, it was awesome. This was a pretty good time to do it.”

Johnson’s stellar season in Saskatchewan is complete, he will head back to Southern Arkansas University on Wednesday for his third college season.

Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member Dunphy is also pleased with how the national amateur played out for him. He finished in 71^st place at plus-17. He said accomplishing his goal of sticking around for all four days was meaningful.

“I feel great, I’m pretty excited to make the cut and competing. I wish the past couple days could have gone better but I’m still happy. This is a difficult tournament to make the cut so I guess it’s an accomplishment to do that,” he said.

Dunphy, 30, was the top Saskatchewan golfer after round one when he shot a 69. That was followed by back-to-back 76’s. He finished with an 80 in round four. Attending his seventh national championship between amateurs and mid-amateurs Dunphy said he’s proud of all the Saskatchewan golfers.

“The crew of Saskatchewan guys is great, it’s nice to hang out with everybody and play practice rounds together. We are a pretty tight knit group, we have a group chat where we talk and try to keep everybody positive. We just want to see as many guys do as well as possible,” he said.

Dunphy will now turn his focus to the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship later this month in Victoria, B.C. He will be one of 13 Saskatchewan representatives. He said he’s confident going into the event.

“The game feels great; the putter went a little cold the last couple days but a lot of positives going into Victoria. I’m really excited, we have a great group going out there,” he said.

Ty Campbell, Justin Wood, David Stewart, Roman Timmerman, Mike Herperger, Liam Courtney, and Keighton McNab all represented the province in Duncan. Team Sask. finished in fifth place in the inter-provincial competition that occurs over the first two days of the tournament.

You can hear more from Johnson and Dunphy below who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork before flying home from B.C.

An inaugural event focused on empowering women in the workplace that will coincide with the CP Women’s Open is nearing a sell out.

The event will take place at Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina on Aug. 21. The LPGA tournament is taking place from Aug. 20 to 26 at the Wascana Country Club. Golf Canada assistant tournament director, Mary Beth McKenna said the idea of the summit is to use the sport to enhance diversification both on and off the course.

“Golf Canada is looking into furthering diversity and inclusion within the game of golf and expanding the outreach outside of the game,” she said. “This is a really good time, we can use the CP Women’s Open as a platform.”

Saskatchewan product Hayley Wickenheiser will be the keynote speaker at the event. From Shaunavon, Wickenheiser is one of the most decorated Canadian Olympians in history winning four gold medals and a silver playing for the national women’s hockey team. McKenna said the hockey star is a perfect fit for the summit.

“We are thrilled that she has come on board. She is going to give a lot of great insights into her career path. Not in the business world but there is a lot of key correlations, things she has dealt with and gone through in a male dominated sport and being a pioneer in the women’s game,” McKenna said.

The summit features more than just sport stars, the panel of guests varies across the board. Sportsnet’s Evanka Osmak will be the host, she has a degree in engineering to go along with a sparkling broadcasting career. RBC brand marketing senior director Shannon Cole; vice president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizer for CP Joan Hardy; general manager at adidas Golf Canada Lesley Hawkins; LPGA professional Lorrie Kane; and Dr. Andrea Lavoie, an interventional cardiologist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority will join the panel. McKenna said the group has been well received since the event was announced.

“The response has been incredible. I think everyone is excited for this inaugural event. Our table sales have been going well, there is still a few available but people are really excited to see this diverse group of speakers,” she said.

A portion of the proceeds of the event will benefit the CP Has a Heart initiative.

For more details and to purchase tickets visit the CP Women’s Open website.

You can hear more McKenna who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork on Thursday.

The team of Marie Wachno and Sheila Popowich are the champions of the 48^th Rosebowl that wrapped up at Hidden Hills of Shellbrook on Thursday.

The team from the Wynyard Golf Club held off Linda Sokul and Cheryl Lawrence (pictured below) over the two-day, 36-hole event. Wachno and Popowich finished at 28-under, 116 just two strokes ahead of Lawrence and Sokul.

Beryl Robinson and Donna McNaughton (below) finished in third place at minus-25.

Doreen Emmerson and Dawn Dunlap (below) won the prize for the most honest team.

The Rosebowl is a 36-hole net stroke play two ball better ball event for women golfers. To be eligible golfers must have a minimum handicap of 19. Players play their own ball and the better net score is what the team posts for the hole.

The complete leaderboard can be seen here.

A showdown between two friends ended up deciding the Moose Jaw Men’s Golf City Championship.

Trevor Benson edged Nick Lepine in a three-hole sudden death playoff at the Hillcrest Golf Club on Sunday to capture his second city title.

“It feels good, I feel like it would have been a lot different if I wasn’t playing Nick in the playoff, the nerves probably would have been there a bit more, but it definitely feels good,” said Benson.

Benson and Lepine are good friends off the course and have played plenty of rounds together on the course, which gave both golfers an extra feel of comfort heading into the playoff.

“Nick’s my best friend, so it was like we were just out playing,” said Benson. “We were kind of back-and-forth all day and we both didn’t finish the way that we wanted to, but with five holes left, we were like, ‘This is our time, we’re finally going head-to-head,’ and it’s too bad he missed that putt on the last hole, but it was fun.”

Lepine credits Benson with getting him into golf and added that it was a fun experience to battle his friend in a playoff.

“I never really golfed until I started golfing with Trevor, so even to be able to play in a playoff with Trevor is pretty cool, at this caliber too, it’s not just a Sunday or weekend round, it’s a tournament that means something, so it was pretty cool,” said Lepine.

Lepine had a few chances to close out the title, he put his tee shot tight on the 128-yard, par-three second hole, but had to settle for a two-putt par.

On the third playoff hole, the 513-yard, par-five third hole, Benson hit his tee shot behind some trees and had to chip out before flying his wedge shot over the green. Benson was able to finesse his chip in tight to recover and make a par.

Lepine had his chip from beside the green come up short and then he missed his par putt to give Benson the title.

“The missed putt on three and I had that putt for birdie on the second playoff hole, it just wasn’t my day,” said Lepine. “The last five holes, we were back-and-forth and the same thing in the playoff, it could have gone either way.”

Benson, Lepine, Chris Knopp and Bill McLean were just one shot off the lead heading in the final round. Tyler Muench held the solo lead after firing an opening round 68 at the Lynbrook Golf Club on Saturday. Knopp had the shot of the first round when he aced the par-three, 159-yard fifth hole at the Lynbrook.

The second round started on the right foot for Benson, but he cooled off on the back-nine to finish with a one-under 70, which had him level with Lepine, who also came in at one-under 70 on Sunday.

“The first hole I made an eagle, so I kind of got things rolling quick. I was three-under through three, but then I made a couple of bad bogeys,” said Benson.

“I haven’t golfed a ton this year, so the expectations weren’t really there, today was my tenth round of the year, but I just kept it in the middle and putted really good. My chipping was atrocious all day, even in the playoff until that last one.”

Muench fired a one-over 72 on Sunday to finish just one shot out of the playoff.

Knopp shot a two-over 73 and ended up three shots back in fourth place, while McLean posted an 80 on Sunday to end up ten shots behind Benson and Lepine.

Story and photo courtesy Marc Smith, www.discovermoosejaw.com

Yorkton’s Kade Johnson continues to move up the leaderboard at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Johnson, 19, was essentially perfect during round three of the event until he bogeyed hole 16 before carding a birdie on 17. The Deer Park member stroked five birdies on the day and just the lone one-over hole on route to a tidy 67, 4-under par. Johnson is now in a tie for 20^th at the event in Duncan, B. C. He will tee off for the fourth and final round at 9:14 a.m. Saskatchewan time on Thursday.

Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy also made the cut on Tuesday, he fired a plus-5, 76 on Wednesday. Dunphy currently sits in a tie for 68^th place. He begins his final round at 10:31 a.m. Saskatchewan time.

Defending champion Zach Bauchou continues to lead at minus-13.

The leaderboard is available online here.

The 48^th annual Rosebowl began Wednesday at Hidden Hills of Shellbrook with the team of Marie Wachno and Sheila Popowich taking the first-round lead. The Wynyard, Sask. pair sits at minus-14.

The team of Cheryl Lawrence and Linda Sokul are tied for second place at minus-12 along with the pairing of Beryl Robinson and Donna McNaughton. Marg Adair and Bev Langton sit in fourth place at minus-10. Rounding out the top five is the team of Patricia Pratt and Carol Walsh.

The Rosebowl is a 36-hole net stroke play two ball better ball event for women golfers. To be eligible must have a minimum handicap of 19 to be able to participate. Players play their own ball and the better net score is what the team posts for the hole.

The second and final round begins at 9 a.m. Thursday. You can see the complete leaderboard here.

CTV Saskatoon took some time earlier this month to profile youth golf and the Wildwood Golf Course.

During the Aug. 1 episode of 9 Holes of Summer with CTV personality Mike Ciona, Tim and Brody Sawchyn played a hole while promoting junior golfing. Tim is the head pro at the course, he told Ciona that Wildwood has a big focus on youth golfing.

“We do group lessons in May and June, there is usually three to four programs a month. The junior golf rates at the Saskatoon city courses is really cheap. If a family wants to get their kids involved in golf the city courses are a great place to get involved,” Sawchyn said.

As the golf season expires into the later stages Wildwood has come up with a new deal to get golfers on the course. Tim

“A new program for us is twilight starts at 3 p.m. everyday. You pay for nine, you can play up to 18. For people working and can’t get to the course during the day it works. The rounds are quicker, and the price is right,” he said.

The trio played the 220-yard 12^th hole during the feature. Ciona grinded out a bogey, Tim parred the hole and Brody led the way with a birdie. He told Ciona how he played the hole.

“I put a good drive out there, a good wedge shot led to an even better putt,” Brody said.

You can see the feature in it’s entirety here.

QUALICUM BEACH, B.C. – Defending champion Zach Bauchou battled the extreme heat in Tuesday’s second round with a 3-under 68 to extend his lead to three strokes at the 114th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Bauchou, a Forest, Va., native, posted six birdies against three bogeys at co-host Pheasant Glen Golf Resort heading into the final two rounds back at Duncan Meadows.

“With all the par-3s you’re going to have to hit a lot of mid-irons—I was able to hit some really good shots and I putted really well too,” said the 22-year-old, greenside at No. 18. “I had some nice looks that I capitalized on today.”

The Oklahoma State junior grew his lead by one stroke on Tuesday and looks to stay aggressive in Wednesday’s third round.

“The goal is just to play as good as I can and make as many birdies as I can,” said Bauchou. “I’ve had some short game errors where I didn’t get up-and-down, so I’ll be looking to sharpen up my short game over the next two days and keep playing aggressively—pedal to the medal.”

Alone in second place is Gatineau, Que., resident Julien Sale, who shot a 2-under-par 69 at Pheasant Glen to move to 6 under for the tournament, three back of Bauchou.

“I’m just trying to put the ball in play and then go for the green and get the putter working well,” said Sale, who grew up in France. “For tomorrow, I’ll see if I need to be a bit more aggressive depending on how the other guys do.”

Sale’s efforts played a large part in helping Team Quebec capture the inter-provincial title to win their second straight Willingdon Cup. Alongside Sale were Team Canada members Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.) and Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.), who helped Quebec to a 10-under-par score and a seven-stroke win—their eighth victory all-time.

Congrats to Team Quebec, who captured the #CDNAm inter-provincial competition by 7 strokes to capture the second straight Willingdon Cup ????

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Aug 7, 2018 at 7:07pm PDT

Team Alberta was the only other team to finish under par, closing with a score of 3 under to finish alone in second place.

Also making significant moves on Tuesday were Garrett Rank and Justin Warren. Rank, an Elmira, Ont., native and Team Canada graduate, shot a 65 to tie the course record at Pheasant Glen. The 30-year-old climbed into a five-way tie for sixth place at 3 under for the tournament.

At Duncan Meadows, Australian Justin Warren carded a scorching 64 to set the new course record (Bauchou tied the old record of 65 on Monday). Warren, a senior at Little Rock, sits tied for 24th at even par.

A total of 71 players who finished 3 over par or better have advanced to the final two rounds of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be contested at Duncan Meadows.

In addition to claiming the title of 2018 Canadian Men’s Amateur champion, the winner will earn exemptions into the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif., and the 2019 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. from June 3-9.

The champion will also be eligible to receive an exemption into the U.S. Junior Amateur, the U.S. Mid-Amateur or the U.S. Senior Amateur, if applicable.

For full results click here.