East-central Saskatchewan’s largest trading centre isn’t leading the way in just shopping for Yorkton visitors, Deer Park Golf Course continues to be a key driver in the city’s tourism and recreation stats.

Deer Park has hosted every Golf Saskatchewan moderated championship within the last two decades including the men’s amateur. Golf operations manager Allan Sauser has been involved in all the championships. One of the province’s elite courses is known for hole eight, an elevated 100-yard, par three gem recognized by locals and visitors. Sauser is proud of their signature hole but water issues over three of the last four years during profitable weeks need to be addressed. He said changes are coming.

“With the new design I believe hole eight will be the new signature hole again. You will oversee hole 10 and 12 when you are on new hole eight, it’s going to be a fantastic hole. It’s sad to see it go but it’s more about drainage issues than us wanting to change a hole,” Sauser told Golf Saskatchewan.

Deer Park is one of the oldest courses in the province. Sauser said junior golf numbers are optimistic along with overall players at the 18-hole course. Sauser said the season has treated their course well.

“We’re seeing a real good year because of being in great shape. All the courses depend on weather and we’ve been really lucky,” he said.

Deer Park has been in the provincial spotlight of late, Saskatchewan amateur men’s champion Kade Johnson and 12-year-old phenom Ella Kozak both call Deer Park their home course. Sauser has worked with both up and comers. He said there are similarities between the two talented athletes.

“Kade has been keen since the start,” Sauser said. “It’s been a goal of his and his family to achieve something right from the beginning. It’s great to see him come up through the system, play college golf, and now winning the amateur which is fantastic.”

Johnson is currently tied for 42^nd at the 114^th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Kozak is winding down her busy summer on the course. She took part in the Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship in June earning a spot on the national team. Kozak finished second to Brooklin Fry in the junior girl’s tournament, also booking a Canadian championship birth. Kozak finished well back of the leaders in the events but Sauser said the experiences are unmeasurable.

“For someone her age to make both the women’s and junior’s championships, the future is only bright for her,” he said.

Deer Park will celebrate their 100^th year next summer. Celebration details will be announced in the future.

Yorkton’s Kade Johnson and Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy are still in the hunt at the Canadian Amateur Men’s Championship in Duncan, B.C.

Johnson, 19, the Saskatchewan amateur champion parred the Pheasant Glen Golf Resort course on Tuesday finishing at plus-2 after two rounds. The cut line was set at plus-3. Johnson opened his round with a pair of birdies, he bogeyed hole three but rebounded with another birdie on five. The Deer Park Golf Course member birdied eight and bogeyed nine to come into the turn at 2-under. The back nine was as clean, Johnson bogeyed holes 10, 11, and 16 before he birdied 18 to post a 71.

Meanwhile, Dunphy followed his opening round of 69 with a 5-over, 76. Although the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club golfer was seven strokes higher during round two, his 145 was good enough for a tie in 59^th place, just ahead of the cut line.

Ty Campbell played well Tuesday carding a 2-under par, but he missed the cut at plus-5 overall. Justin Wood finished at plus-8, David Stewart was plus-10. Roman Timmerman improved heavily on his round one 85 shooting a 73 on day two, he finished at plus-16, Humboldt’s Mike Herperger finished at 18-over. Liam Courtney and Keighton McNab, both of Saskatoon finished at plus-20 and 29-over respectively.

Johnson will tee off at 8:36 a.m. Wednesday, Dunphy begins his third round at 9:09 a.m. local time.

Zach Bauchou of Forest, Virginia is the leader at 9-under par.

Team Saskatchewan finished in fifth place in the inter-provincial competition, Quebec won the Willingdon Cup for the second straight year at 10-under. Saskatchewan finished at 12-over.

You can follow Johnson and Dunphy’s round here.

Elkridge’s annual Golf fore the Cure event raised over $21,000.

The total is slightly down from last year’s fundraising tournament but that is the local committee’s second highest total overall. Chair Verna Schneider said the event was a huge success.

“It was a great day,” she said. ‘The weather cooperated, golf moved well, we had 85 golfers. Everything went well, everyone had a good time.”

Golf fore a Cure is a national initiative to assist the Canadian Cancer Society and breast cancer research. Each year a national event takes place rewarding clubs for money they raised. Last year the Elkridge Golf Course event raised over $23,000 allowing Donna Dutchak, Cora Lee Dutchak, Brenda Dutchak, and Lee Anne Osler all travelled to Brantford, Ont. for the tournament. Schneider, a two-time cancer defeater said they will know by the end of August if they won again. She said winning isn’t an important motivator for participating. Schneider said the event brings their small community together and the support is overwhelming.

“I can’t name them all, there’s too much support. We had 24 hole sponsors, dinner sponsors, Elkridge just a great job, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without their help. There’s a lot of people to thank for our success,” she said.

The Kelvington Golf Club is hosting their Golf fore the Cure event on Aug. 14. Kelvington is having their tournament on Aug. 23.

TSAWWASSEN, B.C. – After a close round on Friday, Team Canada National Development Squad Member Céleste Dao from Notre Dame de l’Île Perrot, Que. carded a 2-over-par 74 to become the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Champion.

Dao started the day with a one stroke lead and worked hard to keep the lead in the final round. She started her round with a bogey on hole 2 and hole 3 and continued to bogey two more holes before she made the turn.

Dao’s first three bogeys were out of the sand to put her at 1-over-par in second place after the 7^thhole. She parred hole 8, while Emily Zhu from Richmond Hill, Ont. bogeyed it, putting them both with a share of the lead before the back nine.

Dao’s fourth bogey set her back one stroke, into second, and another bogey on hole 10, after a three putt, forced her to sit three back of Emily Zhu.

“The voice in my head kept telling me to stay patient, just stay patient for the two par 5s that are coming, I knew that at least one of them I could birdie,” said the 2018 Junior Girls Champ.

The Notre Dame de l’Île Perrot, Que. native went on to birdie hole 14, her first birdie of the day, to sit tied for the lead again with Zhu.

“I was waiting for the birdie for a long time, I kind of panicked a little on the front nine but I knew the two par 5s were coming so I stayed patient and when the first birdie dropped I was really, really happy,” said the 17-year-old. “After the first birdie came I knew I would be good for the next one.”

Dao birdied hole 15, as well, to sit one up.  Both players stepped up to hole 17, the same hole that decided their fate in round 3, and teed off.

Zhu hit her ball to the left of the fairway, over the cart path, and into the trees. She had a great recovery and made it back on to the fairway. As she swung her club for her third stroke, the ball went into the trees to the right, and fell out of bounds. Zhu double bogeyed the hole, placing Dao in the lead by 3 strokes with just one hole left.

“She got unlucky, unfortunately, she played so well the whole round. She was so consistent, I mean she’s 14-years-old, it’s impressive, she’s really impressive,” said Dao about Zhu’s shot out of bounds on hole 17.

Dao would go on to birdie hole 18 to finish the day 2-over-par 74 with a total score of even par 288 for the tournament.

“This win means a lot, it was one of my goals as a junior. This year I’m really, really happy. Brooke did it, and so many good players did it, and for me it is so important to win it so I’m happy,” said Dao. “This is a big win for me because it is in my home country and playing against so many players here, it is a national event, and playing in a beautiful city, I’m really happy.”

Emily Zhu also continued to birdie hole 18 to win the Juvenile competition at 14-years-old. Angela Zhang from Vancouver, B.C., came in at 4-over-par and Zhu, after the birdie on 18, came in at 3-over-par to take the title.

“I wanted to sink that birdie putt anyways (not just to win the Juvenile Competition), the first two days I bogeyed the hole and yesterday I hit par so I was like why not go for the birdie?”

The Richmond Hill, Ont., native finished 3-over-par 291 for the tournament. This is just the beginning for her, as she has a few more years to play in this event.

Sarah Beqaj from Toronto Ont., finished 5-over-par 293 to finish third in the Juvenile Competition. Tiffany Kong from Vancouver, B.C., and Angela Zhang, also from Vancouver, B.C., finished with a share of third in the Championship with a score of 4-over-par 292.

Click here to view the full leaderboard for the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Named in honour of a famous Masters victory, Georgia Hall has her hands on one of the big trophies in women’s golf at the age of 22.

The Englishwoman reeled in long-time leader Pornanong Phatlum in a gripping final-round duel at Royal Lytham to win the Women’s British Open for her first major title on Sunday.

Hull tapped in for a bogey _ her first of the day _ at the last hole to clinch a two-shot victory over Pornanong. Hall then hugged her playing partner from Thailand before being lifted off her feet by her caddie, father Wayne.

It was fitting that Wayne, a former two-handicapper himself, was on the bag to experience the biggest moment of his daughter’s career.

Georgia was born during the 1996 Masters won by English golfer Nick Faldo at Augusta, Georgia. She was named in honour of that victory, which came after Faldo overcame a six-stroke deficit to Greg Norman in the final round.

Twenty-two years later, Hall is the pride of English golf just like Faldo was. And the way Hall kept her composure and kept producing the shots of her life down the stretch, there might be more major titles to come.

Her round of 5-under 67, which included six birdies, saw her finish on 17-under 271.

“I was loving it deep down, hitting the shots under pressure,” said Hall, who barely showed any emotions all round. “To get six birdies in the final round of a major is not bad.”

Hall, who receives a check of $490,000, became the first English major winner since Karen Stupples won this event in 2004, and the fourth overall along with Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas.

She followed Stupples and Catriona Matthew _ in 2009 at Lytham _ as the only British winners of the Women’s British Open since it achieved major status in 2001.

Brooke Henderson (74) of Smiths Falls, Ont., tied for 11th at 6 under par. She had three birdies and three bogeys offset each other, but a double bogey on the par-4 17th hole put her at 2 over for the round.

Roared on under blue skies by the large gallery desperate for a home winner, the 39th-ranked Hall started the day a shot behind Pornanong, who led after the second and third rounds.

From the moment Pornanong curled in a long left-to-right putt at the second hole to answer Hall’s 15-foot birdie at the first, it had the makings of a duel in the Lytham sun.

And a two-player race for the year’s fourth major was definitely established when both picked up a shot at No. 4 and Pornanong followed Hall in birdying No. 6. That regained a two-shot lead for Pornanong, who had also birdied the par-3 fifth hole.

Hall was always chasing but was given hope when Pornanong bogeyed No. 8 to reduce her lead to one shot. Then, when Hall rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 13, they were tied for the first time since the first hole.

Hall took the outright lead for the first time in the tournament after a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 16th hole and went down the last with a three-shot lead after Pornanong, ranked No. 97 and also seeking her first major and LPGA title, missed a two-foot putt to make double-bogey at No. 17.

Hall played safe in three-putting from distance in front of Royal Lytham’s storied clubhouse and celebrated her first win on the LPGA Tour. She had never won on the Ladies European Tour, either.

“It is too good to be true,” Hall said. “It was my goal when I was nine to win the British Open. I am so happy.

“I just had to stay calm and patient. It was very close up to the last two holes and I holed all the putts today.”

Ryu So-yeon of South Korea was third on 13 under after a final-round 70.

Reigning champion Zach Bauchou fired a 65 in Monday’s opening round of the 114th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows Golf Course to tie the course record and lead by two strokes.

The Forest, Va., native thrived in the sweltering B.C. weather, going 7 under through his first 10 holes thanks to two eagles—one that included a hole-out from the bunker on No. 17. Bauchou cooled off on his final eight holes, giving one back with a bogey on the par-3 7th.

“I was making some nice putts and hitting my irons really well,” said Bauchou, greenside at the 9th hole. “My round kind of fizzled off at the end—I missed a short putt and stopped making some putts. But 65 is still a solid round and it’s a good start.”

Bauchou will tee off at 1:03 p.m. PT on Tuesday at co-host Pheasant Glen Golf Resort. He plans to clean up some minor mistakes, with the game plan remaining the same.

“I really felt like the last eight holes I could have played a lot better, so I need to touch up on some things this afternoon and come out strong tomorrow,” said the 22-year-old Oklahoma State junior. “I’m going to hit a lot of drivers out there [Pheasant Glen], you just need to hit some good wedges and make some putts.”

Defending champion Zach Bauchou of Forest, Va., shoots an opening-round 65 to tie the Duncan Meadows course record and take the early clubhouse lead in the Canadian Amateur at 6 under #CDNAm

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Aug 6, 2018 at 12:56pm PDT

There is a five-way tie for second at 4 under par consisting of: Team Canada National Squad member Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.), Andrew Harrison (Camrose, Alta.), Kaleb Gorbahn (Smithers, B.C.), Julien Sale (Gatineau, Que.) and Oliver Ménard (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.).

Canadian Junior Boys champion Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., sits in a four-way tie for 7th at 3 under par.

Team Quebec jumped out to an early lead in the 36-hole inter-provincial competition for the Willingdon Cup. The trio’s lowest two scores (67-67) of the round from Savoie and Sale gave the team a score of 8 under par and a six-stroke advantage.

Teams Alberta and British Columbia share second place at 2 under par. The Willingdon Cup champion will be crowned on Tuesday at Pheasant Glen.

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.

Click here for full results.

Rule 26-1 Explanation of Water Hazard Relief (Rule 26-1b) vs. “Line of Flight”

QUESTION: How do I determine where the ball must be dropped when proceeding under option b in Rule 26-1? Is it along the line of flight the ball took to get to the hazard?

ANSWER: No. Under the rules of golf, dropping the ball on the “line of flight” is never an option, however, it is often confused with the concept provided in Rule 26-1b. Under Rule 26-1b, when taking relief from a water hazard, a player may drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which, the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped (a term of “flag line” has been used to help clarify).

In determining this line, the player must first determine where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard. Once this point is determined, the player should draw an imaginary line from this point to the hole. The player may then drop the ball anywhere along an extension of this line behind the water hazard (Decision 26-1/1.5).

Please refer to point “D” in Decision 26-1/15, for an illustration.

Remember, the rules matter.

Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy shot the round of the day for Saskatchewan golfers at the 114^th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship on Monday.

After the first round of the national championship in Duncan, B.C. the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member is tied for 11^th spot at minus-2. Dunphy opened with a birdie on hole one at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort. He splattered three more birdies on the front nine to go with just two bogeys taking the turn at 2-under par. Dunphy carded a trio of birdies and bogeys on the back nine leading to a 69.

Kade Johnson, the Saskatchewan amateur champion, is in a tie for 73rd at 2-over par. The Southern Arkansas University student provided day one fireworks with a hole in one on hole seven at Duncan Meadows Golf Course. The Yorkton product peppered three bogeys on his card, he had a double-bogey and a birdie on hole 18 to secure a first round 73.

David Stewart and Justin Wood both finished round one at plus-5, each shooting 76. They are in a logjam at 135^th place. Saskatoon’s Ty Campbell is tied for 172th at 7-over. Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion Mike Herperger shot an 8-over, 79, that leaves him in a tie for 189^th. Liam Courtney is tied for 214^th place after an opening round 81, Keighton McNab and Roman Timmerman, both of Saskatoon are at plus-14, they are in 233^rd position.

The tournament is taking place at two courses for the first two rounds until cuts are made. Defending champion Zach Bauchou is the leader at 6-under.

Click here to find the complete leaderboard and tee times for Saskatchewan’s athletes ahead of round two.

What started as a family business in northern Saskatchewan has flourished into two decades of golf success.

Northern Meadows Golf Club started in 1995 as a small nine-hole course by Frank Sopracolle, his offspring and significant others. Today the facility has developed into a top of the line 18-hole course, RV park, and campground just outside Meadow Lake Provincial Park. Co-owner Ken Olan said they never imagined the course would expand to what it is today.

“We never did no,” Olan told Golf Saskatchewan. “We built eight rental cabins by the clubhouse, we realized people needed a place to stay. We get lots of groups now that come in,” he said.

This week, the family owned course celebrated their 20^th anniversary. Using the “natural landscape” to develop the now 18-hole course Olan said they needed to build a top-notch facility to be sustainable, especially in northern Saskatchewan.

“We always said if we’re going to put a course here we need to be better than others around. We needed to make it a destination and we’ve done that,” Olan said.

Since the inception of the first nine holes in 1998, the club grew and opened another nine holes in June of 2007. This week they celebrated their 20^th anniversary. The course is built on his Olan’s parent’s homestead land and the clubhouse is Olan’s wives’ grandparent’s home they brought in from Goodsoil. He said the course has created a significant community in northern Saskatchewan, as for the next pair of decades, Olan is not clear on what will take place.

‘It’s hard to say, something has to be done,” he said” “It’s no longer a little nine-hole golf course. It has a mind of its own, we just have to steer it,” he said.

Colby Friedrich is happy with the way he performed at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship this week.

The 16-year-old was the lone Saskatchewan golfer to make the cut at the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club based tournament. The Battleford product shot 26-over par through four rounds, that left him in 71^st place. Friedrich said overall the event was a great endeavor.

“I thought it was a great learning experience,” he told Golf Saskatchewan. “Being at an under-19 national championship there was so many things to learn. I thought it was awesome.”

After carding a 77, 6-over par on day one Friedrich knew he had to be better during round two to make the cut. He played well posting a 73, just below the line which allowed him to play two more rounds. He said his nerves were shot waiting for the competitors to finish the round.

“After the round I couldn’t stop looking at my phone seeing how far I was moving up the leaderboard. I was pretty nervous,” Friedrich said.

The 72-hole event, not including practice rounds piled up for Friedrich he admitted. He said the biggest learning curve was the toll the competition took on his body. Several days in Medicine Hat the weather hovered in the mid-30-degree Celsius range. He said his body couldn’t get enough water.

“It takes it’s toll, especially round two when I knew I had to go out and post a good score. I did but, in the heat, it was a grind, some of the hottest weather I’ve ever played in,” he said.

The championship does include a “juvenile” age category that is for golfers under 17 years of age. Friedrich was 18^th within his age group. Friedrich shared the experience with Josh Nagy, Bradley Moser, Connor Scissons, Steven Duchscher, and Cole Obrigewitsch. He said he hopes to take what he learned this year into another national championship next year.

“It was awesome, just spending time with the guys. It was a great experience, meeting a couple new guys. I was able to show myself what I need to work on and hopefully I can come back next year, make the cut and play better the last two days,” he said.

Friedrich will take a couple weeks off before the Junior Lobstick in Waskesiu. He will finish the competitive season at the Maple Leaf Junior Tour Championship at the Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current.