PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — The Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship is set to take place from June 15-17 at Portage Golf Club.

With support from Golf Manitoba, the Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship is the fifth of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with Acura. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on June 14 before the tournament gets underway with round one on June 15.

Before the golf course first opened on May 31, 1922, the land was littered with scrap iron until the club founders planted hundreds of trees on the course to divide the fairways. Now, Portage Golf Club is a true island gem and a beautifully manicured 18 hole golf course that is situated along the shores of Crescent Lake.

“Golf Canada and Golf Manitoba are delighted to present the 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship,” said Lisa Andersen, this week’s Tournament Director and Director of Competitions at Golf Manitoba. “We are certain that Portage Golf Club will challenge Canada’s premier junior golfers as they showcase their skills.”

The field will consist of 33 junior golfers in the Junior Boys Division with the top six earning exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. A tie for the sixth position will be decided by a playoff following the conclusion of play.

The Junior Girls Division will consist of 10 golfers with the top six (including ties) earning an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31- Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

The Atlantic Edition of the 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Championship will conclude the regional championship series this summer from July 16-19 in Port Blandford, Nfld., at Twin Rivers Golf Course

Results from the previous 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura championships can be found here: Pacific, Ontario, Western, Quebec.

Notables
Josh Nagy of Saskatoon, Sask.
The sixteen-year-old finished T5 at the event last year. Nagy recently won the MJT – Golf SK OOM Lloydminster Series at Lloydminster G&CC and is currently ranked no.1 on Golf Saskatchewan’s U19 Junior Men’s Order of Merit.

Andrew C. Campbell of Saskatoon, Sask.
The eighteen-year-old finished the event last year in a tie for fifth. He would go on to place T3 at the Saskatchewan Junior Boys’ Championship at Chinook Players Club.

Sydney Scraba of Calgary, Alta.
The Calgary, Alta. product most recently came in second at the MJT – Alberta Spring Classic 2018, which took place from May 5-6 at Paradise Canyon Golf & Country Club. Seventeen-year-old Scraba placed 3rd at the Western edition of this championship in 2017.

Bobbi Uhl of Erickson, Man.
The eighteen-year-old’s 2017 season included a win at the MJT – PGA of Manitoba Junior Championship and a second place finish at the Manitoba Junior Girls’ Championship.

FAST FACTS
In 2018, Golf Canada is conducting its six regional Future Links, driven by Acura championships in conjunction with the Provincial Associations.

Top six finishers in the Boys Division earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Top six finishers (including ties) in the Girls Division earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Ryan McMillan climbed up the leaderboard to earn his victory last year in the junior boys division.

Chaewon Baek went wire-to-wire to win the junior girls division at this event in 2017.

More information on the event can be found here.

ABOUT THE COURSE
First official opening day was May 31, 1922.

Joined the Manitoba Golf Association in 1924.

The finishing three holes run along picturesque Crescent Lake.

DECISION 18-2/33 – Rotating Ball on Putting Green Without Marking Position

QUESTION:
Dave has the habit of rotating his ball on the putting green to line up the trademark and identification line with the hole. Dave did not lift the ball, mark its position or change its position. Does Dave receive a penalty?

ANSWER:
Yes, Dave is penalized one stroke for touching the ball other than as provided for in the Rules (Rule 18-2). Under Rules 16-1b and 20-1, a ball on the putting green may be lifted (or touched and rotated) ”after” its position has been marked. If Dave had simply marked the position of the ball before rotating it, there would have been no penalty.

Reminder to mark your ball, in any of the prescribed manners, and then rotate the ball.

It took a playoff hole, but Saskatoon’s Liam Courtney is the 2018 Lobstick Open champion.

Courtney climbed back from two strokes behind first round leader Roman Timmerman with a four under 66 during the second day of the event at the Waskesiu Golf Course. Each golfer was tied at 137; Courtney defeated Timmerman on the extra hole.

Ryan Wells of Prince Albert; Yorkton’s Kade Johnson; Ashley Ziegman; also of Prince Albert, and Kevin Elder each finished tied for third at one over par.

The rest of the Open results can be seen here.

The match play portion of the Lobstick begins Wednesday. The tournament will crown their champion Saturday.

Carla Odnokon is the 2018 Saskatoon Ladies’ Open champion holding off the field for a two-stroke win.

She edged Crystal Piero and Ann Kirkland who finished five strokes back in third place. Odnokon picked up 500 points in the Order of Merit (OOM) standings with the victory, Kirkland still leads the women’s race with 700 points.

Tanner White and Dave Stewart are tied on top of the men’s OOM standings, that will likely change at the end of this week’s Lobstick in Waskesiu.

Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy leads the under-19 boy’s OOM race, the junior’s next event is a Future Links Tour stop in Portage la Prairie from June 15 to 17.

The senior men’s leader is Saskatoon’s Chuck Hainsworth after one event. Their next OOM competition is slated for June 19 to 21. That’s the Auto Clearing Men’s Senior Championship at Moon Lake in Saskatoon.

The complete OOM standings for all the divisions is listed under the “COMPETE” banner on this website.

Saskatoon’s Holliston School is the latest facility to benefit from the Golf in Schools initiative.

The Golf Saskatchewan and Golf Canada program provides interested schools with indoor golf equipment giving students a chance to play the game, many for the first time. Holliston Grade 5 teacher Derrick Lee has been part of three donations of equipment over the years at Saskatoon schools he’s taught at. He said witnessing the student’s first foray into the sport is fun to watch.

“Many students have experience playing mini-golf but never the rush of swinging and striking a ball with greater speed and greater distance. The students who participate in Golf in Schools succeed because they must set and accomplish personal goals,” Lee said.

Lee grew up being involved with the game in his hometown of Foam Lake. He said many kids aren’t as fortunate to be able to be on the course, so the Golf in Schools program exposes more to the sport.

“The program allows students to experience the beginning step to become the next generation of golfers. The students who participate in the program quickly connect with golf because it is not in a team setting. Instructors tailor the program to each student and each student feels and sees success,” he said.

Lee hopes to see some expansion of the program down the road such as indoor golf tournaments among separate schools. He believes such an event could become a huge success.

If you are interested in bringing the Golf in Schools program to your facility contact Steve Ryde at 306.975.0834.

Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman sprinkled a trio of birdies and a pair of bogey’s over 18 holes in the Lobstick qualifying round Monday at the Waskesiu Golf Course.

He opened the event with a par before falling a stroke over on hole two. Timmerman rebounded on the front nine with birdies on six and eight posting a 35 through nine holes. A bogey on hole 12 dropped Timmerman back to even par but he managed to score three on the 18^th hole securing a one-under 69.

Kevin Elder finshed a stroke back at 70; five golfers tied for third at one over including Richard Heicht, Liam Courtney, Kade Johnson, Warren Gnam, and Cory Sawchuk.

You can see results of all 179 participants here.

68 golfers will continue Tuesday and play the open portion of the tournament. Match play for the Lobstick title will be played Wednesday and Thursday.

Deer Valley’s Carey McLean led the way for four Saskatchewan golfers at this past weekend’s Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) stop in Red Deer, Alta.

McLean, 16, placed fourth overall in the 15-18 girl’s age group at the River Bend Golf Course. After firing a 104 in round one, she rebounded with a solid 97 on the second day to finish just off the podium.

In the peewee boy’s category, Cashton Yaremko of Orkney placed third overall. The 11-year-old shot a two-round total of 212.

A pair of Saskatchewan golfers competed in the juvenile boy’s division; Eastend’s Rylan Egland, 15, finished in 22^nd with a score of 179. Egland shot 86 on day one and 93 during day two. 15-year-old Pense golfer Charlie Belton placed 28^th with a two-day score of 207.

The MJT also held a one-day mini-tour event at River Bend on June 9. Warman’s Dane Giesbrecht was the lone Sask. participant in the field. The 10-year-old placed second in the boy’s 9-10 year-old group with a 73, just four strokes back of Buck Lake, Alta. Golfer Tyler Kidd.

The MJT will make a tour stop in North Battleford on June 16 and 17 as part of the Order of Merit series.

The Regina City Junior tournament played on the weekend featured three age groups, two of the divisions needed an extra hole to decide a winner in the tightly contested 36-hole event.

In the under-18 category, Jacob Kydd outlasted last year’s winner Cole Obrigewitsch to take the victory. Each finished with a gross score of 158 but Kydd’s par on the playoff hole sealed the win, his second in three years at the event.

The under-16 group also needed a playoff hole, Adam Husli (pictured above) drained a birdie putt to edge Adam Kydd for the title. Each golfer finished the 36 holes with a tied gross score of 164. Husli battled back from a six-stroke deficit after round one to secure the win. The two also finished 1-2 in the Regina High School Athletics Association golf championships as well last week.

The under-14 division featured the most participants with 11 golfers. Will Blake (pictured above) was a seven-stroke winner over Davin Bourassa.

The golfers played various tees based on their age group, to be eligible for the tournament championship the golfers had to play from the member tees at the Murray Municipal Golf on day one. The tournament moved to the Royal Regina Golf Club on Sunday.

The tournament is now part of the Order of Merit system, so the players collect standings points by participating. With the victory, Kydd will now be eligible to participate in next season’s Regina City Amateur championship.

The Regina High Schools Athletic Association has crowned their 2018 golf champions.

Miller student, and back-to-back Regina City Junior winner Alex Schmidt continues her Queen City dominance by taking a 15 stroke victory in the senior girl’s division. Schmidt was the only golfer to finish in double-digits firing an 85. Balfour Collegiate student Ashley Zado shot 100 to claim second place, Campbell’s Autumn Neiszner finished in third place at 105.

On the boy’s side, Jack Fischer (pictured above) of Campbell put up an 80 to secure the senior title. Miller High School’s Willie Chang came in second just a stroke back at 81. Campbell’s Jacob Kydd was three strokes back of Fischer in third with 83.

In the junior boy’s division Martin student Adam Husli (below; right) fired an 82 to take the win. Adam Kydd, also of Martin Collegiate finished in second place after shooting 87. Aidan Shanks (below; left) of Campbell secured third spot with an 87.

The Rosetown Golf and Country Club will be peppered in pink Sunday for their first annual GOLF fore a CURE tournament.

The initiative is designed to get women involved in golf as well as raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Organizer Sue Skinner said the club wanted to expand on their annual ladies’ tournament.  She said breast cancer touches many people’s lives, so the community wanted to give back.

“The rationale for hosting the GOLF fore a CURE event was due to discussions based on the interest shown at the club level. In our discussions it became very clear that breast cancer has had a devastating impact on the lives of women and their families.  We just want to help make a difference,” Skinner said.

Every June the club hosts a fun tournament to bring more women onto the course.  There are other games mixed in with the golf to make the tournament more appealing to golfers of all calibres. Skinner said the club has had great success in past events.

“The tournament has always been about having a day for women and having lots of laughs. We have low gross and low net, most honest team prizes, novelty games on every hole with prizes to be won and everyone attending will take home a prize at the end of the day,” she said.

The organizing committee is encouraging teams to dress up and decorate their carts and clubs. Prizes will be awarded to the teams showing the most spirit. The net winners of the event will be presented with blazers similar to the Masters but theirs are “beautifully decorated and bedazzled” according to Skinner.

The cost is $60 which includes green fees, supper and a beverage. Entrants can acquire pledges ahead of the event but it’s not mandatory. Participants can sign up by calling the clubhouse at 306-882-3001.

Participating clubs have a chance to attend a national GOLF fore a CURE event. Last year, Elkridge Resort was the top money raiser in the province earning a trip to the national event. Elkridge is hosting their event on July 5.