Almost 240 golfers chased the senior Lobstick championships this week at the Waskesiu Golf Course in Prince Albert Provincial Park.

West Kelowna’s Glen Erickson is the 2018 senior men’s champion. Erickson shot 214 over three rounds including a scorching 66 on day one. Medicine Hat’s Warren Gnam finished just two strokes back.

Doug Piper (pictured below) is the back-to-back super senior champion.

The Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate held their annual golf championships on Wednesday.

Taking top spot in the senior boy’s category was Holy Cross student Steven Duchscher; he shot a one-over 73. Josh Nagy was one stroke behind the leader shooting 74. Bradley Moser was third, Cole Nagy placed fourth, the top four are all Holy Cross students.

Holy Cross was the runaway winner in the team category shooting 208 overall, 42 strokes ahead of Centennial.

Centennial golfer Will Danielson was the top junior boy’s athlete, he also won with a one-over 73. Holy Cross’ Jack Hodson shot a 79 finishing six strokes back, Evan Hardy student Micah Tangjerd placed third.

Centennial edged Holy Cross by a stroke in the team competition.

On the girl’s side, St. Joseph student Sarah Grieve shot 86, 14 strokes ahead of Marion M. Graham student Paige Thompson. Aden Bowman golfer Jadyn Hue placed third.

Aden Bowman was the overall team winner with 213.

PGA Saskatchewan held their Pro Lady tournament in Saskatoon June 4 with 23 teams from across the province taking part.

The foursome of professional Shawn Woods, along with Donna Coffey, Bev Grimes, and Barb Swanson took top spot shooting a 12-under-par in the two net best ball format event at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club. Scott Knapp, Judy Giblett, Carol Michel, and Mamin Lee-Sing finished in second place, the team of Ryan Wells, Donna Dyck, Deb Thieman, and Dawn Macauley were four strokes back in third. You can see a complete list of the results here.

Woods tied with Dean Brown (pictured below) for the low score among professionals at one over par each shooting 73.

The tournament has been played for over three decades but was resurrected a couple years ago with new sponsorship. Sun Mountain Sports came on board as title sponsor, Woods is the Saskatchewan representative for the company.

The PGA of Saskatchewan holds a men’s and junior pro-am event each year too. The men’s tournament is in North Battleford on June 18.

The Future Links driven by Acura schedule made a stop in High River, Alta. June 1 to 3 with four Saskatchewan golfers taking part looking for a spot in the national event.

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak, 12, shot a three-round total of 255. She finished in 18^th position overall in the junior girl’s category. Kozak shot 89, 84, and 82 at the Highwood Golf and Country Club.

On the junior boy’s side, Bradley Moser of Saskatoon shot five over through three rounds, that left him tied for ninth place, just 17 strokes back of the winner. Moser fired rounds of 71, 70, and 75 for a three-round total of 216. Steven Duchscher of Saskatoon shot 232 over three rounds, he finished tied for 32^nd, Andrew Campbell, another Saskatoon athlete tied for 44^th position with a three-round total of 237.

The next Future Links competition is scheduled for June 14 to 17 in Portage la Prairie, Man. at the Portage Golf Club.

HAMILTON, Ont. –  Golf Canada and title sponsor RBC today announced that the historic Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ont., will host the RBC Canadian Open in 2019 and 2023.

The tournament’s return to the Harry Colt designed course in 2019 is timed perfectly – marking the 100-year anniversary since the renowned club originally hosted Canada’s National Open Golf Championship.

“Together with our partners at RBC and the PGA TOUR, we are extremely proud to be bringing the RBC Canadian Open back to the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in both 2019 and 2023,” said Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada.  “There are few courses in the country that can equal Hamilton in terms of excellence and storied history and I am delighted that the club’s membership and the City of Hamilton have joined us to bring the RBC Canadian Open back to Hamilton twice over the next five years.”

Consistently ranked among Canada’s best courses, Hamilton’s parkland setting, which includes winding fairways, multi-elevations and undulating greens, have made the club a favourite of the PGA TOUR pros who’ve played it throughout the years.

“Returning to Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2019 and 2023 is a great fit for RBC and the RBC Canadian Open,” said Matt McGlynn, Vice President, Brand Marketing for RBC. “Our clients and all Canadian golf fans want to see the world’s best golfers playing the world’s best courses and by having Team RBC challenge the PGA TOUR’s best at Hamilton, we will accomplish just that.”

We’re thrilled to be hosting the 2019 & 2023 #RBCCO @HamiltonGolf ??

Read ➡️https://t.co/t2zk4mggR4#OurOpen pic.twitter.com/yQNh9myrZq

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) June 6, 2018

The Hamilton Golf and Country Club previously hosted five Canadian Opens, with the first taking place in 1919 – a championship featured two of the most legendary names in golf – Bobby Jones and Francis Ouimet. J. Douglas Edgar would go on to earn a 16-stroke win – a PGA TOUR record that stands to this day as the largest margin of victory.

Other players to have won the Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club include Tommy Armour (1930), Bob Tway (2003), Team RBC member Jim Furyk (2006) and Scott Piercy (2012).

In addition, Hamilton has hosted many other prestigious events including the (former) Canadian Senior Championship in 1996 as well as several Ontario (1932, 1974 and 1991) and Canadian Amateur Championships (1922, 1927, 1935, 1948, 1977 and 1994).

“We are proud to host the most prestigious championship in Canadian golf and welcome the RBC Canadian Open and the stars of the PGA TOUR to Hamilton Golf and Country Club twice over the next five years,” said Hamilton Golf and Country Club’s President Chris Hamel. “Our members are honoured to have the opportunity to help write additional chapters in the long and storied history of Canadian golf and the RBC Canadian Open in 2019 and 2023 and are especially pleased to celebrate a centennial connection in 2019 between our club and Canada’s National Open.”

The confirmation of the Hamilton Golf and Country Club as the host venue for 2019 and 2023 was also made possible through a new partnership between the city of Hamilton and Golf Canada. This partnership will result in Canada’s National Sport Federation bringing multiple events and golf championships to the city to complement the two RBC Canadian Opens.

“We are thrilled to welcome the stars of the PGA TOUR back to Hamilton for two more years,” said Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of Hamilton. “The RBC Canadian Open is a world class event and I know our citizens take great pride in hosting the championship here in their backyard. In addition, through our partnership with Golf Canada, our region will welcome numerous national and regional golf championships between 2019 and 2023. With a goal to leave an economic, charitable and social legacy through golf, we look forward to becoming a hub community for Canadian golf.”

The stars of the PGA TOUR won’t be the only ones having fun during tournament week when the RBC Canadian Open stops in Hamilton. Golf Canada, RBC and all tournament partners have embraced the PGA TOUR’s new fans first mantra, highlighted in the Tour’s new “Live Under Par” campaign. The event has become much more than just 72 holes of world-class golf – it’s one of Canada’s most prolific sporting events, chocked-full of activities for spectators, whether they are core golf fans or new to the sport.

This year’s RBC Canadian Open will take place east of Hamilton at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 20-26, 2018. Ticket, volunteering, sponsorship and corporate hospitality info is available online at www.rbccanadianopen.com.

The fourth annual Swinging for STARS fundraising golf tournament will take place later this month in Saskatoon.

There is still room for approximately 10 teams in the June 21 event at the Greenbryre Golf & Country Club. STARS foundation event and development officer Ashlyn Yablonski said hosting events and generating revenue is key to the air ambulance’s service.

“The Government of Saskatchewan provides 50 per cent of our funding and the other 50 per cent (or $10.5 million) is what we need to raise each year to operate from our Saskatoon and Regina bases. Events such as this golf tournament are important to help us continue to keep STARS in our prairie skies, ready to help the next patient who needs us,” she said.

The entry fee is $185 per golfer, that includes 12 holes of golf, power cart, prizes from sponsors, a bar-b-cue lunch on the course, and a ticket to the dinner plus a commemorative program. New this year to the event is an outside partnership with another not-for-profit group. STARS will team up with the Saskatoon Millennium Lions Club. Yablonski said the collaboration has injected some excitement into the tournament.

“They are an amazing group to work with; passionate, dedicated, and the club make it fun. STARS is very lucky to have the group as partners on this event and hope to continue this partnership with them for future years,” Yablonski said.

The deadline to enter the tournament is June 18, contact Yablonski at 306-659-1525 or email ayablonski@stars.ca

STARS air ambulance provided emergency services in almost 200 Saskatchewan communities or regions in 2016-17 according to their website. In total they responded 874 times during that fiscal year.

Decision 13-2/10: Pitch-Mark in Dropping Area Repaired Before Ball Dropped

QUESTION:
Dave was playing golf after a day of rain. The course was wet but playable. Through the green, Dave’s ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in a closely mowed area. Dave lifted his ball under Rule 25-2 (Embedded ball) but, before dropping it, repaired the pitch-mark. Is such repair permissible?

ANSWER:
No. Dave was in breach of Rule 13-2 when he improved the area in which his ball was to be dropped by eliminating an irregularity of surface. In this case, Dave would be penalized 2 strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play. In the instance above, Dave was required to drop the ball on the pitch mark, play the stroke and then repair the pitch mark. Unfortunate for Dave, he made a mistake which is done almost every day on the golf course.

Reminder: Golf has a few fundamental principles. Hit it, find it and play it. Keep it simple and you can avoid most Rules breaches. Happy golfing and remember the rules matter.

The Regina City Junior golf tournament will take place over two days this weekend in the Queen City.

The event, open to both girls and boys has three age groups for competitors ranging from under-14 to under-18. This year the tournament will take place at the Royal Regina Golf Club and the Murray Municipal Golf Course on June 9 and 10. Organizer Garrett McMillan said the committee is working hard to revitalize the competition which is back for a third year following a decade long hiatus.

“We’re trying to create an event featuring competitive golf in Regina,” he said. “We don’t get to see competitive golf here often and it’s nice to have.”

The event is now part of the Order of Merit (OOM) schedule with players gaining points in the standings. McMillan said there is extra incentive for the boys that register too.

“Our winner gets an exemption into the Regina City Amateur just so there is a feeder program from our tournament to theirs. It shows the winner of our event what they are up against once they aren’t juniors anymore,” McMillan said.

Cole Obrigewitsch was the boy’s winner last year, Alex Schmidt is the two-time defending champion on the female side. Many of the competitors entering the tournament are making their first attempt at competitive golf. McMillan said the basis of the event is still fun.

“Standing over a drive with your buddies is different than standing over a drive when every shot counts but the biggest thing we want is fun for everybody. I think we’ve done a good job with that,” he said.

The cost to enter is just $110, that includes two rounds of golf, prizes, and supper on the second day of the tournament. The deadline to register is June 7, you can do so by downloading an entry form and emailing reginacityjunior@hotmail.com

A skills competition will be held on the second day as well.

Josh Nagy is already a two-time winner on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) this season following a two-round score of 152 this past weekend at the Lloydminster Golf and Curling Centre.

The 16-year-old Saskatoon product fired back-to-back 76’s to take the juvenile boy’s division by six strokes over Edmonton’s Nicholas Rimmer. Estevan’s Chase Gedak shot 163 over the 36 holes to finish in third place. 25 golfers competed in the category, 19 hailing from Saskatchewan.

Will Blake, 14, of Regina was the winner in the bantam boy’s division, the Regina golfer shot 81 and 77 for a one-stroke margin over Jace Shannon of Forestburg, Alta. La Ronge athlete Parker Layton placed third just a pair of strokes behind the leader. 20 players competed in the bantam age group.

In the junior boy’s division, Estevan Woodlawn member Logan Chernoff was victorious shooting 157 over the two days. He edged Swift Current’s Griffin Wilson by a stroke. Kindersley product Brody Istace was third with a score of 159. A dozen golfers competed in the junior boy’s category.

Jordan Unger, 19, of Saskatoon took top spot in the collegiate category, he shot 86 on Saturday and followed that with an 82 on Sunday for a four-stroke win over Lloydminster’s Jason Kim. Martensville’s Jax Gipman placed third with a 176.

In the peewee boy’s group, Edmonton athlete Tate Brugggeman picked up a nine-stroke win over Weyburn’s Darien Herlick. Solomon Ness from Saskatoon was third place with a 196.

On the girl’s side there were a pair of categories with competitors, in the U15 age group Brooklin Fry was the low score shooting 189. In the 15-18 division, Alyshia Suleman of Sherwood Park, Alta. won by six strokes over Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve.

To see the Order of Merit (OOM) points standings, click here.

The next MJT event in Saskatchewan is June 16 and 17 in North Battleford.

Saskatoon’s Dave Stewart can check the Scotia Wealth Management Open off his bucket list.

The Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member tore up the Evergreen in Nipawin on the weekend securing a three-stroke victory over Clint Schiller. Stewart, 32, has placed second at the tournament on three separate occasions in the seven times he’s entered the event. He said it was nice to finally be victorious.

“It’s a tournament I’ve wanted to win for a long time,” he said. “I’ve known Dean (Prosky of the host committee) very well, we all recognize this is one of the better if not best tournaments we have in the province. This is the one that’s been looming over me for a few years.”

Stewart collected two birdies and a bogey to go along with 15 pars in round one for a 71 total, on Sunday he birdied seven holes on route to a 67, securing the victory. A self admitted slow starter, Stewart said his entire arsenal was working.

“Everything seemed to click this week, the driving was good, I never put myself in trouble all week and the putter came around. It is a sense of relief I can check off this box,” he said.

Stewart said his short game has struggled over the last few seasons. He said he worked hard to tighten that part of his game up and it paid off over the 36 holes.

“I’ve always felt comfortable driving the ball and tee-to-green, but the Achilles Heel was always my short game and this week it was the strength,” he said.

The tournament had a special feel to it this year. The host committee asked the golfers to wear green or yellow over the weekend paying respect to the community of Humboldt following the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Broncos bus crash on April 6. Stewart said all the players felt moved by the host committee’s request.

“There was a sense that everyone is pretty grateful to play a game we love. It was extra special to win it on a year something so tragic has happened,” he said.

Stewart is playing a tournament in Melfort this upcoming weekend and is registered for the Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur and Amateur later this summer.

To see the complete field results from the Scotia Wealth Management Open can be found here.