Day one of the 2023 NextGen Prairie Championship in Nipawin is in the books..

On the women’s side of the under-19 event, Winnipeg’s Addison Kartusch leads the way after shooting a 2-over par, 74 on Friday during round one of the 54-hole, three-day championship.

The St. Charles Country Club member is just three strokes ahead of Regina’s Halie Crozier and fellow Manitoban Cala Korman. Both Crozier and Korman carded 77’s on opening day of the first NextGen tournament in Saskatchewan since 2019 in Yorkton.

Saskatoon’s Grace Odnokon rounds out the top five after the first day thanks to a 10-over par 82. Toronto’s Ava Gilbert sits in fourth at 7-over par.

To see all the results and Saturday’s second round tee times click here.

In the boys category their is a tie after day one with a log jam of golfers coming up behind the leaders.

Saskatoon’s Carter Bell and Edmonton’s Kenny Taylor sit in the lead tied at 1-under par, 71.

A trio of players are a pair of shots back including Jackson Delaurier, Ryan Garbutt, and Seth Mottershead-Yee all went to the tent with scores of 1-over 73.

Another half dozen players are tied for sixth at 3-over 75.

The complete results are available here.

Round two will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The championship will conclude on Sunday afternoon.

67 of Canada’s top junior golfers to compete over 54 holes at one of Saskatchewan’s most attractive layouts, with exemptions into the Canadian Junior Boys and Girls Championships on the line.

Golf Canada’s 2023 championship season continues on Thursday, June 15 at Evergreen Golf Club, in Nipawin, Saskatchewan with the NextGen Prairie Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards.

The 54-hole stroke play competition gets underway with a practice round on Thursday, June 15 and championship rounds beginning on Friday, June 16. There will be no cuts in this NextGen Championship.  

The starting field will feature 67 male and female competitors – 52 Junior Boys and 15 Junior Girls – vying for spots into their respective Canadian Junior Championship later this summer.

The top six players in the Junior Boys division will earn exemptions into the 2023 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, August 14-17, at North Bay Golf and Country Club Ltd. in North Bay, Ont. The top six players (including ties) in the Junior Girls division will earn exemptions into the 2023 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, July 24-27, at Hampton Golf Course in Hampton, N.B.

Evergreen Golf Course is located in the heart of Nipawin, known as Saskatchewan’s vacation capital. Surrounded by two spectacular lakes where the prairies meet the boreal forest, Nipawin is renowned for its exceptional outdoor recreation offering world class golf, superb fishing, camping and boating opportunities.

“Having the opportunity to host a Golf Canada event is an honour that not many facilities get. It is a chance for us to showcase the high-quality golf course we have. Our course management team, staff and members put a lot of effort into providing a first-class golf experience and this is a way to share with guests from across Canada,” said Derrick Tallon, Head Pro at Evergreen Golf Course. “It is our goal to have the golfers and visitors to the Evergreen Golf Course share a positive story with their friends and encourage more visitors to our golf course.”

To follow the live leaderboard of the NextGen Prairie Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards, click here.

About the NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2023 national championships. Two additional Fall Series events will be hosted to close the season. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. For more information on the NextGen Prairie Championship, click here.

ABOUT GOLF CANADA

Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing more than 319,000 golfers and 1,435 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

Jack McDonald was inducted into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame in 2013, but the Kamloops, B.C. resident has continued to give back to the game in Canada.

McDonald was recently in Saskatoon helping to teach golf referees through the Tournament Administrators and Referee School (TARS) at Riverside Country Club, the same venue where McDonald was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

McDonald sat down with Golf Saskatchewan to discuss his start in the game, his love for the Rules, working golfs biggest events and what the game means to him and his family.

Saskatoon’s Ty Campbell scored well over 72 holes last week at the PGA Tour Canada Q School tournament at Crown Isle Resort.

Campbell, the 2020 Saskatchewan amateur champion, shot 70, 68, 74, and 70 to finish at 6-under par, 282. The Riverside Country Club members tie for 14th placing earned Campbell ‘conditional membership’ on the Tour this season.

Campbell has received word he will be in the field for this weekend’s Royal Beach Victoria Open at Uplands Golf Club chasing a portion of the $200,000 purse.

He joined Golf Saskatchewan from Victoria, where Campbell is preparing for the opening event of the PGA Tour Canada season, the work he’s put in to earn a little more security, plus his thoughts on Nick Taylor’s win at the RBC, 16 years after the Canadian Amateur win at Riverside Country Club.

Medicine Hat golfer Glen Erickson is the Senior Men’s Lobstick champion for the second time.

Erickson outlasted Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg in a four-hole playoff to claim the prestigious tournament, adding to his win in 2018.

He was sitting in third place going into the final round however the Saskatoon-born Erickson shot the week’s low round of 69 to force a playoff. Repeating the first hole over and over a bogey on the fourth try sealed the win.

Erickson spoke to Golf Saskatchewan about returning to Waskesiu, the win, and playing in a loaded championship flight during the 54-hole championship.

36-hole leader Doug Kozak finished third, Cliff Selander was fourth, while Brad Phelps and Mark Albert rounded out the top-five tying at 226.

Rick Yano was the super-senior winner.

The complete results can be seen here.

Next on OMT schedules:

• Juniors – The Willows Club Junior Open | June 10/11
• Women’s – Saskatoon Women’s Open | June 17/18
• Men’s – Men’s Lobstick | June 13/18
• Senior Men’s – Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship | June 20/22

A familiar face around multi-sport games in Saskatchewan has advanced to a golf administrative role on the national level.

Outgoing Regina resident Leanne Schellenberg is one month into her role as the Assistant Tournament Director of the CPKC Women’s Open.

Her experiences in sport administration started at the University of Saskatchewan, and then an she had opportunity to work at the Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current in 2019 which opened up more opportunities including the post with the national amateur golf organization.

Schellenberg spoke with Golf Saskatchewan from the grandstands of the 18th green in Oakdale, Ont. where the RBC Opens tees off Thursday. Fittingly Schellenberg shared her story in the midst of national recognized Women’s Golf Day.

It was a weekend of firsts for two young Saskatchewan amateur golfers in the north-central region of the province.

In Prince Albert, Lauren Fox of Creighton won her first Ladies Northern Championship on Sunday. After a third place showing in her debut at the event hosted by Cooke Municipal Golf Course last year Fox fired back-to-back rounds of 78 to win by seven strokes over Pauline McDougall of Prince Albert.

McDougall was the senior champion, she edged Kathy Ziglo by a shot, she was third.

The complete results can be found here. The next Order of Merit Tour (OMT) event for the ladies is the Saskatoon Amateur Women’s Championship on June 17 and 18 at Dakota Dunes Golf Links.

Golf Saskatchewan spoke with Fox Monday after the win.

In Nipawin, Regina’s Will Blake tied an Evergreen Golf Course record on Sunday shooting 66 and taking the Scotia Wealth Open by two shots over Jehremy Ryde.

Blake’s round ties fellow Regina golfers Lindsay Bernakevitch and Dean Brown with the record. Over 36 holes Blake finished 5-under par, good enough for the win in his debut at the tournament.

With the win Blake also receives an exemption into the PGA Tour Canada event in Elk Ridge.

A trio of Saskatoon players tied for third including Brock Ochitwa, Chase Pochylko, and Marc Sweeney. The complete results can be seen here.

The next Men’s OMT event is the Lobstick at Waskesiu Golf Course from June 13 – 18.

Golf Saskatchewan spoke with Blake Monday after the win.

For the first time in it’s three-plus years of existence the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship Tour is coming to Saskatchewan in a weeks time.

Begay, an American Indian from Albuquerque, NM. said he started the junior tour to open doors and give more opportunities for junior golfers, so on June 10 and 11 at Dakota Dunes Golf Links on the Whitecap, First Nation near Saskatoon the 36-hole event will take place. To register, click here. The deadline is Wednesday night.

The four-time PGA winner and Stanford alumni joined Golf Saskatchewan this week to talk about why he wanted to start the junior initiative, how excited the group is to come to Saskatchewan, and why juniors should sign up for the event.

Over the May long weekend, three college golfers with ties to Saskatchewan wrapped up their freshman seasons at the NCAA DII Championship in Warren, Oh.

Regina’s Luke Cote tied for 75th at 228 (74, 80, 74) while competing for Southern Arkansas University.

Saskatoon’s Alex Swinnerton and longtime friend and Waskesiu Golf Course member Guillermo Salazar played for Indiana University of Pennsylvania and both tied for 80th at 229.

Despite the results the the trio are ecstatic how their rookie college seasons went commending with a national appreance.

The three joined Golf Saskatchewan to discuss the year, the event, and goals for the summer before returning to school in August.

On May 30, almost 50 golfers in the Queen City converged on the Murray Municipal Golf Course to compete for the Regina High School Athletic Association (RHSAA) Golf Championships.

In the girls’ competition Wascana Country Club member Tayla Perry was the winner shooting a score of 89. Sophie Casswell was second at 101, in third with a score of 106 was Kira Dureault-Diabagate.

The full results are here.

In the senior boys competition Martin Collegiate student-athlete Jack Bechard held off schoolmate Casey Brown for the golf medal. Bechard shot 70, Brown a shot back at 71. Coming in third place was WCC player Jon Kozak at 74.

The junior boys winner was Jordan Heller (Pictured above middle/left) of Campbell Collegiate. Heller parred the course shooting 72. Aidan Walker (middle/right) carded a 78 to claim silver, Ryden Amberson (middle w/medal) of Miller High School was third with a 79.

The complete boys results can be seen here.