Later this season four Saskatchewan junior golfers will represent the province at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario.

Ella Kozak (Yorkton), Hallie Crozier (Regina), Darien Herlick (Weyburn), and Hunter Kutcher (Regina) earned the opportunity to compete in the multi-sport games that will take place from Aug. 6 to 21. The golf competition at the Games will be held at the Legends on the Niagara (Battlefield) from Aug. 17 to 20.

Kozak, 16, said getting a chance to compete in the once-in-a-four-year cycle is an exciting opportunity.

“I am looking forward to attending Canada games and I’m sure it will be a great experience and a good opportunity for me,” she said.

Crozier is one of two Royal Regina Golf Club members to make the team alongside Kutcher. The 17-year-old said she’s ecstatic to get a chance to play at the Games and take in all the festivities.

“I am so excited to go to the Canada Summer Games and represent Saskatchewan golf,” she said. “To have the opportunity to play at this event is something I have been working towards this season. I am really excited about the team we have put together. I am also looking forward to all the events that we will be able to take part in at the Games.”

Kutcher will add the experience to his resume that includes a Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship in 2021. He said getting a chance to play in the Games and experience a different national championship is enticing.

“I am very excited to play in an event that I have never had the opportunity to before, as well as being apart of the team that will represent Saskatchewan at a national event. I’m looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing all that the event has to offer,” Kutcher said.

Herlick is now playing more golf in Regina at the Royal, but he started his junior development at the Weyburn Golf Club. Getting a chance to join Kutcher in the boy’s field at the Games and represent the province has the 16-year-old anticipating the event.

“I am looking forward to golfing at the Canada Summer Games for Saskatchewan,” Herlick said. “I’m excited to compete against other teams from different provinces, plus I think Saskatchewan has a very strong team. It’s going to be a great experience.”

The Games were originally scheduled for last summer but were cancelled due to COVID-19.

For the first time since 2015 a provincial golf championship will be held at Estevan’s TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club this week. The 2022 Senior Women’s, Men’s, and Mid-Masters (40+) will take place at the course from July 26 – 28.

The Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship was held in Estevan in 2015, the last senior event to take place at Woodlawn was the men’s in 1987 when Regina’s George Holizki won. The senior women last competed at the course in 1982 when Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame inductee Pat Lawson won the championship. General Manager Amanda Minchin said the club is excited to welcome Golf Saskatchewan back.

“On behalf of the board of directors, management team, our membership and the city of Estevan, we welcome the 2022 Saskatchewan Senior Championships to our club. We are extremely excited and proud to host this event and look forward to meeting all the competitors. We hope they enjoy their time with us at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club and we can’t wait to see some great golf,” Minchin said.

The best amateur women over 50 and men over 55 will compete for a spot on Team Saskatchewan at the national championships in 2022. Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Championships Steve Ryde said TS&M Woodlawn will make a great host for the championships.

“I toured the course already this week and I can say TS&M Woodlawn is a premier golf club in the province, and we’re excited to bring a provincial event back to the southern part of the Saskatchewan. Due to the geography of our province and the long distances between clubs and being outside the two big cities, Woodlawn may not get the credit it deserves as a top-notch facility with all the amenities players would expect from a provincial championship,” Ryde said.

Regina’s Kim Walker is the defending senior women’s champion, Rick Hallberg from Weyburn is the two-time reigning senior men’s champion and the 2021 mid-master’s winner.

Over 100 players will compete in the 54-hole championships. To see the field for the women click here, the men’s championships details can be found here.

July has been a busy month for competitive golfers in all four Order of Merit (OMT) Tours and beyond.

On July 18 and 19 the 100th Regina Ladies Open took place after three years of waiting to finally host the centennial edition of the event. Unfortunately the 36-hole tournament was cut to just one day due to heavy rains in the Queen City. The Wascana Country Club player shot 75 on day one at her home course to open a five shot lead over Crystal Piero. Diane Bethune was third at 9-over par.

Day two at the Royal Regina Golf Club was cancelled. Walker has won the event nine times. She will be playing in the Pharmasave Ladies Open in Weyburn on Saturday before the Saskatchewan Senior Women’s Championship begins Tuesday in Estevan.

The Senior Men’s OMT Tour was busy over the last couple weeks with a tournament in Warman and Swift Current recently.

On July 11 and 12 The Legends Golf Club hosted the Senior 2-Man Best Ball event. Scott Hodson and Frank Enns were the winners with a 36-hole score of 135. The duo just outshot Brian Rittwage and Barry Macooh by two shots to win the tournament. Ian Larocque and Geoge Janson rounded out the top three at 140.

In Swift Current at the Elmwood Golf Club on July 11 to 13 the Mercator Financial Southwest Championship took place.

Saskatoon’s Warren Proctor won the event with a 54-hole score of 218 (69, 72, 77). Mark Selinger was second with back-to-back rounds of 73 and a 77 on the final day.

Rob Schneider was third at 228.

The Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Championship runs from Tuesday to Thursday at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club in Estevan.

Prior to winning his second straight Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship, Roman Timmerman also claimed the Saskatoon Open championship on July 10. He edged his long-time friend and college teammate Kade Johnson by three shots to win the event.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Several Saskatchewan golfers were in the United States last week competing in high-end events.

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak became the first Saskatchewan junior to compete in the U.S. Junior Girl’s National Championship since Anna Young in 2012.

Kozak missed the cut by just two strokes after solid rounds of 77 and 76 at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

At the FCG Callaway World Championships in Rancho Mirage, California last week, both Kyle’s Chloe Wills and Warman’s Dane Giesbrecht were in the field.

Wills competed in the girls 13 – 14 age division. The Elmwood Golf Club player fired back-to-back 84’s and a 91 to place 51st.

Giesbrecht, competing in the 13 – 14 boys age group shot rounds of 74, 72, and 74 for a 54-hole total of 220. The Legends member placed in a tie for 33rd in a field of over 70 golfers.

Also last week, Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy competed in the Idaho U.S. Amateur Qualifier in Wilder, Idaho at River Bend Golf Course. Nagy carded a 77 on day one, he improved to a 73 on day two to finish in 14th place.

Earlier in July, Golf Saskatchewan partnered with Elk Ridge and a trio of PGA of Canada coaches to host the inaugural Ladies Camp.

Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Sport Development Steve Ryde was joined by Patty Jonas, Anna Young, and Elk Ridge Head Professional Ryan Wells to lead the sold-out event.

Angie Carriere was one of the participants alongside her sister Shelly Carriere and friend Jacqueline Archer. Carriere spoke about the experience and urges others to participate in future camps or even search locally for golf programming if you want to give the sport a try.

Golf Saskatchewan is currently planning the Ladies Camp for 2023 with hopefully a southern Saskatchewan based camp as well.

One first time champion and two repeat winners highlighted a thrilling week at the 2022 Saskatchewan Amateur Championships.

With Cooke Municipal Golf Course in pristine shape and weather that forced just one minor delay on Friday morning, the combination of the Amateur Women’s, Amateur Men’s, and Mid-Amateur (25+) Championships is being hailed as one of the top events in recent memory.

In the women’s championship that ran from Tuesday to Thursday, Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry claimed her second provincial women’s title. The 17-year-old fought back from an eight shot deficit after round one to add the trophy to her crowded mantle. Fry has won three junior championships as well. She said the feeling of winning is still special.

“It’s pretty exciting, I had a little bit of a rough start,” Fry said after the win Thursday afternoon. “I found my competitive push the last couple days and it ended with a bang.”

Sarah Grieve of Saskatoon placed second, Hallie Krozier and Autumn Neiszner, both of Regina tied for third and needed a playoff to decide who could represent Saskatchewan at the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship at the Westmount Golf Club in Windsor, Ontario later this month.

The complete results can be seen here, the Saskatchewan team will be named on Sunday. The tournament begins on Tuesday.

Mid-Amateur Championship

Prince Albert’s Brett Henry had a week to remember winning the Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Championship on Thursday before coming up just short of an amateur win.

Henry just outshot fellow Cooke member and three-time reigning champion Danny Klughart by three shots thanks to a slick 65 on the final day. Henry said getting his hands on a provincial championship on his home course is something he won’t forget.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he said. “I usually don’t play well in the big events. I usually fade away. When it comes to the Canadian events that’s usually where I getting it going. This is the first time I put it all together and it’s nice to do it on my home course.”

The complete results can be seen here.

Klughart and North Battleford’s Scott Thompson earned the right to represent Saskatchewan at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship in Thornhill, Ontario in late August.

Amateur Championship

It was a repeat performance for Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman on Friday in Prince Albert as he claimed his second straight amateur win.

The 23-year-old didn’t win in record breaking fashion like last year in Swift Current thanks to a late surge from Henry. Timmerman hung on for a one shot win in what could be his final amateur event in Saskatchewan for the foreseeable future.

“It feels awesome, definitely different than last year. I had Brett putting some pressure on me in the closing holes. He kept it interesting but I am very happy to have won this twice,” he said.

Henry was the silver medal winner three strokes behind Timmerman, college bound junior Alex Swinnerton earned the bronze medal and a chance to play for Team Saskatchewan at the Canadian Amateur Championship from Aug. 1 to 4 at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

All the results can be seen here.

Another highlight of the events was two junior golfers getting hole-in-ones.

There is a new leader in all three Saskatchewan amateur events taking place this week at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert.

In the Amateur Women’s Championship first round leader Sarah Grieve is still in front, but the Saskatoon golfer has company. Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry shaved 10 strokes off her opening round 86 to vault up the leaderboard and tie Grieve at 20-over par, 162 with the round of the day at 76. Grieve carded an 82 to go with her first round score of 80 on Tuesday.

The pair will be joined by Emily Cornwall of Calgary in the final group on Wednesday, she is tied for third with Regina’s Autumn Neiszner at 24-over par.

Fry is seeking a second amateur championship. Grieve is chasing her first.

The full results can be seen here.

The women’s championship will begin at 10 a.m., the final group is slated to tee off at 10:50 a.m.

In the Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Men’s Championship three-time defending champion Danny Klughart will try and win his fourth straight championship and join Garth Collings as the only player to win the 25-and-over championship on four occasions.

Playing on his home course Klughart shot a 2-under 69 in the second round leaving him four strokes clear of Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy going into the championship round on Thursday at Cooke Municipal Golf Course.

First round leader of both the mid-amateur and amateur, Brett Henry of Prince Albert shot 76 on Tuesday, he falls to 2-over par and sits tied with Dunphy for second.

Moose Jaw’s Chris Knoop is fourth at 3-over par, while Lloydminster’s Jim Born is sitting in fifth and seeking another trip to the national mid-amateur championship.

In the amateur event, that will be 72 holes and conclude Friday is led by the defending champion, Roman Timmerman. The Saskatoon product has posted back-to-back rounds of 69 to sit at 4-under par halfway through the tournament.

Timmerman is two shots up on Klughart and Prince Albert’s Cole Jenkins. Jenkins shot an even round of 71 on Wednesday after a 69 Tuesday in round one.

Saskatoon’s Alex Swinnerton was the only other golfer under par on the day, the Waskesiu Golf Club member is even through 36 holes.

Dunphy and Henry are tied for fifth.

The results from those championships can be found here.

Thursday’s tee times begin at 7 a.m., the final group including Klughart, Dunphy, and Henry will start at 2:50 p.m.

Prince Albert’s Brett Henry is on top of the leaderboards at the Saskatchewan Amateur Men’s and Mid-Amateur (25+) Championships after one day of the events.

The Cooke Municipal Golf Course member used his home-course advantage to shoot a stellar 3-under par, 68 in the first round of the 54-hole mid-amateur and 72-hole amateur tournament.

Henry leads the field by a shot, both Prince Albert’s Cole Jenkins and reigning-amateur champion Roman Timmerman of Saskatoon are a stroke back at 2-under par, 69. Three-time defending mid-amateur champion Danny Klughart, also of Prince Albert is tied for fourth at even par along with Madison’s Kyle Wiebe.

On the mid-amateur championship leaderboard, Moose Jaw’s Chris Knoop is in second place at 2-under par 68. Klughart and Wiebe each jump a spot on the leaderboard with Jenkins not being old enough to qualify for the mid-amateur event.

Highlighting day one was Saskatoon’s Max Regier getting a hole-in-one on the 17th at Cooke Municipal Golf Course. The 16-year-old is at 3-over par, he’s tied for 17th.

The Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s Championship is led by Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve.

Grieve, 19, opened the three round tournament with an 9-over par, 80 in Prince Albert on Tuesday.

She leads Regina’s Autumn Neiszner and Calgary’s Emily Cornwall by one shot a third of the way through the championship. Chelsea Kinoshita is in fourth place at 11-over par.

The complete results from round one of the women’s event can be found here, the amateur men’s and mid-amateur championship leaderboards can be seen here.

The championships resume Wednesday with tee times beginning at 7 a.m.

A jam-packed field of the province’s best amateur golfers will converge on Prince Albert’s Cooke Municipal Golf Course this week for the Saskatchewan Amateur Championships.

Three championships will be contended for during the week. The Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s Championship and Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur (25 years and older) Championship will run from Tuesday to Thursday. The Saskatchewan Amateur Men’s Championship is a 72-hole tournament, that championship ends on Friday.

The course hasn’t hosted a Saskatchewan provincial championship since 2014 when hometown golfer Martin Ring won the men’s amateur championship.

“We’re really excited to host this event,” Myers added. “It’s been quite awhile since we have had the amateur and mid-amateur, a lot has changed here since then and we’re looking forward to showcasing our golf course to the province.”

In recent memory Cooke hosted the men’s amateur in 2007, Prince Albert product Ron Stewart won that year. In 1995 Colin Coben won the first of his two amateur titles at Cooke as well. Melfort’s Kim Brozer won the Women’s Amateur Championship at Cooke in 1991, Gerri Street was the senior women’s winner that year at the club while Ray Marsh captured the senior men’s trophy that same year.

Players are not-only competing for trophies won by legends such as Joanne Goulet, Graham DeLaet, and Jim Scissons, but spots at the Canadian Amateur Championships are on the line.

“Cooke is a premier golf course in the province with arguably the top conditions tee to green in Saskatchewan this year. Darcy and the entire crew at the club, in the heart of a great city with all the amenities we expect the 2022 amateur championships to be a week our organization remembers and the participants that compete in the three coinciding championships,” Golf Saskatchewan Director of Championships Steve Ryde said.

Roman Timmerman is the defending amateur men’s champion, Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart will seek his fourth straight mid-amateur championship, Ella Kozak is the reigning women’s amateur champion, however Kozak is not in the women’s field. The 16-year-old Yorkton golfer is competing in the United States Junior Girls Championship in Kentucky this week.

The championships begin at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

For all the information including tee times and leaderboard for the women’s championship click here.

The men’s and mid-amateur championship details can be found here.

For the second year, Golf Saskatchewan hosted a Junior Junior event alongside the Saskatchewan Junior Championships held this past week at the Royal Regina Golf Club.

16 competitors 12 and under took part in a two-day, 36-hole tournament. Last year the initiative was launched to help grow the game with thanks to Hillcrest Golf Club General Manager Jasmin Cameron and volunteers in Moose Jaw at the club.

Golf Saskatchewan Tournament Director Steve Ryde said adding the age groups into the provincial championship can really help pave the way for future golfers that want to develop their games and play competitive golf.

“The group in Moose Jaw in 2021 was incredible with their efforts to help us put on the first Junior Junior and now to see another group of young golfers trying their hand in event is really great to see, and our organization hopes to see these great kids back again,” Ryde said.

The players used the Stableford Scoring system during the event.

7-9 Girls

10-12 Girls

7-9 Boys

10-12 Boys

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak can add a Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship to go along with last year’s amateur championship.

Kozak, 16, led the 54-hole championship at the Royal Regina Golf Club from start to finish this week and claimed a dominating 18 shot win over defending junior champion Brooklin Fry of Shell Lake.

It feels really good,” Kozak said after the trophy presentation. “It was a good three days and a solid three rounds, pretty good weather, I’m happy with the outcome.”

Kozak will now turn her attention to the United States Junior Girls Championship in Kentucky next week. She is just the second Saskatchewan woman to play in the prestigious event, Anna Young did so in 2012.

Under-15 Girls Championship

Kyle’s Chloe Wills has claimed the under-15 girls championship for the second straight year. Wills was 12 shots lower than Saskatoon’s Grace Odnokon.

Under-13 Girls Championship

Junior Boys Championship

Saskatoon’s Chase Pochylko made the most of his last junior provincial competition by coming from behind on Thursday and claiming the Saskatchewan Men’s Junior Championship.

Pochylko, 18, shot a round of 67 on the final day to surpass two-day leader Tommy Danielson and claim the title at the Royal Regina Golf Club.

“It was my last year to play in the event so I put a lot of pressure on myself to at least give myself a chance coming onto the back nine. It feels great to win it,” he said following the 54-hole, three-day championship.

Pochylko will be in Prince Albert to compete in the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur that start on July 12.

Under-17 Boys Championship

Max Regier of Saskatoon edged Weyburn’s Darien Herlick by one stroke to win the under-17 boys championship.

Under-15 Boys Championship

Dane Giesbrecht of Warman is this year’s under-15 boys champion. Giesbrecht was a nine-shot winner over Aricin Franklin of Saskatoon.

Under-13 Boys Championship

The winner of the under-13 boys division was Auston Nesbitt. He won the event by 13 shots of second place golfer Jackson Giesbrecht.

The complete results from the championships can be seen here.

More details from the second Junior Junior that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Roya Regina Golf Club will be published on Saturday.