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.

On Thursday Yorkton’s Ella Kozak can add another win to her ever growing resume.

Kozak, 16, shot an even par, 73 on Wednesday in day two of the Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship at the Royal Regina Golf Club. Kozak is now 15 shots clear of the field after the Deer Park Golf Course member built a six stroke lead on Tuesday and sits at 5-over par for the tournament.

Two-time defending champion Brooklin Fry is in second place at 20-over par. Autumn Neiszner of Regina is third at 27-over par.

In the under-15 girls age division Chloe Wills of Kyle continues to lead. In the under-13 girls category Yuna Lee sits atop the leaderboard.

In the Junior Men’s Championship Saskatoon’s Tommy Danielson shot his second straight round of 69, just enough to lead Chase Pochylko by a stroke going into Thursday’s final round.

Pochylko also shot 69 on Wednesday, as did Regina’s Luke Cote who sits in third place at 1-under par, three shots behind Danielson for the lead.

In the under-17 boys division Weyburn’s Darien Herlick has a six shot lead over Swift Current’s Ethan Candow and Saskatoon’s Max Regier.

Herlick is also in fifth place in the overall championship race.

The under-15 boys division is led by Dane Giesbrecht of Warman. The Legends Golf Club member is at 11-over par, one shot lower than Aricin Franklin of Saskatoon.

Elias Haukeness is in third place.

In the under-13 boys division Austin Nesbitt leads by 12 shots going into the championship round on Thursday.

The final round will begin at 7 a.m. on Thursday with the championship wrapping up late in the afternoon pending the weather.

For complete results and tee times click here.

Ella Kozak of Yorkton is the first round leader of the 2022 Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship.

Kozak, 16, carded an opening round score of 5-over par, 78 at the Royal Regina Golf Club on Tuesday. She leads Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry by four strokes.

Autumn Neiszner is third at 12-over par after the Regina golfer shot 85 in the first round of the 54-hole tournament.

Chloe Wills of Kyle leads the under-15 girls division after recording a 6-over par, 78. Swift Current’s Niya Friesen is second at 12-over par, 84. Grace Odnokon shot 79 in the Saskatoon players provincial debut.

Regina’s Yuna Lee is atop the under-13 girls division.

Saskatoon’s Tommy Danielson was just one of two players to shoot under par in round one of the Junior Men’s Championship.

Danielson, 17, was a shot better than Chase Pochylko on Tuesday at the Royal Regina Golf Club, Danielson posted a 2-under par, 69. Pochylko, also of Saskatoon is at 1-undr par, 70.

Two players are tied at 1-over par, Kindersley’s Cort Tunall and Regina’s Luke Cote each posted scores of 72.

A logjam of players are tied for fifth at 2-over par, 73.

There is a tie at the top of the under-17 boys division.

Weyburn’s Darien Herlick and Ryden Amberson of Regina each opened the championship with a 2-over par, 73.

Brayden Skene of Warman is third at 3-over par.

The boys under-15 leader is Ryan Mosher of Saskatoon. He shot an opening round score of 4-over par, 74.

Dane Giesbrecht of Warman is second at 6-over par, 76. Elias Haukeness of Buena Vista and Saskatoon golfer Aricin Franklin are tied for third at 7-over par.

Regina product Austin Nesbitt leads the under-13 boys category after he shot 81 on Tuesday.

The complete results of all the age groups can be found here.

Players will be back on the course Wednesday beginning at 7 a.m.

The championship will conclude on Thursday.

Former Nipawin resident Evan Zurloff has his first career hole-in-one recently at the Evergreen Golf Course but the round will stand out for more reasons than the memorable shot.

Zurloff, now a firefighter in Regina travelled to his hometown course to play men’s night with his dad’s group. It was also the eldest Zurloff’s 65th birthday. Evan said the group wasn’t sure where his seven iron left the ball after it struck the flag on hole 13.

“It was mostly disbelief,” he said. “We heard it hit the pin and then it disappeared. We didn’t know if it went in the hole or took off on the left or right. Once we rolled up and saw it in the hole the boys were all high-fiving.”

Zurloff admitted with a five-month-old baby at home he doesn’t play as much, he said he plays “about 20 rounds a year,” but this round was his first of the year. He drove up to Nipawin from Regina to share the day with his dad and now it’s a round they both won’t forget.

“It’s pretty rare to get out with dad because I’m working or in Regina, the rare rounds we do go out we always have fun but we gave a big hug at the end of this one for sure,” Evan said.

Battleford’s Colby Friedrich is the 2022 Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur champion.

Friedrich, 20, outlasted the field over 54-holes at Saskatoon Golf and Country Club over the Canada Day weekend and snuk away with a one shot win over Brock Ochitwa.

Friedrich shot 71 in round one, 74 in round two and an even-par 72 on Sunday to claim the win. Bryan Matkowski rounded out the top-three at 3-over par.

The complete results can be seen here.

Friedrich spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork after the win.

The Royal Regina Golf Club (RRGC) is set to host the Saskatchewan Junior Championships starting on Tuesday.

Over 100 players from across Saskatchewan and the prairies will be competing in age groups from as young as seven up to to highly coveted prize of under-19 women’s and men’s champions. Royal Regina General Manager Ryan Pollock said the club and membership are ecstatic to welcome the best junior golfers next week.

“The Royal Regina Golf Club is excited to host the 2022 Saskatchewan Junior Golf Championships,” Pollock said. “As a club we take great pride in our own junior membership and feel we have a responsibility to provide expanded programming opportunities as they arise. We look forward to hosting the provinces top junior players at the home of golf in Saskatchewan.”

The last time a junior championship was held at the RRGC was 1989 when Saskatoon’s Jeff Makohon won his third straight junior men’s championship. The women’s and men’s events were separate then, the last junior women’s championship at the course was 1982, Paula Sommervill of Prince Albert was the winner. The last Golf Saskatchewan event at the RRGC was the 2019 Senior Women’s and Men’s Championships. Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Championships Steve Ryde said the organization is looking forward to returning to Saskatchewan’s “home of golf” for the junior events.

“The RRGC is a top-notch golf course and facility in the province and will set the bar high for junior championships in the future. Ryan, Dean (Brown), and the entire crew at the Royal are very devoted to their junior players and all young aspiring golfers and will make the week one to remember. The course is a great length for the best in the province to test their abilities and have that possibility of being a junior champion. We’re excited to get back to the Royal for the first time in a few years, we’re elated for the week and the venue,” Ryde said.

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry is the defending under-19 women’s champion, Hunter Kutcher of Regina and the Royal is the defending junior men’s champion.

Registration is still open until 5 p.m. on Saturday. All the event details can be found here.

Shaunavon’s Hannah MacNeil is the newest Saskatchewan based member of the PGA of Canada.

The now-professional passed her playability test on June 27 at The Legends in Warman.

A two-time Team Saskatchewan competitor at the junior women’s level, MacNeil stepped away from competitive golf. Once in Saskatoon for university she started working at The Willows Club, her passion for the game was renewed and she is now the fifth woman professional based in the province.

You can hear from MacNeil in her interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork as she discusses the start of her career in Shaunavon, junior opportunities as well as a message for young girls on the fence about playing in tournaments.

After 12 years as the regional director of membership for Golf Canada, Blair Armitage is retiring.

British Columbia’s Doug Hastie has taken over the position moving to the national amateur golf organization from B.C. Golf.

The pair sat down with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork to discuss Armitage’s tenure and Hastie making the move to Golf Canada.

Saskatoon’s Aricin Franklin has been competing on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) for a couple years but the 13-year-old’s golf highlight may have just occurred.

Franklin hit a hole-in-one on hole seven at the MJT Ford Series at Stony Plain on June 19. Franklin’s first ace allowed him to get back to even-par on the day and vaulted him to a second-place finish in the bantam boys age division at the event with a stellar score of 4-over par.

Franklin joined Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork to discuss his start in golf, playing competitively and his short and long-term goals.

It was an exciting afternoon at the Foam Lake Golf and Country Club on Saturday after local retiree Phil Johnson sunk an ace during the sixth annual Elks Hole-in-One Tournament.

Johnson, 67, won a $20,000 prize for hitting his first hole-in-one. He said the moment was exciting for everyone at who saw his first ace.

“We were just getting started,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan. “We started on five, seven was the first shot and boom, it went in. It was unbelievable. There was another group of eight beside us that were watching, and the spotter, there was only 17 of us watching.”

Johnson said he spends the summers in Foam Lake and the winter in Florida and plays golf year-round. He admitted that he thought a one on his card might never come.

“I’m going to be 68-years-old, and I’ve golfed since I was 20-years-old and I’ve never had one,” he joked.

Not only was the shot exciting for Johnson, but his playing partners were also jubilant. They cashed in on the memorable shot as well. Johnson said they split the prize money and that’s something he’s always done when he plays.

“That’s all just being part of a team, one gets it and all of you get the opportunity of every hole, you get four cracks. We’ve always done a split, out of the $20,000 I got $8,000 and I’m ecstatic with that,” he said.

The kindness didn’t stop with his playing partners however, the group returned $2,000 of the prize money and contributed it to the “New 19 Building Fund” for a new clubhouse at the country club.

“Everyone of us uses the golf course and everyone of us wants to see a new clubhouse so it was a really good thing we all chose,” he said.

If you wish to donate to the Foam Lake Golf and Country Club clubhouse fund contact the town through their website.