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.

Delisle’s Colin Coben has another Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship trophy for his crowded mantle.

Coben, 67, shot an impressive 65 on day one of the 54-hole tournament at Moon Lake Golf & Country Club this week. He went on to shoot a 72 and 68 to finish the event at 5-under par, a whopping dozen shots ahead of three players tied for second. The 2012 Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame inductee has won eight of the last 10 Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championships.

Brian Humble, Martin Ring, and Rick Hallberg all finished at 217.

John Solomon (below, left) was the winner of the super senior with a score of 227 (77, 76, 74).

The complete results can be seen here.

Coben spoke with Golf Saskatchewan about the win.

The Canadian Junior Golf Association made their return to Saskatchewan from June 17 and 19 with a stop at Yorkton’s Deer Park Municipal Golf Course.

Playing on her home course, Ella Kozak won the junior girls championship with a 54-hole score of 16-over par 232.

Niya Friesen of Swift Current won the under-15 girls division 62-over par 278.

Symone Ripley was the lone amateur women competing in the event.

On the boy’s side Saskatoon’s Chase Pochylko picked up another championship taking the junior title with a three-round score of 1-over par 217.

Hunter Kutcher of Regina was second at 14-over par, Max Regier of Saskatoon was plus-21.

Dane Giesbrecht was the lone competitor in the under-15 age group.

All the results can be seen here.

The CJGA tournament was one of five qualifiers for the upcoming Canada Summer Games team. The standings can be seen here.

The next event on the Order of Merit Tour is the Junior PLYR Cup in Warman. The next qualifier event is the MJT | Re/Max BlueChip Realty Classic in Estevan on July 2 and 3.

The Elk Ridge Open had its first round derailed by unsavory weather on Thursday but that didn’t curtail Ty Campbell’s first round.

The Saskatoon-born professional shot a 2-under par 68 on Thursday and sits 19^th overall as play starts again on Friday at 7:30 a.m.

Kade Johnson of Yorkton is tied for 32^nd at 1-under par, Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman played with Johnson Thursday in a group that teed off at 7:30 a.m., Timmerman is at 1-over par.

Saskatoon’s John Nagy and Cory Selander of Prince Albert had late tee times on Thursday, due to a pair of weather delays they only got through a few holes. Nagy is 2-over going into Friday’s restart, Selander is 4-over par.

Johnson, Timmerman, and Campbell will all begin their second rounds at 9:30 a.m.

The complete results and tee times can be found here.

It’s now been 103 years in the waiting but after two announcements of cancellations the Regina Ladies Open will take place for the 100^th time this summer.

The 36-hole tournament will take place at the Wascana Country Club and Royal Regina Golf Club on July 18 and 19 with an estimated 100 players of all calibers in the field.

In 2019 a small fire at the Royal Regina Golf Club after the event was washed out by rain was the last time the event was held. After two years of cancellations the organizing committee and competitors are excited to have the event back.

To learn more and register for the event prior to the early bird deadline of Friday evening click here.

Golf Saskatchewan chatted with committee member Aggie Potapinski and longtime RLO competitor, past champion, and Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame member Lorie Boyle to hear more about the upcoming tournament.

The PGA TOUR CANADA’s Elk Ridge Open officially tees off Thursday morning, but the festivities are well underway.

Beginning with Monday’s qualifier at Waskesiu Golf Course, events have been ongoing since with practice rounds, socials, and Tuesday’s opening ceremony.

Five Saskatchewan golfers will compete in the first ‘full-field’ Elk Ridge Open. Roman Timmerman will play with his longtime friend and college teammate Kade Johnson in the 9:30 a.m. group teeing off on hole one. Ty Campbell will also play at 9:30 a.m., he will begin the round on hole 10. Josh Nagy and Cory Selander will both start at 2:30 p.m., Nagy will be on hole one, Selander begins on hole 10.

All the tee times can be seen here.

Among the speakers were PGA Tour Canada Executive Director Scott Pritchard and 2022 Canadian Open competitor Jared du Toit. Both spoke with media after the ceremonial tee off.

Players from 14 different countries are represented at this year’s Elk Ridge Open. More details including the full schedule of events can be seen here.

It was another dramatic day on the 17th green at Waskesiu Golf Course.

Yorkton’s Kade Johnson needed a playoff-hole birdie to punch his ticket into the Elk Ridge Open beginning Thursday at Elk Ridge Resort.

Teeing off in the third group out, Johnson set an early pace at 3-under, 67. Then the wait began.

The score was good enough to get into a three-way playoff for one spot into the Open. Johnson hit his approach shot to the back of the 17th green, was away for his birdie but and made the putt.

Both Texas Harper and Patrick Sullivan couldn’t get their birdies to drop allowing Johnson to enter the Elk Ridge Open field for the second straight year.

Junior Alex Swinnerton (above) put up a great fight on his home course shooting 2-under, 68. He missed his birdie putt on 18 by mere inches, just missing out on the playoff.

Saskatoon’s Chase Pochylko (below), another junior looking to get into the field in Elk Ridge also finished at 2-under par.

The complete results can be seen here.

Regina’s Shawn McNall outlasted the entire 2022 Men’s Lobstick Championship field and claimed the victory on Saturday at Waskesiu Golf Course.

McNall, 42, started the week with a tie for 17th in the Open, the Roya Regina Golf Club player then placed 14th in the qualifying round on Tuesday. He then went on to beat Doug Kozak, Danny Klughart, Ashley Ziegeman, and Payton Ochitwa in the final in a one hole playoff.

Ochitwa took the early match lead after McNall bogeyed Waskesiu’s classic second hole. McNall bounced back with a birdie on hole four to get the match even, but Ochitwa took the 1-up lead right back on the fifth hole. Ochitwa’s tee shot on hole six found the trees allowing McNall to tie the match with a par.

On hole 10, Ochitwa again regained his one hole advantage, however he gave that back with a bogey on 13 to square the match again. The young Saskatoon golfer regained his 1-up lead with a birdie on hole 16. McNall rebounded with a birdie on 17 to draw even.

After pars on 18, the pair was send back to hole 17 where McNall knocked in another birdie to claim the title in his first ever appearance at the historic event.

The complete results can be found here.

McNall spoke to Golf Saskatchewan following the win.

Golf Saskatchewan is pleased to announce the 2022 SAGE Scholarship Recipients. The Saskatchewan Academic and Golf Excellence (SAGE) Scholarship program annually presents scholarships to assist deserving member golfers in their pursuit of high school and post-secondary academic excellence. The successful recipients were selected based on being a Golf Saskatchewan member, academics, and some weighting on sporting excellence.

Graham DeLaet Scholarship #1 (valued at $1,500)
• Ryan Chernoff, TS&M Woodlawn GC, Estevan
Golf Saskatchewan Scholarship (Valued at $1,500)
• Alexandra Schmidt, Royal Regina GC, Regina
Meredith MacPherson-Stalwick Memorial Scholarship (valued at $1,178.51)
• Symone Ripley, Saskatoon G&CC, Saskatoon
Fletcher-Reid Scholarship (valued at $1,000)
• Jace Carlisle, TS&M Woodlawn GC, Estevan
Ron Young Memorial Scholarship (valued at $1,000)
• Josh Nagy, Riverside GC, Saskatoon
Cooke-Kinnear Scholarship (values at $1,000)
• Autumn Neiszner, Wascana GC, Regina
Kozy Scholarship (valued at $1,000)
• TJ Baker, Waskesiu GC, Waskesiu
Leddy-Heywood Scholarship (valued at $1,000)
• Sarah Grieve, The Willows/SGCC, Saskatoon
Dr. Garry Hayes Memorial Scholarship $1634.98/2 (valued at $817.49 each)
• Alex Swinnerton, Riverside CC, Saskatoon
• Will Blake, Royal Regina GC, Regina
Golf Saskatchewan High School Bursary (valued at $400)
• Nick Kitchen, Evergreen GC, Nipawin
• Max Regier, Willows GCC, Saskatoon
• Myles Johnson, Legends GC, Warman
• Dane Giesbrecht, Legends GC, Warman

For more information on our scholarship program or any of our other programs please visit the Golf Saskatchewan website at www.golfsaskatchewan.org or contact our office.

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak is going to the U.S. Junior Girls Championship after qualifying through an event in North Dakota on Monday.

Kozak, 16, travelled from Ste. Anne, Manitoba following the conclusion of the rained out NextGen Prairie Championship on Sunday to Jamestown, North Dakota to compete in the one-day event and potentially punch her ticket to the national championship in Bowling Green, Kentucky and be the first Saskatchewan player to accomplish the feat since Anna Young in 2012.

Kozak said the idea was advice from her coach Henry Brunton in Florida to enter started the schedule planning and after getting off the course with a lead and then realizing there was live scoring at the event it was a whirlwind while the others finished, she said.

“It was kind of a shocker, it took a while for it to hit me that I might have won it and qualified,” Kozak said. “It’s still kind of settling in, it’s definitely something I’ve never felt before.”

Kozak placed fourth at Golf Canada’s NextGen event. The three-day tournament had the final day washed out and that allowed Kozak to make her way to the United States a little earlier than planned. Despite the disappointment in not finishing that event Kozak said the weather was potentially a blessing.

“Part of me really wanted to play (Sunday at Quarry Oaks), I felt really ready, even though I played two-and-a-half holes I felt it that I was going to play well. I was in a good mood, it sucked but like you said, a blessing in disguise, I was really well rested for my round,” she said.

Kozak won the qualifier with a 2-over, 74, three strokes better than Rylee Heryford and Rose Solberg.

The U.S. Junior Girls Championship will be held at The Club at Olde Stone from July 18 to 23. Kozak said nothing drastic will change with her game ahead of the premier event. She said her daily preparation will continue leading up to the championship.

“I’m really happy where my game is at right now, I’m just going to tweak a few things. Not really any big changes, just practicing, grinding, making sure my short game stays in touch and making sure I’m ready to go,” she said.

You can hear more from Kozak who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan a couple days after the qualifier.