The top female Canadian amateur golfers over the age of 25 will head to Golf Château Bromont in Bromont, Que., from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 for the 50th installment of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship.

In the 85 player field are Saskatoon’s Dianne Bethune (Holiday Park Golf Course), Royal Regina Golf Club member Shannon Scott, Robin Action of Lloydminster and Sue Skinner of Rosetown. Bethune will start her first round at 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Acton will tee off at 9:20 a.m. Skinner begins her round at 9:50 a.m. and Scott will be the last local player on the course at 10:40 a.m.

The Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event, with a 36-hole cut to the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of three rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 54-holes. The Mid-Amateur division will run concurrently with the Mid-Master division for players 40 and older, the Senior division for players 50 and older, and the Super Senior division for players 60 and older.

The field includes eight of the top ten over-25 women on the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), including top-ranked Canadian and defending champion Judith Kyrinis. The Thornhill, Ont., product also won the event in 2016, both times claiming the Mid-Amateur, Mid-Master and Senior titles and was inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in 2019.  She became just the seventh USGA Champion from Canada when she won the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore.

Other notables in the field include Ontario Golf Hall of Fame member Terrill Samuel, who won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship in 2015, where she too claimed the Mid-Amateur, Mid-Master and Senior titles.

The field also includes Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mary-Ann Hayward, a four-time Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion (1993, 1996, 1999, 2004), a three-time Canadian Women’s Senior Champion (2010, 2011, 2013), and the 2008 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion. On the international level, Hayward was also the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion in 2005.

The course, designed by architects Howard Watson and Graham Cook, features spectacular views of Mont Bromont. The course layout for the championship will be played at a maximum length of 5,965 yards, par-73.

The winner of the Senior division will receive an exemption into the 59^th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Alabama from September 10-15, 2021 and the 4^th U.S. Senior Women’s Open at NCR Country Club (South Course) in Kettering, Ohio from August 25-28, 2022.

Additional information, including the full field and tee times, is available here.

The dynasty continues for Kathy Ziglo and Ian Larocque in the Saskatchewan Mixed Team Championship.

The Saskatoon pair won the 36-hole championship for the seventh time on Sunday at Candle Lake Golf Resort. During day one of the two round event, the twosome battled rain and extremely wet conditions and shot a fantastic 65, during a much nicer Sunday they cruised to a two-over, 75 to win the event with a score of six-under, 140.

Saskatoon’s Ellanne Krainyk and Colton McAllister (above) placed second in the tournament with a two-round score of 147 (72, 75).

Coming in third place was Regina’s Crystal and Brett Piero (below). The couple opened the event with a 70 on day one, round two they carded a 78 to finish at two-over par.

Prince Albert players Andrea and Martin Ring were the winners of the Low Net category with a score of nine-under par.

The mixed event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. 39 teams took part in the tournament.

The complete results can be found here.

To say that this season has been a whirlwind for Saskatoon’s Chase Pochylko is an understatement, especially the month of July.

Pochylko, 17, is the lone male player from the province to compete in both the national junior boys and men’s amateur championship this year. He said competing in the Canadian Junior Boys Championship was a very attainable goal, the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship was a nice surprise after a top-10 finish at the provincial event.

“My goals for the year were to get to the junior nationals and that was accomplished,” he said. “I wasn’t really thinking about the Canadian Am, that came as a surprise. Definitely a bucket list item.”

Pochylko played well at the amateur, just missing the cut by a stroke. He shot back-to-back rounds of 74 at the Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ontario. He said showing well at the championship was good for his confidence, and experience.

“I was really happy that I could actually compete at that level. Obviously, I wasn’t anywhere near the top of the leaderboard, but I just made my own way out there,” Pochylko said.

He had higher expectations for his trip to the Montreal area for the junior championships at Vallée du Richelieu – Le Club. Pochylko made the cut and ended the 72-hole championship in a tie for 69^th place at 24-over par. He said the week in Quebec was positive.

“The was a really good experience competing against the top of the top juniors in the country. To get that experience and play a different course. It was much different than what we normally play in Saskatchewan in tournaments. It was a great experience to play at that level,” he added.

Overall, the stretch of events took Pochylko from Swift Current to Mosse Jaw to southern Ontario and Quebec. He said the summer was quite chaotic at some points.

“My mom was out there with me the whole time, she kind of kept me in one piece, kept me controlled out there” he admitted. “She kept me fed, it was really good.”

With a successful year under his belt, and another year of junior eligibility Pochylko has high expectations for next season. He wants to win the junior provincials as well as the amateur title. He knows those are lofty goals but feels this season will build him towards that type of success.

“I kind of had peaks and valleys in my golf game this year which is the reason why I didn’t do as well as I would have liked at the juniors, my swing wasn’t doing as well as I would have liked. Next year what I am going to start doing is more lessons to keep my game the best I can,” he said.

Pochylko currently leads the Junior Men’s Order of Merit standings with the last event this weekend in Warman. He’s not in the field for the Maple Leaf Junior Tour tournament. He expects to play at the MJT National Championship in Surrey, British Columbia in October.

You can hear more from Pochylko below in his discussion with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

After missing out on last year’s championship flight final, Kim Brown regained her spot as the top golfer at the Fountain Tire Ladies Lobstick tournament at the Waskesiu Golf Course.

Brown, who grew up in Prince Albert and now calls Saskatoon home, captured her fifth title in the last seven years on Friday as she defeated three-time champion Kathy Ziglo of Saskatoon.

“It’s always a nice feeling to be able to take this trophy home,” said Brown, who previously won the tournament in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. “The Lobstick tournament is always a great week and I really love being up here at Waskesiu.”

After earning the top seed in the championship flight by defeating Moose Jaw’s Lorie Boyle and Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry in a playoff on Tuesday, Brown continued her strong play in the match play portion of the tournament as she earned victories over Saskatoon’s Dana Kidd and Dianne Bethune.

“I felt like the playoff was sort of where I got into my groove, which I stayed in for the next couple of days,” Brown said. “That really got me into the mind frame that you need to do well in the tournament.”

Brown had built up a four-hole advantage after just six holes in Friday’s final, but had to hold off a hard-charging Ziglo on the back-nine.

Her lead was cut down to one after Ziglo made a par on the par-four 15th, but Brown was able to seal the deal by getting her approach shot on the par-four 17th to just a few feet from the hole, which Ziglo would later concede.

“It was nice to get that cushion early on, but I know that Kathy is going to bring her very best in a final and I couldn’t take anything for granted,” said Brown, who faced Ziglo in the 2015, 2018 and 2019 championship flight title contests.

“I just tried to stay steady for the rest of the day. I had a few hiccups there in the middle but I was able to pull it together and made a good tee shot on (the par-three) 16 and I was able to carry that over to 17.”

“I started off a little slow and you never want to give Kim a bit of a head start as she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Ziglo added. “I just started grinding away there as the match went on and I tried to win one hole at a time.

“I missed an uphill birdie putt on 11 that would have allowed me to put some pressure on her and I also missed a putt on 13, but once she made that great approach shot on 17, I knew it was pretty much over.”

While Ziglo was unable to repeat as Lobstick champion, she was just pleased to be back at Waskesiu after surviving a battle with COVID-19 that had her in the ICU last December.

“Flip, I might not have even been alive for this,” Ziglo said.

“I wasn’t able to play three days in a row this year and I was worried that I wouldn’t make it through the tournament as I was starting to have trouble breathing and I was losing my strength. Thankfully, it all turned out okay.

Ziglo, who previously won the tournament in 2012 and 2014 before her triumph last summer, defeated Fry in a rematch of the 2020 final and followed that up with a semifinal win over 2016 champion Abra Thompson of Saskatoon.

“I think Brooklin is someone that I’ll always have to make sure that I’ll have to play hard against for the rest of my life,” Ziglo said. “She’s a great kid and a great golfer.

“Neither Abra or I played great in the semifinal, but I was able to do what I needed to do in order to stay ahead of her during our match.”

The rest of the results from Friday’s finals are as follows:

·  Championship Flight Consolation: Dana Kidd over Brooklin Fry

·  First Flight: Denise Hersikorn over Megan McKenzie

·  First Flight Consolation: Tammy Bezaire over Rosie Charles

·  Second Flight: Donna Morin over Maureen Bowerman

·  Second Flight Consolation: Heather Torrie over Andrea Ring

·  Third Flight: Kelly Kreinke over Shelia Palmer

·  Third Flight Consolation: Rose Halbach over Cheryl Reichel

·  Fourth Flight: Lorna Gilbert over Cheryl Dougan

·  Fourth Flight Consolation: Elaine Carriere over Jeanette Bear

·  Fifth Flight: Lynn Braaten over Arlene Segin

·  Fifth Flight Consolation: Cindy Pittman over JoAnn Doepker

·  Sixth Flight: Ruth O’Carroll over Karen Cumbers

·  Sixth Flight Consolation: Janet McElligott over Carol Spanks

·  Seventh Flight: Angela Prystay over Kris Gunn

·  Seventh Flight Consolation: Bronwyn Cowan over Susan Snell

·  Eighth Flight: MJ Chuey over Deb Young

·  Eighth Flight Consolation: Nancy Penner over Carole Rucks

·  Ninth Flight: Deb Krawchuk over Margo Marushak

·  Ninth Flight Consolation: Mary Page over Karen Drewitz

·  Tenth Flight: Adriana Lacoursiere over Elaine Noonan

·  Tenth Flight Consolation: Amber Thomas over Joanne Seitz

·  Eleventh Flight: Karen Cottrell over Judy Reynolds

·  Eleventh Flight Consolation: Sheree Selin over Kathy Pringle

·  Twelfth Flight: Joan Sanderson over Maxine Beck

·  Twelfth Flight Consolation: Terri Kachur over Nikki McGregor

·  Thirteenth Flight: Cheryl Sutton over Lisa Yuel

·  Thirteenth Flight Consolation: Bernice Paulhus over Kristie Steel

Story originally published by the Prince Albert Daily Herald. Authoured by Lucas Punkari. Republished with permission.

Justin Wood will return to Saskatoon with a national top-three finish at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Fort McMurray.

The former Unity resident is the highest placing Saskatchewan player at the championship since 2017 when Tyler Wright was fifth at the Wascana Country Club.

Wood went 72, 73, 74, 74, to finish the week at 293, plus-five, six shots behind the winner, Charles Fitzsimmons of London, Ontario.

Kindersley’s Kyle Wiebe will finish in 12th place, all alone at 12-over par.

David Stewart carded a 74 on the final day, he tied for 16th.

Jehremy Ryde of Saskatoon shot a solid 73 in the final round, he tied for 19th at 17-over.

Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart will finish in a tie for 25th at 20-over par, Brett Henry, also of the Gateway City was shot behind at 21-over par. Henry was tied for 28th.

Scott Thompson (North Battleford) placed 37th at 25-over.

Regina’s Jason Klemenz jumped five spots on the leaderboard Thursday after carding a 78, he will finish in 38th.

Former Saskatoon resident Taylor Afseth, now of Victoria, B.C. will finish in 47th at 29-over par.

Michael Smith of Saskatoon was steady over his final three days of the tournament including a 78 in the final round. He was 51st at 30-over par.

Rick Hallberg (Weyburn) shot 12-over in round four, the Saskatchewan Mid-Masters and Senior Champion returns home with a 52nd place finish.

Shaun Dunphy carded an 80 on Thursday, he’s tied for 53rd at 33-over.

Regina’s Travis Fifi concluded the championship at 35-over after his 80 on Thursday, he tied for 59th.

Birch Hills golfer Jeff Whitfield posted an 83 during his final round, he tied for 69th at 46-over par.

Complete results can be found here.

*We will hear from some of the players next week including Wood after his outstanding performance.

Saskatchewan golfers are being found near the top of leaderboards from the oilsands of Alberta all the way to the Atlantic Ocean this week.

At the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Fort McMurray; Saskatoon’s Justin Wood is tied for second-place going into Thursday’s final round. He shot 74 on Wednesday in round three of the 72-hole tournament, he sits at three-over par. Edmonton’s Neil Thomas is the new leader of the national championship at one-under.

Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart and Brett Henry, as well as Kindersley’s Kyle Wiebe are all inside the top-20, tied in 19th place at 13-over par.

David Stewart of Saskatoon is in 24th, he has shaded at least four strokes off each round, his 72 on Wednesday was the lowest round of the day for the Saskatchewan contingent.

Jehremy Ryde shot 80 in round three, he’s sitting at 16-over, tied for 32nd.

Scott Thompson (North Battleford) and Rick Hallberg (Weyburn) are 19-over par, that’s good enough for a tie of 39th.

Regina’s Jason Klemenz is tied for 43rd at 20-over par, Michael Smith of Saskatoon tied for 53rd at 24-over par.

Shaun Dunphy carded a 79 on Wednesday, he’s tied for 57th at 25-over. Regina’s Travis Fifi is 27-over after his 78 on Wednesday, he it tied for 61st.

Birch Hills golfer Jeff Whitfield posted an 86 during his third round, he’s 35 over par, tied for 71st.

Complete results can be found here.

Saskatchewanians chasing MacKenzie Tour win

The Prince Edward Island Open is turning into quite the professional debut for Kade Johnson.

The Yorkton product made the switch to profesional earlier this month and is competing in the event, alongside 2011 Saskatchewan Amateur champion Troy Bulmer.

Johnson opened the 72-hole event with a 71 on Tuesday, in round two the Deer Park Golf Course member shot 68. He sits five-under par, all alone in fifth-place going into round three.

Bulmer, who now plays out of Vernon, British Columbia has shot 71 and 70 through the first in 36 holes. He sits in a tie for seventh at three-under.

Longtime golf superintendent Bruce Klaassen will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame on Sept. 18.

The Regina resident sat down with Golf Saskatchewan on a wet, dreary day at the Royal Regina Golf Club, his last work location on route to a Hall of Fame career.

With trains and mowers fittingly running in the backdrop, Klaassen talks about his passion of making things grow, starting his career and his legacy at legendary Saskatchewan courses such as Waskesiu and the Royal.

Ticket details for the induction gala have been finalized, the 2020 and 2021 inductees will have until next week to secure their tables before the public has a chance.

More details will be released next week.

Saskatoon’s Justin Wood continues to stay in the hunt at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Wood followed his even par 72 during Tuesday’s round one with a one-over, 73 on Wednesday at the Fort McMurray Golf Club. The former Unity resident is just three strokes off the lead. Charles Fitzsimmons of London, Ontario retained his first-round lead at two-under par.

Prince Albert’s Brett Henry is within striking distance of the lead as well. Henry shot 74 on day two, he’s at three-over, tied for fifth.

Kyle Wiebe of Kindersley and Saskatoon’s Jehremy Ryde are tied for 20^th place at eight-over par. Wiebe shot 78 in round two, Ryde carded a 79.

Saskatchewan mid-am champion Danny Klughart is tied for 32^nd, he shot 77 on day one and 78 in round two.

Regina golfer Jason Klemenz and Scott Thompson of North Battleford are both 12-over par. They are tied for 35^th. Thompson was the biggest mover of locals on day two, he slid 37 spots up the leaderboard.

Rick Hallberg of Weyburn posted rounds of 77 and 80 through the first 36 holes of the championship, he’s tied for 40^th.  

Saskatoon golfer David Stewart jumped 21 positions on Wednesday chopping six shots off his opening round of 82. Stewart is tied for 44^th at 14-over par.

Shaun Dunphy is at 18-over par, the Saskatoon product is tied for 57^th.

Michael Smith, also of the Bridge City sliced 10 strokes off his opening round, his 77 in round two helped him make the cut at 20-over par.

Regina’s Travis Fifi and Birch Hills product Jeff Whitfield will also play the final rounds, they are both at 21-over par, one stroke under the line.

Warman’s Darryl Czuy, Regina’s Mitch Matichuk, and Mike Herperger of Humboldt missed the cut.

Saskatoon’s Scott Allan had a recorded score of seven-over par on Tuesday, the leaderboard later read he was disqualified after the round.

All the results and Thursday’s tee times can be found here.

Saskatoon’s Grace Odnokon is coming off a strong showing at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Mini-Tour (MJT) nationals with an eye on larger opportunities going forward.

Odnokon, 11, has been going to the golf course with her family for years and has a love for the game, and competition. She said playing in tournaments is something she enjoys even at a young age.

“I like competing and learning new things,” she said. “I also like meeting and playing with new people.”

Her first event was an MJT Mini-Tour tournament at Swift Current several years ago. A fixture on the mini tour since she’s been about nine years old this season was highlighted by a trip to Tsawwassen, British Columbia for the national event. Odnokon placed ninth in her age group. She said where she placed wasn’t important but she’s quite pleased with the result.

“It was really exciting; it was such a great experience. It was a nice course and I got to play against new people too. I was very happy with ninth place; this was my first national experience. I learned a lot while I was there,” she explained.

Mini tour events are one day, 18 hole tournaments. This year Golf Saskatchewan introduced the Junior Junior at the Saskatchewan Junior Championships for players 12 and under. The competitors played 36 holes over two days at Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club. Odnokon said there was lots to learn playing two rounds but took lots in from the experience.

“It was good, I had a lot of fun there. It was a challenge,” she said.

Odnokon fully expects to play in the provincial junior championship next year, a three-day, 54-hole tournament. She quipped that she’s ready for the next step in her golf development.

“I think so, yeah,” she beamed.

Odnokon’s mother, Carla is the 2018 Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s champion. Grace credits her teachings to her early golf success.

“My mom is a pretty good teacher,” she said. “Staying focused is a challenge for everyone and I hope to improve that part of my game.”

And even at just 11 years old Odnokon has her eyes set on making Saskatchewan history by following in her mother’s championship footsteps and become the first mother-daughter amateur winners.

“Yeah, for sure,” she concluded.

For a trio of Saskatchewan junior men, their first taste of nationals was both positive and learning experiences.

Regina’s Will Blake started great at the 72-hole championship at Vallée du Richelieu – Le Club in Sainte-Julie, Québec earlier this month. After round one, the Royal Regina Golf Club member was tied for ninth overall. He said shooting even par, 72 on day one was a real confidence boost.

“Honestly, for me I wasn’t going in thinking I was going to win it, it was my first one,” Blake told Golf Saskatchewan this week. “I wanted to go in and learn from it. I think after the first day being tied for ninth it gave me a wake-up call that I can compete with the best. I didn’t play my best on the first day but was still in the top 10, so it showed all of Saskatchewan kids can compete with the top guys.”

Blake did falter a bit over the final couple days, he shot 80 during round two, 84 in round three, and 81 during the final day to finish at 317, plus-29. Blake finished in 75^th spot. He admitted seeing his name that high on the leaderboard was neat.

“It was definitely weird, I was three over after the front nine and I wasn’t too mad,” he explained. “I birdied the first three on the back, I had five birdies on my back nine, that was the third most out of everybody the first day. It was cool. A lot of my buddies have gone in the past years and done well but I’ve never really seen anybody up that high. It was cool; it was an honour. It did go to my head a little bit, but it definitely showed I can compete with the best in Canada.”

Blake currently sits 10^th in the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Order of Merit (OMT) standings with 841.67 points. Despite not picking up any wins he’s happy with how the season has played out.

“I think overall it was good, I’ve had a pretty successful junior career. I think this year was a learning curve that there are definitely some gaps in my game that I must work on. Overall, I have some good finishes, especially at provincials finishing solo fifth, two shots out of first. I think overall it was a good summer, there is some positives and negatives to take out of it,” Blake said.

Tommy Danielson (above, left) of Saskatoon also made his first national event with a couple years of junior eligibility left. The Riverside member was steady though the four days near Montreal shooting three rounds of 78 and an even 72 on the second day to solidify a spot under the cutline. He said his national debut gave him an idea of what to expect at that level.

“It was pretty good; I didn’t play particularly as well as I would have liked to. I had a good experience and hopefully I will get to go back, and I will know what to expect,” he said.

Danielson added that playing all four days was the goal, but he definitely left some shots out there that ballooned his score leaving him in a tie for 49^th at the conclusion of the championship.

“Making the cut was great but the last two holes on day three I finished with two doubles, and I doubled the last hole of the tournament, it felt like I lost six shots on three holes. It felt like I zoned out already so I’m kicking myself for that but overall, it was pretty good,” he added.

Danielson is second in the OMT standings sitting just 25 points behind provincial junior champion Hunter Kutcher. Danielson also has a win this year at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT). He said his season started slowly after some swing changes, but the winter work paid off as the summer moved along.

“It started pretty slow, I was in Florida trying to get some changes, even when I got back there was lots to work on. I started to play better when the changes clicked and the scores got lower,” he said.

Golf Kenosee player and Wawota resident Theoren West placed the highest out of the Saskatchewan contingent. In his final junior Golf Canada event West finished in a tie for 19^th at 11-over, 299. He said his goal was met with a finish inside the top-20.

“My goal for the week was top 20 so it is really exciting looking back on it, I’m pretty happy with how I did,” he reflected. “I didn’t start off really well, but I didn’t get down on myself or nothing, I just we’re here, I can’t turn around now. You have to do the best you can do and after that I think I played well.”

He shot 79 on day one but got better as the week went on. West fired a 74 on day two before posting back-to-back 73’s. He climbed 12 spots on the leaderboard during the final day.

“I think the first round I had some nerves on the front nine. I couldn’t get started; it was just one of those rounds nothing was going my way. Through out the week I figured out the greens, I was having trouble reading them. Through the week it got better and better,” he said.

West also has a win on the OMT this year, that was the MJT stop in Estevan at TS&M Woodlawn. He sits in sixth place in the standings. He’s scheduled to play the MJT event at Warman’s Legends Golf Club this weekend and then the MJT Nationals to cap his summer that he calls a successful one.