Regina’s James Tsakas was the talk of Tuesday at The Legends Golf Course during round one of the Saskatchewan Senior Championships.

Tsakas recorded his third career hole-in-one and first since 1988 during the opening round of the tournament on hole seven in Warman. He said the ace was his first in competition. The one on his card helped the Royal Regina Golf Club member shoot an even-par, 72, good enough for a tie for seventh after 18 of 54 holes.

The ace was the first in a Golf Saskatchewan championship since Nelson Scott turned the trick in 2019 at the Royal Regina Golf Club.

Prince Albert’s Cliff Selander has the round one lead thanks to a 3-under, 69, in the first round. Selander is coming off a silver medal finish at the championship in 2020.

Three Saskatoon players are tied for second just a stroke back of Selander including Barry Macooh, Don Monson, and Shawn Strelau, the trio all carded rounds of 70.

Defending champion Rick Hallberg (Weyburn) and Rick Hillestad sit tied for fifth place at 1-under, 71.

Selander also shares the lead of the mid-masters (40 and over) division with his score of 69. He’s tied with Meadow Lake’s Chris Reid. Scott Allan of Saskatoon is tied in second with Strelau.

The complete results can be found here.

Round two begins at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, the tournaments will conclude on Thursday.

In the Senior Women’s Championship two former winners of the tournament are tied on top of the leaderboard at 3-over par.

Moose Jaw’s Lorie Boyle and Regina’s Kim Walker shot identical 71’s on Tuesday to open the 54-hole event. Denise Wilson, another former champion sits tied for third with Sue Skinner at 8-over, 80.

A pair of Lloydminster golfers are sitting tied in fifth, Jo-Anne Schiller and Robin Acton shot plus-9, 81, during the opening round at Warman’s Legends Golf Course.

The complete first round results can be seen here.

The second round of the women’s championship begins at 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday.

Playing all four rounds at this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship was the goal for Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve, an achievement she accomplished last week at the Leduc Golf Club.

Competing in her third national junior championship the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member made the cut at the event for the first time. Grieve was very ecstatic with that result and placing 50^th overall.

“I was for sure hoping to make the cut, honestly based on previous experiences I knew how hard it was to make the cut. I wouldn’t have been disappointed if I didn’t make it, but I was thrilled when I did,” she told Golf Saskatchewan.

The championship was Grieve’s final provincial junior event. She reflected on the experiences she’s had playing junior golf including trips to Ottawa and Surrey for national championships.

“I love playing with the girls from Saskatchewan, but we play together every single tournament. It’s go great to play with other people and meet other people, it also you get better with your game by learning from others,” Grieve said.

She applauded Golf Canada and the professionalism of the national tournaments through her junior career.

“The course is always a nice challenge regardless of the higher scores that come out of them, it’s always a great experience,” she concluded.

For Regina’s Autumn Neiszner, playing well enough to make the cut was on her radar as well. The Wascana Country Club player and Keiser University commit finished in a tie for 43^rd.

“My goal was to make the cut, so I was happy to be able to do that,” she said.

Neiszner has played several national events in recent years and said the week is always a good experience with excellent competition.

“I always think it’s really cool being around those other junior girls that are so good and the atmosphere, it’s so cool,” she added.

She is now in Edmonton to compete in the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at the Petroleum Golf and Country Club. Despite having another year of junior eligibility, she has high hopes for week.

“I try not to put any expectations on myself, but my goal is to make the cut again,” she said. “I’m just going to go out there and focus on one shot on the time and do the best I can.”

Brooklin Fry is also in Edmonton for the amateur championship. The Shell Lake product and Saskatchewan junior champion placed in a tie for 27^th in Leduc.

“It was pretty good, the Leduc golf course was beautiful, but it didn’t really fit my game well,” she said to Golf Saskatchewan. “There were a couple holes that I really had to lay up, my game wasn’t on that well but overall, it was good. I was hoping to do a little better, but the place I finished wasn’t bad either so I am happy with that.”

Fry has two years of junior eligibility left and expects better results from herself in the future. This week the 16-year-old is focusing on the national amateur alongside Neiszner, Ella Kozak, and Alex Schmidt. Fry said the host venue plays better for her game than the junior event in Leduc.

“It’s an amazing course, it’s so nice. I think it fits my game better than Leduc and I think it will be a pretty good week,” she said.

The Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship begins Tuesday at the Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club.

Four players from Saskatchewan will compete at the championship based on their play at the Saskatchewan championship held earlier this month at Swift Current.

Regina’s Alex Schmidt tees off at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Autumn Neiszner, also of Regina remained in the Alberta capital area after competing in the national junior girls’ championship last week in Leduc. The Wascana Country Club member tees off at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Ella Kozak of Yorkton begins her first round at 8:40 a.m., Kozak also competed last week in Leduc at juniors. Brooklin Fry, the lowest shooter of the group at the junior event last week will be the last local to tee off Tuesday, the Shell Lake product starts at 12:30 p.m.

There are 110 players in the field vying to be the Canadian champion. The list of players and tee times can be seen here.

The championship is 72 holes over four rounds with a cut line after the second round on Wednesday.

The Saskatchewan Senior Women’s, Men’s, and Mid-Masters (40+) Championships will begin Tuesday at The Legends Golf Course in Warman with 140 players in the fields of the three events.

20 players will compete for the senior women’s title, 94 men will play for the senior championship, 39 players will contend for the mid-masters victory. Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Championships Steve Ryde said the field is maxed out with a competitive week ahead.

“Once again registrations came fast and furious for the senior championships and that’s very exciting,” said Ryde. “The fields are full of respected champions and newcomers hoping to potentially play for a national spot or to simply take in the marvelous golf course in Warman. Davidson (Matyczuk) and the entire crew at The Legends have proven many times over that the facility is a premier course in Saskatchewan and will be an incredible host for the week.”

The championships begin at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, the tournaments will conclude on Thursday after 54 holes.

Defending senior women’s champion Tammy Bezaire is not in the field this year. Rick Hallberg is the defending senior men’s champion; the Weyburn product has won two of the last three years. Last year in Yorkton Derek Stykalo was the mid-masters winner, he is not playing in the 2021 championship.

Saskatchewan has seven quota spots secured for the national senior women’s championship later this summer, the senior men will battle for five spots at nationals.

For more information on the provincial championships click here.

The Canadian Junior Girls Championship has concluded in Leduc, Alta.

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry will finish as the top Saskatchewan golfer, the 16-year-old posted a final round score of 4-over, 76 on Friday to cap the 72-hole event at 23-over, 311. Fry placed tied for 27th.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner placed in a tie for 43rd at the event at the Leduc Golf Club. The Wascana Country Club member shot 83 in round four, Neiszner finished at 30-over par, 318.

Sarah Grieve (above) capped her final junior Canadian event at 34-over par, she ended in 50th place at 34-over, 322.

The complete results can be seen here.

Golf Saskatchewan will hear from all three players that made the cut next week.

Three and a half years ago Humboldt’s Murray Lees concluded stem cell transplants to battle cancer, along the way doctors suggested golf would no longer be in the cards for the former business owner and pastor. Lees has an extra $5,000 that proves them wrong.

Lees, a regular on the Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour (OMT) dropped his third career hole-in-one earlier this season during the Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club earning the prize payout. He received his cheque in the mail from the event chair this week and spoke with Golf Saskatchewan at the Humboldt Golf Club after the funds arrived.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have my glasses on so that was the one sad part was not seeing it, just hearing my partners yell and scream which was really good,” he said when asked about the 170-yard shot on hole four at Moon Lake’s Highlands.

The threesome made their way to the green and their suspicions were confirmed when they found his ball in the hole. Lees said being a stroke-play event and winning the prize on hole four, he had to stay on track and continue to play the tournament.

“Very little went through my mind, I’m playing and I didn’t want to lose my focus. The guys were yelling and screaming and I’m going, so what. I guess after the round I started thinking about it and thought, it’s pretty cool to win money on a stroke,” he added.

Lees was born and raised in Melfort before becoming a business owner in Humboldt in 1988. He is a fixture in the Humboldt community and on the course in the city. Being a pastor for 25 years, faith is close to his heart as well as his wife Glenda’s. The pair was recently contemplating what to do with the money they admit isn’t needed in their account.

“We have a camp, our hearts are very much in camp ministry, there is camps at Stony Lake and Torch Trail Bible Camp and we’d like to help kids go to camp, some of the money will go to that. We just talked about it today about maybe having a golf tournament in Melfort or somewhere for a fundraiser for at-risk kids that can’t go. We don’t need it, we’re old fogies, we’re just going to be helping out kids,” Lees concluded.

Thursday was an extended day of play at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship thanks to Mother Nature.

Thunderstorms rolled into the Leduc area in the early afternoon forcing a delay almost in the middle of Brooklin Fry’s, Autumn Neiszner’s, and Sarah Grieve’s third round at the national tournament at the Leduc Golf Club.

Play resumed at 4:30 p.m. allowing the round to be complete. Fry and Neiszner each posted solid rounds of 4-over, 76, bringing their identical three round scores to plus-19, 235, through 54 holes. They sit tied for 36th going into the final round Friday. They both moved four spots up on the leaderboard.

Grieve carded an 8-over, 80 during her prolonged third round, the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member is tied for 52nd at plus-24, 240.

The full results can be found here.

All three players will tee off for the final round on hole 10. Fry is first on the course at 7:30 a.m., Neiszner is next at 7:40 a.m., and Grieve will play her last round on the national stage as a junior at 8:30 a.m.

The Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame committee is pleased to announce the 2021 induction class.

Three individuals will be enshrined later this year including Brad Birnie (player/distinguished service), Blaine Fagnou (distinguished service), and Bruce Klaassen (distinguished service).

Brad Birnie (Saskatoon)

Brad Birnie was born in Saskatoon and played his early years of golf at Wildwood Golf Course, Holiday Park Golf Course, and Saskatoon Golf and Country Club. He became a professional in 1986 after winning two straight Saskatchewan Amateur Championships. He also has six Lobstick wins and three professional championships. Birnie is a highly respected coach has 26 provincial championships won by his students. He was named the PGA of Saskatchewan Coach of the Year twice.

Blaine Fagnou (Saskatoon)

Blaine Fagnou has spent 26 years as the superintendent of Elk Ridge Resort. While employed at the resort the golf course hosted 11 provincial events and the 2007 Royale Senior Women’s Championship, the only time the event has been held in Saskatchewan. Fagnou also oversaw construction of Elk Ridge’s Tamarack and Birch nines while designing the construction of Aspen nine.

Bruce Klaassen (Regina)

A long-time superintendent, Bruce Klaassen has left his mark on two legendary Saskatchewan courses. Beginning his career in Toronto at St. George’s Golf Club Klaassen returned to the province taking over as turf specialist for the City of Regina. In 1985 he became the head superintendent at Waskesiu Golf Course, he returned to the Queen City and the “home of golf” in Saskatchewan, the Royal Regina Golf Club where “in 19 years as superintendent at the Royal Regina, Bruce has significantly improved and transformed the course.”

The 2021 induction ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sept. 18 at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. The 2020 banquet was cancelled due to COVID-19. The 2020 induction class will also be honoured that evening.

Golf Saskatchewan will feature each 2021 inductee leading up to the induction ceremony.

Ticket details and ticket availability will be announced in the future.

Three of the five Saskatchewan golfers competing at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship made the cut Wednesday in Leduc, Alta.

Autumn Neiszner, Brooklin Fry, and Sarah Grieve will compete for 36 more holes at the Leduc Golf Club courtesy of their play over the first two days.

Neiszner and Fry are tied for 40th after 36 holes of the four-day event. On Tuesday Neiszner shot 79, Fry carded an 80, the duo flip flopped their scores during round two leaving them both at 15-over par.

Grieve was the lowest Saskatchewan player during the opening round with a 77, the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member posted an 83 Tuesday, at 16-over par she sits in a tie for 47th.

The cut line was 20-over par, Yorkton’s Ella Kozak just missed out on playing the final two days, she was 22-over par.

Symone Ripley posted rounds of 86 and 91 to conclude the event with a score of 33-over, 177.

The complete results can be found here.

Thursday’s tee times are not available as of publishing time.

Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve had the best start out of the five Saskatchewan players in the field at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Leduc, Alta.

Grieve completed round one with a score of 5-over, 77 at the Leduc Golf Club on Tuesday leaving the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member in a tie for 23rd after the first of four rounds. Grieve finished the round on a high birdying the final hole.

Grieve is seven shots back of the leader who is Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner sits tied for 34th at plus-7, 79. Saskatchewan champion Brooklin Fry of Shell River is tied for 42nd after her round of 8-over, 80. Yorkton’s Ella Kozak is tied for 78th at 13-over par, Symone Ripley of Saskatoon sits at 14-over par, she’s tied for 87th.

The top 70 players plus ties will make Wednesday’s cut at the championship.

Ripley will tee off first for the second round, she begins the second round at 7:40 a.m. Kozak begins her round at 8:10 a.m. Grieve will tee off at 11:10 a.m., Fry starts at 12 p.m. and Neiszner will be the last local player to start her day, she’s in the 1:10 p.m. group.

The results can be seen here.