Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg is continuing his strong season on the golf course. Last week the Golf Kenosee player won the Mercator Financial Southwest Championship at Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club.

The win was Hallberg’s second of the season in four starts. He outlasted Saskatoon’s Warren Proctor by seven strokes over three rounds in Swift Current after carding scores of 69, 71, and 70, Rob Schneider of Regina finished in third place at 223 (74, 73, 76), six behind Proctor’s 217 (72, 72, 73).

Estevan’s Patrick Murphy (pictured above) is the 2021 Bert Beswick Memorial Award winner. The trophy is awarded to the player with the net low score based on the final days results.

The complete results can be seen here.

With the win Hallberg vaults himself to the top of the Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour standings ahead of the provincial championship next week in Warman.

The 66^th Canadian Junior Girls Championship will tee off Tuesday in Leduc, Alta. at the Leduc Golf Club.

Five junior women from Saskatchewan are in the field courtesy of their play in last week’s provincial championship in Moose Jaw.

Brooklin Fry (Shell Lake), Sarah Grieve (Saskatoon), Ella Kozak (Yorkton), Autumn Neiszner (Regina), and Symone Ripley (Saskatoon) are competing in the 72-hole event that will conclude on Friday.

Grieve tees off for round one at 7:50 a.m., Fry begins her first round at 8:40 a.m. Neiszner will play in the 9:50 a.m. group while Ripley will start at 10:50 a.m. Kozak will be the last Saskatchewan representative to be on the course during the first day, she tees off at 11:20 a.m.

106 players are in the field. This marks the first Golf Canada amateur event since September of 2019. The Canadian Junior Girls Championship is a stroke play event, that features a 36-hole cut for the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes. 

The juvenile division will run concurrently with the junior division through the 72-hole competition. The juvenile division is for girls 16 and under. Kozak is the lone local player that qualifies for the juvenile category.

There will be no provincial team competitions this year at the Canadian event due to conflicting health regulations province to province.

Practice rounds are underway on Monday.

Third time is a charm for Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry.

The 16-year-old won her third Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship in four years on Thursday at Hillcrest Golf Club in Moose Jaw. She won her second straight championship by eight shots over Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve. Fry was coming off a fourth-place performance in Swift Current in the Women’s Amateur Championship so defending her junior title was important to her.

“It feels pretty awesome actually, this was my goal going into this year, well half of it,” she chuckled. “I was going for the women’s too, but I had some trouble with my irons that week. Right after that I was kicking myself a little bit, so I went to the range every day and worked on myself to get better this week.”

She also claimed her second straight under-17 victory.

Fry will now prepare for the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Leduc, Alberta. The week after that she will compete in the national women’s championship in Spruce Grove.

Grieve and Yorkton’s Ella Kozak will make up the Saskatchewan team as the top three players.

Under-15 – Chloe Wills (Kyle)

Under-13 – Tayla Perry

Regina’s Hunter Kutcher wins junior men’s in playoff

Regina’s Hunter Kutcher is in his final year of junior golf and he made it count.

Kutcher made a birdie on the first playoff hole in Moose Jaw on Thursday to edge Alex Swinnerton for the championship. The Royal Regina Golf Club member said winning the title in dramatic fashion is a special moment.

“This is my first junior tournament win so it’s a pretty incredible feeling,” he said. “I really wasn’t expecting to be in this position coming into the week. It was a little bit of a slow start today, I stuck in it, made some birdies in the end and was able to make another one in the playoff.”

Kutcher climbed five positions on the leaderboard on Tuesday overtaking second round leader Tommy Danielson to punch his ticket to the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in Sainte-Julie, Quebec in August.

He will be joined by Swinnerton and Max Regier on Team Saskatchewan. Regier edged Danielson in a playoff for third place.

The complete results of the tournament can be found here.

Under-17 – Alex Swinnerton (Saskatoon)

Under-15 – Elias Haukeness – Beuna Vista

Under-13 – Kai Kriekle (Regina)

Saskatoon’s Tommy Danielson is the new leader of the 2021 Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship at Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club.

Danielson, 16, shot the low round of the day putting up a 2-under, 69 on Wednesday pushing himself up five spots on the leaderboard into first place by two strokes over round one leader Will Blake.

Blake, of Regina is tied for second with Davin Bourassa (Radville), Luke Cote (Regina), and Max Regier (Saskatoon), all are at even par heading into Thursday’s championship round.

Chase Pochylko of Saskatoon and Hunter Kutcher from Regina sit tied for sixth at one over par.

Danielson leads the U-17 age division as well. Elias Haukeness continues to lead the U-15 division, Kia Kriekle of Regina leads the U-13 category.

You can see all the results here.

The final round will begin at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Bry expands lead in search of second straight junior win

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry is 18 holes away from her second straight and third junior title overall.

The 16-year-old shot 1-under, 70 on Wednesday to expand her lead in the 54-hole tournament to 10 shots over both Ella Kozak (Yorkton) and Sarah Grieve (Saskatoon).

2019 champion Autumn Neiszner sits in fourth place at 21-over par.

Fry leads the U-17 division too, Chloe Wills (Kyle) is the top player in the U-15 group, Tayla Perry of Regina leads the U-13 category.

The complete results can be seen here.

The final round tees off at 11 a.m.

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry is back in a familiar place on the leaderboard at the Saskatchewan Junior (U-19) Women’s Championship in Moose Jaw.

After finishing in a third-place tie last week in Fry’s defense of the Women’s Amateur Championship the reigning junior trophy holder started out well Tuesday in her bid to retain that title. The 16-year-old opened the 54-hole event at the Hillcrest Golf Club with an even par, 71 during round one giving herself a four stroke cushion on Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve. Grieve posted a 75 during her first round, one shot better than Ella Kozak of Yorkton.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner is sitting in fourth at 8-over par, well within the lead with two rounds to play.

Fry leads the U-17 age group as well. Kyle golfer Chloe Wills (18-over par) leads the U-15 division, Tayla Perry of Regina is the low U-13 player at 30-over par.

All the results can be seen here.

Round two begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Junior Men’s Day 1 Recap

Regina’s Will Blake put up the round of the day in the Junior Men’s Championship, also at Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club.

Blake carded a 2-under, 69 on Tuesday giving him the round one lead of the tournament. The lead is slim as four players sit tied in second at 1-under. Theoren West (Wawota), Hunter Kutcher (Regina), Zach Szakacs (Saskatoon), and Davin Bourassa (Radville) all shot 70 during the opening 18 holes.

Tommy Danielson of Saskatoon and Luke Cote of Regina are sitting sixth as the only two other players to not shoot over par, they are even going into the middle round of the event Wednesday.

Danielson and Cote are tied for the U-17 age group, Elaise Haukeness (pictured above) leads the U-15 category by a shot, and Kai Kriekle is the early leader in the U-13 by two strokes.

The complete results can be seen here.

The second round begins at 8:40 a.m.

Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club is set to host the Saskatchewan Junior Women’s and Junior Men’s Championships this week beginning Tuesday.

Over 90 junior golfers in various age groups will converge on Moose Jaw for the 54-hole event that will conclude on Thursday. Golf Saskatchewan Tournament Director Steve Ryde said the interest shown in the junior provincials this season is fantastic to see.

“Golf is very popular these days and with almost 100 juniors making their way to Hillcrest this year the excitement is building,” Ryde said. “Many of these young golfers are playing in their first event and are looking for experience, others are vying for a trip to nationals. Our organization is just beaming at the registration numbers and we can’t wait to put on a great event alongside the Hillcrest staff and volunteers.”

New to the championship this year is the Junior Junior division. Over 20 beginners have signed up and will play a shortened (36 holes) version of the event. This will give younger players their first taste of competition and hopefully increase their interest in playing tournament golf going forward.

“The Junior Junior has had lots of interest and we’re looking forward to trying this new program to help continue to build the game at the grassroots level,” Ryde added.

The Hillcrest is also excited about bringing a championship back to the City of Moose Jaw for the first time since the Senior Championships in 2015. The course has made several upgrades since then including a brand-new clubhouse to serve their members and players on a daily basis but as well be able to welcome an event of this size. General Manager Jasmine Cameron said the event will be a highlight for their venue this summer.

“Hosting the Junior Championships will by far be one of the major highlights for our course this year and we very much look forward to seeing all of the top young up and coming golfers right here at our beautiful facilities,” Cameron stated “We have a committee of enthusiastic member volunteers who will provide the junior golfers with a top shelf experience. Having seen our own junior program expand over the past few years we are excited to involve our junior members both as players and as volunteers for the event, we anticipate great Junior Championships held right here in Moose Jaw.”

The reigning junior women’s champion is Brooklin Fry, Josh Nagy won the men’s event last year, the Saskatoon product has aged out so a new champion will be crowned.

For a list of the players and more information visit the event website.

Saskatoon’s Max Regier has come a long way from the sand greens of Pike Lake Golf Course where the 15-year-old first picked up the sport. He has found himself winning tournaments and posting scores alongside Saskatchewan’s best amateur players.

Regier’s grandparents have a cottage near the course in the provincial park southeast of Saskatoon so that’s where he first played the game. Regier enjoyed playing golf so he moved onto a more structured junior program at Wildwood Golf Course and eventually over to Saskatoon Golf and Country Club (SGCC) where he works during the summer months. Regier competed in his first tournament on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) halfway through the 2018 season and he hasn’t looked back.

“I have always been pretty competitive when it comes to sports, I always wanted to get better,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan when asked about beginning on the Order of Merit Tour (OMT). “With golf there is never a limit, you can always keep pushing yourself and getting better. It’s just fun to be with your friends, to be outside, doing something I love.”

Back in 2019 when Golf Saskatchewan held the provincial amateur championships at SGCC a then 13-year-old Regier got his first taste of top-notch amateur golf. He has wanted to play in the event ever since. Last week he entered his first Amateur Men’s Championship and did much more than show up in Swift Current at the Elmwood Golf Club. Regier opened the championship with a 78 but rebounded with a sparkling 67 on day two. The Willows Golf and Country Club member carded a 72 during the third round that left him well below the cut line. He finished with a 71 on the final day to leave himself I a tie for 10^th place. He said all his goals were met last week.

“My main goal was to make the cut,” he explained. “I knew it would be tough, but it worked out in the end. I played pretty well.”

His round of 67 on Wednesday is a career best. He said he remained focused and made the right shots when he had to.

“I started off pretty solid, just making putts and getting up and down when I needed to. I think it was around the 11^th and 12^th holes I made some really good pars that got me settled in and comfortable and ready to make some birdies. After the par on 13 I had a lot of good chances at making birdies. Pretty perfect in the last five holes, making the putts, hitting the shots I needed to. It is pretty awesome,” Regier said.

The Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship starts Tuesday at Moose Jaw’s Hillcrest Golf Club. Regier enters the 54-hole tournament as the reigning under-15 champion. He will now compete in the under-17 age group but has his eyes set on the overall win.

“Of course, I’d like to win again and play as well as I can and hopefully win again. I think if I have a really good week I have a chance of getting up there for sure if I play like I did last week,” he added.

Regier said the sport has become his passion and he hopes to use golf to help get an education and has his sights set on a professional career.

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

A week that will go down in history for golf in Saskatchewan. Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman finished the 2021 provincial amateur championship at Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current at 26-under, 262, to break Graham DeLaet’s 15 year old record in the event.

A wire-to-wire win, Timmerman shot rounds of 65, 63 (Elmwood Golf Club tournament record), 68, and 66 to win his first amateur championship by 11 strokes over Danny Klughart. Timmerman said the win is one he’s been chasing for quite some time.

“Unreal man, it feels awesome, a lot of hard work has gone into this,” he said. “I feel like the last few years I’ve been close. Just seeing Kade (Johnson), Ty, (Campbell), and Danny, all those guys have that success it really motivated me and I’m unbelievably happy.”

The championship comes with a trip to the Canadian Amateur Championship in Windsor, Ontario later this summer as well as an exemption into the Elk Ridge Open in September. Timmerman said playing in a Mackenzie Tour event will be a dream come true.

“Like I said, that was a goal of mine to play on the Canadian Tour so I can’t wait to get that start and see what the pro life is really like,” he beamed.

Finishing in third place was Campbell with a 72-hole score of 13-under, 275.

The complete results can be seen here.

Ella Kozak is the 2021 Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur champion.

The 15-year-old Yorkton golfer took the lead into the final round on Thursday at Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club and needed every shot to claim the win. Kozak was pushed by Autumn Neiszner all the way to the 54th hole but Kozak’s final hole par and round of 77 was enough to edge Neiszner by a shot. She said winning the championship is a special moment.

“It feels really good,” Kozak said after the victory. “It was a battle out there. Overall I won and it feels really good to have the trophy and come back to provincials being the champion.”

Kozak battled from behind after round one to take the lead at the 36-hole mark of the championship. With a two shot lead on the final hole she admitted there was some nerves.

“I was pretty nervous but I tried to zone out like what I usually do when I’m in that situation and it ended up being okay. It was close but I won.” she said.

Kozak’s win gets her into an exemption in the Canadian Amateur Women’s Championship in Spruce Grove, Alberta from July 27 – 29.

Neiszner will join Kozak at nationals as will both Alex Schmidt and Brooklin Fry who tied for third at provincials.

The complete results of the championship can be seen here.

Klughart wins third straight Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Championship

For the third straight year Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart is the Saskatchewan Men’s Mid-Amateur champion.

Klughart led wire-to-wire this week in Swift Current to claim the win with a three round score of 8-under, 208. North Battleford’s Scott Thompson placed second three shots back. Klughart said after the round that holding onto the trophy is something he’s proud of.

“Obviously you try to defend your title, it feels pretty special to do it three times. I was very was humbled to get the first one so to get three in a row feels pretty good,” Klughart said.

With the win Klughart receives an exemption into the Elk Ridge Open in September. The tournament is a newly announced stop on the MacKenzie Tour.

Klughart will head the Saskatchewan contingent to nationals from Aug. 24 – 27 in Fort McMurray. Thompson claims the silver medal, Saskatoon’s MIchael Smith placed third at 1-under par.

The complete results can be found here.

Timmerman moves one round closer

Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman continues to have a stranglehold on the Men’s Amateur Championship.

Timmerman followed his record round of 63 with a solid 4-under, 68 on Thursday leaving himself with an eight shot lead over 2020 champion Ty Campbell. Klughart is in the hunt for his second am win at 8-under.

2018 winner Kade Johnson sits fourth at 7-under, Thompson is fifth at 5-under.

The complete results can be seen here. The final round begins at 8 a.m. on Friday.

A round to remember for Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman on Wednesday at the Men’s Amateur Championship.

Timmerman built a three-stroke lead during day one of the four-day event but his strong play in the first round was only a precursor to a tournament record score at Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club. The Riverside Country Club player notched seven birdies and a couple eagles leading to a 9-under, 63. Timmerman has ballooned his lead at the championship to seven shots over 2020 winner Ty Campbell. He said the golf course is playing into his hands.

“I feel like this course suits me well,” he said after the round. “Things are good, clicking right now. I feel like around here if you are hitting driver good you have a lot of wedges and I felt like my wedge game has been pretty good this week. Hopefully I can continue the next couple days.”

Lost in the excitement of Timmerman’s round was a pair off 66’s from Campbell and 2018 champion Kade Johnson. Campbell sits in second place at 9-under par, Johnson jumped 11 spots into fourth place at 5-under par. Danny Klughart sits in third at 6-under following a 2-under, 70 on Wednesday.

Four other players are tied for sixth at 2-under. The complete results can be found here.

The tournament will resume at 7:06 a.m. on Thursday. The final round will be played Friday.

Kozak takes over Women’s Championship lead

Yorkton’s Ella Kozak is the new leader of the Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship.

Kozak splashed in four birdies with the same number of bogeys to finish at even-par 72 during the second round of the 54-hole championship giving her a two-shot lead at 8-over par. Kozak leap frogged first round leader Alex Schmidt after the Regina golfer posted an 8-over, 80 during the middle round.

Reigning champion Brooklin Fry went five shots lower on day two to push herself into a tie for third with Autumn Neiszner. She shot 77 Wednesday falling back one place on the leaderboard.

Symone Ripley of Saskatoon and Regina’s Kim Walker sit tied for fourth at plus-19.

The final round goes Thursday in Swift Current beginning at 10:06 a.m.

The full women’s results can be seen here.

Klughart still maintains Mid-Amateur Championship lead

Danny Klughart is a round away from a third straight Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Championship victory.

The Prince Albert resident shot 2-under, 70 on Wednesday which allowed the back-to-back champion to hold onto a two-stroke lead over Michael Smith of Saskatoon. Smith has posted consecutive rounds of 70 at the Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current.

Scott Thompson (North Battleford) and Tyler Wright (Regina) sit in a tie for third place at 2-under par, four strokes behind Klughart.

Brett Henry rounds out the top five at even par.

The championship round will tee off on Thursday beginning at 7:06 a.m.

The complete results can be found here.