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.