One month before Lloydminster hosts the Saskatchewan junior golf championship, the Border City welcomed a Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour tournament stop last weekend.
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It was the first time since 2018 that Lloyd has staged a Maple Leaf tour event, as 90 young golfers from Saskatchewan and elsewhere participated in the two-day tourney at the Lloydminster Golf and Curling Centre.
It was a dry run of sorts for the junior provincials, which are set for July 8-10 on the same Lloyd course.
“With provincials coming up in a little while, it was a good practice run for the kids,” said Jeff Chambers, tournament director with the Saskatchewan wing of the national Maple Leaf tour. “We thought it would be good timing for us to run one of our events here.
“We ran events here in 2017 and 2018, so it’s been a long time (since Lloyd hosted the Maple Leaf tour). Marty (Wheaton) and his crew here, and Tom (Kinsman), they’re just so helpful. They love promoting junior golf, so it was nice to come back.”
One of the major reasons the tour came to Lloyd is the city will entertain many of the same golfers in July. Chambers estimated about 80 per cent of the participants in last weekend’s tournament would likely be back in town for provincials.
“Having Lloyd (on the tour’s Saskatchewan schedule), it’s a long way away from our major centres,” said Chambers during Round 1 action Saturday (May 31). “It’s really close to Alberta. But it was really nice because for some of the Alberta kids, it was closer for them (to come here). So, we’ve had quite a few of the kids roll over from local towns and communities.
“That’s a benefit, too, because we’re a nationwide tour, so it’s nice to have other players. Even in our mini tour, we had a young fella from B.C. come out for this, so that was pretty nice to see.”
Chambers said the challenging course in Lloyd was one of the reasons why the Maple Leaf tour hasn’t stopped in the Border City more frequently.
“Lloyd is a tough golf course,” he said. “You’ll hear that from a lot of kids. They come off (the course) and they just look beat up. Bewildered is a great word. They’re, like, ‘I don’t know what just happened.’
“With the Maple Leaf tour, I have a relationship with quite a few of the different clubs we try to go back to year after year that love having junior golf. Lloyd was always one of them. It was just quite a hard golf course, so that’s why we haven’t been back in years, and it’s kind of out of the way (geographically). But because they had provincials, it was a good excuse for us to come back. We’re glad we’re here, too.”
For junior golfers from Lloydminster and area, it was a rare opportunity to play in a major tournament close to home. The participants included nine Lloyd golfers and a dozen from Wainwright, Meadow Lake, North Battleford, Glaslyn and St. Walburg.
“It was nice to see a few local kids playing in the tour,” said Chambers.
NESBITT WINS AGAIN
On the provincial scene, one of Saskatchewan’s up-and-comers, Austin Nesbitt, was among the Lloyd visitors for the tour event.
The Pilot Butte (near Regina) golfer shot 75 on Saturday to hold a four-stroke lead in the bantam boys’ (ages 13 and 14) division going into the final round. He went on to score 79 on Sunday to finish with a tournament-best score of 154 and a 10-stroke bantam victory.
“I find the tee shots (here) are really tough,” Nesbitt said after the opening round Saturday. “But if you hit the fairways, though, you can score pretty well.
“It was windy today and I just battled through and kept my drives on the fairway. That’s all I could worry about. As long as I hit the fairway, I thought it was going to be good. I missed a couple of greens, scrambled. Not the greatest, but other than that, it was pretty good.”
Nesbitt has been more than good in his emerging golf career. This spring, his victory in the season-opening Maple Leaf event in Estevan qualified him for a junior worlds event in California this July.
“I’ve done two world events and I’m ready for the heat,” he said. “It’s going to be good competition, so I’m excited.”
Before playing that international event, he’s also gung-ho about returning to Lloyd for junior provincials.
“I’m going to be excited to show what else I’ve got,” Nesbitt said. “I didn’t have my greatest day today, but I think I could change it up.
“Provincials, it’s a three-day event and I’ll have three days to shoot really well.”
The junior boys’ (ages 17-19) division winner was Dade Bernatchez (80-78—158) of Sucker River, Sask., while Regina’s Kai Kriekle (82-81—163) took the juvenile boys’ (ages 15-16) crown. The peewee boys’ (12 and under) winner was Hudson Deibert (82-84—166), also of Regina.
In the girls’ 15-19 division, Tayla Perry (82-76—158) of Regina recorded a three-stroke victory over Saskatoon’s Sarah Henderson (84-77—161). The U15 girls’ winner was Youran (Yoyou) Zhu (82-92—174) of Saskatoon.
LLOYD’S TOP FINISHERS
From the host Lloydminster club, a couple of golfers were among the best in their respective categories.
Drew Mazzei (82-83—165) tied for fourth place in the juvenile boys’ division, two strokes behind the champion Kriekle.
Among bantam boys, Cooper Roberge (83-81—164) tied for second place, 10 strokes back of the winner Nesbitt.
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