BY DUNC MILLS

What had been a relatively straight-forward junior golf tournament turned very interesting late this afternoon at the Stony Plain Junior Open.  After starting out batting a two-club wind, 64 juniors from as far away as Calgary were winding down their afternoons as the wind began to subside.  However, as the junior girls’ flight approached the 17th hole, a family of hawks turned the day into a somewhat scary moment.

Club officials told us that one of the hawks had been wounded a few days ago,  and two other hawks have been trying to protect the other bird from predators.  In this case, those predators seemed to be the junior girls and on-course officials, at least from the hawks’ point of view.  One of the birds repeatedly dive-bombed a couple of the players before Grant Cammidge of Alberta Golf, the former head professional at the Stony Plain Club, came to the rescue.  Cammidge was able to distract the aggressive hawk long enough for the kids to get to safety, and in order to help make sure the players weren’t in further danger, we took the 17th hole out of play for the 14 girls on hand still on the course and they all skipped the 17th hole entirely.  “Free pars,,,whooooo hoooo!”

Some very fine golf was played as well, not the least of which was turned in by Alexa Wingnean of the Derrick.  Wingnean fired an outstanding 1-over par 73, one of her best rounds in competition, to easily capture the junior girls’ title.

Alexa Wingnean

Kalee Seto of the Royal Mayfair was a dozen shots back with an 85.  Both Wingnean and Seto had previously qualified for the Tour Championship coming up at Wolf Creek Golf Resort on August 28th, leaving today’s qualifying spots to Samantha Lin of Jagare Ridge and the Derrick’s Ellie Johnson, tied for 3rd with scores of 88.

In the junior boys’ division, Ethan Wilson of the Glendale handled the strong winds the best, shooting a solid 75, two shots ahead of Glendale’s Connor Kurysh and three strokes clear of Kennedy Bailey-Borges of the Windermere.  Greg Gurba of The Quarry was solo fourth with a 79. Wilson and Kurysh were new qualifiers today for Wolf Creek and will be joined by  11-year-old Chase Lassman of the host club and Ryan Zhang of Windermere, who tied for the available qualifying spot up for grabs in the flight for boys born in 2006 & later with 88s.  Overall Wild Card qualifiers included Bailey-Borges along with Tyler Lau (83) of the Derrick.  With only one event remaining on the Tour schedule in the Edmonton area this coming Thursday at the Edmonton Petroleum Club, spots for local youngsters in the Tour Championship are at a premium.

THIS WEEK ON TOUR:

Wednesday,  August 12th – Taber.  Spots are possibly still available but the club may have closed off entries on Monday evening, so call first thing Tuesday to make sure.

Thursday, August 13th – Edmonton Petroleum GCC.  SOLD OUT.  I saw the draw tonight, and we have the strongest junior girls’ field of the season with 25 players, including several competitors from the Alberta Golf U-19 Championships. The boy’s field is outstanding as well.  First tee time is a robust 7:00 a.m.  Bring coffee!

OVERALL TOP TEN:  

1. Ethan Wilson                                Glendale                        75

2. Connor Kurysh                             Glendale                        77

3. Kennedy Bailey-Borges               Windermere                 78

4. Greg Gurba                                    The Quarry                    79

T5. Scott Levey                                  Belvedere                       80

T5. Azeem Manzoor                          Heron Pointe               80

7. Ryan Garbutt                                  Windermere                81

T8. Kye Fisher                                     Leduc                            82

T8. Peter Hlushak                             Windermere                  82

T10. Tyler Lau                                   Derrick                            83

T10. Ryan Zhang                              Windermere                   83

BOYS BORN IN 2001-2003

1.Connor Kurysh                               Glendale                         77 Q

2. Kennedy Bailey-Borges               Windermere                    78 WC

3. Greg Gurba                                     The Quarry                     79 PQ

4. Tyler Lau                                         Derrick                            83 WC

5. Devon Stadnyk                                Silver Birch                     86

6. Evan Matty                                      Sturgeon Valley              87

BOYS BORN IN 2004-05

1. Ethan Wilson                                Glendale                          75 Q

2. Azeem Manzour                           Heron Pointe                   80 PQ

3. Kye Fisher                                     Leduc                               82 PQ

T4. Ethan Howes                            Broadmoor                       84

T4. Braydon Vandenbilche           PPC                                   84

6. Seth Mottershead-Yee               Glendale                          85

BOYS BORN IN 2006 & Later

1. Scott Levey                               Belvedere                         80

2. Ryan Garbutt                           Windermere                      81

3. Peter Hlushak                          Windermere                      82

T4. Chase Lassman                       Stony Plain                      83 Q

T4. Ryan Zhang                             Windermere                     83 Q

T6. Jace McFaul                            RedTail Landing               84

T6. Ethan Poeckens                      Sturgeon Valley                84

JUNIOR GIRLS

1. Alexa Wingnean                      Derrick                             73 PQ

2 Kalee Seto                                 Royal Mayfair                    85 PQ

T3. Samantha Lin                       Jagare Ridge                     88 Q

T3. Ellie Johnson                        Derrick                               88 Q

5. Emma Liu                                 Jagare Ridge                     92

T6. Nicole Rohr                            Camrose                             94

T6.  Anna Kibria                          Edmonton Petroluem Cl   94

Q = Player qualified for Tour Championship at Wolf Creek Golf Resort on August 28th

WC  = Wild Card Qualifier for Tour Championship 

PQ = Player had previously qualified for Tour Championship.