2021 AJT Whitetail Crossing Junior Open
Alberta Golf (Mundare) – By Dunc Mills
Jace Shannon of Forestburg must be having nightmares about Puddicombe-designed golf courses! After bogeying the 18th hole on Monday this week at RedTail Landing GC and get nipped by a shot by Leduc’s Kye Fisher, it was deja vu all over again today at RedTail’s sister course, Whitetail Crossing GC in Mundare. Both courses were designed and built by Edmonton’s Puddicombe Golf Design and Construction, and the similarities are obvious. Thick fescue grass lines many of the fairways at Whitetail Crossing, and their bunkering and green complexes are very much reminiscent of RedTail Landing’s design.
What was also alike today in Mundare was Shannon finishing runner-up in the host course’s Junior Open. This afternoon, Andrew Langford, 18, of the Derrick Golf and Winter Club, parred 18 to post a steady 1-under par 71 to get his nose in front at the finish line ahead of Shannon’s even-par 72.
Junior Boys Champion, Andrew Langford of the Derrick Golf & Winter Club
Matt Mayowski of Drayton Valley was another shot back in solo third with a 73. Devin Kucy of Camrose made 6 birdies in his round en route to a 2-over 74, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a quadruple bogey 8 on the 7th hole. Reid Williamson of Olds, last week’s Tour winner at his home course, also came in with a 74 to finish T4 with Kucy.
We had a total of 48 juniors on hand this morning to enjoy the challenge of the Whitetail Crossing layout, which is in outstanding condition. Included in the entries were five junior girls, topped by Anna Kibria of the Edmonton Petroleum GCC with an 85, four shots clear of the Edmonton Country Club’s Denise Hui.
The town of Mundare is world famous for the Stawnychy family’s Ukrainian food processing operation, and the iconic giant garlic sausage in downtown Mundare. A fun feature of the Whitetail Crossing Junior Open has been to hand out links of the Stawnychy Ukrainian sausage for closest to the pin or long putt awards. Today, we had five winners of some tasty sausage for Neat Scorecard Awards in each age group. The neatest and most legible scorecards were marked by Jadalynn Lee (Girls), Mason Alexander (Boys U10-U13), Brady Weiss (Boys U15), Cole Clymer (Boys U17), and Owen Lai (Boys U19). Neatness counts, kids!
The Tour is dark the rest of this week, the calm before next week’s storm of 5 consecutive competition dates at four different golf courses. Next week’s schedule looks like this:
Monday, July 26 – Canmore GCC. SOLD OUT. 2 p.m. shotgun start.
Tuesday, July 27 – Collicutt Siding GC in Crossfield. Spots still available. Morning tee times.
Wednesday, July 28 – Montgomery Glen GC in Wetaskiwin. Spots still available. Always a “Meal of the Year” candidate.
Thursday, July 29 and Friday, July 30 – Goose Hummock Golf Resort. Only 36-hole event on the Tour this year. GREAT prizes! Spots still available.
Exciting and fun Junior Golf tournament opportunities are plentiful on the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour. Check the Alberta Golf website for registration information.
