By Dunc Mills: 

With about 150 of the province’s best junior golfers otherwise occupied this week an hour west of Edmonton at Cougar Creek Golf Resort for the Alberta Golf U19 Championships, we had a great opportunity this morning for about 40 less experienced, but just as eager, juniors who made the trip an hour east of Edmonton to Whitetail Crossing GC in Mundare for some fun and challenging junior golf competition. The McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour has had Whitetail Crossing on the schedule for over a decade now, and every year, the course shows signs of improvement and the layout has matured wonderfully over the years.  I have no doubt that many of the kids competing today in Mundare will also  ‘mature beautifully’ over the next few years to take their place with the top junior golfers in the province.

The players were no doubt pleased that yesterday’s 30C+ temperatures dropped into a more comfortable range today, but brisk winds made it very challenging to navigate the fescue-lined fairways and beautifully groomed greens over the Whitetail layout. Harley Mohr from the Ft. Saskatchewan Golf and Curling Club rolled his rock the best today, firing a nifty 1-over par 73 to get his nose one stroke ahead of Russell Quinn of Wainwright at the wire. Both players were competing in the U17 division, with Harrison Kiziak of Belvedere GCC another shot back in third overall with a 75.  Kiziak’s performance earned him top ‘cash’ in the boys U15 flight. Fourteen-year-old Evan Goplin, son of the Derrick Golf and Country Club’s head professional Trevor Goplin, made his first-ever tournament golf experience a rewarding one, as his 79 was good for runner-up spot in the U15 group.  Evan looked as cool as a cucumber in comparison to his fingernail-chewing father! LOL

Jaydin Popik, 12,  of Belvedere was much the class of the field in the boys U13 division, cruising around in 2-over 74 and bombing several 300-yard drives.  Keep an eye on this kid in years to come!

Nicole Rohr, 14, of Camrose, fired a very steady 83 in the gusty winds today to capture the overall junior girls championship, with Anna Kibria of the Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club in 2nd overall with an 88.  What was nice to see was how Nicole, with quite a bit of competitive experience even at the tender age of 14, showed her good sportsmanship by going out of her way to help her two younger fellow competitors that she was paired with.  Those other kids were obviously a bit nervous, and Nicole paid back some of the help she got from older juniors just a few years ago.

In the boys’ U19 division, Kian Lawrie of Stony Plain  took home first-place money with his 82.

The Tour is off for the rest of this week, but picks up again on Monday, July 18 at the sold-out Innisfail Parent-Child tournament, with tournaments to follow later in the week on Wednesday, July 20 at Montgomery Glen GC in Wetaskiwin, and in Lacombe on Thursday, July 21.  Although online entries have closed for Montgomery Glen and Lacombe, spots MAY still be available for these two long-standing Tour events by contacting Jackson Meier, Junior Tour Coordinator with Alberta Golf.  All three events next week will be shotgun starts, with Innisfail players  teeing off at 1 p.m. and 9 a.m. starts in Wetaskiwin and Lacombe.