By Dunc Mills:

Nanton is a friendly farming community, about 75 km. south of Calgary.  The golf course is one of those ‘hidden gems’ that you might not expect to find in a small town on the Alberta prairie, but for 28 consecutive years since the Tour’s inaugural season, the Nanton GC has played host to a McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour event.  Some of the charms of the course over the years have included a cattle feedlot bordering the west end of the golf course, and some beautiful palomino horses grazing beside the 8th tee box, but sad to say, we didn’t see any of the local livestock this year.

What we DID see were 66 junior golfers from across southern Alberta who dropped in to enjoy the course, the hospitality, and the opportunity to earn qualifying points leading up to the Tour Championship coming up on August 31st at River Bend Golf and Recreation Area in Red Deer.  The Tour is now moving into the home stretch of the 2023 season  with  a handful of tournaments remaining on the schedule.

Beckham Chiew, 16,  of Country Hills GCC cruised around the beautifully conditioned Nanton layout in 2-under 69, a scorecard that included an eagle and four birdies, offset by a smattering of bogies.  Chiew’s  score was 5 shots clear of Liam Norman (74) of Woodside GC in Airdrie, who was runner-up in the boys’ U17 age group and in the overall standings. Other age group winners included 12-year-old Tom Murphy of Highwood GC in High River in the U13 flight.  Murphy’s scorecard totaled 88 shots but was highlighted by an eagle-3 on the par-5 10th hole!  Drive, hybrid, 5-footer, BOOM!

Chase Strang of Woodside captured the boys’ U15 flight with a 77, one shot clear of Benson White of Sirocco. Strang won the U13 division in the 2022 Alberta Golf U17/U15/U13 championship, and was the pre-tournament favorite in the U15 division in Nanton.  In the boys’ U19 age group, Desmond White of Sirocco GC fired a 76 to edge three players in his age group by a single shot.

We were pleased to see a total of 10 junior girls on hand in Nanton, who were led by Aliyah Hull of Willow Park.  Hull fired a 78 to lead the way in the girls’ U15 age bracket as well as capturing overall low gross honours.  This was Hull’s second Tour win of the season as she edged Jazmine Lazzari of Inglewood GCC by a single stroke. Edie Nicholson of Calgary, the 2022 McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour Girls Tour Champion, was best in the U17 division with an 80, which was third overall.  Ally Chiew of Country Hills showed that her brother isn’t the only talented junior in the family, as her 87 was good for first place in the girls’ U19 division.   It was notable that every junior girl in the Nanton event broke 100 today as these youngsters gain valuable tournament experience.

Beckham Chiew and Aliyah Hull

The Tour will be back in southern Alberta next week with tournaments on Tuesday, August 8th at Collicutt Siding GC in Crossfield and in Strathmore the following day on Wednesday, August 9th.  Please visit the Tour’s website at www.albertagolfjuniors.org for entry information for the other Tour events remaining on the 2023 regular season schedule.