Alberta Junior Tour hits the Edmonton area
Alberta Golf (Mundare) – Dunc Mills
After the first five events of the 2019 McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Golf Tour were held south of Red Deer, the Tour started a three-in-three days swing in the Edmonton area Tuesday at Whitetail Crossing GC in Mundare. We had 35 juniors on hand from across northern Alberta, including arguably the strongest field of the year to date.
The scores certainly reflected the quality of the field, as 19-year-old Nate Gerhardt of Devon GC got up and down for par from about 30 yards short of the green on his last hole to get to the finish line in an even-par total of 72 strokes. Gerhardt mixed in three birdies with three bogies in what was largely a very steady round of golf under ideal scoring conditions.
Nate Gerhardt (L) of Devon, winner of the Whitetail Crossing Junior Open, with Grant Cammidge (R), Field Manager, Membership & Competitions, Alberta Golf Edmonton area.
Chase Bodoano of Broadmoor, with two Tour wins already under his belt this summer, and Devin Kucy of Camrose tied for second a shot back with 1-over 73s. Clubmates Mitch Desjarlais and Jarret Bossert of Broadmoor were another stroke back tied for fourth on 74 in the blanket finish.
Gerhardt secured his spot in the season-ending Tour Championshp at Wolf Creek Golf Resort on August 23 with his play today and will be joined by Ethan Howes (81) from the flight for boys born in 2003/04, and Ryan Garbutt (87) of Windermere from the flight for boys born in 2005 and later. Wild Card qualifiers today included Cole Ruelling (76) from Lewis Estates and Camrose’s Erik Bouck and Blake Hammel from Ft. Saskatchewan, tied at 80. Ruelling was making his first Tour start of the year, and will also be on hand tomorrow at Montgomery Glen GC in Wetaskiwin to defend his 2018 Tour title at the Montgomery Glen layout.
We had four junior girls on hand today, including the 2018 Tour Champion, 13-year-old Jayla Kucy of Camrose. Kucy is coming off a terrific performance last week at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies’ Amateur Championship, where she finished T8th competing against all the top female amateurs in the province. Kucy made sure she will be in the field at Wolf Creek to defend her Tour Championship title by firing a steady 79 today, four shots clear of Zoe Banack of Edson. Sophie Pasitney of St. Paul was third with an 88.
The Tour heads southeast of Edmonton in the morning for a 9 a.m. shotgun start at Montgomery Glen in Wetaskiwin, followed on Thursday with the Camrose Junior Open, also a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
These are the Top Six and Ties in each age group, who thereby earned Titleist Order of Merit ranking points.
Boys Born in 2000-01-02
1. Nate Gerhardt, Devon – 72 Q
T2. Chase Bodoano, Broadmoor – 73 PQ
T2. Devin Kucy, Camrose – 73 PQ
T4. Jarret Bossert, Broadmoor – 74 PQ
T4 Mitch Desjarlais, Broadmoor – 74 PQ
6. Cole Ruelling, Lewis Estates – 76 WC
T7. Blake Hammel, Ft. Saskatchewan – 80 WC
T7. Erik Bouck, Camrose – 80 WC
Boys Born in 2003-04
1. Rory Wutzke, Camrose – 78 PQ
2. Ethan Howes, Ft. Saskatchewan – 81 Q
3. Jace Shannon, Forestburg – 82
4. Colby Sims, Pine Hills – 89
Boys Born in 2005 & Later
1. Ryan Garbutt, Windermere – 87 Q
2. Matthew Mayowski, Drayton Valley – 92
3. Kian Switzer, Edson – 94
4. Sahaj Klair, Redtail Landing – 97
5. Taylor Denver, Redwater – 101
6. Mateo Haraga, Broadmoor – 102
Girls division
1. Jayla Kucy, Camrose – 79
2. Zoe Banack, Edson – 83
3. Sophie Pasitney, St. Paul – 88
4. Eva Hogue, Edmonton CC – 118
Q = Player qualified for the Tour Championship at Wolf Creek GR on August 23.
WC = Wild Card qualifier for Tour Championship.
PQ = Player had previously qualified for Tour Championship.
