The McLennan Ross Sun Junior Tour

Wolf Creek Golf Resort

It could hardly have been a better day.

Fabulous weather, maybe the nicest day we have ever had for the Tour Championship. An exciting new golf course to test 121 of Alberta's best junior golfers. Great support from parents and family to support the kids. Warm hospitality from Director of Golf Ryan Vold and his staff for the players, spectators, and corporate partners of the Tour in attendance.  And some terrific golf!

Kyle Wilson of Lakeside GC in Chestermere and Christie Lin of Country Hills GCC in Calgary fixed their names to the list of Tour Champions over the Tour's first 13 years; names that include current Alberta Amateur Champion Mitch Evanecz, Bari Erais, Ryan Swelin, and Red Deer's Adrienne White, who yesterday earned a spot through Monday qualifying in Calgary for this week's CN Canadian Women's Open Championship.  Seven years ago, Adrienne was winning the Tour Championship at Wolf Creek and this week she goes up against Christie Kerr, Lorena Ochoa and Michele Wie.  In another 7 years, will we see Christie Lin in the same scenario?  Let's hope so!

Wilson came out of the gates hotter than the weather yesterday, birdieing his first three holes.  He had it 5-under at one point and admitted later he was getting ahead of himself with only a few holes left to go.  He finished bogey, triple bogey for his even-par 71, which was still three shots clear of Chad Rechlo of Sturgeon Valley, Colton Young of The Hamptons and Edmonton Petroleum Club's Jace Barros. Six players tied for 5th another shot back at 75.

Lin's round was much steadier. She offset four birdies with a handful of bogies but had only two 6s on her card. Lin has shot to prominence this summer, finishing 3rd at last month's Alberta Junior Girls' Championship which earned her a spot on the Alberta Interprovincial Team.  She also wore Alberta's colors at last week's Canada Summer Games, where she finished in the Top Ten individually.  Four girls tied for second nine shots in Lin's rear view mirror with 83s: Elizabeth Pettie (Glencoe), Candace Dechant (Glendale), Mandy Wong (Bearspaw) and Kirsty MacDonald (Banff Springs).

Yesterday's tournament was the final opportunity for players to earn ranking points in the season-long Srixon Order of Merit.  There were close races in all four age categories going into the Tour Championship, where points were doubled.  Most years, someone comes out of the pack at Wolf Creek to overtake a leader, but yesterday, all four leaders going into play held onto their lead and took home new Srixon golf bags for their efforts.

Blake Roberts of Broadmoor captured the title for boys born in 1990/91/92.  Jesse Teron of Red Deer, who won his age group last year, moved up an age group this year, but still dominated his competition. Tyler Saunders of Glendale finished T2 in his age group yesterday to widen his lead in the flight for boys born in 1995 and later, and Melissa Saken of Edson, who had a fine summer in her own right in provincial and national tournaments, captured the Junior Girls division.

Yesterday's Tour Championship brings our 14th season to a close.  There are so many people to thank for the continued success of the Tour as we look forward to our 15th summer in 2010.

Our Corporate Partners - The Tour could not exist without the generous financial support of our roster of partners.  From our Title Sponsors McLennan Ross and the Suns all the way through our newest supporters, every partner's support and generosity is welcomed and appreciated.

The Media - Hey,,who DOESN'T like to see his or her name in the paper or on TV!  Check out today's Edmonton Sun to see what we mean!  Not only the front page of the Sports section but the entire paper!  But many other media outlets have been very supportive of the Tour throughout the year. These players deserve the media's support and we appreciate that coverage.

Our host sites - The golf clubs that host Tour events are businesses, seeking to earn a profit like any other.  For them to give up their facilities for free to support junior golf is an outstanding investment in the future of the game. 

Volunteers - Many of the host clubs do an outstanding job of recruiting volunteers to help with scoring, spotting,  registrations, and scoring. These people give freely of their time to help their local tournaments and their support is very beneficial to the overall smooth operations of the events.

Rules Officials - At most events, we are assisted by one or more of my fellow Alberta Golf Association Rules Officials.  Junior Golf has undoubtedly more "rulings per minute" than any group of golfers, but that's an important part of the Tour's role; to help coach and develop these young people to learn not only the Rules but the etiquette of the game and other responsibilities they have on and off the golf course. Thank you to all the officials who have helped out on the course over the summer.

Parents and families of the players - Obviously many of these kids aren't yet old enough to get to the tournaments without some very dedicated parents driving their children to the events, or arranging car pools. The moral and financial support of the players' parents, grandparents, and other family members is great to see. 

Last, and of course, far from least, are the players themselves. Tournament golf is a LOT different  from casual games with your friends or family and it takes courage, ability, and dedication to put your game on the line in pressure situations. Golf both builds and reveals character. Yes, we have had some players reveal their poor sides, but the vast majority of the kids are fantastic young people.  They welcome and appreciate the support they get from their parents and the officials at the tournaments and often forge friendships that last a lifetime.

We are already thinking ahead to next year.  Scheduling, adding or replacing both tournament sites and sponsors. Fine tuning the Tour's procedures, often with the valuable input and suggestions of both players and parents. Do we get everything right all the time?  Of course not. But we listen carefully to all the feedback we get about the Tour in our hopes of making the experience of playing in a McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour event the best it can be.  Please keep watching our website over the winter for news about next year's events.  We welcome and encourage feedback; both positive and negative.

OVERALL TOP TWENTY

1. Kyle WILSON                                              Lakeside                    71

T2. Colton YOUNG                                          The Hamptons           74

T2. Chad RECHLO                                          Sturgeon Valley         74

T2. Jace BARROS                                            Edm. Pete Club         74

T5. Alex RAKOWSKI                                      Edm. Pete Club          75

T5. Eric de WIT                                                Red Deer                   75

T5. Dylan BARRONS                                       High Prairie              75

T5. Jeremy NOVAKOWSKI                            Grande Prairie           75

T5. Brennan KEARNEY                                  Ft. McMurray            75

T5. Matt WILLIAMS                                      Pinebrook                  75

11. Jesse TERON                                             Red Deer                   76

T12. Derek FIELD                                          Calgary Elks               77

T12. Paul JAMES                                           Edmonton CC           77

T12. Liam WOLFE                                         Calgary GCC             77

T15. Kevin PIPER                                          Sandpiper                   78

T15. Sam GREGORY                                     Stewart Creek             78

T15. Mike KOLODY                                                                         78

T15. Steven DAVIS                                        RedTail Landing          78

T15. Alex CARTWRIGHT                            Canmore                       78

T20. Jamie CARTWRIGHT                          Canmore                       79

T20. Jordie WEICH                                      Innisfail                        79

T20. Cody HANCOCK                                 Sandpiper                     79

T20. Chas SHIELDS                                     D'Arcy Ranch               79

T20. Evan JOHNSON                                   Whitecourt                    79

T20. Spencer DOROWICZ                           Olds                              79

T20. Tyler SAUNDERS                                Glendale                        79

T20. Matt CODD                                         Red Deer                        79