The McLennan Ross Sun Junior Tour

Wolf Creek Golf Resort

It's over....it's over!!!

The 15th season of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour came to a rousing conclusion today at the annual Tour Championship at Wolf Creek Golf Resort. A total of 135 of Alberta's top junior golfers rolled into the parking lot at Wolf Creek to put their games to the test over one of Canada's finest golf courses.  Held on The Old Course at Wolf Creek, their original 18-hole layout, the players were treated to a course in wonderful condition set up with some very demanding, but fair, hole locations. It was a superb test for the kids, and two young boys in particular passed the test with flying colors.

Back in May, 14-year-old Tyler Saunders of Edmonton's Glendale GCC was  invited to Wolf Creek to the annual Tour Media Day to showcase his skills in front of several curious meda types from across the province, and little did we know then that today many of those same media would be interviewing Tyler as the newest Tour Champion!  Saunders and Calgary Pinebrook's Matt Williams, also 14, had tied after the regulation 18 holes with 1-over par 71s, two shots clear of Quinn Bunton-Walberg of Cardiff. Saunders and Williams went back out to the 407-yard par 4 15th hole for the first hole of a sudden victory playoff.  Saunders had 10 feet for birdie after two sensational shots, and after he missed his birdie effort, Williams had to make a clutch par putt from just inside Saunders to entend the playoff. Center cut.

The second hole of the playoff was the demanding 432-yard par 4 18th hole and Saunders kept up the pressure with a striped drive and a short iron 12 feet behind the hole for birdie. Williams was pin high left with a rough lie in the fescue, but made a fabulous chip shot to 4 feet.  Saunders narrowly missed his birdie effort but when Williams' par putt slid by the left edge of the cup, Saunders tapped in to become the youngest Tour Champion in the Tour's 15-year history. Today's event was only the latest success for one of the province's rising junior stars, as Tyler had made the four-member Alberta Interprovincial Team earlier this summer via a 4th-place finish at the Frank LIndsay Alberta Junior Boys Championship.

Jason Thiels of Olds and Okie Iredale of Cochrane tied for fourth on 74,  with Ryan Wilson of Montgomery Glen and Chris Bonli of Bearpaw locked in 6th with 75s.

A total of 22 junior girls were on hand today, the largest field of junior girls on the Tour this summer. Pretournament favorite Jennifer Ha of the Glencoe held form today with a steady 3-over par 73 to take the title, three shots ahead of Becky Martin of Medicine Hat GCC. Ha also had a terrfic summer, highlighted by an win at a big AJGA tournament in Oregon earlier in August over a deep field of top US and international junior girls.

Srixon Golf sponsors the season-long Order of Merit, and there were close races in all four divisions going into the Tour Championship, where points were doubled.
  Two of the leaders going into today held off their challengers but two of the four races went to players who used the Tour Championship to overtake the pre-tournament leaders.

In the flight for boys born in 1991-93, Cam Hill of Country Hills held onto his lead to finish ahead of runner-up Blake Roberts, who had won the division in 2009.  Brennan Kearney of Ft. McMurray finished third.

The most wide-open division was in the group for boys born in 1994/95 as no less than 11 players had a mathematical chance of capturing the title going into today's play. Barrett Belland of Glendale had held the lead much of the season, but he couldn't hold off Okie Iredale of Cochrane, Iredale strung together four consecutive birdies in the middle of his round to key his round of 74, good for 3rd in the age group, and T4 overall.  The 80 points Iredale picked up today took him from 3rd place to top spot and earned him one of the four gorgeous Cleveland golf bags supplied by Srixon / Cleveland to the division champions. Brett Hawken of Montgomery Glen finished only two points back of Belland in third.

The battle in the flight for boys born in 1996 and later had boiled down to leader Theo Olver of Three Hills and Brett Pasula of Red Deer, who had strung together a furious run of solid finishes over the last month to narrow the gap between him and Olver.  Pasula has been on a roll lately, highlighted by his win last week in the Alberta Golf Assocation Bantam Championship in Carstairs. Pasula continued his great play today with a 76, which was good for a 3-way tie for first in the age group and the 100 Order of Merit points pushed Olver back into second place. Another up and coming young player, Andrew Harrison of Camrose finished third.

The Junior Girls race had boiled down to two Edmonton and area players; Sydney Johnson-Parker of Glendale and Megan Vermillion of Broadmoor.  Johnson-Parker had held the lead much of the season but Vermillion overtook her at the last regular season event in Ponoka last week, and when neither played picked up any points today, Vermillion had herself a brand new bag.  My apologies to James Brown.  ( Never mind kids,,,your blues loving parents will know what I'm talking about!)  Alanna Jefferis of Belvedere held onto her pre-tournament third place ranking.  Our thanks go out to Srixon / Cleveland Canada for their suppor of the Order of Merit over the summer.  The final Top 20 in each group is now online. Check it out!

While we are on the subject of thank-yous,,,I have a long list of people to whom I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude for their support of the Tour.

Our Corporate Partners ---

The Tour could not exist without the financial support of our roster of Corporate Partners.  The law firm of McLennan Ross have been our Title Sponsors since the Tour's inception in 1996, and the extensive publicity we receive through the Edmonton and Calgary Sun newspapers is invaluable.  Our other sponsors including Srixon / Cleveland, MacEwan Univeristy, Dairyland, Koch Ford Automotive, Sobeys, the Alberta Golf Association, and Coca Cola all make the Tour possible.  Please let these people know you value what they do to make the Tour possible.

The Media ----

Obviously, the Suns are our major media partners with the Tour, but we are very appreciative of the extensive publicity and support for the Tour from organizations like the Red Deer Advocate, Global TV, local radio and newspapers in many communities the Tour visits, CHED and CHQR radion in Edmonton and Calgary, The Alberta Golfer magazine, Inside Golf Magazine, On The Links, and many other media outlets around Alberta.

Wolf Creek Golf Resort ---

Ryan Vold, Director of Golf at Wolf Creek, is one of the founding partners of the Tour and his support for junior golf in Alberta is legendary.  He provides us the complimentary use of Wolf Creek every year for the Tour Championship, which is always the highlight of the Tour schedule.

The host sites and their staff and volunteers --

One thing we have always prided ourselves on with the Tour is the affordability of the events.  This would not be possible without the support of the Tour courses that host the tournaments free of charge. The club professionals, managers, food and beverage people, course Superintendents and their grounds crews, and dozens of vounteers that help with their respective tournaments all deserve a great deal of support and praise for their committment to the growth of junior golf.

The Alberta Golf Association ---

Having many of my fellow AGA Rules Officials on site at the tournaments lends a great deal of professionalism to the tournaments.  These men and women volunteer their time and expertise to help the kids learn the rules and etiquette of the game, and their efforts are very much appreciated.

Parents and families ---

Having the moral and financial support of parents and families of the players is crucial to the success of what we do.  It is wonderul to see parents come out and support their children in their golf, and we are happy and proud to provide these opportunities.

Last, but not least,,,the players ----

Tournament golf is not easy.  There are going to be many more "Agonies of Defeat" than "The thrill of victory" in golf.  Trust me, I know. Having the courage to come out and compete in new and different surroundings is a lot more difficult than staying home with your feet up watching TV, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for any youngster willing to make that committment.  We could have millions of dollars in sponsorship ( I wish! ) but if we don't have players, we have nothing.  Thanks so much to you kids for coming out to have some fun and learn a little bit about golf and about yourselves.

Planning for next year starts now.  We welcome the comments and suggestions from players and parents about what we do and how we do it.  We will be working on setting up the 2011 schedule, renewing our agreements with our sponsors, and seeking out new corporate support to help us be better.  I want to wish everyone a great fall and winter.  Study hard in school. Work on your games. See you next summer!

Players warming up prior to the Tour Championship.

  2010 Tour Champions Jennifer Ha of Glencoe and Tyler Saunders of Glendale pose with their trophies at the conclusion of the Tour Championship.

  Srixon Order of Merit winners pose with their new golf bags after the finish of the Tour Championship.  From L, Cam Hill, Country Hills (boys born in 1991-93), Okie Iredale, Cochrane, (boys born in 1994-95), Brett Pasula, Red Deer, (boys born in 1996 and later) and Megan Vermillion, Broadmoor, Junior Girls.

Dunc Mills

Executive Director

The McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour

* = Won Junior Boys' Tour Championship on the 2nd hole of a sudden-victory playoff.