MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club will host a field of 109 junior golfers from July 4-6 for the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship. The fifth of six CN Future Links Championships is conducted in partnership with CN to promote and develop the game of golf among the nation’s junior-aged athletes.
The host club of the 54-hole competition was first established in 1913 at the top of Porter Hill, just east of the city. In 1934, the club relocated to its current location, perched atop scenic cliffs overlooking the South Saskatchewan River.
“Golf Canada is thrilled to bring this year’s CN Future Links Western Championship to the city of Medicine Hat and its golfing community. Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club is in fantastic shape and will serve as a great backdrop for this event, while drawing out the best from our competitors,” said Tournament Director Dan Hyatt.
Team Canada Development Squad member Alexander Smith of Calgary and Kade Johnson from Yorkton, Sask., will attempt to improve upon the shares of fourth they claimed at the 2015 edition of this tournament at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta. They will be joined by Chris Horton (Calgary), Max Sekulic (Rycroft, Alta.), and Ethan Choi (Pincher Creek, Alta.) who look to best their Top-10 results from one year ago.
The Junior Girls division will welcome back five players from last year’s Top-10. Kenna Hughes will defend her 2015 title alongside fellow Calgarians Kehler Koss (2nd), Sharmaine Rapisura (4th), and Annabelle Ackroyd (T10). Redcliffe, Alta., product Lauren Koenig will play in hopes of building upon her T7 result.
The host city of Medicine Hat will be well-represented with five local players in contention. Matt Bering and Michael Valk will have a chance to win on home soil, while Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club members Ronnie Postnikoff, Ryan Hodgins and Sam Bratvold hope to hold home-course advantage.
The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship – the junior series’ final event of the 2016 season – will be conducted at Countryview Golf Club in Fairview, P.E.I., from July 12-14.
The top six finishers in the Junior Boys division will earn exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship to be contested August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via hole-by-hole playoff. All players in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will earn entry into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.
Additional information regarding the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship, including participants, start times and up-to-date results can be found here.