The population-based centre of the province will be the centre of attention for women’s golf in Alberta next week.
Many of the best female amateur golfers in Alberta will gather to decide who is the best.
The Sun Life Financial Ladies Amateur run by Alberta Golf takes over the Red Deer Golf and Country Club July 12-14 , an event which will provide a close up look at some very good players.
Last year, Jaclyn Lee, the young superstar from Calgary took home the title which she also won in 2014. Two years ago, the winner was Jennifer Ha who now is making her way along the LPGA path. Do you see where this is headed?
The amateur attracts some skilled college players according to Randy Robb, Alberta Golf Manager, High Performance Sport.
“They use that to determine the provincial team that will go to the Nationals,” he said. “So I think they’re always trying to gear up to finish in the top three.”
Alberta Junior team members also make room on their calendar for the amateur so you will see some up and coming players who will challenge for the crown.
Local players like Sharon Peart who plays at the RDG&CC and Lynn Kuehn from Lacombe could be in the mix as they are skilled players but also might have an edge on knowing the course slightly more than other competitors.
“We’ve seen that on the men’s side for so many years, the Frank Van Dornicks and Brian Laubmans continue to contend like that just being there and having the experience of playing the course the best possible way,” said Robb.
The Red Deer Golf and Country Club has hosted amateur championships in the past with members and staff willing to do their part to help Alberta Golf when they can.
“We just felt it that this was the right fit this year,” said Head Professional Ken Frame. “Don McFarlane (RDG&CC President) has been in discussions with them for I think a couple of years and we kind of keyed in on this coming year as the host year for the Red Deer Country Club and we’re excited about it.”
The tournament operates with no cut so everyone plays three rounds of golf. Anyone with a registered handicap under 25 can enter and there are three levels of competition as well. There are those who are vying for the title while others are there for the social aspect of golf according to Stephen Wigington, Coordinator, Sport Development, Competitions with Alberta Golf.
“We view it as a great opportunity to meet people in the province and share the passion of golf amongst the women.”
Any player has a shot at overall title but there is also the mid-am category which is for ladies 25 and over and the mid-master competition which is for those 40 years and older.
“So we’ll have three champions for the tournament and if the winner is 40 and over they can win all three contests.”
Over the three days somebody could get hot and run away with it but Frame says the key just might be the unique stretch of seven par fours the players will need to navigate.
“If you can be around about even par or maybe a couple over through those par fours I think you’re going to set yourself apart from the field. That’s the meat and potatoes of the golf course.”
The course will play anywhere from 5,800 to 6,300 yards and Frame says essentially the rest of the course will be status quo.
“ We don’t tuck the pins, we don’t grow the rough. We just let them play golf and the Red Deer Country Club is a good challenge for any player in the province and we believe that will be the case this coming July,” he said.
There will be an old style feeling when it comes to tracking the players out on the course.
“We’re really hoping we can use our manual scoreboard we have on Legacy Lane. I know that technologically they like to use computers now but we like to do it by hand and have people hanging around the scoreboard, said Frame.
According to Robb the tournament provides a great opportunity for younger girls to watch and get a good idea of what the game is like at a higher level.
“It’s ideal for that late high school player that’s trying to figure out what they need to do to be successful at college. They can see the girls that have played two or three years at university to see the level they need to be at.”
No matter how you slice it, the players and the fans are in for a solid three days of golf in Red Deer.
