INNISFAIL – Brett Kelly has finally achieved his dream goal and more in his beloved sport of golf.
The 50-year-old sports executive is playing in his first Alberta Men's Amateur Golf Championship.
“I never have. This is a first time for me,” said Kelly, an Innisfail resident who is manager of member development for Hockey Alberta. “I am a lifelong golfer, probably for 38 years. I've played at the Innisfail Golf Club for that long, and this was my fifth time I tried to qualify.”
And he’s going to finally compete with his two sons in the championship at Edmonton’s Derrick Golf and Winter Club from June 25 to 27.
John Deneer, director of competitions and athlete development for Alberta Golf, believes it might be the first time in the Alberta amateur gold championship’s 117-year history that a father and his two sons will have played in the same championship game.
“I can't guarantee they've been the only father and two sons to play but I suspect it's very unlikely there’s been many or any to compete in the same mens’ amateur,” Deneer told the Albertan.
Kelly’s 20-year-old son Joe will be playing in his fourth consecutive Alberta amateur championship, including last year’s tourney in Innisfail where he finished tied for ninth place.
“When you finish top 10 in one year you're exempt the next year,” said Brett.
Sean, 16, will be playing in his first Alberta Men's Amateur Golf Championship.
In fact, Sean and his father qualified together on May 21 in the Calgary regional qualifier last month at the Water Valley Golf Club.
“Joe actually caddied for Sean in the qualifying, and apparently I had to carry my own clubs,” said Brett with a chuckle.
And when father and son finished their qualifying rounds for the Alberta championship there was pure joy.
“It was awesome. I get a little choked up just thinking about it right now,” said Brett. “I tapped in for 75 and figured I was pretty close to qualifying.
“With it being five or six times trying it was like, ‘holy smoke, I just qualified for the amateur,” he added. “I headed back out to the 18th green to watch Sean and Joe come in. Sean made birdie on the final goal to shoot 73. He ended up finishing tied for fourth in the qualifying."
“Honestly, that day was a pretty miserable day,” said Brett. “It rained on us a lot, which kind of made it a little more special that we shot so low.”
As for Sean, he said it's “very exciting” to qualify for the Alberta men's amateur championship for the first time and to do so with his father and brother makes it “100 times more special.
“It's pretty cool but it's even cooler that I beat him,” said Sean, a Grade 10 student at Red Deer’s École Secondaire Notre Dame High School, who noted with a chuckle his qualifying score bested his father’s round.
Joe told the Albertan that to play as a family will be “super cool”, noting his father taught his boys how to play golf.
“It should be a very memorable week for the rest of our lives,” said Joe, who is currently going to school in Mesa, Arizona at Benedictine University Mesa.
Both of Brett’s sons have future ambitions of making it to golf’s professional ranks.
As for the grateful dad he’s just happy to finally qualify for a tournament that so often eluded him, coupled with the bonus of playing alongside his two boys.
“I had a good day for a change when I've had lots of times when I haven't qualified,” said Brett. “I persevered and stuck it out and qualified, and then I was lucky enough that Sean came in a couple groups behind me and ended up qualifying as well.
“It was a successful day.”
