OLDS — Some incredible golf was played in during the U-19 provincial golf championships, held July 9-11 at the Olds Golf Club.
On the girls’ side, Sarah Armstrong of the Desert Blume golf course in Medicine Hat and Tessa Ion of the Pinebrook Golf & Country Club in Calgary ended up tied with a three-round scores of 220, so a playoff was held to decide the champion.
Armstrong won on the first hole.
On the boy’s side, it was a Battle of Alberta golf-style, as two guys from Calgary and Edmonton duelled it out for the championship.
In the third round, Ryan Gillis of the Pinebrook Golf and Country Club made 10 birdies for an eight-under-par 64, just one shot off the course record.
In the end, he beat Tate Bruggeman of the Derrick Winter Club in Edmonton by five strokes with three-round total of 206.
Other highlights included Javeen Dhaliwal of the Golf Canada Club getting an extremely rare albatross (three under par) on the par-5 14th hole from 260 yards, using a five-wood.
And Carla van Remmen of the Pinebrook Club got an ace (a hole in one) on the fourth hole.
Ion also shot a course record 6-under 66 in round one.
Unfortunately, local golfers in the competition finished well back.
Brae Rogalczyk of the Olds Golf Club and Sean Kelly of the Innisfail Golf Club – both in the boy’s side – finished well back of the pack.
Rogalczyk finished in a two-way tie for 22nd place with a three-round total of 227. Kelly ended up in a four-way tie for 48th place with a three-round total of 237.
Cade Farrow of the Sundre Golf Club withdrew.
