Gord’s Alberta Golf Notes: Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship; Easing Of COVID-19 Restrictions; PGA of Alberta Qualifying Events; Ford Go Golf! Junior Clinics
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- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2021-06-07
By GORD MONTGOMERY, Inside Golf
As the country begins to open up again, a couple of big golf tournaments are slated for courses in the northern regions of the province. The first is slated for late July, as the Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club has secured the rights to host the 2021 edition of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, from July 26 to 30. The event was originally slated to take place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, which has shifted this event on its calendar to either 2025 or 2026. Further north, the Fort McMurray Golf Club will play host to the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, as originally scheduled, from August 23 to 27. We will have more on both these major events in the coming weeks in our newsletter and on our website.
With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta, things are slowly, but surely, returning to as normal a state of affairs as is possible. On June 1, the provincial government once again allowed foursomes to take to the tee box as part of their Open For Summer guidelines, without those players having to be from the same household or close contacts. The previous orders, which saw singles, twosomes, and the odd trio tee off together was put in place in early May, but that was stopped thanks to the lower case numbers of pandemic-infected Albertans, and more citizens lining up to be vaccinated. While tournaments are still not allowed at this time, it’s expected those could again hit the links in July, once at least 70 per cent of Albertans have received two doses of vaccine and the province moves into Stage 2 of reopening.
If you think you’ve got game, here’s your chance to prove it once and for all. The PGA of Alberta is hosting two qualifying events for the popular Champions Tour event, the Shaw Charity Classic, which is held in Calgary in late August. The Pre-Qualifier, which is open to amateurs and professionals aged 50 years and older by the day of the event, will be taking place at Valley Ridge GC in Calgary on Friday, August 6. The top five scores from the Pre-Qualifier will advance to the next stage of qualifying play. Players who advance will then compete in the Event Qualifier on Monday, August 9 at the Elbow Springs Golf Club. This is the final stage before the Shaw Charity Classic happens. The top four scores from the Event Qualifier will advance to the 2021 Shaw Charity Classic. The deadline to register for the Pre-Qualifier is by 5 p.m. MST on Friday, July 30. For more information on eligibility and how to register, please go to pgaofalberta.com and follow the links. And good luck!
For kids wanting to get some hands-on instruction from professional staff, the Ford Go Golf! program, in conjunction with the MJT Junior Tour, is teeing up a number of free 45-minute clinics across Alberta over the coming weeks. The events kick off at the Stony Plain Golf Course, which has always been a huge proponent of junior golf, on Friday, June 11. The next clinic takes place on Sunday, June 27, at the Olds Golf Club. Those two events are then followed by clinics at the Blue Devil GC in Calgary on July 11 and at the RedTail Landing GC, in Edmonton, on September 11. For information on how to register for the clinics go to maplejt.com for the links to your preferred site.