The provincial golf spotlight will shine on Cooke Municipal Golf Course this week as the Golf Saskatchewan Senior Men’s, Mid-Master Men’s and Senior Women’s championship will be hosted at the course this week.
The tournaments will run through Wednesday with the first round teeing off on Monday morning. Cooke head professional Darcy Myers says the event has been years in the making.
“This particular event is really nice to host. We were originally supposed to host it in 2020, but then with COVID, we were restricted and basically had to cancel it. So, this is basically a rescheduling of COVID. And it’s nice to get this up and running and off the ground.”
The event brings players from across Saskatchewan to Prince Albert to compete for a provincial title. Myers says he has heard good feedback about the course from the field.
“A lot of positive remarks on the condition of the golf course. Pierre (Vezeau) and our turf care team do a fantastic job and a lot of positive comments on the golf course and the condition that it’s in. We’re really proud of our turf care team and the work that they do day in and day out, not just for these championships, but, for daily play as well.”
Myers adds the course should provide a fair test for the field throughout the week.
“This course is challenging to all levels of golfers, even the best ones in the province. It’s about positioning here and getting the ball in the right spots. Even at the senior level here, there is some fantastic competition. There’s a lot of great players both in the men’s and women’s divisions. We’re looking at hopefully seeing some good scores this week and crowning some champions that will go on to nationals here later this summer.”
It’s not the first time Cooke has hosted a prestigious event this season. Cooke hosted the Monday qualification for the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open last month.
Myers says hosting events helps the course maintain a positive reputation.
“It’s great. People become aware of the facility that we have and the capabilities that we have for hosting events like this. It’s nice to showcase our golf course to different types of golfers. Both the Monday qualifier and other events like that. You get a different group every time you have something here. The more exposure we get, the better.”
Kim Walker paces the field for the Senior Women’s event after firing a two-over par round of 75. Saskatoon’s Kathy Ziglo and Hillcrest’s Lorie Boyle sit tied for second with opening rounds of 84. Pauline McDougall was the top performer from Cooke Municipal with a round of 88.
Todd Turgeon had the low round of the day for the Men’s Mid-Master (40+) division firing a two-under round of 69.
Results for leaders of Senior Men’s were not available at press time. Martin Ring finished with a three-over par round of 74.
