Alex Swinnerton was able to rely on some home course knowledge this week at the Waskesiu Golf Course.
After firing a two-under par round of 68 to lead the way in the qualifying round on Monday, Swinnerton would then go on to capture his first Coca-Cola Junior Men’s Lobstick tournament title with a triumph over Will Blake in the championship flight final on Friday.
“It means a lot to win this event, especially as this is my home course and there’s a lot of great players that come here for this tournament,” said Swinnerton, who is from Saskatoon but has lived up in Waskesiu for the summer since he was four years of age.
“It was a great week. I was able to putt the ball well and hit the ball well right from the start, which is always nice.”
Swinnerton, who had reached the semifinal of the championship flight in 2018 before losing to eventual champion Josh Nagy, reached the final by defeating Luke Cote, Tommy Danielson and Adam Husil.
His match against Blake was a close affair until the back nine, when he was able to extend his cushion to two holes by draining a birdie on the 10th hole.
Blake would then miss a par putt on the 13th green to give Swinnerton a three-hole advantage that he would hold until he ended the contest with a par on the 16th.
“I made a few really good putts to save par today,” said Swinnerton, who earned the Golf Saskatchewan Under-17 provincial title at the junior men’s championship in Swift Current last month.
“My approach shots weren’t the best and I had to chip on to the green a couple of times, but I was able to make a few long putts and put a little bit of pressure on Will.”
Blake, who is from Regina, earned a spot in the final by defeating Cort Tunall, Lucas Langois and Carter Bell.
“I got off to a good start but Alex kept making putts and I just couldn’t capitalize on my chances,” said Blake, who is gearing up for his second season with the Saskatoon Blazers of the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League.
“I thought I played pretty consistent all week. I hit a lot of fairways and I just tried to make as many pars and birdies as I could.”
Defending tournament champion Nikko Sebjanic of Calgary qualified for the championship flight but lost his opening round match to Langois and fell to Tunall in a championship flight consolation quarter-final.
The complete results from Friday’s final round are listed below:
- Championship Flight Consolation: Darien Herlick over Brett Leonard
- First Flight: Karter Ambrosichuk over Keaton Cole
- First Flight Consolation: Brody Sawchyn over Noah Parent
- Second Flight: Nate Bohmann over Will Whitter
- Second Flight Consolation: Owen Nelson over Walker Cote
- Third Flight: Van Taylor over Tyson Wawryk
- Third Flight Consolation: Gavin Martens over Logan Hynd
