Team South East golfers had a strong showing during the golf tournament that was part of the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
The female team won the silver medal, while the male team came in fourth, during the tournament, which was contested at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club. Golfers had a practice round on Monday, and then played their competitive rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Each team consisted of up to three male and three female players.
Rather than employing traditional stroke play format, the tournament used the Stableford scoring system. Players received a point for a double bogey, two for a bogey, three for a par, five for a birdie and eight for an eagle.
Also, when tabulating the team scores, the top two scores on each hole for each gender counted.
Team South East’s female entry included Reese Handley of Estevan, Hallie Burke of Rocanville and Kelly Kay of Maryfield. They finished with a score of 147 over two rounds, which left them 24 points behind the gold medal-winning entry, Team South West.
Burke finished fourth in the individual female event with a two-round score of 74. Kay was tied for sixth with a 72. Handley came in 17th with a 36.
Chloe Sies of Melville won gold in the individual female event with a 98.
“I thought the girls did really, really well,” said Team South East coach Amanda Minchin, who is also the head pro at Woodlawn. “I thought we had a good chance at a medal, but I wasn’t sure what colour it would be. I’m really happy with how they played for two days straight.”
The male team, which was comprised of Estevan golfers Jace Carlisle, Chase Gedak and Reegan Robinson, finished with 224 points, which was two points behind Prairie Central for the bronze medal. Saskatoon won the tournament with a 252 total.
Robinson finished ninth with a two-round total of 104. Carlisle was 14th at 96 points, and Gedak was 16th with a 93.
Tayden Wallin of Humboldt captured the gold medal with a score of 128.
“The boys played really well, all three of them. I think they felt a little bit of pressure being at home, but they played really well,” said Minchin.
She thought the level of competition was really tough. Sies won gold at the provincial junior women’s tournament last week in Warman, and added Summer Games gold to her list of accomplishments. Other national team members were also in Estevan.
The provincial junior men’s champion, Kade Johnson, was also in Estevan for the Games. He won silver at Woodlawn with a score of 124.
“It was good to have the cream of the crop, as well as a lot of younger kids and developmental kids who are coming up,” said Minchin.
Minchin has a strong understanding of the value of the Games. She was on the Zone 1 golf team for the 2000 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
“For the older kids, and the kids who have played at a high level, this gave them another chance to play a different format, to play against kids who were very strong, as well as let them be leaders for the younger ones,” said Minchin.
“For the 10 and 11 year olds, they will get to play at another Summer Games, and I think that with the Stableford, it really allowed them to be competitive. It didn’t put so much pressure on them to post a score.”
The course was in great shape for the tournament, she said, and they received a lot of compliments from players and other people throughout the competition.
