The top individual golfers at the South East District Athletic Association (SEDAA) championships at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club on Monday have a shared past.
Both Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs’ Jace Carlisle, who captured the boys’ title with a round of 81, and Rocanville School Rara Avis' Hallie Burke, who carded a 92 to win the girls’ division, competed with Team South East at the local course during the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games this past July. With the districts’ win, the two golfers earn a chance to participate at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Provincial Golf Championships at Madge Lake Golf Resort near Kamsack on Sept. 23 and 24.
Burke, 15, said the conditions on Monday weren’t very summer-like compared to what she encountered almost two months ago. She said the high wind and frosty weather on the links were hard to play in, but feels she still shot a good game.
“With all the windy conditions and how cold it was I’ll take the score I shot today,” added Carlisle, 15. “Even playing (in good conditions), usually I’ll average 78 or 79, so just a few over wasn’t that bad.”
Burke shot a 92 to win the SEDAA individual girls’ title, which was eight strokes better than second-place finisher Kelly Kay, who was also a member of Team South East at the Summer Games, and 11 shots ahead of third-place holder Mackenzie Fleck. Carlisle carded an 81 to capture the SEDAA individual boys’ championship with Kruz Wilson following five strokes behind and Jayden Dudas coming in third with a score of 87.
Carlisle and Dudas were also part of the ECS squad with partners Chase Gedak and Reegan Robinson, two more members of Team South East at the Summer Games, which won the southeast district boys’ team championship with a combined score of 252. Fleck also captured a girls’ team championship for the Lampman School Grizzlies with partners Sam Greenwood and Katie Greenwood thanks to a combined score of 212.
Carlisle said this is his second district championship following a junior’s win at Golf Kenosee last year. He said a busy schedule since school started has forced him to stop his almost-daily routine of hitting a round at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club, but a focus on recording pars instead of going for birdies may have helped make up for the rust.
“I didn’t know where I would be standing with an 81,” said Carlisle. “I thought Chase or Jayden Dudas would have come in with a little bit lower score, but I guess in the tough conditions it didn’t really work out.”
Burke said the links in Estevan are different than what she is used to at Rocanville Town and Country Golf Club as her home course has no sand or water and every hole is straight to the pin. She said it probably was this practice of hitting the ball straight that got her the win.
“I didn’t slice it very often,” said Burke. “I didn’t hook it. I didn’t dump. (I was) just getting those consistent shots.”
Burke said Madge Lake Golf Resort is an unknown to her, so there is no real expectation of what she’ll encounter at provincials. She said the goal is just to go in and do as well as she can and hope to break 100.
“I’ve heard that it’s pretty short and there are a lot of hidden hazards and stuff around,” said Carlisle, noting he’s going to try and get in a lot of practice over the next two weeks to prepare. I’ll “work on my short game and make sure I get the (rounds) in before the tournament.”
