Gold Saskatchewan is returning to the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club. In December it was announced the club will host the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships for the first time since 2001. The club played host to the Men’s Senior Championship in 2013.
General Manager McLaren Taylor said the championships will continue the momentum in 2019 as the course comes off a successful season last year.
“It wasn’t a great fall, it certainly wasn’t a great September, we saw some losses there against the previous year but when we finished the 2018 season it was better than the year before. That’s always a good thing in the golf business,” Taylor told Golf Saskatchewan.
With five years separating the last Golf Saskatchewan event at the course that was developed in 1931 and redesigned in 2009, the provincial governing body decided the time was right to bring the largest championship back. Taylor said the club was approached by Golf Saskatchewan and was happy with the partnership.
“They reached out to us and we we’re happy to take a look at it. It fits in our schedule and I think its time the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club hosts another event,” he said.
The mid-amateur tournament has never been held at the course, the championship used to be played separately from the amateur event, the two are now adjacent to each other. Lindsay Bernakevitch won his second of four straight amateurs that season. Many of the province’s top non-professional players are members at the club. Taylor said the course is a perfect fit for Saskatchewan’s most competitive field.
“The club has a long history of competitive golf,” he said. “Certainly, with the Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur on annually at the club over the July long weekend it’s always a competitive event. It will be on again this year as a lead up so that will be a great one-two in July.”
Kade Johnson will come into the event as the defending amateur champion, Mike Herperger is the reigning mid-am title holder. Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member and 2018 Order of Merit winner David Stewart placed third and second respectively last year at the Dakota Dunes Golf Links. Taylor said the entire field will enjoy a fantastic 54-hole event while vying for a spot on Saskatchewan’s teams.
“I think the players will enjoy the course, it’s been in great shape the last few years and we don’t expect anything different next year. It’s always been a great competition golf course and after a round there is nothing better than the deck at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club,” Taylor said.
Registration for the championships that will run from July 16 to 18 will be open in April.