Changes are coming to the format of the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Golf Championship slated for the Legends Golf Course in July.
For the previous two years the men’s amateur and mid-amateur events were played together over three days and 54 holes. Beginning in 2020, the amateur will become a 72-hole championship. The mid-amateur, for players 25 years old and over, will continue to be played over three rounds. Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Sport and Championships Steve Ryde said the province’s top men’s players wanted changes to the event.
“Reading some of the feedback from the questionnaires the players filled out there was a big demand for a four-day championship for the men’s am title and we felt the same way,” Ryde explained. “We wanted to keep the two events together, we find we get the best field in the province. Not everybody has four weeks of holidays to burn up, so we felt it was best to keep them together.”
The tournament will run from July 21 – 24. The mid-amateur champion will be crowned after the round on July 23. The top-18 players and ties will continue to the fourth round and compete for the 109th amateur crown. Ryde said the organization hopes to witness an extra day of thrilling golf involving the best amateurs in Saskatchewan.
“We’re hoping to witness is an exciting day, it’s going to be a great championship. I hope it’s close and there are a bunch of guys vying for the title. The Legends is a difficult challenge and it could come down to the 72nd hole of the event,” Ryde said.
Under the current format, which includes the championships at Dakota Dunes Golf Links and The Saskatoon Golf and Country Club the results have varied. Kade Johnson was the amateur champion two years ago while Mike Herperger won the mid-am. Last year Danny Klughart won both events. Ryde said speaking to competitors around Saskatoon, including a multi-winner of the am, the alteration could be popular.
“I run into a lot of players that play in the event, I have thrown the extra day cut idea at them and they think it’s a great idea,” Ryde said. “I think it’s going to be a great adjustment; people hopefully have that week booked off anyways so hopefully one more day doesn’t make or break their decision to play.”
Klughart is also a member of the Golf Saskatchewan board of directors. He brings thoughts from both the player’s side and the organizations. He said there are several positives to making the changes.
“Last year it wasn’t really fair for me to win both championships in one playoff,” the Prince Albert product admitted. “We’re trying to accommodate people to only to take one week off work, but we still want to treat it as two different championships, and this is the only way we can do it. The am is the one everybody wants to win; it is the most prestigious. By having it the same length of the national championships it brings that prestige back.”
Registration for the championships, and the official opening of the golf season in Saskatchewan is April 15.
Visit our competition page for more dates and details.