Heffernan Shoots Course Record To Claim PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada
Congratulations to Wes Heffernan (Dynamic Motion Golf Performance Centre) on winning the 2024 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada.
Wes Heffernan started Saturday’s final round looking up the leader board sitting 8 shots behind before breaking the course record to finish the day carding a 62. Heffernan started his day with a birdie on the first to kick start some momentum that eventually built to a red hot 29 in his final nine holes. The now 2-time champion also won this event back in 2019 at TPC Toronto.
Mitchell Fox (Speargrass GC) did his best to keep up with Wes in the final round, carding a 64 and finishing the tournament just one shot behind the champion. Fox won the PGA of Alberta Assistant’ Championship in August along with both 2-day Players Tour events and the Pro-Pro Scramble, a very successful 2024 season.
Congratulations to all PGA of Alberta professional that competed in this years PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada.
McCluskey and Hill Finish On Top Of Team Match Play Championship
The season long contest for the Srixon/Cleveland Team Match Play Championship, presented by Nike, came to a close on Thursday, September 19th, where Phil McCluskey and Logan Hill were victorious.
The team from River Bend G&RA battled their way through the North side of the winners bracket, coming out on top of five consecutive matches to earn their spot in the final where they met Eric Locke (Priddis Greens G&CC) and Samuel Kirkness (Inglewood G&CC) from the South. Unfortunately, Kirkness was unable to make the final but was replaced by Matt Bean (Priddis Greens G&CC) to set the stage at beautiful Red Deer G&CC.
The front nine saw a back and forth clash as both teams looked to get a jump on their opponents and the team from Priddis Greens G&CC took the turn at 1up. McCluskey had other plans on the final nine holes as he birdied 10 and 11 to move Riverbend G&RA ahead in the match, then traded birdies with Locke on 12 to keep them in the lead.
McCluskey and Hill kept their lead heading into 18, still 1up, where both players made par, securing their first Srixon/Cleveland Team Match Play Championship.
Cuthbertson and Belbin Victorious on Consolation Side
There was another match taking place at Red Deer G&CC on September 19th to decided the Champion of the consolation bracket, which includes every team that was unable to win their first round match.
Jeff Cuthbertson (Stony Plain GC) and Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair GC) emerged victorious on Thursday with a 4&2 finish against Matt Freeman (Canyon Meadows GC) and Kyle Wade (PGA of Alberta Member). After losing in the opening round, both teams stayed alive on their respective sides of the bracket, winning four matches consecutively and earning the chance to win the consolation side of the Championship.
Thank you to Srixon/Cleveland and Nike for their sponsorship and to all the teams that competed in this years Team Match Play Championship.
Association News
William Wright Jr In Memorium
Mr. William Wright Jr. “Billy” of Edmonton born March 15, 1941, passed away on September 16, 2024, at the age of 83, surrounded by his children.
He will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by his family and friends.
Bill leaves behind his children Richard (Tanya), Billie-Su (Chris Redlinger) and granddaughter Sydney.
Bill is predeceased by his wife Linda (Serby), parents William Sr. and Jane Wright, his brothers, Harry and James, and son-in-law Chris Redlinger.
Bill was deeply committed to his faith, living a life guided by his strong spiritual beliefs and values.
He was a Golf Professional for over 55 years and a member of the Canadian Professional Golfers Association, PGA of America, and European PGA to which he became a Lifetime member of all three Associations. He was a dedicated real estate agent for 40 years.
Family & friends wishing to pay their respects may do so on Friday, September 20, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Service, 5311 91 St NW Edmonton.
Interment Service will take place on Saturday, September 21, at 4:00 p.m. at South Haven Cemetery 5004 Meridian St NW, Edmonton with Pastor Bob Millman officiating.
Battle of Alberta Showdown Set for Team Match Play Final
Phil McCluskey and Logan Hill will be on familiar turf.
Before they were pros at River Bend Golf & Recreation Area, both honed their skills as youngsters at Red Deer Golf & Country Club, so they should know every nook and cranny of the course that will play host Thursday to the final of the PGA of Alberta’s Srixon/Cleveland Golf Team Match Play event.
Eric Locke, meanwhile, will be in familiar territory. He’s been to the championship match three times now.
“I’m hoping third time is a charm,” said Locke, the manager of player development at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club. “Both times I’ve been to the final, we’ve lost on 17.”
McCluskey and Hill — the head professional and associate professional, respectfully, at always-busy River Bend — have never previously advanced this far in this season-long showdown.
Their reward is an opportunity to compete for the title at their old stomping grounds.
“I was a junior member at Red Deer Golf and Country Club,” McCluskey said, starting to chuckle as he prepared for a joke at his own expense. “I’m not even going to say when, because it was before electricity.”
And how about Hill?
“I grew up there, too — a lot later than Phil did,” he quipped. “To compete at what used to my home course, that will be a lot of fun.”
For a lot of PGA of Alberta members, the Srixon/Cleveland Golf Team Match Play is among the highlights on the annual tournament calendar.
This March Madness-style bracket starts with 64 two-player teams — 32 in the south, 32 in the north.
If you want your name engraved on this trophy, you need to win six straight matches.
McCluskey and Hill proved to be the most dynamite of duos in the north.
As McCluskey put it: “We’ve done an unreal job of picking each other up this year.”
The boys from River Bend most recently knocked off Cardiff’s Dallas Cantera and Jeremy Lavallee to secure their spot in the provincial final.
Locke and his usual partner, Inglewood Golf and Curling Club head pro Sam Kirkness, sizzled through the south side of the bracket. They punched their ticket to the last dance by eliminating Matt Cook and Craig McArthur of Canyon Meadows.
Thing is, Kirkness departed earlier this week on a members’ trip to Ireland. Since he will be unavailable for the championship match, Locke will instead join forces with Matt Bean, an associate pro at Priddis Greens.
“The main thing that Sam and I do is we hit lots of greens between the two of us,” Locke said, dishing on their recipe for success so far. “So, 13, 14, 15 times a round, we’ll have two looks at birdie. And very rarely does one of us not have a look. For us, we almost feel a little relentless. We don’t give holes away, I guess, is the best way to put it.”
As Kirkness prepared for his getaway, he had a message for his pal.
“He just said, ‘Go get ’em,” Locke relayed.
And what did Bean say?
“He was like, ‘Are you sure you want me?!’ ” Locke said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Oh yeah, it’ll be just fun. There’s no pressure.’ ”
No pressure, although there are bragging rights on the line.
And not just among the four gents who will be trading birdies Thursday at Red Deer Golf and Country Club.
“It’s more of a joke than anything, nothing serious, but we like to be able to say the south is a little stronger than the north,” said Locke, winner of the 2024 PGA of Alberta Championship. “It’s kind of Calgary-Edmonton in hockey, that same kind of thing. We like to play it up a bit that way.”
Red Deer has always been considered neutral territory in the Battle of Alberta, but McCluskey and Hill have picked a side and are now hoping to notch a win for the north.
“The two guys we’re playing are good friends, really good players,” McCluskey said, setting up Thursday’s final match. “We’re going to have to play our best to even have a chance. But there’s no reason we can’t.”
Association News
Apply Now To Join The Communication & Membership Committee
Apply Now to Join The new “Communication & Membership Committee”
The PGA of Alberta’s Membership & Employment Committee along with the Promotions & Communication Committee are both dissolving to form one, unified committee: Communication and Membership Committee.
A new application process has been launched. For all member considering joining the newly created Communication & Membership Committee, please submit a brief cover letter stating why you want to be involved and a summary of your contributions to the Association in recent years.
Please submit all applications to Marlene Sanderson ([email protected]) before the deadline - October 3rd at 4 PM.
The new Committee will be announced on October 14, 2024.
Committee Responsibilities: The Communication & Membership Committee shall meet as a committee up to 4-times per year and at the call of the chairs for:
Review PGA of Alberta By-Laws and provide recommendations as required.
New Member Orientation.
Compensation Survey.
Job Posting Standards.
Communication & Membership Initiatives.
Club Relations.
Association Resource Centre.
Retention and attraction of golf professionals in Alberta.
Review and recommend changes or additions to the Hole in One Program.
Discuss how to promote the brand of the PGA of Alberta.
Stay aligned and updated on the PGA of Canada employment implementations and strategies.
Make recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning PGA of Alberta’s social media policies and platforms.
Review and recommend any changes needed to the PGA of Alberta Top 100 Program (point allocation, prize breakdown, Top 100 initiative, etc.).
Make recommendations to the Board of Directors for implementing changes within the scope of the committee’s mandate that will be beneficial to members of the PGA of Alberta.
Proactively obtain input and suggestions from members on their level of satisfaction with suggestions for improvement of the communication and membership portfolio.
Review with the Executive Director any breach of member misconduct and make recommendations for any fines or suspensions to the Board of Directors for any case related to employment or membership.
Liaise with other committees as required on operations and activities that may overlap.
The Committee Chair will provide a report on committee activity at each Board of Directors meeting even if no formal committee meetings have taken place.
Top 100 Points - Each member will receive five Top 100 points for being a part of the committee (see more information here).
Eric Locke and Samuel Kirkness Win G&G Pro-Pro Best Ball Title
RED DEER, Alta.—Eric Locke and Samuel Kirkness capped off the 2024 PGA of Alberta tournament season by taking top honours in the G&G Pro-Pro Best Ball event at River Bend Golf Club in Red Deer, Alta.
Locke (Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club) and Kirkness (Inglewood Golf and Country Club) celebrated a two-shot win after carding a 9-under-par, 63.
“We have played a bunch of PGA of Alberta Championships here so we knew there would be lots of birdies out there and that we’d have to get off to a pretty quick start with two par-5s,” said Locke, who won the PGA of Alberta Championship last month. “Luckily, we did that and then we just had to try to keep it going from there. We knew everyone was going to make birdies and eagles out here so we kept the pedal down for as long as we could.”
They certainly did.
The Calgary-based duo put together one eagle, nine birdies, and two bogeys on the fast River Bend layout for nines of 32-31.
“This is definitely the firmest that I’ve ever seen River Bend. You had to really pick your spots where you were going to land the golf ball because it was hopping forward,” said Kirkness. “The course was in really great condition. The greens were rolling really, really well. Overall, the course played awesome.”
The two buddies, who both used to work together at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club, cited their friendship as the key to their success in the team best ball event.
“Sam and I used to play a lot of golf together when he worked at Priddis and this is an easy way for us to get together and play, same with the match play events this season,” said Locke. “It’s nice to get out there and play with your buddy again. It makes it easy for us because we do play a lot of golf together, so we know each other’s games well.”
Wes Heffernan and Scott Smith – both from Dynamic Motion Golf Performance Centre – were locked at 7-under-par (65) with Chris Toth (Broadmoor Golf Club) and Chase Rau (Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club).
Earl Grey Golf Club pros, Pat Wilmot and Scott Stiles, placed fourth in the field of 49 teams after carding a round of 66.
Jasper Pros Feeling the Love from PGA of Alberta Peers
In the days and weeks after they were forced to evacuate their homes — and their course — due to a devastating wildfire, Tahlon Sweenie, Troy Mills and the rest of the golf professionals at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge have received an outpouring of support from their PGA of Alberta peers.
That comes as no surprise to those who have been through similar circumstances, who still remember the worrying and wondering, who can provide advice on the rebuild and recovery and, above all else, can relate to what is an emotional rollercoaster.
“Having gone through a natural disaster, I called Tahlon and we had a lengthy conversation,” said Glendale Golf and Country Club’s head professional Jeff MacGregor, who was working at Inglewood when it was one of several Calgary-area hangouts to sustain significant damage during a historic flood in 2013. “He’s a good friend of mine and I just told him, ‘If you need anything, I’m there for you. Because I’ve been there.’ ”
Jason Vaughan, too, was keen to lend his support.
Vaughan was head professional at Fort McMurray Golf and Country Club when a wildfire struck that community in 2016. He and team were evacuated for a grand total of 40 days.
“Tahlon posted a picture on Facebook of him, his family and his dog, all in the car, piled in and leaving,” said Vaughan, still based in Fort McMurray but now as director of golf and grounds at Miskanaw. “And so, I sent him a message — ‘Hey buddy, if you need anything, feel free to give me a shout. I’ve been through this same situation.’
“Looking back on it, I know the exact feeling of just grabbing whatever you can grab and getting in a vehicle and not really knowing where you’re going to go. I just sent him a message saying, ‘Hey, if you need anything, Fort McMurray is here for you. We’re here to help. Because we know your situation.’ ”
Jasper residents were recently allowed to return to their hometown, a magical mountain destination that has attracted millions of tourists over the years. Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe and a long list of royals have vacationed here — and played golf during their stay.
There has yet to be an update from Fairmont on any potential damage to Stanley Thompson’s iconic design at Jasper Park Lodge. Both the Resort and Golf Course remain closed, with a recent social media posting that stated: “JPL looks forward to welcoming our colleagues and guests back when the time is right.”
“It just brings you right back to where you were and your immediate reaction is, ‘How do I help?’ ” said Bob Paley, executive professional at Kananaskis Country Golf Course, sharing his reaction to the jarring images from Jasper in late July. “It’s not a case of, ‘Somebody helped me, so now I have to help.’ You’re not keeping score. But you just want to be a part of that same community, because you know what it feels like to be supported.”
The sibling stunners at Kananaskis — home to the Mount Kidd and Mount Lorette layouts — were both destroyed by flooding in June 2013. The facility was ultimately closed for nearly five years but now, after an extensive rebuild, is one of Canada’s great golf comeback stories.
“It’s critical having that network of people that is there to support you, and PGA professionals are a significant part of that posse or that village that I had and anybody in that kind of situation has,” Paley said. “You sort of feel like you’re in the middle of a tornado and they just turn the fans off and just bring some calmness and some perspective that you didn’t have, and maybe even just a pump-up. It’s almost like having siblings. It just felt like I was a part of something, something bigger than I was helping to take care of me.
“I’d just lost my dad the week before the flood and so people were aware of that, as well. People were just genuinely showing care. It wasn’t just, ‘If you need something, let me know.’ People were calling, coming out when it was safe to do so. It was, ‘What do you need? How can we help? Do you have any team members that need work?’ It was incredible.”
Blair McDowell experienced the same after a fire levelled the clubhouse at Northern Bear in mid-January of this year.
Even in the midst of their off-season, his counterparts were filling his voicemail and e-mail inbox.
“I had so many people — golf professionals, general managers, those involved with the PGA of Alberta — reach out to me,” said McDowell, the executive pro at Northern Bear. “It sure felt like a brotherhood. People were trying to lend a helping hand anywhere they could. Anything we needed, if they could, they would like to provide. That was really nice.”
That part isn’t about to change, either.
Whether Sweenie and Mills are looking for temporary jobs for their staff or tee-times for their members, they have a lot of friends that they can lean on.
“I’ll never forget a lot of the golf professionals that helped me out when times were tough,” said MacGregor, recalling that neighbouring superintendents also offered to loan maintenance equipment, helping Inglewood to reopen nine holes about a month after the flood.
Added Vaughan: “There were times when it pulled on the heart strings, just the extra mile that people would go.”
“That’s how it works within our Association, because there are so many damn good people that are looking out for each other,” Paley reasoned. “It’s like that warm, comfortable blanket of support that helps you through these times when you need it. It’s nice to be able to be that blanket. But it’s also nice, when you need that blanket, to have that.”
Alberta’s golf fans have also stepped up and done their part, too. The Rogers Charity Classic, the annual PGA Tour Champions stop at Canyon Meadows, directed $250,000 to Canadian Red Cross Alberta Wildfires Appeal, with that donation coming from ticket proceeds.
But what all of these pros stressed is that the need for help remains long after the flames are extinguished, or the floodwaters recede.
“The initial shock is something, but the rebuild is what I think of,” Vaughan said. “That’s where the support from other people definitely comes in handy to keep you pushing and loving what you’re doing.”
The team at Jaspar Park Lodge can be sure, their family at the PGA of Alberta are there to support them for the long run.
Tournament News
Golf Future Holds On To Win Pro-Assistant Championship
Todd Halpen and Greg Johnson sat one shot back of the team from 365 GOLF, Josh Fleming and Tyler LeBouthillier, heading into round 2 of the Callaway Golf Pro-Assistant Championship. The three format event consisting of Best Ball, Scotch Ball and Scramble would make for an exciting finish at Mickelson National GC on Wednesday.
Halpen and Johnson looked to start fast and they did, posting three birdies and an eagle in the opening 6 Best Ball holes. This would give them the out right lead heading into Scotch Ball, which traditionally has been the toughest format in the event but they were able to battle with one birdie and one bogey. Fleming and LeBouthillier meanwhile, were looking to take back the lead they held at the start of the day. After falling 3 shots behind in the Best Ball portion, the team from 365 GOLF made eagle on the 276 yard par 4, 7th hole and would head to the Scramble portion behind by 1.
The final 6 holes would prove to be a race to the finish and a true grind by all 4 PGA of Alberta teaching professionals. Fleming and LeBouthiller would strike first as they made birdie on hole 13, tying for the lead after 31 holes and hoping to finish strong and take home the Championship. Holes 14 & 15 saw both teams come away with par but the pair from Golf Future weren’t going to let it slip away as they made birdie on the short 16th hole which would end up being the difference. Congratulations to Todd Halpen and Greg Johnson on winning their first Callaway Golf Pro-Assistant Championship.
