Competing at home, seven golfers vie for Canadian Men’s Senior Championship

Team Alberta is currently the two-year defending champion of the Inter-provincial title, with Red Deer golfer Ken Griffith having played on the team for the past five years.

Qualifying for this year’s championship through the Alberta Golf Provincials in Medicine Hat, Griffith’s list of accoldaes is extensive including finishing in the top three in the Alberta Senior Championship five of the last six years, taking first place in 2019, plus he’s qualified each year for the Canadian Mid-Amateur since 2017 and even competed in the 2018 New Zealand Senior Championship.

For Griffith, however, simply qualifying to play at home is the highlight.

“To me, golf is a journey; it’s not about a destination. It’s not about necessarily winning the trophy, but it’s the time spent doing it,” he said. “It’s the challenge of the competition and it’s also the opportunity to meet friends again and make friends and journey with them. They’re not your opponents out there, they’re your companions.”

Also from Red Deer, Grant Lee began competing provincially at 15 while in Winnipeg. Competing in six Canadian Mid-Amateur Championships, some of his highlights include making the semi-finals in 2002 and placing second in the 2008 Professional Golfers Association Mercedes Benz Amateur in Kapalua, Hawaii.

Club President Peter Innes has qualified as well. An accomplished junior player participating in several Provincial Championships, he took many years off from competitive sport to focus on family and career before returning to the Club.

“I’d just like to thank the members of the Club for letting us host this event. They gave up the Club for five days and a lot of them play a lot, almost every day. So it’s a big deal for them to do that,” he said. “We’ve got over 100 of them volunteering which I think speaks a lot about our Club and about the spirit we have here.”

Qualifying through an exemption competition at the RDGCC Club Championship in August are Red Deerian Tom Skinner and Sylvan Laker Joe Gascon.

Skinner has been a member of the Club since the age of 10. He has several Provincial Championships to his name and will be competing this year in his 30^th national championship, only ever having missed one.

Gascon started playing golf after turning 55 in the Alberta senior events, winning two Central Alberta Seniors tournaments thus far.

Other qualified central Alberta golfers include Frank Van Dornick of Camrose and Keith Newton of Olds.

According to Adam Cinel, Golf Canada Manager for the Rules and Competitions, the senior champion will earn a coveted spot in the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, alongside exemptions into the Canadian Men’s-Amateur Championship, Mid-Amateur Championship and a 10-year exemption into the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

“Golf is, in my opinion, a rather unique sport,” said Hugh McPherson, Tournament Chair. “It invites and encourages excellence right from a 12-year-old or 11-year-old, a ‘next gen’ kind of participant, right up to the senior level and super senior level. It’s a sport that you can embrace and excel at and compete at, or just play and have fun at, and keep a healthy lifestyle until you’re 80, 90-years-old.”

A complete list of players competing can be viewed on Golf Canada’s website.

by Alessia Proietti

Competing at home, seven golfers vie for Canadian Men’s Senior Championship

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