The Alberta Professional Golf Association championship for assistant and head pros in the province will highlight the tournament schedule for Central Alberta this year.
The Alberta PGA event will run July 27-28 at River Bend Golf Course with a pro-am set for July 26.
“It’s our biggest event of the year,” said River Bend head pro Todd Fiske. “We expect 144 entries, including several former Canadian Tour pros. We’ve had several smaller PGA events here and they’ve received good feedback.”
Fiske hopes to draw a good crowd over the three days.
“We have several things planned for the fans, especially on the Sunday (pro-am) where we have prizes and various other give-aways and deals,” said Fiske. “We want to show off the course, which will be in top shape.”
A new event at the River Bend layout is the Water Gretzky CNIB Golf Classic.
The Classic runs June 17 with a reception June 16 at the Capri.
This year’s theme is mentorship with Walter Gretzky the keynote speaker. Jamie and Patty Salé, Chris and Paul Mason and Brian and Shawn Sutter will also be speaking.
Sponsorship packages and ticket information are available by calling 403-346-0037.
Other River Bend events, include the Canadian Junior Golf Association Nike Junior Golf Series/Stephen Ames event May 30-31 and the Sutter Fund celebrity tournament, July 17.
The CJGA will also run a junior world qualifier for youngsters 10 and under on the mini-links May 30.
The CJGA will also make a stop, June 20-21, at Wolf Creek Golf Resort.
The Red Deer Golf and Country Club will host their annual Skin’s Game June 23. Mike Mezei, Graham Delaet and Wes Heffernan, plus one other from the Canadian Tour will join RDGCC head pro Ken Frame in the well-received event.
The club will once again host the Central Alberta Amateur Aug. 1-3 with the Central Alberta Seniors, June 18 and the Central Alberta Mr. and Mrs., Aug. 15.
Alberta Springs Golf Resort will host the Alberta PGA club challenge for a pro and board member on May 19 with the Alberta PGA playability test set for May 20-21.
STARS will be the main charity for a pair of events at Alberta Springs — the Central Alberta Oilfield Classic on June 3 and the Gasoline Alley Harley Davidson tournament, June 14.
The Young Guns celebrity tournament, put on by the Calgary Flames Jim Vandermeer and Trent Hunter of the New York Islanders, is set for June 23 with No Man’s Land on July 7 and the Golf A Kid To Cure tournament, Aug. 28.
The McLennan Ross/Sun Junior Golf Tour will make a number of stops in Central Alberta, including the championship Aug. 31 at Wolf Creek.
The tour will be in Rocky Mountain House, July 6, Olds, July 7, Lacombe, July 9, Ponoka July 20, Camrose July 23 and Innisfail Aug. 10.
The Maple Leaf Junior Tour will make an appearance in Central Alberta when it stops in Lacombe on May 16-17.
On the provincial scene the Alberta Open will hold it’s southern qualifying May 19 at the Olds Golf Club.
The Alberta Open goes May 26-28 at Carnmoney in DeWinton.
The Central qualifying for the men’s Alberta Amateur, which goes July 21-24 at Bearspaw in Calgary, is July 6 in Olds.
The women’s Alberta Amateur is July 7-10 in Stony Plain.
The provincial junior boys’ championship goes July 14-17 at The Dunes in Grande Prairie with the junior girls, July 14-17 at Canyon Meadows in Calgary.
The senior ladies championship is set for July 28-30 in Innisfail with the men’s mid-handicap Aug. 26-27 in Lacombe.