Sylvan Lake’s Carter Graf rode a rollercoaster of a round to the top of the leaderboard at the Alberta Junior Championship in High River.
Graf, 18, had eight birdies in the opening round of the tournament at Highwood Golf and Country Club, on the way to a three-under-par 67.
He finished both the front nine and back nine with three consecutive birdies and had five on the back. Graf, representing Red Deer Golf and Country Club is tied atop the leaderboard of the 72-hole event with Ethan Choi of Pincher Creek.
Lacombe’s Brady McKinlay, 18, is also hot on their heels after he fired a two-under-par 68. His seven birdies on the afternoon were second best only to Graf.
The 2019 Alberta Junior Championship is underway at @HighwoodGolf in High River.
— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 2, 2019
Check out some of the players in the field already transitioning to University golf ⛳️ @PackMensGolf @GopherWGolf @Anna_Ackroyd @ethanchoi21 @theEthandegraaf @cartergraf @varsitytbirds pic.twitter.com/wnDThlMc2R
Carter’s younger brother Logan also had a strong opening round and is in a four-way tie for eighth. Logan shot an even-part 70.
Red Deer’s Cole Bergheim is two-over-par and tied for 12th after day 1. Joe Kelly of Innisfail was plus-seven and Red Deer’s Alex Gerrard was plus-eight.
The 156-player field will be cut down to the low 60 players plus ties after 36 holes.
The final round is set for Friday and Junior Boys competitors will be playing for one of 15 quota positions in the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship. The top three boys at the end of the week will earn a spot on the Alberta Junior Interprovincial Teams.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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