Brady McKinlay was in the hunt until the bitter end for an Alberta Match Play Championship title.
The Lacombe native fell just short of a title against Brendan MacDougall of the Glencoe Golf & Country Club at the Silver Springs Golf and Country Club on the weekend.
The pair were all square heading into the 18th hole at the championship, but MacDougall made a solid bunker shot to save par while McKinlay bogied.
After a MacDougall bogy on the second hole, McKinlay played strong and led the match until the 12th hole. McKinlay’s counterpart birdied the par five 12th and evened the match. After a bogy for McKinlay on the 13, MacDougall held the advantage until he gave a stroke back on the 17th hole.
The 17-year-old from Lacombe played impressive golf at the three-day event in Calgary, knocking off seventh seed Brandon Markiw in the opening round, then topping number two ranked Max Sekulic one up in the quarter-final.
McKinlay, ranked 10th heading into the match play event, edged out another one-up win in the semifinal against Chris Murray of Ontario to set up the final against MacDougall.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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