An annual tradition of parents and children bonding through golf continues on Sunday.
A father-son tournament and a mother-daughter event, both sponsored by the Brandon Sun, tee off on Sunday morning and the Westman golf community is clearly excited about it. The father-son event, which is held at the Shilo Country Club, has been sold out for a month and tournament chairman Glen Parker can’t wait for the 216 golfers to tee off.
“The best part is seeing all the young kids,” said Parker, who used to play in the event with his sons. “They have a really good time. They get to go out on a big course and spend the day with their dad and most of them will admit it’s a pretty special tournament for that reason.
“It’s a toss-up for whether the dads like it more or the kids. There’s lots of smiles, lots of laughs and lots of interesting shots.”
One thing that makes the tournament special is fathers and sons team up together and play alternate shots, instead of playing each other.
The mother-daughter event is also an alternate-shot format, although it will only be a nine-hole event played at Northern Pines Golf Course. Rhonda Oakden, who’s on the tournament’s committee, is happy to have 32 people registered, but would like to see more sign up since they have room for up to 40.
“Junior girls golf isn’t as predominant as junior boys golf in Brandon, but we’re trying to promote it and remain positive and run it every year and get the girls out to have a good day with their mom or aunt or whoever is golfing with them,” she said.
People can register by emailing sixiron@mymts.net.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Brandon’s Tammy Chambers and Ian Swain are in Arizona today for the first day of the Special Olympics North America Golf Invitational Tournament.
The pair qualified for the event by winning the provincial Special Olympics championship in their respective divisions in July. Both will compete in Division 4, which will have them play nine-hole rounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This is only the second year Manitoba golfers have been invited to the international tournament and coach David Kindrat knows just how big of a deal it is for Chambers and Swain.
“It is huge,” Kindrat said. “It’s certainly well-deserved for both athletes. It’s going to be a huge experience because they’ve only been tested with local competition. This is now international and it amps up the competition.”
Since no one going to the tournament knows much about the course, nor the field, Kindrat wants his golfers to focus on themselves.
“As far as what their goals are, it’s tough because we don’t know what the competition is going to be like,” he said. “I think for them, doing personal bests, albeit the course we’re playing is going to be challenging. Then again we practise at Shilo and that course is pretty difficult at the best of times.”
CHIP SHOTS: The first round of the MGI Wealth Tour playoffs tee off on Sunday at the Pleasant Valley Golf Course. Only the season’s top 25 point leaders are eligible to compete, and they must reach the top 20 to get an invite into the following week’s Westman Invitational event at Shilo … The Neepawa Golf and Country Club will host the Cornucopia Classic on Sunday … The Greenskeeper’s Revenge tournament will be held at Boissevain on Sept. 22 … The Minnedosa Golf and Country Club is hosting its cross-country golf tournament on Sept. 29.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 6, 2012
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