Valk enters Thursday’s final round with share of provincial lead

Valk’s finish wasn’t quite as spectacular though, as he bogeyed three of his last four holes to end the day with a one-under, 70 and is tied at the front of the pack at three-under par on the tournament.

He’s joined at the top of the leader board by Red Deer’s Carter Graf and Lacombe’s Brady McKinlay, who both wrapped up moving day at three-under.

Like Valk, Graf built on his two-under score from Tuesday and was able to rally from a slow start.

“The first three holes were just horrible and I was one-over through them,” said Graf. “I started really coming back in the mid-part of the round and the wind really picked up. I made a few bad holes, made a double [bogey] out there, but I finished one-under in the last three and I think that will put me in a pretty good spot going into the last round.”

As for McKinlay, he had an up and down second round that featured a pair of double bogeys and an eagle on the 13^th hole to finish the day with a one-over, 72.

McKinlay will enter Thursday’s final round in a familiar spot, as he played the Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club two years ago in the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

“I had the lead after two days as well,” said McKinlay. “So, if I can work off of that and just calm down a couple loose swings that cost me today, if I can tighten that up it will be good.”

Lacombe’s Brady McKinlay has a share of the lead after two rounds at the 2020 Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship (Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin)

That sixth place finish still sits with McKinlay, who is determined for history to not repeat itself.

“Exactly, just a little revenge I guess you could say,” said McKinlay.

It will be a scramble to the finish for the provincial amateur title with eight golfers, including the trio at the top, all within three strokes of each other.

With no real favourite going into Thursday’s championship round, it’s going to be a battle for the tournament’s elite talent to rise from the pack.

“It’s probably the biggest event in Alberta for amateurs, so I’m excited,” said Graf. “It’s my first tournament of the year so I’m just really excited to be back out competing again, I’ve been working really hard during the summer. So, I’m happy and I’m excited to play tomorrow and be in contention.”

Two other local golfers can lay claim to having a shot at the championship trophy, with Mitch Kurtz and Matt Taylor both sitting at one-over par and are tied for ninth place overall.

Taylor was able to climb four spots on Wednesday thanks to just one bogey, while Kurtz rattled off four birdies and 11 pars to end his day with a one-under, 70.

Junior Nolan Burzminski finds himself in the top-25 after two days of competition after scoring a two-over on Wednesday, tied for 24^th on the leader board at five-over.

His junior counterpart Sam Bratvold had a wild round with three birdies and an eagle on the front nine, however struggled down the stretch with a pair of double bogeys to go one-over on the day.

Bratvold is tied for 28^th with fellow local Ryan Hodgins, who bogeyed four of his final five holes on Wednesday to fall off the pace and end his day with a five-over, 76.

It was tough sledding for both Ryan Werre and Jordon Forsythe with scores of 75 and 76 respectfully to see Desert Blume Golf Club pair tied for 42^nd place.

Qualifying entrant Will Wood is expected to just make the projected cut, ending his day as one of the first finishers of the second round with a 75 to fall back to 11-over par.

Lanny Seefried was in danger of missing the cut after shooting a nine-over, 80 to wrap up his first two at 12-over, but will be playing one more round with the cut set at 13-over.

Valk, Graf, McKinlay, and the rest of the contenders will take to the course on Thursday to decide a provincial champion with tee times yet to be determined.

*All results filed by Alberta Golf as of Wednesday at 6:30 pm.

by Scott Roblin

Valk enters Thursday’s final round with share of provincial lead

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