Medicine Hat’s Valk and Faller head into round two at Canadian Men’s Amateur Golf Championship

“I’m not going to complain with the way that I played at all,” Valk said.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit with certain parts of the game and felt today[Monday] that they were in much better spots. I didn’t make as many putts as I usually do.”

His second round shifts to Mickelson National, a course Valk knows well after competing in the Mickelson Invitational over the past three years.

“I enjoy playing it quite a bit,” Valk said.

“It’s a course that fits my game pretty well, so I’ll try to make up some ground over there.”

The 27-year-old said making the cut remains one of his primary goals this week.

“It’s definitely a tournament where if you get on a little bit of a run, you can pick up a lot of ground very quickly,” he said.

Valk’s best finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur came in 2021 when he tied for 35th. He has made the cut twice in his previous three appearances.

The 264-player field will be cut after the opening two rounds, with the top 60 players and ties advancing to the final two rounds at Mickelson National.

Fellow Hatter Nico Faller is playing in the national event for the first time, and said qualifying on Friday was already a victory for him.

He shot a one-under-par 71 at the Mickelson National Golf Club on Friday in a supplemental qualifier to place fourth and earn his spot. The top ten of about 100 golfers moved on.

On Monday, the same course presented a bigger challenge as Faller shot a 10-over-par 82.

Faller said he battled windy conditions and some of the fastest greens he has faced on Monday.

“It was a totally different golf course,” Faller said.

“The greens are really, really fast and very tough.”

The 43-year-old, who moved to Medicine Hat for BC in 2024, is the franchise operator at the Petro-Canada and A&W near Redcliff, and plays regularly at the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club.

Despite the opening-round score, Faller remains upbeat heading into his second round at Heritage Pointe Golf Club, another course he had never played before the championship.

“I’m always very competitive,” Faller said.

“I just want to see how I perform.”

Golf has become Faller’s competitive outlet after years as a high-level tennis player in the Philippines, where he represented the national team and competed at the university level.

“Tennis is really my core game,” Faller said.

“Golf was a cross-training sport for us in university, but I only really took it seriously when I moved to Canada about five or six years ago.”

Now carrying a plus-1 handicap, Fowler said qualifying for the national championship is something he’s proud to accomplish.

“That means I can have the potential to be a good golfer,” Faller said. “That’s how I think about it.”

Rather than focusing on the leaderboard, Faller said his goal is to measure himself against his own expectations.

“My whole goal is really to compete against myself and try to get better at what I do,” Faller said.

“The other competitors just happen to be there.”

Valk grew up playing golf at the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club, living a short distance away, before becoming a member at Desert Blume Golf Club in 2020.

He said the city’s competitive golf scene continues to help sharpen his game.

“We’ve got a really good group of strong players that all try to push each other,” Valk said.

“We’re all good friends as well, so that helps a lot.”

Now working full-time in Medicine Hat, Valk said balancing work with competitive golf has become more challenging, making opportunities like the national championship even more meaningful.

“They put on an amazing event every time,” Valk said.

Both golfers start round two on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s incredible to see all the work that goes into it. There are volunteers all over the place, people watching, and you meet some really cool people. It’s a very cool event, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat’s Valk and Faller head into round two at Canadian Men’s Amateur Golf Championship

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