Three Players Share One-Shot Lead After Round 1 of 2025 Ping Club Professional Championship
EDMONTON—Michael Harrison, Craig Gibson and Kevin Black are all tied at the top of the leaderboard after firing matching cards of 68 on Monday at the opening day of the Ping Club Professional Championship
Harrison (Coal Creek Golf Resort), Gibson (Sirocco Golf Club) and Black (Redwood Meadows Golf and Country) all carded 4-under-par rounds at the Stony Plain Golf Course.
The trio will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the 36-hole test with four other players – Scott Stiles (Earl Grey Golf Club), Eric Locke (Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club), Dallas Cantera (Cardiff Golf and Country Club) and Samuel Kirkness (Inglewood Golf and Curling Club) lurking at -3 (69s).
Three others are tied at 70, two shots off the pace, heading into Tuesday’s final round.
The Ping Club Professional Championship features 63 of the head professionals in Alberta competing in a head-to-head battle at the Stony Plain Golf Course on the outskirts of Edmonton
Sophie Dhaliwal Swings To Top of Girls’ Leaderboard Michael Bosanko Tops in Boys
EDMONTON—Calgary’s Sophie Dhaliwal and Michael Bosanko were crowned the Queen and King of junior golf in Alberta at the Junior Masters presented by Play Golf Alberta and the Royal Mayfair on Monday.
Dhaliwal, of Inglewood Golf and Country, was tops in the girls U19 division, carding rounds of 72-71 to finish at +3 (143) at the Royal Mayfair Golf and Country Club for her third straight Junior Masters title.
“It’s absolutely amazing (to win three in a row). This is my last tournament this year before I head back to university, so hopefully this will set me up for more good things in the future,” said Dhaliwal. “The greens rolled really pure, and it was great to have the opportunity to play this course.”
Dhaliwal finished two shots ahead of Raylee Denton (Red Deer Golf and Country Club) and Alessandra Sundquist (Willow Park Golf and Country Club) who finished deadlocked at 145 (+5).
Camilla Ruesga Rojas (Pinebrook Golf and Country Club) was best in the U15 girls division with rounds of 78-76—154 (+14).
Michael Bosanko battled back from second place at the midway point of the two-day contest to take the boys U19 title in a playoff with Patrick McLarty (Highwood Golf) after both carded total scores of 145.
“My driver wasn’t really working so I used my 3-wood and just kept it in play today,” said Bosanko after completing his second trip to the Junior Masters, and added that his mom also won the event when she was a junior. “I was very nervous. I just figured I should play it safe and try and hit the green. I ended up being short on the last hole but made a good chip and then made the putt.”
Bosanko, from the Bearspaw Golf Club, fired rounds of 71-74.
McLarty had the first-round lead with even-par 70.
Oscar Gosgnach (Royal Mayfair Golf Club) won the boys U15 category with a score of 141.
Andre DiBartolo Wins Seniors Players Tour Event at Edmonton Garrison Memorial Golf and Country Club
EDMONTON—Andre DiBartolo was the only player to finish in red numbers, securing himself the Seniors Division title at the Edmonton Garrison Memorial Golf and Curling Club on Thursday.
The PGA of Alberta member made five birdies in his 2-under-par round of 70.
“The game was really good today. I hit fairways, greens and the golf course is in stunning shape,” said DiBartolo. “I was looking at the leaderboard and I saw Jeff Cuthbertson get ahead of me. I just kept my head down, stopped looking at the leaderboard and focused on getting in.”
It was DiBartolo’s second win on the senior Players Tour.
“This is an absolutely awesome win for me. I’ve been playing here at the Edmonton Garrison since 1996 when I was in the military. Winning a tournament here is pretty cool for me in my life,” added DiBartolo.
Jody Noseworthy, host professional at Edmonton Garrison Memorial, finished in a tie for second place with Jeff Murdoch and Cuthbertson (Stony Plain Golf Club) at even par.
RYLEY, Alta.—Calgary’s Wes Hefferan reclaimed his crown as the 2025 Assistants’ Championship winner on Tuesday at the Coal Creek Golf Resort.
After finishing runner-up one year ago to Mitchell Fox, Heffernan was rock solid throughout his 36-hole spin over the last two days, taking the 2025 title with rounds of 70-69—139 (-5) for a three-shot victory.
“To be honest, my game has been awful this year, so it is really nice to have a good tournament,” said Heffernan, who teaches at Dynamic Motion Golf Performance Centre.
“I was somewhat scrappy this week, but I was happy with how I played because I have been playing quite poorly off the tee.”
Heffernan, who competed in his eighth-career Canadian Open last month, looked anything but sluggish over the last 48 hours. He had a one-shot lead heading into his final 18-hole spin of the challenging Coal Creek test.
With a handful of players challenging him early, Heffernan was steady all day while chalking up four birdies and one bogey.
“The course today was completely different than yesterday, where we had kind of a north wind. Today was beautiful. You can’t have better playing conditions than we had today,” added Heffernan. “I had a couple of three putts, but I played really solid all day.”
Dillon Batsel (Desert Blume Golf Club) put up a fight against Heffernan making five birdies early on the final nine holes, but fell off the leading pace down the stretch with a double-bogey on 17 followed by a bogey on the 18th hole.
“Dillon kind of made a run and I had to fight him off, but I thought I played really solid despite seeing him fly up the leaderboard,” said Heffernan. “My driver has always been my strength. Losing my driver, mentally I don’t know what to do. But hitting it well this week, and playing solid, gives me some confidence moving forward into the final tournaments.”
Batsel (Desert Blume Golf Club) was forced to settle with sharing second spot with Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair Golf Club) at -2. Jordan Bean (Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club was the only other in the 78-player field at par or better, finishing even after firing the low round of the day at 67.
Wes Heffernan Takes One-Shot Lead into Final Round of 2025 Assistants’ Championship
RYLEY, Alta.—One month removed from competing in his eighth RBC Canadian Open, Wes Heffernan has his name at the top of the leaderboard after the opening day of the 36-hole Assistants’ Championship, presented by Cold Stream Clear.
Arguably Alberta’s most accomplished golf professional carded nines of 36-34 to finish two shots in the red while mixing together five birdies with one bogey and one double bogey.
Heffernan finished one-shot clear of Chase Rau (Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club) and Shawn Proulx (River Ridge Golf and Country Club) who matched cards at 71 (-1).
Mitchell Fox (Speargrass Golf Course) was even par.
The Assistants’ Championship features 78 of the top associate golf professionals in Alberta competing in a head-to-head battle at the Coal Creek Golf Resort in northern Alberta.
Scott Stiles Wins 2025 Ping Club Professional Championship in a Playoff
EDMONTON—Calgary’s Scott Stiles needed one extra hole at the Stony Plain Golf Course on Tuesday to secure the 2025 Ping Club Professional Championship title.
Stiles, the head teaching professional at Early Grey Golf Club, edged Kevin Black (Redwood Meadows Golf and Country Club) with a par on the first playoff hole.
“I didn’t hit a great tee shot. I was in the right rough, Kev was in the fairway. I hit it in the left bunker and then he hit it in the bunker,” said Stiles while reflecting on the playoff hole. “I hit mine to five feet and was able to make it.”
Two of Alberta’s top professionals matched 36-hole scores at -7. Black birdied the final two holes of his round that included a 20-foot birdie putt on 18 to force the playoff.
“In the Alberta zone, we have some of the best players in the country, so you have to show up and play well no matter what tournament is,” said Stiles. “We are really lucky to have a bunch of good players in our zone because it forces everybody to get better and you need to play your best golf if you want to do well.”
Stiles has been sizzling over the last two weeks. He ended June by winning the Players Tour 1-Day event. Sitting one-shot off the leaders after a 69 in his first 18-hole spin this week, Stiles was on a mission Tuesday. He bolted out of the gate with back-to-back birdies that propelled him to a 68 for a two-round total of 137.
“I played pretty solid today and was good off the tee. I was in play all day, so I had chances the whole way around the golf course,” said Stiles. “Most of the tricky stuff was around the greens. The pins were tough, so you wanted to be in the right spots. I was able to manage it well enough and made a few birdies when I needed to.”
He sure did.
But Black still had something to say.
Sharing the first-round lead, Black battled to the end, backing up his opening round 68 with a 69 in his final rip around the Stony Plain track.
Eric Locke, of Priddis Greens Golf and Country, finished one-shot off the leading mark at -6 after carding back-to-back rounds of 69.
The Ping Club Professional Championship featured 63 of the head professionals in Alberta competing in a 36-hole stroke-play test at the Stony Plain Golf Course on the outskirts of Edmonton
CALGARY—PGA of Alberta professional, Carson Taylor, teamed up with an aspiring junior in Allison Chan from the Winston Golf Club to take top spot in the Ahead, LLC Pro Junior on Thursday.
The Calgary-based duo combined for 44 Stableford points – two better than the next best team in the field of 60 to tee it up at Inglewood Golf and Curling Club.
Four teams were tied at 42 points including: Patrick Frose and Braydon Bouliane (Royal Mayfair Golf Club), Gage Murphy and Kai Eggins (Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club), Chris Cooke and Bekkett Roste (Silvertip Resort), and Glen DesRoche and Dayson Loose (Magrath Golf Club).
Net scores were accounted for in the unique format where teams chalked up five points for an eagle, three points for birdie, two points for par, and one point for bogey.
