Disc Golf Tour stops in Strathmore
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Taylor Hill Photography
Players from all over Western Canada made their way through Strathmore’s course as the Embee Open and fifth stop on the Alberta Disc Golf Tour made an appearance on our nation’s 151st birthday.
“This was a huge event, huge because with 104 competitors, it was the second-largest tournament this season and it hopefully was a great weekend for our local club, too,” said President of the SDGC Matt Byma.” Hopefully, the local players got to see what kind of disc golf is out there at the pro level. This event hopefully helped to grow the sport in our town, too.”
Of the 104 athletes that took aim at holes around Strathmore this weekend, 25 of them were local products.
The tourney started with a doubles matchup as an exhibition June 29, as a way for golfers to get a feel for the course. Then on June 30, golfers competed in two 18-hole rounds and wrapped up the event on Canada Day with another round of 18.
By the time the final disc had been tossed, Casey Hanemayer of Cranbrook, B.C., slid in with a -24, winning the title by two strokes over Bryan Freese of Winnipeg, Man.
Freese was actually six shots better than Hanemayer on the final day but couldn’t close the gap. Hanemayer came in as the regular season leader in points with 67,314 and added to his total with another 90 points.
Bogdan Szafranowicz was second in the season standings behind Hanemayer with 43,376 and tied two other golfers for fifth with a score of -15, nine shots back of the lead.
Rounding out the podium was Hector Diakow of Delta, B.C. He shot a 51, 55 and 47 for a three-round score of 153.
“I think the weekend was great for exposure with our local athletes to see how some of the pros work, but I think it was also great exposure for the Alberta Tour to see our course and hopefully come back again next year,” said Byma.
The next tour stop will be the Night Owl event July 7 and 8 at Lac Ste. Anne County, Alta.
As for the local club, they will continue to run league games and will look to host another big tournament later in the fall.