The SGI Canada Junior Order of Merit Tour was played at two Yorkton golf courses last week.
The Tour makes stops at nearly 40 golf courses throughout Saskatchewan and was played at Deer Park Municipal Golf Course and York Lake Golf and Country Club last Thursday and Friday. Among the participants in this year's Junior Order of Merit Tour were: Mackenzie Flett, Carter Lake, Kade Johnson and Reid Arnold. Johnson finished Thursday's event at Deer Park with a one-round score of 96.
He followed that up on Friday with a score of 78 over 18 holes as well.
He wasn't happy with his scores from Thursday, suggesting that his play fat close to the hole was off.
"My short game wasn't on. It wasn't really good," he said of his tee-offs.
He said he also had two triple bogeys.
"I started bad," he said. Although he somehow put the rough start behind him and went on to finish the course quite strong, completing the course with a par on the last two holes.
On Friday at York Lake, things "went well" he said.
"My drives were pretty much bang-on on every shot. My short game was good today," he noted with a little energy in his voice.
Johnson finished with strong play at Deer Park. He apparently started with it Friday at York Lake.
"I birdied the first hole."
The Junior Order of Merit Tour is based on points accumulated throughout the golf season. Prizes are awarded to the top merit point winner in each age and gender category. Johnson told the paper he doesn't think his points will do much for his position in the standings, but said he figures he is one of the top two at this point.
"With the points, I don't think it does much.
The SGI Canada Junior Order of Merit Tour is one of four endorsed and promoted tours by Golf Saskatchewan and offers golfers, both male and female the opportunity to travel throughout the province and gain some experience playing away from home.
Next up for Johnson will be a series of dates leading up to the middle of September. This week, he was scheduled to play at the Foam Lake Junior Open, which is the 35th stop on the Order of Merit Tour. On Aug. 16-17, he will be playing in Winnipeg and the following week, he said he hopes to compete in Saskatoon.
He added that he is trying to keep his scores down, but is confident he'll be able to.
