Two Sylvan Lake boys took home first place in each of their divisions at the MJT Ford Series Golf Tournament in Olds on June 26 and 27.
Jacob Natomagan took first place in the Peewee boys division and Brady Durkin took first place in the boys Juvenile division.
The greens in Olds are probably the most challenging on tour, Natomagan told Sylvan Lake News.
“Playing courses like olds in particular teaches you to play with a lot of discipline and patience there is a lot of holes that you can’t attack the flag on the approach instead you have to play the greens and use the slopes on them to try and get close to the flag and leave yourself a chance to make a putt,” Natomagan said.
Playing on a difficult course against tough opponents also helps to learn how to better play under pressure, Durkin added.
“Over the course of the winter, I had the ability to play in a variety of US tournaments including Houston, Arizona, Florida, and Las Vegas and competing against other kids from around the world has taught me that I can compete against them. It has really helped me understand the strengths of my game and help me understand what I need to work on to get better.”
For Natomagan the win was his second of the season and provided some momentum as he heads into his first major tournament at Mckenzie Meadows in Calgary.
For Durkin who has been playing golf since the age of seven, the win in Olds helps to motivate him to keep doing what he is doing.
“All my practice and hard work is paying off and it feels great. Over the course of the winter, I worked extremely hard on my strength and conditioning with Rance Stangeland at SNAP Fitness and with my golf coach Darcy Dhillon on my putting and short game which proved to be the difference this week,” Durkin said.
Durkin is currently playing in Innisfail where he qualified to participate in the Alberta Mens Amateur Championships which takes place from July 4 to July 6. Other tournaments and events Durkin has coming up is the Alberta U19’s in Turner Valley, and the MJT Western Championships.
During the tournament in Olds Durkin also qualified to be on the shortlist to represent Canada at the MJT Team Canada 2023 JNJG International Junior Classic in Australia this September.
“I would be beyond honoured to play in this event and represent Canada.”
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