Perfect Day Doesn’t Lead To Par-fect Scores at ACAC Golf North Regional

LAC LA BICHE, September 14, 2024 – The day and the setting was picture-postcard perfect. Sunny skies, a slight breeze, no smoke, 20 degrees, at a lush, green golf course with Lac La Biche Lake glistening in the distance. An idyllic day for a round of golf – or so the 37 men and 12 women competing in the ACAC North Golf Regionals may have thought heading into their first round on Saturday.

A day after their practice round was cut short due to torrential rain, strong winds, cold temperatures and smoky skies, the golfers from five Alberta post-secondary institutions quickly realized that the pleasant weather didn't mean that the Lac La Biche Golf Club would be nearly as warm and friendly.

Cayden Clark, who carded an eight-over 76, enjoyed his first-ever full round at the course, modified to a par 68 due to the second hole being closed for renovations. However, he added with a smile, the fast greens were particularly tough to read.

"It's tight," said the NAIT student, tied for ninth place in the Men's Individual bracket after the first round. "The course I play on is fairly tight as well. So lots of trees, I'm used to that. But lots of elevations. Small greens as well, like really, really small greens. Like postage stamps! It's tough to hit'em but yeah, nice course. Good shape, too."

Michael Valk, from Medicine Hat College, carded an even-par 68 to sit atop the leaderboard after Day 1, two strokes ahead of NAIT's Mason Gorski and three ahead of SAIT's Regan Colberg. On the team side, SAIT's men were 22 over par after 17 holes, eight strokes better than second-place NAIT.

On the women's bracket, Lauren Psutka from Concordia University of Edmonton carded a nine-over 77 to grab a six-shot lead over teammate Ella Gifford and NAIT's Ella Dolan. Her strong showing helped Concordia grab a sizeable lead in the Women's Team category too, besting second place NAIT by 33 strokes after the first day of action. Psutka was particularly pleased with her last eight holes, which included two birdies and four pars.

"It was really good," she said after the round. "I definitely got better as it got sunnier. I liked the nice weather."

Having played in Lac La Biche at a regional tournament two years ago certainly helped, she underlined.

"I was just starting golf back then. I think I shot like a 142 here, I think, two years ago," laughed Psutka. "So I've worked on my golf game like a crazy amount over the last two years and it's starting to come together and I'm getting really good now and looking to place."

The strong showing fills her with plenty of anticipation for the second round on Sunday.

"Yeah, big confidence for tomorrow," she said. "I think I'll shape up the front nine or back nine or whichever first nine I play and hopefully do the same on the back nine."