NORTHERN ONTARIO

Golf club in Timmins to host Golf Canada championship event

Lydia Chubak CTVNorthernOntario.ca Journalist

Published Tuesday, March 30, 2021 7:16PM EDT

Owen Rigg, one of the organizers of the event, is excited to host the Golf Canada NextGen Fall Series East Championship in September. He said it will help showcase what the city has to offer for future golf events. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News)

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TIMMINS -- Golfers in Timmins are eager to hit the links this summer as soon as they can.

Officials at one course said they could open sometime in April, weather permitting.

“If everything goes well and things start to dry out, people will be able to first use the driving range to get their arms ready and then after that we’ll probably open the highlands first," said Dr. Antonio Kos, owner of the Hollinger Golf Club.

Amateur collegiate golfer Owen Rigg is already looking ahead to an event this fall: the Golf Canada NextGen Fall Series East Championship.

“It’s the best 99 kids from the region of Quebec and Ontario," Rigg said. "You might see the odd kid show up from Manitoba or some of the Atlantic provinces, but mostly Quebec and Ontario will participating in it."

The championship is slated for Sept. 16-19, and is the first of its kind for this part of northeastern Ontario.

Building block

“This is a building block piece for us to showcase what talent can come out of the game of golf, and really hoping to inspire the next wave of kids in this region to participate in this game," said Rigg.

Male and female youths between the ages of 16 and 18 will compete over the four days.

“It’s a challenging course," said Adam Cinel, manager of rules and competitions for Golf Canada. "It’ll certainly be a good test for the junior boys and girls that do compete. This championship does also offer exemptions into the Canadian Junior championships as well for the following year."

In preparation for the championship and the golf season in general, club owners have acquired enough golf carts to make sure the sport is a safe one this summer.

An additional 35 carts have been purchased, bringing the fleet's total to more than 120.

“It’s important to have a lot of golf carts during this COVID-19 period because ... many people who come are not husband and wife in their own bubble (and they) need their own golf cart," said Kos.

Officials said the carts and pending success of the championship will help the club secure more large-scale events in the future.