Elias Haukeness with his three trophy wins
12-year-old Elias is headed off to the MJT National Championship in Surrey BC at the Morgan Creek G&C thanksgiving weekend, after finishing the golf season with a string of wins throughout Saskatchewan.
In the five MJT events held in Saskatchewan this season, Elias was able to finish tied for 2nd at the Elmwood G&C event in Swift Current then 2nd again at the Regina Tor Hill G&C event. Elias then went on a stretch, winning the next three at the MJT major event held at The Moon Lake G&C. Next, winning the Woodlawn G&C event in Estevan and finished the season off winning The Legend G&C tournament in Warman. In addition to those events, Elias finished 2nd in the Saskatchewan provincial Golf championship as well.
Players achieve Order of Merit (OOM) points when competing at each event, earning points pending where they finish in the tournament standings. Elias finished 1st in Saskatchewan in MJT OOM pts but more impressive, he also finished tied for 1st in the MJT National standings shared with a golfer who lives in a Toronto suburb.
Elias is a member of both the Regina Beach golf course and Deer Valley G&C. Each course has its benefits. The Regina Beach G&C provides a great little nine-hole course where he can go out with friends have fun in a relaxing environment. Deer Valley has all that but is also a beautiful 18 hole course where Elias can work on challenging shots and course management. This year Elias has been starting to get into the 76-79 range when playing Deer Valley. The Regina beach campground opened up a driving range this year. Owner/operator Jamie Sinclair generously provided Elias unlimited access to the driving range, which the U13 golfer took advantage of hitting well over a 1000 balls a week training for events. That, combined with some excellent golf instruction by Sam Wills at Deer Valley, hard work and dedication have helped him into the number 1 status.
Elias would like everyone to know that there are great courses and instruction in this part of the province. He feels you don’t need to live in major centres and play on fancy Golf courses to succeed in JR golf. Elias acknowledges everyone at Regina beach campground, the Regina Beach G&C and Deer Valley G&C. Without that support, he would not have got to where he is.
When asked what message you would like to get out about golf, he says, “Just come out and play. It doesn’t matter if you have been playing for 10 years or 10 minutes, I’ll go out with you, and I guarantee it will be fun!”
-Submitted by Jason Haukeness, Proud Father