At 15, Reid Casavant has won three of the events on the Alberta Juniors Golf Tour this summer.
Casavant won at RedTail Landing in Nisku July 22, Ponoka July 23, and Goose Hummock near Gibbons Aug. 1-2 on the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour.
RedTail Landing is Casavant’s favourite course, the layout is nice to play.
“I didn’t start the round off the greatest but managed to pull myself together around the back. It got pretty good and I eventually chipped in for a birdie on the last hole, and that put me in the playoff,” explained Casavant.
In the playoff, his second shot went in the bunker, like his opponent Devin Kucy from Camrose.
“I was on the lip, so it was a really tough shot I had to hit.”
But he got to within a foot and made the putt for what was his first ever tournament win, finishing three over par at 75.
In Ponoka, Casavant admits he didn’t play his greatest golf.
“There were six guys tied at 78 and I had a 77 so it would’ve been a pretty big playoff.”
Casavant played RedTail and Ponoka back to back.
He said, “It’s stressful, but you can’t do much about it … You have to be mentally ready … Get a good sleep, eat a good breakfast.”
One of the best rounds he’s ever played was in Goose Hummock. For most golfers in Alberta, it’s the toughest course to play, but Casavant found it manageable.
In the first round, he shot a 72, two over par. But on Day 2 came the best score of his life, a 68.
“I think I was three shots ahead of everyone else,” he said.
Dad Dwayne Casavant added he was two under par total for the tournament.
“It’s a really good tour. They learn a lot, they learn to control their emotions and that’s because you can’t let a round get away on you. They’re tired at the end of the day, golf is hard mentally, to stay in the game,” added Dwayne.
Last year was Reid’s first competitive year on the tour, and in 2019 he’s ahead of where both he and his dad thought he might be.
"It's sort of funny, on the tour last year I used to look up to some of these guys, they were always winning. And now I'm one of those guys," said Reid.
His wins this summer are on a provincial, developmental tour. But Reid also played on the national Maple Leaf Junior Tour in spring and early summer, and will go back at the end of August in Calgary.
The Alberta Junior Tour Championships are taking place Aug. 23 at the Wolf Creek Golf Resort in Ponoka, where Reid hopes to place well.
“That’s probably the toughest course I’ve ever played. That’s one that you have to focus on the most, I think … You gotta play good on that one, you can’t really miss on that course.”
