GORDON—To introduce kids on the Island to youngsters in other communities on Manitoulin, and to introduce many participants to the game of golf, the Bank of Montreal (BMO) hosted the BMO Island Youth Golf Tour this fall.
“BMO was hoping to do something that involved youth and sports and getting kids involved so it was decided that we would host a tournament at all three Island golf courses,” Heather Turner of the BMO told the Recorder this past Saturday. A nine-hole golf tournament was held this past Saturday at the Manitoulin Country Club in Gordon/Barrie Island township, with similar tournaments being held at Rainbow Ridge Golf Course in Manitowaning and the Brookwood Brae Golf Course in Mindemoya, this past September.
“We are hoping to hold this annual tournament again next year on the last three Saturdays in September as we did this year,” said Ms. Turner. “We would like kids to play in all three tournaments, to meet kids from other areas on the Island and to introduce some kids to golf. Basically, the idea is to put on something for the local youth to take part in.”
“The three golf courses have been phenomenal,” said Ms. Turner. “They have been very supportive and because this is the first year we are doing this, we didn’t know what to expect. We had a small group of kids at each tournament, but next year we hope to get a bigger numbers of kids to take part.”
The registration fee for each tournament was $15, or $45 for all three (lunch included), and the BMO took care of any costs above that such as golf cart rentals.
Every participating youth got a prize, including BMO purchased gift certificates for free rounds of golf at each course.
With the Island Soccer League having been cancelled this summer, “we thought it would be nice to put on this golf tour to involve kids from around the Island,” said Ms. Turner.
Deborah Woods of BMO pointed out youngster Hudson Hare took part in all three golf tournaments. She thanked all the volunteers for coming out to help and to the courses for their support. “It is all about the kids having fun and participating,” she said.
Taking part in the tournament at MICC was Jaynah Pearson, Daphne Carr, Layla Bell, Hudson Hare, Kendall Gibson and Mary Hore.
