Dade Bernatchez, far right, won second place at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s (SHSAA) 2022 Provincial Golf Championships. (Facebook/SHSAA)

By Derek Cornet

sports

Bernatchez claims second place in provincial golf championships

Sep 25, 2023 | 4:25 PM

Dade Bernatchez, a Lac La Ronge Indian Band member and Grade 11 student at Churchill Community High School, took second place at the recent Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s (SHSAA) 2023 Provincial Golf Championships.

The tournament was held Sept. 22 and 23 at Harbor Golf Club along Lake Diefenbaker. Bernatchez had a two-day score of 146, only four points behind Dane Giesbrecht of Warman who earned first place with a score of 142.

Bernatchez finished the first day with 74 points and the second day with 72.

“The first day it could have been way better, and I could have had a closer match on the final day,” he said.

“I was actually one-under through 15 holes and then to finish off I bogeyed 16, which put me even and then I double-bogeyed 17 and it put me two over, and then I bogeyed 18 for 74. I kind of fell apart.”

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Bernatchez explained day two went better for him, adding he was two-under after the first nine holes. Overall, he noted he’s proud of his progress, having done better than provincials in 2022 and 2021.

The SHSAA provincial championship was also attended by Churchill student Miranda Merriman, who placed 19^th in the female division. She had a two-day score of 216 with 106 on the first day and 110 on the second. Both Bernatchez and Merriman are eligible to return to provincials in 2024.

Bernatchez, 16, has been playing golf since he was a child and he’s been playing competitively for six years. He trains at Eagle Point Resort three or four times per week, regularly attends tournaments on the weekends, and practices at his home in Sucker River as well.

“It’s just calm and it’s chill. It’s not a rough sport. I enjoy it. It’s just a fun sport, but it’s the hardest sport I would say,” Bernatchez said.

“I have to be mentally strong, and I have been lately, so it’s all about the mental game for me and practicing my short game like putting, and just knowing that I can do it and believing in myself. It’s a mental game. That’s what I try to practice.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com