Golfers compete in Guelph, Ont. for Ontario Peewee Championship

Youngsters tee off in Guelph Some of the best young golfers in Ontario are in Guelph this week competing in the Peewee Golf Championship. Colton Wiens reports.

The Ontario Peewee Golf Championship is at the Victoria Park East Golf Club in Guelph this week.

The two-day annual tournament did not require athletes to qualify. Instead, kids under 13 registered for the event. Ontario Golf said there is an impressive 39 athletes in the boys division, and 33 in the girls division.

“A 72 player field is actually amazing,” said Mason Cowan, coordinator of competitions for Golf Ontario.

“It's really fun and it's nice playing with other people. You get a chance to meet people while you're playing,” said 11-year-old golfer, Minnah Lim.

Following the first round, the playing partners will be rearranged for day two, based on how they performed in day one. There’s no prize to be won, but the winners of the two day tournament receive exemptions for future tournaments.

"They do take a trophy home, there's some medals for our top three and they earn exemptions into a couple of our championships going next year," Cowan said.

Victoria Park East Golf Club has often geared its programming towards helping young athletes learn the sport. Although this is the first time the club has hosted the under 13 provincial championship, they felt prepared to do it.

“A shout out to Victoria Park East, the owners, because they really do promote this kind of stuff and it's really easy to work around that and they do promote that,” said John Olender, tournament coordinator at Victoria Park East Golf Club.

“Victoria Park East is a great location. It's a central spot for most golfers and they've obviously set up great conditions for us,” Cowan said.

The club asked its members to volunteer their time to help out with the tournament.

“I just love this place, and I couldn't do enough for them,” said Donald Rae, a volunteer and a member for 32 years at Victoria Park East Golf Club.

But for Rae and the others helping out, seeing the high talent of the kids made volunteering more than worth it.

“I could not believe it. There was a kid that teed off in front of me on a practice round the other day. He must've hit that ball about 260 yards, and he was only like 12-years-old,” Rae said.

“Just simply amazing. The technique and the way they swing the club is unbelievable. They put us into shame, actually,” Olender said.

One local boy is in the mix for the championship this week. Kitchener’s Caleb Kennedy, 10, is a member at Whistle Bear Golf Club. He has already played in multiple tournaments before these provincials. This week is his first Ontario Peewee Championship, but he likes his odds.

“I’ve golfed every day for the last two weeks,” Kennedy said. “I just want to try to win it.”

The two day tournament wraps up Tuesday afternoon. Kennedy started his first round with a par on the hole one par 5.