The 2020 Ontario Mid-Amateur golf championship is being held this week at the Loyalist Country Club in Bath.
With strict protocols in place, Golf Ontario has been able to stage a number of provincial events this summer and fall in the face of COVID-19.
“We’re pretty COVID-safe in this part of the province,” said Austin James from the host committee.
The assistant professional at the Loyalist Golf Club says the Kingston area has been blessed to have only a handful of cases.
“Were still taking all precautions to keep the players safe,” James said.
“Our volunteers are very diligent and everyone follows the guidelines set down from Golf Ontario. We practise social distancing, there are no spectators allowed and everything is cleaned and sanitized frequently.”
The Loyalist Country Club has hosted a number of provincial championships in past years and the sport’s provincial governing body is thrilled to return to the historic village just 20 minutes west of Kingston.
“It’s always a treat to come to Loyalist,” said Rob Watson from the Ontario Golf Association.
The tournament director says the club is the perfect backdrop for one of the organization’s signature events.
“They never let us down,” said Watson, a native of Barrie.
“We’ve held at least six provincial tournaments here in the last 10 years. We always get tremendous support from their superintendent, Jim Burlington, and Geoff James, the club’s director of operations, and they’re never short on volunteers. We’re always on the same page when hosting an event at Loyalist.”
The Ontario Mid-Amateur is for competitive players 25 and over. It is a three-day, 54-hole event. First started in 1993, the Mid-Am has become one of the OGA’s most popular tournaments.
Ryan Tsang from the Cedar Brae club in Toronto is the leader after 36 holes of play. He is in the clubhouse at 11 under par.
Tsang has a commanding six-shot lead on Charles Fitzsimmons from Thornhill and Toronto’s David Lang.
Cataraqui’s Simon Reyers and Richard Lim are tied for fifth place at 3 under par.
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