NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Wes Heffernan of Calgary admires his chip from the rough around the green on Hole 18 Thursday, the third day of action at the Alberta Men's Open hosted at Desert Blume Golf Club. Heffernan won the tournament, shooting his third-straight round of 67.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Wes Heffernan made the most of his first time playing at Medicine Hat’s Desert Blume Golf Club.
The Calgary pro, from the Silver Springs Golf and Country Club, won the Alberta Open with three consistent rounds of 67 to finish 15-under par, taking home his seventh title in the tournament. He was one of 100 golfers who teed it up at the three-day tournament hosted at the Blume.
The 47-year-old Heffernan, who last won the Alberta Open in 2018, joked he was happy to be able to outlast the younger golfers for the tournament win.
“It’s been a while, the last few years I’ve been in contention, but not winning, all the young guys are kind of beating up on me,” Heffernan said. “I think I’m one of the older guys here so it was nice to pull out the win.”
Heffernan, who takes home $8,250 with the win, finished two shots ahead of local pro and Medicine Hat College golf coach Dillon Batsel. The Desert Blume member finished in second place after shooting 66 on Thursday, finishing 13-under in the tournament. Batsel says he really wanted the win.
“Anything short of the win is a little bit of a disappointment, but finishing second, I can’t help but think of that as a good finish,” Batsel said. “Going into today and being a couple shots back of the guys in second and third, it was a good day by all means.
“I just really, really wanted to win this week and just fell a couple shots short. I definitely wasted a few shots in the first couple rounds, but it was a good week.”
Batsel shot a 68 in his opening round Tuesday and a 69 on Wednesday before climbing into second, taking home $5,000 of the $35,000 professional purse. He played his final round alongside fellow Hatter and former Rattler Mike Valk, who finished as the lowest scoring amateur in the tournament after shooting 69 on Thursday, finishing seventh at eight-under par.
Valk was happy he could bounce back from an opening round of 74, shooting a tournament-low 65 on Wednesday. He also enjoyed getting to play alongside Batsel to close the tournament.
“I was a little down on myself going out after that first day and really battled back for a really good second round and battled it out today,” Valk said.
“I’ve played with him so much that I just kind of watch and didn’t do my best to learn from him. Dillon and I have been friends for a very long time, so there was a little comfort factor playing with him.”
Valk, also representing the Blume, earned a spot on Team Alberta as the top amateur, getting a chance to play at the 2025 Pacific Coast Amateur. It’s a high-level tournament he’s played before and is looking forward to challenging again.
“That was my goal for the week, to make sure I get that, so it feels good,” Valk said. “There’s some really good players at that tournament, so I’m feeling a little more confident and it’ll be good to be back.”
Both Batsel and Valk heard nothing but praise for the course and city from the out-of-town golfers throughout the week.
“The Blume held up amazing,” Batsel said. “Everything I heard from the guys that I played with, they’re very happy with the course. The greens were awesome, the course was awesome as usual, and it’s nice to hear that validation from an unbiased source, because I would be obviously very biased.
“So it’s nice to hear other people’s opinion and that they love the course. I hope we can host more big events in the future.”
Desert Blume general manager and part owner Trevor Ellerman gave the credit to the staff for the success of the tournament.
“The staff, everybody involved to get the opportunity and the fact that Alberta Golf likes coming back here probably speaks volumes,” Ellerman said. “We always have a good time with it and it’s nice to showcase the city and the golf course. Everybody appreciates that, and we certainly appreciate the opportunity.”
There were 14 Medicine Hat golfers who made the cut for play Thursday, with a total of five finishing in the top 25. The success from the local players warmed the heart of Batsel.
“I’m very proud of the golfers that we have for a small city of Medicine Hat, and more to that, I’m very proud of the golfers that we have here at Desert Blume,” Batsel said. “We have a great group of core players at Desert Blume, we’ve built that over the last six years, so it’s great to see guys playing in these events and playing well.
“It warms my soul. It’s been very nice to see the guys that I play with on a day-to-day basis come out to these events and have success, I love to see that.”
The other local finishes were:
Ryan Hodgins (amateur, MHG&CC) finished 13th, shooting 72 on Thursday to sit two-under par on the week.
Ryan Werre (amateur, MHG&CC) finished right behind Hodgins, with a final round of 75 to also finish two-under.
Ryan Vallely (amateur, Connaught) shot 72 on Thursday to finish four-over and sit at 25th.
Wyatt Bishop (amateur, Blume) finished 33rd with a final round of 75, shooting six-over on the week.
Owen Bruins (amateur, Blume) finished 35th at seven-over, shooting 73 on Thursday.
Adam Antkowiak (amateur, Blume) shot a final round of 71, finishing 38th at nine-over par.
Nolan Burzminksi (amateur, MHG&CC) shot 79 on Thursday, finishing 10-over for 42nd.
Corey Eakins (amateur, Connaught) finished the week with a round of 71, sitting at 43rd, 10-over par.
Trevor Ellerman (pro, Blume) finished 12 over and 46th, shooting 75 on Thursday.
Brett Buye (pro, Studio Fore) shot a 75 on Thursday, finishing 13-over and 49th.
Sam Bratvold (amateur, MHG&CC) finished 57th, shooting 76 on Thursday to sit 15-over.
Mark Hutchings (amateur, Blume) shot 83 on Thursday, finishing 22-over and 62nd.
