Lassman Comes From Well Back To Claim Golf Canada’s 2025 NexGen Western Championship
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2025-06-06
By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf
ENTWHISTLE, Alberta — For golfers, there’s nothing better than winning a tournament... unless, of course, it’s winning that tournament in a three-man playoff. That was exactly what Chase Lassman, from Parkland County near Stony Plain, Alberta, did on June 1, when he topped the field of 144 junior players at the 2025 NextGen Western Championship at the Trestle Creek Golf Resort.
Lassman, 16, came from seven shots back as the final round of the 54-hole event began to post the win, taking down Lucas Sturgeon (Saskatoon) and Edmonton’s Ryan Badger, who is a fellow member of the Edmonton Petroleum G&CC. The win came on the first hole of their playoff after all three finished the tournament at even par.
Mother Nature had a say in the final result, as after two days of temperatures near +30C, a cold front with winds of up to 60 km/h blew in, sending temperatures down and scores up. Lassman carded a 1-over 73 on the last day, while Sturgeon posted a 75 and Badger, the leader for the first two days, finished the final round with a 79.
Speaking to his play on the final day and the short playoff, Lassman explained that he had a bit of home-field advantage as he’s played Trestle’s layout often. He added, he is used to playing in the wind.
“In Alberta, it’s always windy,” he began, “so I’m always practicing my wind shots. When it’s nice, the ball flies farther, you’re body stays looser. Here today, I just had to play really strategically. Punch it around, keep it low but not as far. Just really strategize, I guess.”
With exemptions to the national junior championship for the top-8 players in the event, Lassman was asked whether a placing there was good enough for him entering the day, considering how far back from the leader he was. That, though, he said, wasn’t his game plan.
“Basically, I knew I have a tendency to come from behind. I did that in the last tournament. I shot 67 the last day to get that victory, so I had the confidence. That’s what golf is all about. So, I just went out and I knew I could do it. Just let the chips fall where they fell. I just tried to control what I could control, my game, my shots.”
The playoff hole was a beast, to say the least. Playing off the back tees to an island green, the downhill tee shot called for a carry of around 180 yards almost dead into the gales that blasted into and across from the tee box. All three players hit the green with their opening shots, but Lassman was the only one to par the hole for the win, going down in two from about 50 feet, which was the furthest out of any of the tee balls.
That hole in those conditions played dramatically differently on the final day than it did for the opening two rounds, the winner said. There wasn’t a lot of anxiety in play.
The Golf Canada Flag On Hole No. 18 At The Trestle Creek Golf Resort Shows The Wind Conditions Players Dealt With On The Final Day Of The 54-Hole Championship. (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
“Well, you know, that’s what I practice for. It was nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time. You’ve just got to play the wind, account for it. I punched a 5-iron into the wind. The other days I’d used a 9-iron.”
On making that tourney-clinching putt from about six feet, Lassman explained, “It was a knee-knocker. There was high pressure, but I try to put myself in those situations on the course when I’m practicing, so I’m kind of used to them. I just set up, I stuck to the process, and I drained it.”
The NextGen Series
Rogan Doyle, from Golf Canada, said this host course, which is a rural property, was an exceptional venue for all the players.
“It’s a great track. Definitely one you don’t see too often. The sightlines, the way the creek runs through, make it challenging. With it being as open as it is, with the winds today, it’s a good test of golf for them.”
To enter an event like this, both male and female players must meet certain handicap guidelines, but anyone meeting those guidelines is eligible to enter. In fact, there was a Texan competing on the girls’ side.
Doyle said the idea behind these events is to “Get them into an elite level competition earlier. It’s great to get the kids out, see what they’re up against, not only from their own province but the country. We offer exemptions into the national championships, eight on the boys’ side and eight on the girls’ side (which was won by BC’s Yeeun (Jenny) Kwon, who went wire-to-wire for the win but was unavailable for an interview as she had to catch a flight to a competition in Louisiana). “
“The goal is to get these kids playing against each other more often,” continued Doyle. “Taking them out to great courses. Putting on a good event for them. Upping the experience of junior golf and trying to get the competition there a little earlier. And, on the high-performance side, identify kids we may not have initially seen before.”
The Host Site
Art New, the head professional at Trestle Creek Golf Resort, said his track was ideal for this type of championship, especially with the talent these young players show.
“Because we have such a large property, the difference or variance in tee boxes we can use, pin placements, it really works for anybody. For juniors, it’s a perfect length. It brings some trouble into play. It’s more of a tactical golf course. It’s all about where to miss. You can’t just bomb away on every hole. You have to be a little strategic. You have to be patient on this golf course because if you miss in the wrong spot, it’ll bite you.”
That’s what the total field of 175 junior golfers, 144 of whom were boys, found out as they competed in Golf Canada’s 2025 NextGen Western Championship.