Maxwell takes a step at Alberta Mens Amateur Championship

By Dale Woodard on July 31, 2021.

Paxton Maxwell likened it to a stepping stone in his golf career.

It was almost an Alberta Mens Amateur Championship as well.

As the final day of the provincial championship teed up Thursday afternoon at The Calgary Golf and Country Club, 18-year-old golfer from Magrath was right in the mix after carding rounds of 71 and 65 Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Maxwell stayed in the hunt right to the end, posting another 71 in his final round to finish at three-under 207, tied for third with fellow southern Alberta golfer Ethan Choi of Pincher Creek and two shots back of the eventual winner Braden O’Grady of Spruce Grove.

It was indeed a step up for Maxwell, who went from not making the cut in his first Alberta Mens Amateur Championship to nearly winning the whole thing.

“I think it was a good experience,” said Maxwell. “I had my brother on the bag, which was fun. I think the takeaways I’m going to go forward with is the ability to be one of the top guys in the province. It was a good stepping stone, hopefully, for the rest of my golf career. I’m just going to build on it and try and get better.”

He was poised to be the best heading into Thursday’s round after his 65 Wednesday had him as a co-leader alongside Jakob Chicoyne of Calgary.

“On the last day at the start I had to balance some nerves, said Maxwell. “But overall, I think I played pretty well. A credit to Ethan and Braden, they really showed out and played well. I think I kept my composure pretty well and I did the things that I needed to do. But I was happy with it, it was kind of a scrappy round.”

Maxwell said his final-round lead was on his mind heading into Thursday.

“But for most of us, that’s why we play golf, to have a chance on the final day,” he said.

“I was just trying to live in the moment and it was definitely a good experience for me.”

Maxwell pointed to his driver and his approaches to the greens as the strong parts of his game on an impressive Calgary Golf and Country Club course.

“It was an unbelievable course,” he said. “It was in perfect shape. The greens were pretty tough, they were really fast. The fairways were a little firm, so it was a little bit tough to keep the ball on the fairway sometimes. But overall it was definitely one of the nicer courses I played this year”

Maxwell came into the Alberta Mens Amateur Championship on a high, having won the Junior Boys division at the MJT Humber College PGM Classic presented by TaylorMade in Banff last week.

“I was just riding a hot hand, it was definitely big in the tournament leading up to it,” said Maxwell.

During the off time of the last 15 months brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Maxwell has took some practice swings with local coach Dean Spriddle.

“He’s been my coach since October, so I’ve been able to work with him,” he said. “It allows for a lot of time for practise. So I spent a lot of time practising and just trying to better my game.”

Next up for Maxwell is the Canadian Junior Boys Championship Aug. 9-12 in Sainte-Julie, Quebec.

At the end of August he heads to Toronto to try out for the Canadian National Team.

“It’s very exciting,” said Maxwell. “I definitely didn’t see myself getting invited to that at the start of the year, but it’s just another reminder that my hard work is paying off and I could not have done it without the support of my family, friends and coaches.”

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