By Jeff D'Andrea

Paradis ready for his fifth Junior Lobstick

Aug 14, 2011 | 11:44 AM

Prince Albert golfer Justin Paradis can’t wait for the 2011 Pepsi Junior Lobstick to start on Monday in Waskesiu.

He has competed in the last four Junior Lobsticks and has had increasingly better finishes.

In his first tournament back in 2007, Paradis qualified in the second flight, then after back-to-back first flight finishes, Paradis made his championship flight debut last year.

With the increasing success and cracking into the championship flight for the first time, Paradis is feeling good heading into this year’s tournament.

“Yeah, I’m way more confident,” said Paradis. “I’ve been playing better this year so hopefully I can make it to the last day.”

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Success has come easy to Paradis this summer, who represented Team West at the Lipton Brisk Canada Cup junior tournament in July. He also finished third in the Conexus Junior Open, held in Prince Albert July 25-27.

Paradis credits his success to immersing himself in the world of golf, especially during the summertime.

“I’ve been playing in a lot of tournaments, practicing every day, going to the range and watching golf,” said Paradis.

Although things look good for Paradis to at least make it to the final day of the tournament, assistant-pro Jon Slusar at the Waskesiu Golf Club said any of the 112 participants could make a push for the top prize.

“I don’t know if there’s a stand-out favourite, by any means,” said Slusar. “There’s some very good players that will be playing. There’s quite a few, it should be a good event.”

New to this year’s event is the Junior-Junior Lobstick, available for ages 8-12 to participate in. In its inaugural year, there are five golfers registered.

“It’s just to try to get involvement from younger kids who know the game and can play the game that maybe can’t compete with the older juniors but still want to be involved in the tournament,” said Slusar. “It’s a way for us to get them involved at an early age.”

The Junior Lobstick runs through Friday

jdandrea@panow.com