Michael Vivone leads in Junior Boys division; Chase Strang and Tiger Xie co-lead Juvenile Boys division.
REGINA, Sask. – Team Alberta secured the Inter-Provincial Team Championship at the 2026 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, at Wascana Country Club in Regina, Sask. on Wednesday.
Team Alberta was represented by Chase Strang of Airdrie, Alta., Brae Rogalczyk of Innisfail, Alta. and Jeevin Dhaliwal of Calgary, Alta. who finished with a combined score of 11-under to win their first inter-provincial title since 2018. In the final round of the Inter-Provincial Championship, Strang shot 3-under 69, Rogalczyk shot an even par 72 to count towards the team score, and Dhaliwal shot 2-over 74.
“It feels great to be able to represent our province and show them that we are great players and that we are here to compete,” said Strang on what it means to win the Inter-Provincial Team Championship.
Although the Team Alberta teammates have competed against one another throughout their amateur careers this is the first time they have been able play together as a team.
“We always play together back home in Alberta, like last year and this year we played in the U19 together, but its really fun playing with these guys and competing against them as well,” said Dhaliwal.
The team aspect was very prevalent throughout the start of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship for Team Alberta, as the trio provided each other with support and positivity throughout the first two rounds tournament.
“I mean these first two days is all about the team and its good if we play well individually but we are here for the team and we are here to represent the province of Alberta,” said Rogaczyk. “It was just positive vibes all around, lots of fist bumps and high fives whenever we see each other, just rooting for each other.”
Throughout the second round Hongzhao (Thomas) Xu of Vancouver, B.C. and Strang were neck and neck exchanging the lead. Xu and Strang both finished their second round with a 3-under 69 leaving Xu at 8-under and Strang at 7-under through two rounds. It was not until they both finished that Michael Vivone of Ottawa, Ont. climbed the leaderboard to sit alone as the new solo leader.
Vivone entered the second round at 4-under, one shot back of Xu and shot a 5-under 67 to move to 9-under for the championship heading into Thursday. Vivone carded seven birdies on Wednesday, with three of those coming consecutively on hole nos. 12 through 14.
“I hit a good shot on hole 12 the par three and made a down hill 20-footer which was nice, then on the 13 I hit it left but was able to hit a great recovery shot and a good chip to 10 feet, then made the putt. Then on 14 I hit a good tee shot in the left rough and a really good flop shot to four feet and managed to make that putt as well,” said Vivone.
“Just staying committed to my plan on this course, making sure I pick the right clubs off the tee, and I had a few putts drop today, same as yesterday which was nice to see,” added Vivone. “My putter worked really well, and then just sticking good targets into greens definitely went well.”
Along with winning the team title on Wednesday Strang finds himself two shots back of the lead in the Junior Boys division while leading the Juvenile division. Strang looks to become the 13th player to win both the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and the Juvenile division. The last player to win both was 2026 Canadian Men’s Amateur champion Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont. who won both titles in 2025.
The 16-and-under Juvenile Championship runs concurrently with the Junior Championship and has featured in the tournament since 1970, with the winner receiving the Jack Bailey Trophy.
The winner of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship will receive exemption into the 2027 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship if eligible, and the 2027 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The winner will also be exempt into the 2027 Canadian Junior Boys Championship to defend their title, if eligible.
For the individual and inter-provincial team leaderboards following the second round of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
