Alex Brunner/Submitted photo

Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

A young Osoyoos golfer is gearing up to pit her skills against opponents from 20 different countries in  Spain in February.

Alex Brunner, 17, is the ninth golfer and first female to head on the trip through the Create a Star program started in 2011 by Wayne Hachey.

“Feels really cool and I hope more girls can go in the years to come,” Brunner said.

Hachey noted there is more and more female golfers joining programs locally.

“Alex is the forerunner, she’s been there for a long time and others are coming up now,” Hachey said.

At a young age, Brunner already has about 10 years on the course and has been playing competitively for the past four years.

The constant motivation for self-improvement is what draws her to the sport. 

“I like how in golf you can never be the absolute best, so you can always work up to being the best that you can be,” Brunner said.

She will play in two tournaments in Los Alcázres, Spain and help with the organizational and administrative side of a third tournament. The 80-player Evolve Pro Tour includes players from Korea, Norway and Switzerland.

“It’s a little nerve-racking I think it will just be a good experience and I get to see how they play and how they train,” Brunner said.

As far as strategizing, Brunner said she has only heard two things about the Spanish courses. 

“All I have heard is that they are absolutely beautiful, and it’s quite windy over there,” Brunner said.

Hachey, the founder of Create a Star, has helped send nine golfers to the international tournaments.

“It was an opportunity I thought of to help the local kids and expose them to that kind of thing, especially the ones who are showing signs they love golf. It was a way for me to provide them with that opportunity,” Hachey said. “She’s going to see how the back end of running an event like that goes, setting it up, scoring, doing all that. Administrating and then practicing in the after hours.”

Brunner is almost equally excited to get a peek behind the scenes of an international tournament of this scope.

“At the school here I’m known as the organizer, so I think it will be great just learning about how tournaments run after I’ve played in many of them,” Brunner said.