{"id":759663,"date":"2026-06-25T06:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T06:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759663\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T06:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T06:34:12","slug":"birdtail-sioux-first-nation-golf-prodigy-10-heads-to-callaway-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759663\/","title":{"rendered":"Birdtail Sioux First Nation golf prodigy, 10, heads to Callaway World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 5 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Manitoba golfer Connor Hanska, who’s just 10, is ready to tee off against some of the best players in the world in southern California in July.<\/p>\n

The junior golf prodigy is aiming for dead centre of the cup at the Future Champions Golf Callaway World Junior Golf Championships <\/a>this July. The event, which draws around 850 junior players, is designed to be like a PGA Tour for youth who compete against kids their own age.<\/p>\n

Connor, who’s from Birdtail Sioux First Nation, about 130 kilometres northwest of Brandon, is ready to hit the fairways with his favourite club.<\/p>\n

“My five-wood, because I can raise the ball high and make it shoot farther,” he said.<\/p>\n

Doug Hanska Jr., his father, says Connor was at home on the links from an early age, describing his son as “in Pampers on the putting green.”<\/p>\n

“After seeing him, you know, make putts and making shots \u2026 he just always had a natural good swing,” Doug said.<\/p>\n

\"ADoug Hanska Junior, left, says it’s “mind-blowing” what his son Connor has experienced on golf greens around the world. (Doug Hanska Jr.)<\/p>\n

When he was five, Connor started playing competitively, and at six, he was on the fairway for the Canadian Nationals in British Columbia.<\/p>\n

Connor aced his first hole-in-one when he was eight, on his favourite course at Oak Lake Island Resort near Virden, Man., where he’s often on the greens with his dad.<\/p>\n

“Every time he goes, I go with him,” Connor said. “He bought me, like, little plastic clubs, so I just started golfing.”<\/p>\n

In 2025, he competed in the Champion of Champions World Championship tournament<\/a> at the Lough Erne Resort Golf Course in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland \u2014 following in the footsteps of his favourite golfer, Rory McIlroy.<\/p>\n

While he was a little nervous, he had fun and made a lot of friends and memories.<\/p>\n

“I almost got a hole in one in Ireland,” Connor said with a shy grin. “I was, like, two inches away.”<\/p>\n

Connor will take every tool in his bag \u2014 including what he learned in Northern Ireland \u2014 to the greens in California. He’s been training for the competition with his coach Austin Dobrescu out of Brandon\u2019s EVO Golf.<\/p>\n

Sports phenom<\/p>\n

But a summer master class in golf was not the initial plan for 2026, Doug said.<\/p>\n

“We were 100 per cent focused on hockey,” Doug said.<\/p>\n

Before he heads to the United States, Connor will play left wing for Team Manitoba at the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament<\/a> in Edmonton at the end of June.<\/p>\n

He’ll be skating with some of the best nine- and 10-year-old hockey players in North America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AConnor Hanska will play in the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament in Edmonton at the end of June. (Doug Hanska Jr.)<\/p>\n

Golf was added to the summer plan after Connor played in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour<\/a> qualifier at Kildonan Park Golf Course in May.<\/p>\n

“He ended up winning,” Doug said with a laugh. “We didn\u2019t know it was any type of qualifier.”<\/p>\n

One of the things Doug loves most about the world of golf is the community. He’s looking forward to the father-son tournament in California that happens before the championship.<\/p>\n

It’s a chance to bond with other families in the golf world.<\/p>\n

“The dads, like, just admiring each other’s kids \u2026 from all over the world,” Doug said.<\/p>\n

“I found it really cool how, you know, even though there were language barriers, they were able to stay communicating.”<\/p>\n

To help get Connor on the road to California, Manitoba First Nations Police hosted a fundraiser barbecue Tuesday at their Brandon headquarters. Connor is the youngest junior police committee member for the Birdtail Sioux First Nation youth committee.<\/p>\n

He greeted visitors, shook hands and took pictures with people, despite the rainy day.<\/p>\n

Part of Connor paying it forward is encouraging other kids to pick up a club, Doug said.<\/p>\n

“Especially within our own First Nation \u2026 he does have a lot of kids that really look up to him and come talk to him,” Doug said. “They’re, you know, chasing the same dream he chased. So hopefully, they succeed just as he did.”<\/p>\n

Looking to the future, Doug said, the family’s goal is to support Connor in whatever he chooses to pursue \u2014 along with get in some relaxation time with his mom, dad and five siblings.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Connor Hanska talks golf:\"\"<\/p>\n

Manitoba golf prodigy, 10, headed to Callaway World Championship<\/p>\n

Connor Hanska, a 10-year-old from Birdtail Sioux First Nation, is competing in the Callaway World Championship in July. He’s been swinging the club since he was two and competed in an international tournament in Northern Ireland in 2025.<\/p>\n

They have had offers to compete around the globe \u2014 from California to Spain to South Africa.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s mind-blowing,” Doug said. “When he picked up a club the first time \u2026 we didn’t think we’d be travelling, like, all over the world.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-759663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}