LAC LA BICHE - Sunny skies and a cool, brisk wind served as the atmosphere for the third annual Voyageurs Golf Classic, which got underway on the morning of Aug. 21 at the Lac La Biche Golf and Country Club.
Money raised from the tournament, which is put on annually by Portage College, helps support the Portage College Athletic Association (PCAA).
According to Jim Knight, the manager of athletics and recreation for Portage College, the 2025 edition of the Voyageurs Golf Classic featured 96 golfers who played on 24 teams. The recreational golfers represented Portage College and other educational institutions, companies who were serving as sponsors for the event, and also included members of the community.
The large group of golfers, along with golf carts, congregated outside the clubhouse at the Lac La Biche Golf and Country Club on Thursday morning. Due to ongoing construction on the greens, which includes work on the entire front nine, this year’s tournament featured a couple of different formats.
Golfers played 18 holes, but the first nine were played on the preferred tee boxes. The second nine holes were played from the 150-yard markers as Par 3s. Organizers of the tournament paid out nine closest-to-the-pin prizes for the nine holes.
Throughout the day, college staff and student athletes ran contests and games on each of the nine holes.
The 2025 Voyageurs Golf Classic featured a breakfast, as well as a dinner reception in the evening.
This year’s golf tournament was sponsored by several local businesses, including Britton’s Your Independent Grocer.
“We look after the breakfast this year . . . It’s nice to get involved with the college, and help out some student athletes, raise some money for their athletics,” said owner Bill Britton.
“They have athletes on every hole, so they get to speak to some of the stakeholders in town,” he said. “Things cost money now, lots of money, so getting some dollars fundraising at a great event with the athletes being involved is fantastic.”
A couple of the student athletes from Portage College who helped with the Voyageurs Golf Classic were soccer players Ben Kenny and Brooklyn Haub.
Kenny, who serves as a goalkeeper for the Voyageurs men’s soccer squad, volunteered to take photos.
Players are required to do 30 hours of volunteering, and the Golf Classic is a way for the athletes to give back to the community.
“Hopefully, it gets more people to support the team,” Kenny said.
Haub, a fullback with the women’s Voyageurs soccer program, was working on hole one at the golf course with a few other student athletes, assisting golfers and showing them how to play an axe-throwing game before they teed off.
“It’s fundraising for our college,” said Haub, adding, proceeds from the games help cover the costs of sports activities, along with items such as jerseys.
Helping with the Voyageurs Classic and getting to know different people was something Haub enjoyed.
“Seeing the reaction on the golfers’ faces is a lot of fun . . . It’s a lot of fun meeting members of the community, inviting them out to our games," she said.
Lakeland This Week will provide results from the 2025 Voyageurs Golf Classic, along with the amount of money raised, when it becomes available.
