Golf Season is Here!

Golf season has arrived, and with that, the beginning of the 2017 PGA of Manitoba golf schedule. The first tournaments of the year, the Spring Championship, and the Assistant’s Championship were held at the Bel Acres Golf & Country Club, and sponsored by Cobra/Puma Golf. The two-day events took place concurrently on May 23rd and 24th.

Mother Nature was the story on day one of the events. Single digit temperature, rain, and high winds made for tough scoring. In the Spring Championship, the consummate grinder from Assiniboine Golf Club Glen Mills was the leader after the first round, plodding his way to a 73. Right behind him were Dean North of Carman, Shane Dick of Pine Ridge, and Kevin Giesbrecht and Derrik Goodwin from the St. Charles Country Club.

In the Assistant’s Championship, Giesbrecht and Goodwin held the lead at 76, with Josh Wytinck of Pine Ridge, Dave Lavalee of Glendale, and Terry Reilly and Mike Gottfred hanging around.

On day two, the weather cooperated. While still breezy, the sun came out, and temperatures rose. Scoring would be possible, as evidenced by Dave Lavalee. He shot a -1 71, and stormed up the leaderboards of both events, eventually finishing T2 in the Assistant’s championship and T3 in the Spring Championship.

The Assistant’s Championship went down to the wire. Derrik Goodwin birdied 17 to take a 1 stroke lead on Kevin Giesbrecht to the 18th tee, a par 5. Giesbrecht ripped a drive and then proceeded to hit the green in 2 with a smooth 6 iron, setting up an eagle putt from about 40 feet, with Goodwin 15 feet away for birdie. Both missed. Derrik tapped in for par, leaving Giesbrecht with a 5 footer to tie. He missed, shoving it right. An excruciating 3-putt par to lose by one. Goodwin was for the second year in a row the PGA of Manitoba Assistant’s champion.

In the Spring Championship, with his main contenders fading, Glen Mills cruised and parred the last hole for a 1 shot victory over Derrik Goodwin.

Ryan Sommerfeld, a representative of Cobra/Puma Golf, was on hand to present Glen Mills and Derrik Goodwin with their trophies and winner’s cheques.

The next PGA of Manitoba event is the Ping June Classic on Thursday, June 8, at the Selkirk Golf and Country Club.

Results:
Cobra/Puma Spring Championship

Cobra/Puma Assistant’s Championship