He's been there, done that -- twice, in fact -- but Elmhurst's Peter More might just have the tougher assignment on Saturday when he goes for a record-tying third Manitoba Match Play title.
That's because the 2006 and 2001 champ will be facing arguably the province's hottest player in defending amateur champ Brad Kirton of Pine Ridge.
Elmhurst's Peter More can't believe this putt on the ninth didn't drop.
The stage for the 36-hole final will be Niakwa Country Club, where each player handled semifinal opponents, both lefties as it turned out, in less than regulation 18 holes on Thursday.
More dumped Pine Ridge's Scott Loewen 4-and-3, while Kirton picked up his pace on the back nine and eliminated Breezy Bend's Steve Minion 3-and-2.
Kirton made the final of last year's match play event, then earned the top prize at both the Manitoba Amateur and Mid-Amateur during the summer.
"He had a fantastic year last year," More said, asked about facing Kirton on Saturday. "Over the years we've played a lot of golf together. Let's just say I've had his number... and least that's what I've got to think."
More will be trying to equal Terry Hashimoto's three Jack Blair Memorial trophies but even with his past match play success, doesn't claim any advantage in the format.
"Oh, it's a funny game," he said. "The luck is sometimes how guys are playing on a given day. Maybe somebody's playing really well and you could play well and lose.
"Other days, you're not playing so well but still winning."
Thursday, he opened up a three-hole lead by the turn, then survived some intense pressure from Loewen. More could have lost all three, but lost only one hole between Nos. 10-12 and then put an end to matters when Loewen hit a couple of wild shots.
"It was a day against a good friend," he said. "We've played a lot of golf together. But for those four hours, you're thinking about being competitive and when it's over, you can go back to being friends again."
The women's final will also feature the 2006 champ as Tammy Gibson of St. Boniface goes for another title. She defeated Niakwa's Judi Lidstone 5-and-4 to earn a place in Saturday's championship match against Kathryn McKenzie of the Manitoba public players' club. McKenzie won her semifinal by default when defending champ Mindy Lichtman of St. Boniface fell ill.
tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca
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