Field chasing speedy accountant

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This article was published 18/07/2018 (2838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Justin McDonald is an accountant by profession. On the golf course, it seems like he’s all business.

His play is what you would call very uptempo.

“I’m pretty fast, but not as fast as him,” said Breezy Bend clubmate Eric Johnson, who played with McDonald in the final threesome at the Manitoba men’s amateur championship on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s crazy fast, and we’re waiting all day, every time, because he’s so fast.”

When third-round play wrapped up at the Glendale Golf and Country Club, it was McDonald in the lead for the third consecutive day after a 1-over 73, and the 32-year-old will be looking to sew up his first amateur title after today’s final round.

McDonald has a four-shot lead on Johnson, who also shot a 73 on Wednesday.

Nine shots back of McDonald in third was 16-year-old Jacob Armstrong of St. Boniface, who had putting problems and ballooned to a 79. The same three will comprise today’s final group.

Niakwa’s Todd Fanning positioned himself for the final round with a 73. His 5-over 221 total is 10 shots out of the lead. David Hill of St. Charles is another shot back after a 73.

“I just have fun, that’s all,” McDonald said. “I go to work Monday to Friday. I play quick. Same way as every day. I just come here and play.”

McDonald was a model of efficiency Wednesday, with two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on No. 8.

“On the eighth, I made double (bogey) from a hundred yards,” said McDonald, describing his only major mishap of the round. He then rebounded with tricky par-saving putts on Nos. 16 and 17, from 10 and 15 feet, respectively,

McDonald, who won the provincial mid-amateur title earlier this summer, would love to add to his trophy case.

“It would mean a lot, obviously,” McDonald said. “It’s the Manitoba amateur, but it’s just another tournament to me, though.”

Johnson, looking to improve on a fourth-place finish in 2017, scrambled for most of the day, and was in a position to gain a shot on the leader as he stood on the 18th tee.

“Yeah, I screwed up 18 big time,” Johnson said of his double-bogey 6. “I was 1 under going into the last hole, and that’s probably the hardest hole on the course. The tee shot doesn’t really fit my eye, so I was trying to hit a hybrid into play and I blocked it way right, which is fine. I got lucky and I had a shot — the mistake was not just wedging it back on the fairway.

“I tried to go for the green, which was a mistake. I hit a tree, went back (to an adjacent teebox), then wedged it over. I would’ve saved myself one shot if I would’ve wedged it over.”

Armstrong, meanwhile, felt he frittered away four strokes with his putter.

“These greens are tough on me,” said Armstrong, who had a third-place finish at last week’s provincial junior men’s championship while also winning the juvenile division (15- and 16-year-olds). “It’s one of those days — my putting didn’t seem it was there.”

Even with dad Neil caddying, Armstrong collected six bogeys, a double-bogey on the 13th hole and just one birdie.

“He thinks he’s helping me out, but he’s just another excuse,” Armstrong joked. “No, he helped me today. I love having him on the bag.”

The Dakota Collegiate student admitted his chances of catching McDonald seem remote.

“I think he’s playing great golf right now,” Armstrong said. “The goal is not really to win it — of course I want to play a good round tomorrow — but winning tomorrow definitely seems far out of reach.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14