Shilo’s Jones jumps into early lead at Men’s Amateur

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This article was published 15/07/2021 (1902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The opening round of the 110th Nott Autocorp Men’s Amateur at Neepawa Golf and Country Club saw several low scores as the amateurs got into the swing of things.

The lowest 60 scores, as well as any players within 10 strokes of the lead, out of the 112 competitors will make the cut.

At the top of the leaderboard after round one is Drew Jones of Shilo Country Club who shot a seven-under par 65. Following close behind is Jacob Armstrong of St. Boniface, who shot a 67 with five birdies on his bogey-free card.

Brian Munz, Director of Communications for Golf Manitoba is very pleased to bring this tournament to Neepawa and says the event is gaining a lot of attention.

“It’s been a really good start to the day for everyone involved,” said Munz.

“That’s what Golf Manitoba is all about, you come out to a rural place like this where it’s the talk of the town. The entire town is buzzing that the province’s best amateur golfers are playing their course for four days here and they’re excited to see what kind of scores can be posted.”

Braxton Kuntz, the winner of the 99th annual Manitoba Men’s Junior Golf Tournament at Shilo earlier this month, shot an opening round 70, five back of the lead. Kuntz, from Breezy Bend Country Club had this event on the radar after his July 7 win. He opened with one bogey and three birdies to start his tournament.

Munz says the players all had day one on their radar coming in to the weekend and is intrigued by the two lowest scores of the day.

“For Drew to go seven under and be one stroke shy of the course record on day number one and for a guy like Jacob to come in and shoot a 67, those are some gettable scores that caught the other competitor’s eyes,” said Munz.

After the first round there are only nine golfers under par for the tournament. Landon Cameron, head professional at Neepawa Golf and Country Club is very relieved the course is in tip-top shape following a very difficult 2020 golf season.

“We had a disappointing 2020 where the lake outside of Neepawa blew and it flooded 13 holes on our golf course, almost to the point where we reseeded and sodded 13 holes,” said Cameron.

“Our guys have done an exceptional job getting the course ready to host the tournament.”

The head pro says the event presents a fair challenge but will prove a test to those who have yet to experience a course that may not be driver friendly.

“It’s a very fair tournament golf course, but guys that come in here blind are going to have their eyes open,” said Cameron.

“Lots of target golf, it’s not a bombers course where you can come out and blast driver every hole and still score. You do need to miss in the right spots and hit irons off some tees to place you in the right spot. It’s a good test.”

“Just touring around the course today, the golfers had to play it smart,” said Munz.

“This is a golf course where players are going to learn over the first few days, you can’t make the big number if you have one or two holes blow up on you. You got to be a little bit surgical out here and play your shots carefully.”

Munz and Cameron say there is a variation in learning the front and back nine of the course for the amateurs. Starting with the third round Saturday, up to 150 spectators will be permitted in outdoor public spaces and will be able to watch the action.

Munz is excited about what the rest of the weekend holds for golf fans across the province.

“It’s kind of got that small town feel, but this is a big league course,” he said.

jbernacki@freepress.mb.ca

@JosephBernacki