‘Hopefully my game… speaks for itself’

David Spurr was in a place he was convinced he’d never reach.

So when the 43-year-old dropped an eight-foot putt on the 12th to cap a dominant seven-and-six triumph over Manitoba’s reigning Amateur Men’s Golfer of the Year Evan Nachtigall and put an exclamation point on his men’s provincial Match Play Championship title on Sunday, he couldn’t help but let it all out.

Spurr’s head fell into his hands while his caddie, Mike, and a group of five supporters, including his girlfriend, rushed the green to share many well-deserved hugs and tears.

“Just how long I’ve been playing for,” Spurr said after his round about the emotional outpour. “I’ve never won anything. I’ve won the (Mundie) Putter League with the guys five or six times — that’s a team thing — but I have no individual wins ever, and it was just like, ‘Maybe I’m just not that guy that’ll ever win anything,’ and I guess it just kind of came out there.

“Not so much the win, but the fact that people are out here for me and supporting me, I just felt like it was as much for them as it was for me, and it was just a really fun moment out there.”

Spurr won’t take offence if his name doesn’t ring a bell. He’s only been back in the game for three years, and even fewer in Golf Manitoba tournaments as he’s worked to reintroduce himself to the competitive scene locally. After a junior golf career that took him into his early 20s, the Elmhurst member stepped away from the game for 12 years.

It had taken its toll on him mentally and emotionally.

“I just took golf really seriously as a kid — I think too seriously — and it was just not fun anymore,” he said. “Get frustrated, and I didn’t need to be taking it that seriously. I wasn’t that good. I found a renewed mindset, and I just really enjoy the game now. I just really enjoy being out on the course with my friends, still trying to get better, but if I shoot 78 on a given Wednesday, I’m not going home angry about it. It’s just another day tomorrow, so it’s all good.”

Spurr had nothing to hang his head about this week.

He opened the tournament as the No. 8 seed and plowed his way to a two-and-one victory over Chris Plishka in the round of 32, a four-and-three triumph over Doug Penner in the round of 16 and a one-up win over Rylan Gordon in the quarterfinals before beating Gavin Carver four-and-two in the semi-finals early on Sunday.

By the time the final match rolled around in the afternoon, the gusts at the Whispering Winds of Warren were speaking anything but soft words to golfers. It made Spurr’s strong play especially noteworthy.

“I was begging for it to blow,” Spurr said. “I feel like I’m a bit of an old school player. I was taught by older-school players to hit shots to play in the wind, and playing against Evan, if it’s calm, I’m in big trouble. He’s a great ball striker, and I felt with the winds blowing as hard as they were, it was a little bit of an equalizer, and I think I capitalized pretty good on that.”

Among the players vying for the first provincial title of the season, Spurr was also the easiest to spot. Tattoos mark every inch of his arms, neck and parts of his legs. The most noticeable up close, however, is the anchor under his left eye.

The ink likely makes for several intriguing stories — none of which he was interested in getting into after a long day of tournament play — and it’s something Spurr has embraced on the course.

“There is (meaning) to a lot of them,” he said. “It’s not something crazy about it. I’ve had them since I was 18, 19 years old, so it’s not like they’re new or anything. But I realize I do stand out a little bit on the golf course, and I think maybe even get underestimated a little bit for my abilities because of that.

“Don’t look like the traditional golfer, but hopefully my game this week speaks for itself.”

Not long after Spurr’s match wrapped up, Jeri Lafleche was putting the finishing touches on an impressive week of her own.

The Niakawa teen knocked off a wily veteran in Charmaine Hayden two-and-one to capture the women’s title.

Lafleche, who won consecutive women’s amateur championships in 2022 and 2023, had never won the Match Play Championship. Addison Kartusch had won four of the last five titles, including the last three in a row, but did not start in this year’s event, leaving the crown for the taking.

The top-seeded Lafleche stepped up in a big way, defeating Rachel Harms six-and-five in the quarterfinals, then out-duelling her sister, Jewel, two-and-one in the semis.

“My driver was going this week, and the course wasn’t playing too long, so I was able to hit a lot of shots within 100 yards, which is always helpful,” said Lafleche.

Lafleche returned home for the summer after a successful freshman season at North Dakota State, where she named the Summit League conference’s Women’s Golf Newcomer of the Year.

Her 76.3 average over 26 rounds was good enough for three top-10s, including two consecutive top-five finishes to close her season.

Now she is looking to parlay that momentum into another successful season of provincial championship play.

“I had a good second half of my college season, so I did bring a bit of momentum in. I had a good conference showing, so then I knew what parts of my game I needed to work on before coming here, obviously. But not coming in cold was definitely helpful this year,” said Lafleche, who recorded the low-total among all freshman (220, plus-seven) at the conference championship in April.

“I learned a lot in college. Being my first year was definitely a change. So, coming back, I think I added some yards on my driver and just tightened a few things up. And then it makes a difference when you have a full season.”

In the senior men’s division, David Kuik of Niakawa defeated St. Charles’ David White in five-and-three.

In the men’s super senior division (65-plus) — which became available to play in for the first time this year — a familiar face in Carman’s Bruce North outlasted the field in a five-and-four triumph over Carl Lechman.

North, a Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame inductee in 2019, has his fingerprints scattered across the province’s record books, but not in the Match Play Championship.

His debut was marked by stretches of brilliance and resilience.

“The best part of it all was rekindling old friendships,” said North. “Carl and I go way, way back, and I have a ton of respect for Carl, not only as a golfer, but as a person. In fact, more so as a person. Our match today, he was just tired out. I wasn’t playing Carl, the golfer that he is, and I realized that. It’s just sort of part of the way the format unfolded, but the best part was rekindling old friendships.”

North was battling fatigue himself after a pair of marathons, including his quarterfinals matchup against Ted Antoniuk, which required 23 holes to decide a winner, and his semifinal match against Gordon Hudson, which needed 20 holes.

He did it all while wearing his signature moccasin slippers, which he has worn since he was a young golfer seeking comfort after years of tightly tied hockey skates took their toll on his feet.

“It wasn’t the way I designed it at all, and I was super fortunate, but I did hit my best golf shots, I think, when I was under the gun the most,” he said.

“It was a lot of fun. I mean, it turned out well for me. I was very, very fortunate. I didn’t think I deserved it. I think there was a few times that I should have been knocked out. I had my hat off three times in one match, but for whatever reason, the golfing gods smiled on me, and here I am. So I was very, very fortunate. I know that.”

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