Manitoba PGA Championship: North looks set to break runner-up run

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This article was published 29/07/2009 (6237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK — This kind of accounting always raises red flags.

Selkirk Golf and Country Club head pro Dean North has five Manitoba player-of-the-year awards on his mantel but only one Manitoba PGA Championship trophy.

Today, he’s in position to start implementing a fix, taking a six-shot lead into the final day of the 2009 provincial championship at his home course.

North blazed Selkirk with a 4-under 67 on a breezy Tuesday and combined with his 71 Monday, pulled a half-dozen clear of his three closest pursuers.

Former champion Dave McMillan — penalized two shots Monday for being late — had 73 Tuesday and is at 144, the same as former assistants champ Scott Parker of Hecla (71-73) and rookie assistant pro Andrew Steep of Glendale (73-71).

Pine Ridge’s Shane Dick, after a 71, is another two shots away at 146.

"I remember playing a round not that long ago and all the other guys in my group had beaten me in this tournament," North said Tuesday, referring to defending champ Derek Ingram, St. Boniface’s Geoff Kehler and McMillan.

Since his only victory in this event in 2005, North’s runner-up streak is at three, something he said he hasn’t been concerned about. That is, until today’s tee time arrives.

"You can’t worry about something like that until the last day," North said. "Certainly, I do not want to finish second again. So I’m well-motivated to play well but we’ll see how it works out."

The imbalance is hardly a condemnation of his steady play over time — nobody gets the coveted player-of-the-year nod with flash-in-the-pan play — and North may finally be able to put his home-course advantage to good use today.

A cheque for $3,000 awaits today’s winner.

"Maybe after four years, I’m starting to figure out how the greens break," North joked after his 67. "It’s the type of golf course that you’ve got to be patient and you can’t get down on yourself if things don’t go your way early."

Tuesday, he opened with a birdie and made five more, including a stretch of four in five holes on the back nine.

It doesn’t sound like he’ll be shy today, either.

"I’ll play the golf course the way I always play it — aggressive off the tee and take on a pin when I think it’s the right club and the right time," he said.

North will need to keep an eye on his experienced opponents, as McMillan and Parker are no strangers to quality ball-striking and length that bring low scores.

And his other rival who’s tied for second simply may not know any better, having a good rookie pro season in competition so far.

Steep, just 22, turned in a steady even-par round on Tuesday to go from sixth to share second.

"I was pretty comfortable today in the second-last group," Steep said. "I’ll just do what I can but obviously he (North) is pretty comfortable playing around here. I’ll just do what I can.

"He’s a really good player and he knows his way around here."

Steep said he’ll devote extra attention to the greens for today’s final round.

"I hit a lot of really good shots today and hit a lot of greens and if I could get some putts going in, make some birdies early, there’s definitely some out there on the front nine, then maybe… " he said.

In his first Manitoba PGA Championship, Steep said he’s also focused on avoiding tension.

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"I’m just trying to stay relaxed more than anything," he said. "I’ve had good caddies the last couple of days, my dad (Glendale head pro Jim Steep) yesterday and Sean Robertson today. He did a fantastic job today."

In the senior division, which began Tuesday, Larters’ Peter Ewert set an excellent pace with a round of even-par 71.

That’s four better than Blumberg’s Ben Smirnov and six better than Dave Rhodes of Tuxedo and Dave Lavallee of Quarry Oaks heading for today’s final round.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca