Sons of famous fathers at junior event

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2015 (4046 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IF you were to scroll your finger down the list of young golfers participating in this year’s Manitoba Men’s Junior Golf Championship, you may get a strong feeling of familiarity.

Surnames such as Ingram, McMillan and Fanning said aloud in front of any long-time golfer on the prairies would surely elicit a raised eye brow, and perhaps even a story originated from one of the many tee boxes or greens scattered throughout the province.

The same names that once filled the list in the 1980s and ’90s are once again on this year’s ticket, only this time around it’s the next generation following in their father’s footsteps, learning and playing the game their dad’s once dominated in Manitoba.

Dave McMillan, Derek Ingram and Todd Fanning were the pick of the litter in the Manitoba golf scene years ago, their names forever etched in history thanks to numerous local titles, followed by stints on the Canadian Tour. The list of their achievements are too long to run but their reputations are on short memory when quizzing some of Manitoba’s top golf officials.

So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise then to see their sons now taking up the game, making this week’s event a bit of a family affair.

“It’s kind of neat to see a lot of the guys that I grew up playing golf with and who are still good friends of mine now, their kids playing golf and really enjoying and loving the game,” Ingram said over a phone interview from Toronto, where he’s representing Canada as coach of the men’s golf team at this year’s Pan Am Games.

Both of Ingram’s sons, Brent, 14, and Adam, 11, are in this year’s competition. So too is Dave’s son, Ryan McMillan, 15, as well as Todd’s kid, 14-year-old Nic Fanning,

And much like their fathers, each has their own unique style. Ryan is strong off the tee and has an eye for the green, evident by a 25-foot putt he drained on the 17th hole to save par. He finished the day with an even-par 71 and is just two strokes back of the lead heading in to Day 3 Wednesday. Brent likes the way he swings his irons but admits his chipping needs some work. He finished with a combined two-day score of 193. His brother Adam carded a 179. As for Nic, he is pretty consistent in all areas and it was that consistency that won him the 13- and 14-year-old group title, which is awarded after just two rounds, with a two-day score of 162.

The story on how they found their love for the game, however, is the same and perhaps most important — by themselves.

“Any sport that he would have played is fine with me,” said Todd Fanning, who won back-to-back Manitoba Junior Championships in 1984 and 1985. “His sport happened to be golf. I haven’t pushed him one way or the other.”

Much was the same from McMillan and Ingram who both said they were just happy to see their kids enjoy the benefits of playing sports, like exercise and lasting friendships. After all, that’s exactly what happened between the two of them.

Ingram and McMillan first began their friendship as competitors on the golf course and it only grew when they became business partners in their late 20s, opening up Golf Central, a multi-purpose golf facility in Transcona.

“Dave is my best friend and it started because we played golf together,” said Ingram, who, like the other dads in this story, admit they don’t overcoach their sons. “Whether they’re going to finish first or last, they’ll develop a lot of useful habits and skills that will help them in business and life, It’s all about building friendships that they’ll remember and all the things that I did as a kid many, many years.”

And though their kids are still early on in their careers, the memories created on the course have been some of the best for these proud fathers, even if it means a changing of the times.

“The first time he beat me this past winter during a trip to Arizona,” said McMillan, who is now the general manager of Elmhurst, of his most fond memory playing with son Ryan. “I don’t think I’ve seen a bigger smile on his face.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton