Penner has youth on his side

Doug Penner had the benefit of experience on his side, and yet it was his far less seasoned caddy whom he credited for helping him capture the Golf Manitoba Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Quarry Oaks on Wednesday.

The Steinbach local’s tournament-low seven-under 65 in the final round to win by a pair of strokes was aided by his seven-year-old son, Liam, whose young eyes helped his father read some tricky greens as they enjoyed a high-stakes day on the links together.

“Surprisingly, he calms me down, gets me into the zone and made some good reads,” said Penner, who grew up playing at Quarry Oaks and now golfs out of the Steinbach Fly-In. “He helped quite a bit. He’s only seven, but he’s into golf, and he knows the game, so very special having him on the bag.”

Penner began the day four strokes back of Evan Nachtigall, and that deficit quickly became five after he bogeyed the opening hole. That was the only blip in his round, as Penner poured in eight birdies on the ensuing 17 holes to finish the 54-hole tournament 12-under par (204), two shots clear of Nachtigall and David Spurr.

“Very special. I shot really low, 65, and it’s hard to put into words actually. Started with a bogey and then just kind of coasted, stuck to my strategy and had a fun time out there,” said Penner, who maintained a simple game plan throughout the event.

“Keep it in play off the tee box and attack pins. Just do your best on every shot, commit to every shot and hopefully things turn out, and they did.”

Penner’s day was punctuated on the 16th hole when he drove the par-4 green. He missed the eagle putt but made no mistake in cleaning up for birdie to take his first lead of the tournament.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboard until after I hit my approach shot (on the 18th hole),” he said, “so I was just trying to stay right in the zone — each shot, fully committed.”

The result was surely disappointing for Nachtigall, who set the course ablaze with rounds of 68 and 67 during Tuesday’s 36-hole marathon, but the Elmhurst member can’t hang his head too much after carding a one-under 71 in the final round.

Spurr began the day three strokes back of Nachtigall and made an admirable run at the crown, firing a bogey-free five-under 67 in the final 18. Spurr didn’t go home empty-handed, however, winning the Mid-Masters Championship by a convincing 13 strokes.

It’s another medal for the Elmhurst member, who won the provincial men’s Match Play Championship earlier this summer.

“It was the main goal at the start of the year,” Spurr said of the Mid-Masters crown. “It was one that I felt was pretty achievable, so to get it done, I’m pretty happy. The match play was a bit of a surprise for myself. I didn’t expect to have this much of a lead in this one, but I was really happy with the way I played the last two days. Super thrilled to get another one.”

Jordy Lutz was fourth at 7-under (209), while Allan McDonald was the only other player to finish in red figures at 3-under 213.

Next up on the provincial calendar are the Men’s and Women’s Senior Championships from July 27-29 at Breezy Bend.

Kartusch makes cut at national championship

Addison Kartusch will begin the “weekend” in a tie for 37th after making the 36-hole cut at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at The Toronto Golf Club in Mississauga, Ont.

Kartusch is 6-over for the tournament, seven shots back of a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard between Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C., and Kylie Chong of Torrance, Calif.

The Winnipegger was seven holes into her opening round on Tuesday when play was suspended due to dangerous weather. She picked up on Wednesday and carded a two-over 73 for her first round before heading back out in the afternoon and posting a four-over 75.

Manitoban siblings Jeri and Jewel Lafleche did not make the cut. Jeri missed the 9-over cut line by eight strokes after rounds of 78 and 81. Jewel withdrew from the tournament 12 holes into her second round.

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