Tamarack Notebook – Pardy hardy in the rain

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This article was published 24/08/2010 (5692 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASAGAMING — Brandon’s Brad Pardy needed both hands to grab on to the Tamarack junior men’s medallist trophy Monday at the Clear Lake Golf Course.

Pardy faced some challenging lies, one requiring a left-handed swing, to shoot a1-under-par 71 and edge Dauphin’s Regan Hedley by a stroke.

On six straight holes, Pardy battled after putting shots into the woods, only to bounce back and hold disaster at bay.

On the 15th hole, his sixth of the day, Pardy put his approach near a tree and the fence guarding the 16th teebox. Unable to take his normal right-handed stance, Pardy dropped to his knees and swung lefty, hitting the pin.

"It stopped right there and I was able to make my par," Pardy said. "It was a fantastic shot. There’s a little pine tree by the fence and I couldn’t get a full swing on the ball, so I tried a shot I practise a lot in case this situation comes up."

Pardy’s 71 was not just good enough for the junior men’s medallist trophy. It was one of the low rounds of the week so far, and the only below-par score shot in bad weather conditions. He was an inch away from acing the 17th hole.

"I had a 60-degree wedge and tried to control my spin and take something off of it," Pardy said. "I caught it thick and it landed two feet of the pin and took a hop and sat on the edge of the hole for a second and it spun back six inches for a tap-in birdie."

Pardy will now have the medallist’s spotlight on him as he plays in his first match today at 8:48 a.m.

"Having the top seed is always nicer and helps get you noticed," Pardy said. "It doesn’t change anything else because you need to go into matches with the same mental preparation."

SENIOR MEN — Cliff Lenz of Onanole defeated Mel Beatty, a former Brandonite who recently moved to Onanole, in a countback after both finished a rain-shortened, nine-hole senior men’s qualifying round with 3-over 39s.

Lenz was declared the winner based on his performance over the final three holes. Pivotal to Lenz’s round was a tough par-save on the 17th hole (his eighth hole of the round), where he averted disaster after putting his tee shot into the left hole-side bunker.

"There was some water pooling up on the green there and I hit a good shot and hit that water and the shot kicked up. I still had an eight-to-10-foot putt to finish it off and I was lucky to make it. Then I made a 15-footer for par on 18. I’ll take that."

Beatty had double-bogeyed the first hole to open the day, but recovered from that under trying conditions.

"I just had a little talk with myself after that and I really had to par the second hole," Beatty said. "If I can make par there, that would be good, and then I strung together tap-in pars. You can’t get overly aggressive on a day like (Monday)."

Both were satisfied with their rounds, but Lenz got the first senior men’s trophy of the event.

"I was extremely happy with a 39 today," Lenz, a first-time medallist, said. "It feels like I shot par today. It feels wonderful and it’s quite an honour to be named medallist."

CORRECTION — The Tamarack committee now provides players who shoot holes-in-one with an engraved watch, displaying the hole number and date of the feat, not a free entry into the next year’s Tamarack.

TODAY AT THE TAMARACK — Men’s championship flight action tees off on the first hole from 8:48 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. … The junior men’s championship flight will also be in action from the 10th tee, starting at 8:48 a.m. and 8:57 a.m.