Chuback adds men’s title to Tamarack resume

WASAGAMING — Grady Chuback called the shot of the tournament.

After five sloppy holes in a row, with no signs of anything changing, he decided to take dead aim at the pin on the par-3 12th hole at Clear Lake Golf Course.

“I said, ‘I’m going to hit this within two feet.’ I knew it,” said Chuback, who did exactly that.

“I knew exactly where I wanted to play it and it worked out.”

He took the lead on Ross Sheard and never gave it up, winning the Tamarack golf tournament men’s final 2 and 1 on a cold, windy Saturday.

“It’s amazing. It feels awesome to win, I’m really happy, but I really enjoyed the whole tournament most of all,” Chuback said after his first time in the main men’s event.

“The qualifying, all the rounds and getting to meet everyone, and the watching (other matches), I feel like that’s the most fun part.”

Chuback birdied the first hole to pull ahead, but it wasn’t pretty after that.

He and Sheard scrambled for pars on the second hole, then Chuback lost a ball on the par-5 fourth to give his lead away.

Both birdied the short par-5 fifth, and Chuback pulled ahead after both slammed putts eight feet past the cup on the sixth, but he made his next one and Sheard lipped out.

They halved the seventh hole with doubles before Sheard hit a perfect pitch on the ninth hole to square it up, thanks to the first of back-to-back Chuback three-putts.

It stayed tied after a pair of bogeys on the 11th hole as spectators — who have never been in the position Chuback and Sheard were in — murmured about the quality of play.

Chuback knew something was off. But he knew how to handle it.

“I try and do a mental reset,” he said. “I try and wipe everything that happened in the past because I feel like that’s what hurts people the most, those lingering thoughts of what they did and not what they should be doing now.

“Every swing’s a new swing for me.”

From Hole No. 12 on, the youngster was bogey-free. He birdied the 14th to stay 1 up and nearly bogeyed the 16th after chunking a chip shot.

“I knew I had to follow it up with something, otherwise I was definitely going to lose that hole,” said Chuback, who chipped it into tap-in range.

“It was super nerve-racking, obviously, after duffing that chip in front of everyone but I just tried to keep myself in it, mental reset after that shot and it ended up working.”

His last full — or full-ish — swing was a smooth wedge that landed about 20 feet past the pin on the course’s signature hole, the scenic downhill par-3 17th.

With the pressure on, Sheard caught some ground behind his ball and devastatingly watched it bound down the hill. He slashed it out of the long grass, caught a tree branch but still found a piece of green. However, he needed to drain a 30-footer to save par and missed it low.

Chuback not-so-simply needed to lag a downhill slider close in front of a large gallery for the win.

“Even though it’s not a hard putt, it’s a hard putt to stand over because I’m thinking of everybody watching,” he said. “I’m only two putts away but really anything can happen on the golf course.

“That’s one of the times I’ve been the most nervous, ever.”

When the ball nestled less than a foot away, Sheard took off his hat, accepting defeat and the fact that his first time in the top eight and a fantastic run was over.

“Proud of myself for sure,” he said.

“First time ever being here on this side winning matches, so I had a good run but it had to come to an end, unfortunately. I’m glad it was to Grady, he’s a great player and a young gun to look out for, for sure.

“Maybe a lucky break here or there for me would have been fantastic, but then again, you can’t really wish for that stuff. You’ve got to go out there and work for it and it just wasn’t my day.”

Chuback became the first Tamarack junior champion to win the men’s trophy the following year.

He wanted to take his first crack at it a year ago but had to wait until he turned 19. So he came back from his first university golf season at UBC and dominated the junior field to defend his crown.

The Headingley native wasted no time at all, overcoming three double-bogeys in qualifying to shoot 75 and 73 for a total of 4-over 148, good for the No. 7 seed.

The road almost ended before it started on Tuesday as he trailed Kolby Day by four after eight holes.

But he crept back and won the match 2 up.

Chuback finished eagle-birdie-birdie to oust Greg Misener 4 and 3 on Thursday, then topped Cal Vanderschuit 5 and 4 on Friday, in even windier conditions than Saturday to reach the final he used to race off after his junior matches to catch the end of.

“I’m super excited. I’ve been playing in this tournament since I was probably nine or 10 years old thanks to my dad (Jason),” Chuback said.

“My dad was the one who got me into golf and the Tamarack. After I started, this was a tournament I looked forward to. Winning it these three times, it’s an awesome feeling and I’m really hoping to do it again next year.”

JACOBSON, TROTTER

WIN MEN’S SCRAMBLE

Jared Jacobson and Jordan Trotter capped an unforgettable week with a dominant final.

The No. 2 seed in the second Tamarack men’s scramble event rolled over Jake Wiens and Steve Desroches 7 and 6 in Saturday’s final.

Jacobson recorded the eighth hole-in-one of his golf career during Friday’s semifinals on the 12th hole en route to a 4-and-3 win over his nephew Ethan Guthrie and Nolan Slate.

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