Nachtigall aims for repeat at men’s amateur

Evan Nachtigall hasn’t changed his approach to tournaments after winning the title he has chased his entire competitive golf career.

What’s different is the expectations placed upon him.

“It’s funny,” Nachtigall said. “The second I don’t win something now, people come up to me and it’s like, ‘What’s wrong?’ or ‘What happened?’

“I got a lot of that at the match play final and a bit of that at the Elmy (Elmhurst Invitational) after I shot 1 over.”

The Brandonite is back to defend his Golf Manitoba men’s amateur title, starting on Monday at Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Golf Club.

He claimed the crown at Southwood Golf and Country Club last year, finishing the three-round tournament at 8-under par.

Since then, he competed in the PGA Tour Americas at the Manitoba Open on a sponsor’s exemption, finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard.

He won the Golf Manitoba men’s four-ball along with teammate Drew Jones, shooting a team total of 12-under 59 while shooting 63, the competitive course record.

Nachtigall was the No. 2 seed at the 2026 match play qualifier and reached the final but fell 7 and 6 to David Spurr.

He had a slow start at the Elmhurst Invitational, going 4 over on the first four holes and battling back to finish the week 1 under, two back of champion Tyson Ehnes.

Showings that once earned him plenty of praise suddenly seemed like failures in the eyes of others who have seen how low the long-hitting lefty can go.

“Golf’s a crazy game, everyone loses except one every week,” Nachtigall said.

“In the amateur, so many guys hit it good, so many guys can win any given week, but to win, you have to get a couple of breaks here and there and roll in the putts.

“Even playing last year at the (Manitoba) Open, those guys don’t hit it any different than I do when I’m on … it’s just a putting contest.”

Nachtigall got into tournament golf after high school in 2019, and first contended at the men’s amateur just two years later at Neepawa Golf and Country Club.

He worked as hard as any golfer in the province over the next few winters, hitting balls in his garage, then at the simulator at Wheat City Golf Course, and most recently at Evo Golf as a part-owner of the indoor facility for the past three years.

He played most of his golf at Shilo Country Club before moving to Winnipeg in the spring and joining Elmhurst Golf and Country Club.

Nachtigall feels that it has been a big help for a few reasons.

“Just being able to have an actual practice facility with real range balls and a range I can use every day has been awesome,” Nachtigall said. “The practice facilities are much better than I’m used to. I would never hit golf balls at the range at Shilo before, I’d just call the rounds I’d play ‘practice.’”

The Donald Ross-designed course northeast of Winnipeg makes players pay for mistakes more than most, with thick rough, firm, fast greens and challenging green-side bunkers everywhere.

He said it has made him think more about where to aim on tee shots to have better angles into greens, and be more aware of where the best places to miss are.

Nachtigall played St. Boniface earlier this year and realized some similarities, even though the 6,348-yard layout is nearly 500 yards shorter than his new home track.

“If you’re missing fairways — the rumour has it that place can get very firm — it’s going to be tough going into greens out of the rough,” Nachtigall said. “You’re going to be putting from 30, 40 feet for birdie all day. “If you want to make a run, you’ve got to hit it in the fairway.”

The three-day event features a cut after 36 holes, with half of the field making it to Wednesday’s final round.

Brandon’s Drew Jones, who finished tied for second at the men’s amateur last year, is another tournament favourite teeing off early on Monday morning.

Other Westman competitors include Neepawa’s Hayden Delaloye, Oak Island’s Cameron Duncan, and Brandon’s Brayden Hamm, Brad Pardy, Will Kinsman, Zostrianos Giordani-Gross and Spence Mott, the latter two of whom captured the last two provincial junior titles.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com