Thorpe wins first Tamarack title

WASAGAMING — Jason Thorpe got his money’s worth out of the Tamarack and a Titleist this week.

The Brandonite played 74 holes of match play with the same Titleist ProV1 ball at the Tamarack golf tournament. He thought about swapping it out as the “Thorpe Construction” stamp on the side was wearing out and scuffs grew increasingly noticeable, but he simply couldn’t change anything when everything was working.

Thorpe ended up beating three past champions, including Kody Fawcett 4 and 2 in the final, to claim the men’s title at Clear Lake Golf Course on Saturday.

“I can’t believe it. When Kody told me to pick that up I was like, ‘Did that just happen?’” Thorpe said. “It’s been 26 years I’ve been trying for this and when I saw the lineup I had to go through, Grady (Chuback), Dustin (Dyck), Kody, I’m like, ‘There’s no way.’ And Bryce (Evason), he played a great (round of 16) match, went down to the wire.

“It feels a little more special going through the guys I did.”

He’s the oldest winner since Bob Cornell at age 60 in 1998. And he did it his way, without trying to keep up with the length of the long bombers he faces, but by plugging away and keeping the ball in play. Fortunately, none of his opponents played to their sky-high potential.

Thorpe shot 71 and 73 to take the No. 8 seed, then beat Evason 2 and 1 in the opening round. His next two matches went to extra holes as he hung around long enough to watch Chuback make a bogey on the second playoff hole. Dyck bogeyed their third extra hole on Friday to send Thorpe through.

Fawcett was one of five players under par in qualifying, shooting 70 and 73 to take the No. 3 seed. He made quick work of Christian Laughland in the first round, winning 6 and 5. Fawcett then went to the last hole in each of his next two matches, topping both Joel Matthews and Kurt Martin 1 up.

The final could have been Thorpe’s toughest test yet.

Instead, it was Fawcett’s, as Thorpe played a near-perfect game down to the end, when he set himself up for a three-foot birdie putt he didn’t even need to hit on the 16th green.

Thorpe led early, as Fawcett’s tee shot on the second hole rolled right up against a tree, forcing a sideways punch out that led to a bogey.

The next hole was a huge bonus for the 55-year-old, as he knocked a 35-foot putt from three feet off the green in for a birdie.

“It was a shock when I saw it go in. You start thinking, ‘Maybe it is your day,’” Thorpe said.

He birdied the next hole to lead by three, but Fawcett poured in back-to-back birdies on the next two holes to narrow the gap.

However, the three-time champ gave it right back when he lost his ball behind the seventh green, and Thorpe restored the 3-up lead at the turn by draining a downhill slider on the ninth.

“I decided to be a little more aggressive with the putter. I was a little tentative the last couple of matches,” Thorpe said.

“It paid off.”

Thorpe added another long one for birdie on the par-3 12th, then gave away the 13th after putting himself in a position where winning one more hole would end it.

Both reached the 14th green in two, and Thorpe chipped to 20 feet before Fawcett nestled a putt inside four. But once again, Thorpe drilled it, meaning Fawcett’s was a must-make to stay alive, rather than win a second hole in a row.

“It definitely makes you think you have to force your hand a little more when he’s making putts,” Fawcett said.

“The one on three was early; it didn’t shake me that much. The one on nine was a huge momentum shift because I was tight there. The one on 14 was an absolute killer because I thought I was going to get a bunch of momentum back after winning 13.

“I would have been 3 down with four to go, and I know how that feels when you start to lose holes.”

Thorpe made a rare bogey on 15 to keep Fawcett in it, but on 16, Fawcett found the left green-side bunker and couldn’t hit it close from there. After lagging a long birdie putt well short and realizing he needed a make and a Thorpe three-putt from close range, he opted not to prolong the inevitable and shook hands.

It simply wasn’t the round Fawcett pictured, nor the one he needed to catch a guy who was right around par all week, but finished Saturday’s round 3 under.

“Off the tee was super bad pretty much right to the finish,” Fawcett said. “Found something with a three-wood on hole 11 and tried to make a comeback there but I was so far down at that point and Thorpy left me nothing. He was very, very solid.

“This was the best I’ve seen him play and earned every bit of that win today, so, happy for him.”

The first-time champ’s buddies promptly greeted him with a shower of assorted beer before handing him a celebratory cold one.

“The support’s awesome. I’ve got so many good friends and family there. They were pulling for me, had my back and believed in me. That helped a lot,” Thorpe said, adding that having his son Ryan caddie for the semifinal and Ty jump on the bag for the final was big.

“The boys really settled me down. It was nice having somebody to talk to, go over shots with. They’re both smart about the game and are good at reading greens, so that helped calm me down. And it was special having them here.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com