Jones, Nachtigall battle tough track at amateur

WINNIPEG — It turns out you can put all the best players in Manitoba on a short parkland golf course and make them grind like it’s the U.S. Open.

Through 36 holes of the Golf Manitoba men’s amateur, Rory Neill holds a one-shot lead as one of just two players under par at St. Boniface Golf Club. He has 15 guys within five shots of his lead, including Brandon’s Evan Nachtigall and Drew Jones, who sit four back in a six-way tie for seventh.

And Neill had to scratch and claw his way back under par, despite opening with a smooth 3-under 69 on Monday. Neill bogeyed four of the first six holes before turning in a 73 on a slightly easier but still daunting Tuesday.

“Definitely a little nervous at first, playing in the final group’s a bit nerve-racking but I thought I hung in there really well,” Neill said.

“I got off to a bit of a rocky start. I’m actually not sure if it was due to nerves; I think I just hit some poor putts.

“I struck the ball really well and knew if I just cleaned things up on the greens, I’d be OK for the rest of the day and did a good job mentally to hang in there.”

Neill (-2) plays in the final group with Jay Doyle (-1) and Patrick Perrin (even), who have both won provincial titles.

Doyle claimed the 2015 mid-amateur title and 2023 senior crown — both at St. Boniface.

Perrin regained his amateur status in time to win the 2023 mid-amateur and has been in the hunt for more since then.

So has Jones, who finished as the runner-up in three straight mid-ams (25-and-older), and has held the lead at the amateur on the final day in each of the past two years.

He has worked hard and waited patiently for his time, especially on Tuesday when it seemed none of the bounces and breaks went his way.

Jones is one of the longest hitters in the province, but can’t really take advantage of that at St. B.

“I was very patient out there, that’s for sure. You need to hit it in the fairways here,” Jones said, explaining that the firmness of the greens requires far more spin than the rough allows one to generate.

“Your goal has completely changed and par is a phenomenal score. You reassess and approach the hole like, ‘How can I make a par here?’ I had to do that a lot.”

Jones (+2) made a bunch of pars, then stuffed his approach on the short par-5 11th to two feet and kicked in an eagle before missing two short par putts a few holes later to shoot 74.

Nachtigall (+2) had a similar experience, but got the bad stuff out of the way early on an unfortunate break. He missed the fairway left on the second hole and the entire group was unable to find it, sending him back to the tee to play his third shot.

He made a triple bogey, then fought back with one birdie and a tap-in eagle, also on the 11th hole before a bundle of scrappy par saves to card a second-straight 73.

“I told myself to hang in there and just fight,” said the defending champion.

“It’s such a bunched leaderboard, I know I have a chance. Really didn’t hit the ball very good but seemed to plot my way around the course decently, hit a couple of good shots when I really needed and my short game bailed me out down the stretch.”

For someone who has carded scores of eight or more under par on longer courses, the thick rough and small, firm greens that are well-protected by bunkers, make for a completely different challenge.

“If you hit it in the fairway off the tee, it’s a birdie hole,” Nachtigall said.

“But it’s so short to the point where you have a lot of less than full shots in, and if you’re in the rough and have less than a full shot in, it’s going to be no fun.”

Jones and Nachtigall are playing together in the fourth-last group.

Teeing off a little earlier are Neepawa’s Hayden Delaloye (+8) — who posted a 77 on Tuesday to sit tied for 33rd — and Oak Island’s Cameron Duncan (+12), who shot 76 to make the cut on the number in a tie for 49th.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com