Myhre repeats at Grey Owl

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This article was published 10/06/2018 (2652 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASAGAMING — Nick Myhre shot his way into the Grey Owl golf tournament’s record book on Sunday, although not necessarily in the category he hoped.

Myhre became the fourth player to win back-to-back titles in the event’s 58-year history. However, he was unable to accomplish his goal of setting a new tournament record for lowest score. He came close though, shooting 7-under 65 in his first round on Saturday — two strokes off Grant Coulter’s single-round mark of 63 — and finished the three-day, 36-hole competition at the Clear Lake Golf Course at 8-under 136, three strokes back of Garth Collings’ tournament record.

Still, the Rolette, N.D., product was proud to join the likes of Winnipeg’s Jimmy Doyle (1969-70), Brandon’s Brian Clark (1986-87) and Matlock’s Collings (1997-99, 2005-07 and 2015-16) as the Grey Owl’s only back-to-back champions.

“It feels great,” Myhre said. “Coming into the weekend, I said I was trying to get the tournament record. Conditions today didn’t really fare that way. Even yesterday I told my dad I felt like I shot 61 just because of how firm the greens are.

“It’s just a different golf course this weekend. I’m used to playing Clear Lake where wherever you land is where the ball ends up. I hit some shots that I have never played out here — chip shots that land short of the green — it was a battle. It was interesting, but I played two solid days of golf, and I’m really happy.”

Myhre’s first round on Saturday was something special. He went bogey-free with five birdies and an eagle. He described it as a stress-free round in which he hit 17 greens and most of his par putts were just tap-ins.

He entered Sunday with a three-stroke lead over Winnipeg’s Justin McDonald and had to deal with challenging wind gusts throughout the round.

McDonald, who was runner-up last year, kept the pressure on throughout Sunday’s round. McDonald was 1 under on the front nine to make up one stroke, and got within one after making a birdie the 11th. However, Myhre earned that shot back with a birdie of his own on 13.

The 22-year-old American opened the door on the 14th when his tee shot ended up in the trees, forcing Myhre to punch out onto the fairway and resulted in a bogey, but McDonald hit his approach shot long and into the trees, resulting in a double bogey.

McDonald made a long putt on 16 in a push to close the gap, but Myhre followed that shot up by draining his own birdie putt.

“Gotta make it,” Myhre said of what went through his mind on the 16th green. “I lined it up and felt good about it. I thought my shot was dead in the jaws. I was surprised my chip stopped. I thought I had a pretty good read on the putt, then looked up and it was dead in the jaws. I gave a little fist pump as I was walking off the green.

“That was big of him to make that. It put the pressure on me, but I love the pressure, that’s what we’re all out here to have. It’s fun to play under pressure like that.”

Myhre played par golf for the final two holes and cruised to the title, beating McDonald by three strokes.

He never thought about his lead — in fact, on the 10th tee Myhre confirmed with his father Jay, who was his caddy, that he needed to shoot 5 under on the back to break the tournament record. He just focused on his own game and trying to deal with the conditions.

“It was really challenging,” Myhre said. “Justin played really well in the wind too. Neither of us were really in the trees at all, especially on the back nine. I was 1 under on the back nine and even on the front. Obviously the back nine is tougher out here, so I thought 1 under was great and he was even on the back. We had some great golf today. It was fun to battle it out.”

This is the second time McDonald, who finished at 5-under 139, has played in the Grey Owl and the second time he was runner-up.

He confirmed his entrance after he was eliminated from the provincial match play championship — he was the top seed in qualifying and lost in the second round to Sylvain Ruest.

He was pleased with his game and felt Myhre was just a little bit better.

“I was just playing and he was playing good. He won, that’s all there is to it,” McDonald said. “It’s not frustrating. It was a good. It was a fun tournament.”

Myhre isn’t sure if he’ll be back next year to try to become the second player to win three straight titles, joining Collings. He has one semester of school left at North Dakota State University and a few people are encouraging him to turn professional after this season, but he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

Myhre, who will defend his North Dakota amateur title next weekend, just wants to enjoy this season and winning back-to-back Grey Owl titles surrounded by family — his mother and an uncle were also following his foursome on Sunday.

If this is his last Grey Owl for a while, the tournament will remain close to his heart.

“This might be my last Grey Owl for quite a while, which is too bad. If I don’t turn pro, I’ll be back. If I do, this has been fun,” Myhre said. “Two out of three years I won it and to go back-to-back, it’s a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, Collings was crowned the Greyer Owl champion, for players at least 60 years of age, after following up his first-round score of 77 with a 70 to finish at 3-over 147. Stephen Johnston of Winnipeg’s QX104 and 94.3 The Drive radio stations won the media flight after carding a 159.

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58th ANNUAL GREY OWL

at Clear Lake Golf Course (Sunday’s Results)

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

Nick Myhre 65-71—136

Justin McDonald 68-71—139

Nolan Tutkaluk 70-78—148

Travis Fifi 72-78—150

Kolby Day 75-76—151

Mark Olson 75-77—152

Brian Clark 75-78—153

Kenny Keeler 75-78—153

Jack McDiarmid 72-81—153

Ken Mould 76-80—156

Kirk Penton 77-81—158

Todd Slatnik 74-87—161

Kevin Lamb 77-91—168

FIRST FLIGHT

Dwight Kearns 77-74—151

Chris Bridges 81-72—153

Brent Lamb 78-80—158

Grant McPhail 79-79—158

Steve Young 84-76—160

Chris Patrick 80-80—160

Tyler Rice 74-86—160

SECOND FLIGHT

Darcy Howarth 75-81—156

George Pichl 82-78—160

Dylan Williamson 84-79—163

Greg Misener 85-78—163

Yvan St. Vincent 84-79—163

THIRD FLIGHT

Ryan Reid 77-76—153

Norman Larocque 81-78—159

Darryl Gauthier 78-81—159

Chris Perry 82-78—160

Blake Thomson 79-81—160

FOURTH FLIGHT

Gene Banks 81-79—160

Derek VanDenDriessche 78-82—160

Aime Plett 81-83—164

Patrick Connelly 85-82—167

Andy Gobin 80-91—171

Tyler Thompson 83-88—171

FIFTH FLIGHT

Sean Ashton 81-86—167

Lewis Montroy 81-86—167

Clayton Dreger 84-90—174

Doug Williamson 84-91—175

Glenn Williamson 84-92—176

SIXTH FLIGHT

Ian McGowan 79-80—159

Braden Coates 82-90—172

Jim Scollan Jr. 86-87—173

Barry Lee 86-91—177

Alan Schoemperlen 88-93—181

SEVENTH FLIGHT

Rich Justl 80-83—163

Jeff Clark 87-87—174

Gerry Cantin 86-90—176

Mark Moon 94-83—177

Brad Bullee 90-87—177

EIGHTH FLIGHT

Jade Young 93-91—184

Mike Jubinville 95-93—188

Kevin Macdonald 93-99—192

Manfred Pflug 98-96—194

Brent Mills 105-90—195

GREYER OWLS

Garth Collings 77-70—147

Michael MacKay 77-74—151

Dwight Kearns 77-74—151

Mark Olson 75-77—152

Jack McDiarmid 72-81—153

GREYER OWLS A

Michael MacKay 77-74—151

Mark Olson 75-77—152

Jack McDiarmid 72-81—153

Ken Mould 76-80—156

Grant McPhail 79-79—158

GREYER OWLS B

Dan Deonarine 79-80—159

Barry Clayton 83-85—168

John Donald 82-92—174

Richard Riel 84-90—174

Dennis Nodrick 86-89—175

Mel Beatty 87-88—175

Blair Riordan 87-88—175

GREY OWLS C

Dan McNamara 84-79—163

Doug Borton 84-86—170

Doug Williamson 84-91—175

James Cristall 89-88—177

Alan Schoemperlen 88-93—181

GREY OWLS D

Derek Thorsteinson 91-95—186

Merril Kiliwnik 98-90—188

Brad Langston 98-90—188

Kevin Macdonald 93-99—192

Terry McTavish 103-90—193

MEDIA

Stephen Johnston 84-75—159

Bruce Penton 84-85—169

Clayton Dreger 84-90—174

Stephen Ripley 88-90—178

Kent Gilchrist 97-93—190