Teeing Off: Kerkowich set to stage, play amateur at Neepawa

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This article was published 14/07/2021 (1704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mark Kerkowich will be up well before the crack of dawn for his 9:44 a.m. tee time on Thursday.

Excited to kick off the Manitoba men’s amateur golf championship at his home course? Sure, but he has to put the finishing touches on it first.

The Neepawa Golf and Country Club superintendent, along with assistant Lawson Davie and their crew of six full-time staffers, have put in remarkably long, difficult hours to get the track ready for the province’s flagship event.

Barely more than a year ago, 12 holes were almost completely under water and all but one of the course’s bridges were submerged as a result of torrential rain in late June.

What if you asked Kerkowich about hosting the amateur a year ago?

“I would have said ‘You’re crazy.’ Period,” he said.

“It’s been an unbelievable year. There hasn’t been a routine day since the flood. We’re almost there to the point that we can have a routine day as far as the crew goes, but my crew deserves all the credit in the world. They’ve been working their butts off and I couldn’t be happier with them. They deserve all the credit.

“… It’s difficult and Mother Nature hasn’t been the best since. The spring was difficult growing conditions for trying to get seed to grow and establish. My guys have been working hard, watering like crazy and we’re getting there.”

It’s somewhat ironic the way excess rain wreaked havoc on the course last summer, and the sheer lack of moisture made recovery that much more challenging this spring. Neepawa reseeded 13 holes in August and those didn’t look great as the 2021 season opened.

But since then, head professional Landon Cameron said the maintenance team has been phenomenal.

“What Mark Kerkowich and his staff have done in the last 365 days is impossible,” Cameron said. “It’s world class what they’ve done, it’s national-award worthy. It’s absolutely mind-blowing to see the golf course the way it is today.

“… It’s heart, passion, it’s caring, and we knew what we were getting into when we decided to sign up for the amateur and we knew what kind of shape we were in when we signed up to do it. The end goal was to make it unnoticeable to the blind eye of people that are coming in from other places, that don’t know what shape we were in last year, we don’t want them to know what happened and they’ve done that to a T.”

Kerkowich will work right through the weekend, taking a four- or five-hour break to play his rounds and get back to work as soon as he finishes.

“It’ll be work in the morning, golf, work, sleep and repeat for four days. Well, hopefully four days,” he chuckled. “It should be fun. I wouldn’t say my game’s in the best shape but you never know when a good one’s coming. I’ll hope for the best, keep expectations low and maybe I’ll surprise myself.”

Kerkowich noted he’s “very happy” with the tee boxes, fairways and 16 of the greens — Hole Nos. 16 and 18 could use some work but the rougher spots can be avoided.

Speaking of places to avoid, Cameron says that’s what the 6,534-yard track is all about. He advises against hitting driver for most of the front nine, especially for the guys in the 116-man field who crush it more than 300 yards.

While the back-nine offers more “Grip-it-and-rip-it” tee shots, strategy tops strength all day. Leaving the ball below the hole on greens, as usual, is key.

“Every hole is a birdie hole but every hole can jump up and bite you,” Cameron said.

That sentiment rang true when Neepawa hosted the event in 2013. Seven players finished under par, including champion Derek East at a whopping 13 under. After pouring in 17 birdies during the first three rounds, he calmly parred the first 17 and knocked in a birdie to cap the week six shots clear of runner-up Aaron Cockerill, who now plays on the European Tour.

The cut, which is still top-60 plus ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead, was 16 over that year.

While some courses prepare for tournaments by growing out the rough and firming up, double-cutting and rolling greens, that won’t be the case at Neepawa. Cameron has no issue with another birdie fest for defending champion Marco Trstenjak and the field to take part in.

“I don’t care what the final score is. If somebody shoots 20 under par or breaks the course record out here four days in a row, I don’t care. I want the guys that are coming here to have a good experience, a great tournament experience. Score, to me, means nothing,” Cameron said.

“We’re not going to trick it up, we’re not going to set it up any harder than we normally do. This golf course rewards good golf shots and in my opinion on tournament golf if you hit a good golf shot you should be rewarded for it; if you hit a bad golf shot you should be penalized.

“… We’ll have accessible pins, but some might be bunkered, some might be close to hazards, there’s some false fronts, stuff like that, but if you hit a good golf shot you should be rewarded.”

Cameron expects a great weekend, and naturally hopes its just a little better for his players.

“I would love to see (Kerkowich) win it, man, with what he’s gone through,” Cameron said.

“… I hope all the Neepawa members and the guys that play here lots make the cut and are on the leaderboard on Sunday … It would be super exciting for Mark, super exciting for our community and me if Mark was there on Sunday, with an opportunity on the last day.”

JUNIOR TOUR: Hunter Oakden shot an 11-over 83 to win the 12-and-under division of the Westman Junior Golf Tour’s stop at Poplar Ridge on Tuesday.

Oakden was three shots clear of Brayden Watt, with Madden Cheung placing third at 98 in an all-Brandon podium finish.

Brandon’s Tate Bercier and McCreary’s Ryan Gower shared the 14U top spot, shooting 81. Brandon’s Payton Oakden took third place, five shots back at 86.

In 16U matches: Colby Lowe, Russell def. Sebastian Stone Boissevain 4 up; Hayden Delaloye, Neepawa def. Foxx McColl, Elkhorn 7 up; Foster Couvier, Miniota def. Lukas Jensen, Brandon 6 up

Bryce Bryant, Virden def. Ulrich Moller, Brandon 1 up; Dru Mushumanski, Rossburn def. Tyler Huston, Russell 6 up; Zos Giordani-Gross, Brandon def. Drake Starr, Marius 4 up; and Aiden Wilson, Brandon def. Richard Everett, Minnedosa 4 up.

HOLE IN ONE: Bryan Letain aced the 174-yard 14th hole at Wheat City Golf Course on Sunday.

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