WHITECOTTON ON A ROLL AFTER HIS MARTELL TITLE
Keith Whitecotton didn’t exactly start the two-day Henry Martell Pro Am, which ended Saturday at the Highlands, the way he wanted.
“Bogey. Bogey. Two threeputts,” said The Quarry’s Whitecotton after a start akin to forgetting the car keys at the Indianapolis 500.
“I said to myself this wasn’t the day to shoot 80.”
He didn’t. Instead, Whitecotton made five birdies and an eagle during the rest of Friday’s opening round for a 5-under 66.
Then he shot a matching 66 on Saturday for a 10-under total and a five-stroke win over Glendale’s Adam Bruce, who finished second for the fourth time in the prestigious Martell.
“I hit good shots on the first two holes. So I tried to put it behind me. If I had hit bad shots and opened bogey-bogey, it would have been a different story,” said Whitecotton, who played eight seasons on the Mackenzie TOUR-PGA Tour Canada.
“I just needed to get used to the speed of the greens,” he said of the putting surfaces that registered a quick 11 on the stimpmeter.
The Martell marked backto-back wins for Whitecotton, who won the Leduc Pro-am two weeks ago.
“That was my last round of golf before this one,” said Whitecotton, who said he is too busy giving lessons to play.
Tyler Komick of Golf TEC finished third at 4 under; Royal Mayfair’s Mike Belbin, looking for his sixth straight Martell victory, was fourth at 2 under.
John Gallimore (71-74) won the amateur division. There are no official records, but it’s believed to be the 15th time in the 41-year history of the event that Gallimore has taken that title.
SCENE
After two days in which The Ranch golf course won the battle in the Sun Life Alberta Ladies Amateur, Medicine Hat’s Becky Martin showed no mercy in Round 3. The only player to go under par over the three days, Martin went really deep in the final round, firing a 4-under 67 to win by seven shots over Edmonton Glendale’s Kylie Barros.
“I kept chasing pars and waiting for birdie chances,” said Martin, who had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome — a degenerative nerve damage condition — in 2015, but still plays in pain.
“I putted extremely well. I made all the short putts so I could be more aggressive from far away,” said Martin, 26, who shot 73-74 in the first two rounds and won the Lethbridge Ladies Open last month.
Barros’ putter, on the other hand, wasn’t working.
“Becky made everything; I didn’t really make anything,” said Barros, who regained her amateur status and went 75-73-73.
“I had eight three-putts, which is not the best way to score well.”
Camrose’s Jayla Kucy, who is only 13, won the overall low net with a score of 6 under. Kucy shot 78-72-78 to also tie for eighth overall.
Windermere’s Barb Flaman (83-77-81) won the Mid Master in a three-hole playoff over Calgary’s Cheryl Newman.
Flaman, Barros, two-time defending champion Keltie
Wild, Alyshia Suleman, Alexa Wingnean, Kassidy Turcotte and a host of others will compete in Monday’s final round of the Edmonton Ladies Amateur at Highlands.
Martin, on the other hand, will play in the 106th Canadian Women’s Amateur July 22-26 at the fabulous Red Deer Golf and Country Club. There are
156 women from 13 countries entered including Quebec’s
Team Canada national amateur member Brigitte Thibault, the highest-ranked Canadian in the field; Ontario’s Sarah Dunning, who won this year’s Canadian University/college Championship when she made eagle on the final hole to win by one shot; California’s Andrea Lee, who, until recently, was the No. 1-ranked woman on the World Amateur Golf Ranking; and California’s Lucy Li, 16, who has reached as high as No. 4 on the world amateur rankings.
Broadmoor’s Chase Bodoano is back in the winner’s circle. After winning last week’s Alberta Golf Mclennan Ross Junior Golf Tour at Innisfail, Bodoano won the junior boys division at Olds with a 1-under 71.
After a slow start, The Quarry is in excellent shape once again.
NOTED
Until a couple of weeks ago, Lance Gartner never had a holein-one after 36 years of trying. Then he aced No. 7 on the Traditions Nine at The Legends — an eight-iron from 147 yards. Now, Gartner has two aces. Once again playing in the Legends men’s league, Gartner got another holein-one last week. This time it was on the Champions Nine — another eight-iron, this time from 154 yards on No. 8. “I was surprised to get one. I’m shocked to get two,” said Gartner, 48.
Other aces: At the Edmonton Petroleum Club, Jeffrey Anderson got the best of the course’s “extra” hole No. 19 while work was going on at the renovated opening hole. Anderson used a nine-iron from 145 yards.
A pair at Mill Woods: Brandon Blawchette aced No. 4 with an eight-iron from 162 yards and Laurie Robbins got the best of No. 7 with a five-wood from 150 yards in the Oilwives Golf Tournament.
Rookie Raven Crest student member Kyle Ruiz notched his first hole-in-one with a pitching wedge from 115 yards on No. 6.
Congratulations to Rob Toshack, who aced No. 7 at Highlands from 137 yards with a nine-iron.
And Ron Nordstrom went to Fairview Mountain in Oliver, B.C., for his first hole-in-one — a wedge from 105 yards.