Birdies propel Kucher to Ogopogo title
When the final group at the 66th annual Ogopogo Invitational made the turn on Saturday and arrived at the Kelowna Golf & Country Club’s 10th tee, the merury had risen to 36-degrees Celcius. And the wind had begun to blow.
The conditions led an old scribe to opine that a player might only need to shoot the temperature on the back nine to win the tournament.
But Garrett Kucher provided the sizzle, touring the inward nine in 33 strokes to earn a two-shot victory.
“This was a good one because last year I had a four-shot lead before the final round and lost,” Kucher said after hugs and handshakes with a number of his young pals.
The 24-year-old from West Kelowna posted rounds of 70-73-67, good for a six-under-par total that was two shots better than former champion Keith Martin of the Harvest Club.
“I told my caddy that I don’t want to see the leaderboard all day,” said Kucher, who plays out of Predator Ridge. “We set out a game plan and stuck to it. We stayed patient and solid with our plan and that’s what gave us success.”
Kucher, a powerful lefty, completed the front nine in two-under-par 34, then reeled off five straight pars. Then things got interesting on the 183-yard 15th hole.
Kucher laced his tee shot on the par-3 to about 20-feet above the cup. After watching Brandon Ortiz roll in a putt from well off the front of the green for a two, then Finlay Young dropping a bomb from at least 40-feet for birdie, Kucher rolled in his right-to-left, downhill bender for a deuce of his own.
Amid the fireworks, one had to wonder how Martin, then leading the tournament, must have felt when stepped up to his six-footer for a three. But he calmly saved his par to maintain a one-shot lead on Kucher.
On the uphill 504-yard 16th, Kucher piped his tee ball, leaving an 8-iron in from 178 yards. While he missed the green pin-high left, his chip shot for eagle lipped out and he tapped in for birdie. Martin, who lost his tee shot wide right, made another clutch par saver from eight feet.
With the affair tied, the leaders approached the par-3 17th, where Kucher produced a stressless par. Martin missed the green short, then rolled a tricky chip shot 15-feet past the cup. This time, his par-saving effort refused to fall and Kucher took a one-shot lead to the final hole.
At the 18th, Kucher pounded another perfect drive, setting up an 8-iron from 179 yards that he coaxed to the front fringe. Martin missed his tee shot wide left and had no play toward the green. He did fashion a pair of solid shots and took a run at birdie from 15-feet, but settled for par.
Kucher rolled his eagle putt inside a foot and, after a deep breath, tapped in for birdie.
“Keith is a remarkable player,” Kucher said. “He just doesn’t stop. He’s got a great swing, he’s a great guy. I knew I had to do something special coming in.”
Martin was dejected afterward, but agreed that patience and experience had enabled him to score well during the tournament while not feeling he had his best game in tow.
“There might not be many people who have played this golf course as much as I have in the last 10 or 15 years,” Martin said. “But I struggled with my swing this week.
“Today, I had a nice chip in on 10 and a good birdie on 12, but I just couldn’t keep it in play the last few holes. That kind of made a difference.”
CHIP SHOTS: Martin posted 73-69-70 for the tournament . . . . Young (Harvest Club) and James Casorso (KG&CC) finished T3 at 213, while defending champion Matt Palahniuk was fifth at 215 . . . . Terry Birkholz from Vancouver Island won the low net with a 213 total . . . . A total of 172 players comprised the field.