Being persistent pays off with a championship
MARK ZWOLINSKI Doug McNeil has come full circle at the Toronto Star Amateur golf championship.
McNeil, having played in every tournament since the Star Am originated 20 years ago, won his first title Tuesday in capturing the senior’s event at Markland Wood Golf Club.
For McNeil, the victory was satisfying.
“I’ve been playing in this tournament for 20 years and I’m a (Star subscriber) for 40 years, so it was nice to be out here and get the win,” said McNeil, 56, who took the Worden Teasdale Trophy on Tuesday with a finalround 77.
McNeil beat Brad McConnell of Whitby by three shots and had a four-shot edge over Raymond Oh of Richmond Hill, who was runner-up last year.
McNeil’s first-round 71 Monday was low score in the senior’s bracket, but the Aurora native and his golfing friends had a laugh Tuesday when tournament organizer Glenn Goodwin had to call McNeil in his car to get him to return to the course and claim his trophy.
McNeil, a retired software technician at IBM, got in his car after his round Tuesday and headed home in an effort to beat traffic. He wasn’t far down the road when Goodwin called with the good news.
“I’ve never won this tournament, I’ve played it all these years and never won, never had a top-10 finish either,” McNeil said.
“But tournament golf is different than when you are playing a round with friends. I can shoot a 60 or a 70, but when you’re trying to do it in a tournament like this, it’s different. The course was fantastic and the layout was challenging. I was happy with the way I played.”
McNeil’s win Tuesday came just over a week after he retired from IBM.
“This time of year would nor- mally be busy for me,” McNeil said. “It’s nice now to not have to check messages after holes, and just focus on golf and forget about all the other things.”
There are 64 golfers competing in the men’s, women’s and senior’s divisions. Gary Young of Oakville has a two-shot lead over defending champion Mike Kray, also of Oakville.
Defending women’s champion Marion Reid, from the Islington Golf Club, will play 14year-old Rozlyn Rooke from the Blue Springs Golf Club Wednesday to determine who will claims the Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Trophy.