Gunn rallies for victory at Carleton
Golf pro collects sixth PGA Ottawa Zone title
It figures that a guy named Gunn would be a six-shooter.
Graham Gunn collected his sixth Professional Golfers’ Association of Canada Ottawa Zone championship on Tuesday, shooting a 3-underpar 68 for a total of 139 and a onestroke victory over Bob Flaro in the two-day event at Carleton Golf and Yacht Club.
“I knew if I could keep it going, just keep (the ball) between the trees, eventually the putts were going to go in,” said Gunn, who won his first Ottawa Zone club-pro title in 1997 and had what was already a record fifth in 2011. He received the $2,000 top prize for his efforts this week.
Before eventually finding his way to White Sands Golf Course in Orléans, Gunn spent a decade as head pro at Carleton, so he knew putts wouldn’t break as much as expected on the greens there, but he also knew there might be more pressure to win. Plus, because of teaching and other duties at White Sands, he has played only about a dozen rounds all season.
“The toughest thing is playing at your own golf course because everyone expects big things from you,” Gunn said.
Currently an unattached pro after a job at Ottawa Hunt ended earlier this year, Flaro won zone titles in 1993, ’95 and ’98, when he was based in Cornwall.
He started Tuesday’s round seven strokes off the lead, but he made things interesting with a 65 that might have been even better except for what proved to be a costly bogey on the par-4 17th hole.
“I thought somebody would shoot under par,” Flaro said. “I figured I needed to get to three under total. I thought four would be definite (enough to win), and I thought three would be close, and that’s what it turned out to be.
“But, any time you shoot 65, you have to be pleased.”
Hylands’ John Kelly (72) and Mountain Creek’s Jonathan Schaepper (73) tied for third at 142. Fourtime winner Chris Barber (74) of The Landings and first-round leader Brad Smith (75) of Ottawa Hunt tied for fifth at 143.
Dave Kalil (76) of Ottawa Hunt and Malcolm Trickey (78) of Cataraqui shared top spot in the 50-plus seniors division at 149. Tied for third at 152 were Smiths Falls’ Paul Vaillancourt (78) and Mississippi’s Terry Kolar (75).