Stewart wins 2nd title
At age 27, David Stewart was one of the oldest participants in this year’s Saskatchewan Amateur men’s golf championship.
The former 2008 SaskAm champ was able to put his “veteran” status to good use, utilizing solid course management, and a hot putter, for his second Saskatchewan Amateur title.
Stewart recorded a six-shot victory Thursday at the Melfort Golf and Country Club, closing out the four-day tournament with a 2-under 70.
“The two (titles) are completely different,” Stewart said Thursday, admittedly still “on a high.”
“It’s been a few years, obviously, since I’ve been in contention for something like this. I was actually really nervous to start the day, even though I had a big lead, just because I’ve been working extremely hard to get my game in shape for this tournament and get back to nationals. To actually pull it off feels unbelievable, actually.
“It was a long time coming for me.”
Stewart’s four-round score total was a 7-under-par 281 (71-73-67-70). He had four birdies and a double-bogey Thursday.
“It was about trying to take the big number out of play,” he explained. “This course is sneaky tough in the way that, if you’re not smart off the tee, you can get in some bad spots. The greens are so small that you can shortside yourself very easily if you’re not careful with your approach shots.”
His No. 1 objective was to get his ball in position where he was hitting a sand-wedge or lob-wedge coming in. He didn’t use his drive much at all, often hitting a 3-iron off the tee to get in that comfort range, 100-120 yards.
“It was kind of course management more than anything,” he said. “And it didn’t hurt that my putter was kind of hot this week, too.”
The runner-up was Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy, who finished at 2-under for the tournament thanks to a 6-under 66 Thursday to go along with earlier scores of 76, 77 and 67.
Rounding out the provincial team is first-time member Dakota Cameron of Duck Lake and Prince Albert’s Ashley Ziegeman. Cameron placed third at 1-under 287 (74-71-73-69).
Ziegeman ( 72- 72- 73- 71) edged former two-time Sask. Amateur champion Scotty Thompson (71-76-72-69) of St. Walburg in a playoff for the fourth and final spot. Both golfers finished the tournament at even-par.
Thompson won back-toback provincial titles in 2009 and 2010.
Furdale’s Jordan Arndt (83-70-71-65) and Carlyle’s Jordan Fenwick (73-74-73-69) were tied for sixth at 1-over 289.
Troy Bulmer, who was the 2011 Saskatchewan Amateur champ, placed eighth overall at 290 (78-70-73-69).
First-round leader Jerry Christiansen ended up ninth at 291 (67-84-73-67).
Teenager Zach Hurd, who led the tournament after 36 holes, wound up in 10th spot at 292 (68-74-76-74).
“I always had felt kind of young out here,” explained Stewart, who grew up in Prince Albert but now lives in Saskatoon. “Now the guys are 19-20 and Zach Hurd is 16. You can see the talent level increasing 10-fold in the province right now. Now you have guys, 16-19, competing in this tournament and I kind of feel like a veteran at 27, to be honest with you.
“Besides a couple of guys in their 40s or 50s, I’m probably at the top-end of the age range.”
The 2013 Canadian Amateur men’s championship will be played Aug. 6-9 at the Royal Colwood Golf Club and Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria, B.C.
“Being in Victoria is a nice holiday, for one, to get out there and see the West Coast again, but, this particular time, it’s just nice to be back to competitive golf where I can kind of test my game with some of those guys,” said Stewart, who played golf at the University of British Columbia.
“That’s my next goal, to try and get my game as good as possible to try and compete for the Canadian Amateur. I think we’ve got a really strong team this year. It’s going to be great to represent the province again.”