Three days of Alberta Golf’s Men’s Mid Amateur Championship brought 160 golfers to the Ponoka Golf Club with only a little rain to delay the challenge.
Held from Tuesday, June 28 to 30th the eventual winner hails from the Banff Springs golf club. Jordan Irwin won the tournament with a score of 214, five strokes ahead of the next contender, Gerry Macdonald, of Inglewood Golf and Curling.
Irwin didn’t shoot higher than 72 over the three days helping him secure the win. The former pro golfer enjoys flexing his competitive muscles and said the Ponoka Golf Club course is quite tricky, especially on the greens. “You had to hit really good shots to hold the greens.”
There wasn’t one hole that was more tricky than the others but Irwin added that the Number 11 tee shot posed some challenge. Hole 17 also posed some tricky options with little green and quite a bit of slope. “I just thought it was just a beautiful golf hole…16 was a great par 5.”
“It’s a good, fun course to play, it’s tricky,” added Irwin.
Craig Morrow was the only club member from Ponoka who took part in the challenge. He was unsure how he would compare with the other golfers and ended up tied for 31st.
Being the first time at a tournament of this level, and being club champion for some years, Morrow wanted to have a chance to try out his golfing skills against other players. The last hole he struck out with a double bogie, which hurt his overall score.
The heavy winds on the last day also affected his play. “You’ve gotta think position golf,” suggested Morrow.
The greens were also a challenge. “I’ve never seen a four-foot put break six to eight inches on this course, ever.”
He praised the greens crew for creating tough greens for the tournament and is proud to take part and represent Ponoka.