A recent annual golf competition at Nico Wynd Golf Course in South Surrey was a fight to the very end and produced two first-time winners.
Held over two days at the course, nestled in between the Nicomekl River and Crescent Road, the senior men’s golf club championship event had a full field of 54 members competing for the low gross and low net titles, noted men's club member Ross Ruddick in an email.
The course, having fully recovered from harsh winter conditions, was in great shape and offered fast greens and fairways with considerable forward roll. After Day One, on the gross side, past champion Doug Hastings held a one-stroke lead over club captain Peter Taylor and a four-stroke lead over Brian Paetkau; these three would be paired together for the next 18 holes two days later.
Taylor fell out of contention early, while Paetkau had an exceptional front-nine 37 to pull within two strokes of Hastings, Ruddick said.
Paetkau continued his stellar play on the back nine to erase Hasting’s lead and edge in front by two strokes. Hastings made a comeback birdie on 17, but that was matched by Paetkau, who maintained his lead to the clubhouse and captured his first gross club championship.
The chase for the net championship was a three-way fight between Taylor, Mac Petrie and Rick Davis. All three recorded net sub-par games on the first day, with Davis particularly pleased with his play, according to Ruddick.
Day Two was a different matter, with Taylor’s game collapsing early on and Davis' early play contrasting sharply with the first round. Birdies had disappeared and par or even bogey golf set the pace. Davis did rally back as the game progressed and, after an errant drive on 18, he scrambled to make par to tie him with ever-steady Petrie.
Club rules have a tie-breaking system called retrogression, Ruddick said, and after a review of the two cards, Davis was declared the winner.
Visit nicowyndgolfcourse.com for more information on the course.
