Chown drills his way to fourth

For a while, the doctor was definitely in.
Dr. Steve Chown was on course for victory at the Golf Manitoba Club Champions Championship at the Links at the Lake course in Gimli after shooting an opening round 77 on Saturday to sit within two strokes of the lead.
But the Fort Frances dentist and reigning Kitchen Creek club champ couldn’t find the extra strokes he needed and wound up tied for fourth after a 76 on Sunday.
He finished with a two-day total of 156—five shots behind champion Henk Denboer of the Teulon Golf and Country Club.
“The conditions were pretty tough,” said Dr. Chown. “I would have liked to have played a practice round ahead of time.
“It was windy and cool on the first day, and there was one shot I took on the last hole where there was a lot of water around the hole that I didn’t know about.
“I double-bogeyed, or I would have been tied for the lead.
“The next day, it was pretty cold and rainy, and I left a couple of shots out there,” Dr. Chown recalled. “But overall, I’m happy. It was good to be there representing Kitchen Creek.”
No golfer from this area had been able to make it to the club championship in years past because of the timing of the event.
But this year’s later start date gave Dr. Chown the chance to get into the swing of the 14-man field, which featured club champions from across Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.
While he was pleased with how he maintained his focus despite the nasty weather, Dr. Chown said his consistency could have used an upgrade.
“I couldn’t keep it going long enough when I finally did get it going,” he remarked. “But it’s definitely been a good year [club champion, winner of the Las Vegas Scramble, and third at the Kitchen Creek Classic].
“I can’t complain.”