Kitchen Creek pro on hot streak

One-wood, three-wood, or five-wood—right now, any club works fine for Steve Wood.
The head pro at Kitchen Creek Golf Club is shooting up a storm right now, with two major tournament victories in the past week.
Wood led his team of Steve Pruys, Shawn O’Donnell, Charlie Windego, and Jason Kuorikoski to capture the Buick Scramble provincial competition in Winnipeg last Wednesday (July 16).
“All the guys played really well, and all of us hit the shots when we had to,” said Wood, who, as per tournament rules, was allowed to join the team as its fifth member after the original quartet had qualified at the regional competition at Kitchen Creek earlier this month.
“I only had to putt four times. The guys were putting really well, which helped take the pressure off me,” he added.
The team shot a combined 14-under to win the one-day tournament by four shots and earn a berth in the national championships in Niagara Falls on Aug. 31.
With the Buick Scramble in its inaugural year in Canada, Wood and Co. can go where no Canadians have gone before if they finish among the top three low gross or low net teams in Niagara Falls—to the North American championship in Orlando, Fla. in October.
“It’s a good opportunity for members to go and represent the club, as well as our sponsor for the event [MacDonald Motors],” said Wood. “It’s nice for me because, normally, I don’t get to go other places to play during the season.”
After his win, Wood pulled off the daily double the following day by pairing with Kitchen Creek Golf Club president Dave Zatulsky to win the Pro Executive Tournament, also in Winnipeg.
The duo shot a combined handicapped score of 67 to win the event, with Wood also winning low pro honours with an individual mark of 70.
He also has been dominating the Manitoba PGA circuit so far this year, leading the overall Player of the Year standings. Wood and fellow Kitchen Creek rep Glen Mills will make their way back west for the Manitoba PGA championship at Larter’s at St. Andrews in Winnipeg on July 30-31.
In related news, several feature events on the Kitchen Creek calendar are fast approaching, beginning with tomorrow’s third-annual club anniversary tournament starting at 1 p.m.
Other highlights include the Kitchen Creek club championship (Aug. 2-3), the Ladies’ Open (Aug. 9), the Las Vegas Scramble tourney (Aug. 10), and the Kitchen Creek Classic (Aug. 16-17).