Doucette captures MPGA tourney here

Rob Doucette wasn’t wearing any tie-dyed clothing or sporting a peace symbol on his golf bag, but for one day, he was glad to be back in the 60s.
The Elmhurst, Man. native sputtered down the stretch, but held on to shoot a three-under 69 to nip Fort Frances’ Glen Mills and two others by one stroke to capture the Manitoba PGA’s first-ever tour stop at Kitchen Creek Golf Club on Monday.
“The first 12 holes I played solid, but then I started leaking some oil,” grinned a relieved Doucette, who took home $1,400 for his efforts in besting the 33-man field.
“Obviously, it was pretty dry out there, so you had to play a lot of bump and run shots to try and move yourself around,” he noted. “It was like playing golf in Texas or at the British Open.”
Doucette’s practice round Sunday evening was his first chance to play Kitchen Creek—and he found himself thankful at tournament’s end that he had squeezed in the extra fairway time.
“There’s a few blind shots you have to be aware of,” said Doucette, who made the turn at two-under before birdies at 10 and 11 put him in the driver’s seat.
“You have to know when to go for it and when to lay up short of the green,” he remarked. “It’s not a course you would expect to do well on without plenty of practice.
“I’m lucky I got out there when I did.”
Approaching the 18th tee, Doucette figured he was in good shape, but knew a strong closing hole was crucial to his chances. The subsequent par proved him right.
“I knew two- or three-under was probably going to win it, or at least get me into a playoff,” he said. “There wasn’t a really good chance to birdie that hole considering where the pin was.
“I was just going for it and wanted to make par.”
He probably should have had more faith in the situation considering he had along his good luck charm as his caddy—his wife, Lesley.
“I always do well when she’s out there with me,” said Doucette. “It’s nice to have someone carrying the bag for you that can calm you down when you get upset.”
Lesley said the only upsetting factor for her when she’s accompanying her husband on the course is the butterflies in her stomach. “It’s like watching your kids go up on stage,” she chuckled.
After coming all this way, Rob Doucette was glad to play on any stage.
“[Kitchen Creek head pro] Steve Wood and his staff put in a lot of work to make this happen, and I can’t thank them enough,” he enthused.
< *c>Local flavour
Mills was in the running the whole way, but said his game on the greens let him down on this day.
“I three-putted No. 4 for my only bogey and all my birdies were two-putts,” said Mills, whose 70 earned him $700 along with fellow runners-up Chris Worley and Scott Parker.
“I grinded it out pretty good. I didn’t shoot well, but I didn’t shoot bad,” he reasoned.
The other two local entrants had their difficulties Monday. Wood and junior golf instructor Brian Johnstone each fired rounds of 74 to earn a three-way tie for 11th with Rob Guthrie (each pocketing $135).
It was a better day for Wood two weeks ago as he and teammates Clyde Ditmars, John McLeod, and Tom Fry captured a pro-am event in Steinbach, Man. with a score of 13-under par.
Mills and his team of Jim Ballard, Darryl Burton, and Brian Beers were one stroke back at 12-under in the one-day event, which attracted 180 golfers.
The next big tournaments scheduled at Kitchen Creek include the Junior Open this Saturday and then the Great Centennial Golf Tournament on Sunday as part of the town’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
The annual MEC tournament follows on Canada Day, with the local qualifier for the Buick Scramble slated for July 5.