Joey Payeur
This weekend is going to be for the birds at Kitchen Creek Golf Course—or, more accurately, the birdies.
Maybe a few eagles, too.
The 37th edition of the Kitchen Creek Classic kicks off tomorrow at 9 a.m. with each group having set tee times.
The players then will be grouped by how they finished for Sunday’s shotgun start at 9 a.m.
“The forecast looks really good for the weekend,” said Kitchen Creek general manager Glen Kellar.
“That’s a relief for those of us organizing the tournament.”
A field of 35 golfers will hit the links with their eye on grabbing the biggest prize of the men’s golf season at the course.
That number is down from last year and significantly lower than a decade ago, when more than 80 golfers registered.
“People have just found other things to do,” reasoned Kellar.
Golfers from the host course, as well as Heron Landing Golf Course on Couchiching and from as far away as Thunder Bay, will try to knock off defending champ Greg Ward from Fort Frances.
Ward won his second Classic title last year—and his first in 10 years—by edging the reigning two-time titleholder Alex McDonald by two strokes.
“Greg will be back, along with some other contenders like ‘Snake’ Krawchuk, Greg Tighe, and Jordan Sinclair,” noted Kellar.
The final round is expected to wrap up around 2 p.m. on Sunday, with the awards ceremonies to follow immediately after.
