Heron Landing crowns men’s champ

Dave Bruyere now has a tournament win to go with his silver medal from the recent North American Indigenous Games.
The local fired off a career-best 70 on Day 1 and then held off the rest of the field during Sunday’s final round with a 79 to claim the Heron Landing Men’s Open title.
Greg Ward finished second with a two-day 152 (equal rounds of 76), while Sheldon Kelly and Taylor Jorgenson each finished with 36-hole scores of 153 (Kelly claimed third in a count back).
“I initially felt like I was playing out of my league because these boys can hit the ball far,” Bruyere admitted of his final round partners.
“I played more course management than anything else, and just tried to keep out of trouble as much as possible.”
Bruyere’s scorching 2-under 70 during Saturday’s round—considered likely the round of his life—gave him a much-needed cushion going into Sunday.
“That was the first time in my life that I ever shot 2-under,” Bruyere admitted.
“I just kept the ball in play, and made the right club choices whereas [Sunday] there was a couple bad choices of clubs,” he added. “Sometimes you just have to go with your first instinct and not back away and second guess yourself.”
Despite the nine-stroke difference between his rounds, Bruyere made a number of saves to keep his score under 80 on Day 2 while battling the heavy winds and relentless heat.
“I made some good long putts and par saves, and a lot of the little things kept me in it,” Bruyere said.
“Sometimes you forget that the wind is behind you, and you figure your shot is 100 yards but you don’t take into calculation that there is a wind that will push the ball another 10 yards,” he noted. “The guys who can hit it up there also had to deal with the wind taking their ball out of play, too.”
Ward and Jorgenson shot front-nine 36s on Sunday to put a lot of pressure on Bruyere going into the final nine holes, but both fell back. Jorgenson shot a 43 on the back while Ward came into the clubhouse with a 40.
“These young guys were encouraging,” Bruyere enthused. “They pat you on the back when you do well so it helps to have that camaraderie.”
Bruyere was the senior member of the group, but his patience and conservative approach to Sunday’s round made the difference.
“I just made sure to not get greedy,” Bruyere said of his round. “You’d like to go for the pin but you better not on some holes and just get your pars and keep chugging along.”
Bruyere said he’s been working hard on his game this summer, and noted the extra support he’s received from his home golf course has gone a long way in improving his game.
“I find myself coming out here and practicing my putting, and Brian [Johnstone] the pro came out here and saw me practicing and showed me some things and all those things help,” Bruyere added.