Local golfer bags first tourney win

What Vijay Singh was to the PGA Championship, Gerry Hercun was to the Kitchen Creek Classic.
The Classic, which attracted 102 golfers on Saturday and Sunday, may not be of the same calibre as the PGA Championship, but don’t tell that to Hercun as his win was the first in a 12-year playing career.
With a two-day score of 142 (68-74), the 43-year-old got his name on the trophy, which is great. Also got about $600 in prizes for winning, which he doesn’t care about.
“The belt,” on the other hand, brought an exclamation point to the victory.
“Just having my name up on the wall is all I care about. A television is gone in 10 years, but my name on a plaque will last forever,” Hercun said in the lower part of the clubhouse with a celebratory drink in hand.
“Just having the belt and the trophy is all I care about.”
The belt, you ask?
The belt was created three years ago by “Snake” Krawchuk, Hercun’s playing partner for the past three years who finished second in this year’s Classic after having won the Senior Open earlier in the summer.
Two criss-crossed golf clubs with heads of snakes can be seen on the metal faceplate. It is a little under the size of a WWE championship belt, but has more significance as it goes (or is supposed to go) to the winner of the Kitchen Creek Class and the club champion.
“It’s a homemade belt made of canvas from the mill. And he’s got a snake on it because he figured that nobody would ever come into his house and take his belt away, and especially an electrician,” laughed Hercun, who works with Krawchuk at the mill.
“It’s not anything special, but it mean’s a lot to us,” added Hercun, who originally is from Dryden but came to Fort Frances 14 years ago via Kitchener.
Because the whereabouts of the belt are “unsure,” Hercun will be making a lost-and-found claim at work and “hopefully I’ll have it in my hands in the next week”—even though he knows Krawchuk always has possessed the prize.
And Krawchuk, who has kept the belt in his possession no matter who has won, promises to loan it to Hercun, though only for a short time.
“I will bring him the belt,” Krawchuk pledged. “For winning the tournament, I will give him the belt for now. We kid around and he always says that he will never see it, but he will see it and that’s a promise.
“He’s deserved it.”
Hercun, who has been in contention before but never got over that “hump,” shot a career round 68 on the first day. And though he slumped a little with a 74 on Sunday, he still prevailed by a four-stroke margin over Krawchuk (146).
“It hasn’t been a long two days. But today [Sunday] was very long. I had no sleep last night and today was just a hugely long day,” said Hercun, who sported a 22-handicap when he first started playing golf but now maintains a solid two-handicap.
“I shot really well yesterday and that’s when all the expectations came. And that’s natural and it was going through my head all last night,” he admitted. “I knew it would be tougher today.”
And so did Krawchuk, as he sat four strokes behind Hercun and tried to keep loyal to his nickname of “Snake” and sneak his way into the lead.
“To be honest with you, I figured that I would get him today [Sunday] because they moved the tees way back, and that would mean that I’m hitting two less clubs and he’s be hitting two more clubs,” said Krawchuk.
“It’s easier hitting a nine-iron to the green than a six-iron,” he noted.
“Gerry knows that I got the length on him, so I figured that I would get him on the back nine but he just played too well.”
Hercun may not hit long like a John Daly, but has a short game like a Mike Weir, which counters one of the few weak points to his always improving game.
“I don’t hit the ball very long, so I’m always plinking it and that’s my game,” he noted. “As I played more and more, and I started getting a little bit better, and when I started playing with better players, I got better myself because I hate to lose.
“This is a big-time confidence booster for me. I know I can play with these guys,” said Hercun, who rated his play as a 95 out of 100.
But Hercun admitted he has a ways to go until he can consistently play along with Krawchuk, who he partners with every Monday, and believes Krawchuk is “day in and day out, the best golfer here.”
“That’s a good boast for me. I can thank him for that, but I don’t know if I should,” laughed Krawchuk, who would grade his performance in the Classic with a 75 out of 100.
“On any given day, anybody can beat anybody, but overall, and I’m not trying to brag or nothing, I’ll beat Gerry more than he will beat me.”
But is it fair to say that if Snake didn’t win, would he rather see Hercun win?
“Yeah, but don’t tell him that,” said Krawchuk.