Loken defends Kitchen Creek Classic crown

Last year, Aaron Loken won the Kitchen Creek Classic almost by default after the second and final round was washed out by thunderstorms.
This time around, the International Falls golfer, 22, wanted to make sure no one thought last year’s victory was just a fluke.
And he did just that, carding an even-par 144 total to capture this year’s Classic by one stroke over local golfer Greg Ward.
“It always feels good to win. To come back here and defend my title felt pretty good,” enthused Loken. “Last year it wasn’t really an official win because the second day got rained out.
“Since I had the lowest score on the first day, I was declared the winner,” he noted.
“I had to defend my title against a great player like Greg Ward. We have been going at it since our junior years,” said Loken, adding tournaments have always been a close battle between them.
It certainly didn’t start out that way. Loken finished his opening round Saturday with a four-over 76–five strokes behind Ward, who led the 99-player field with a one-under 71.
But he was on fire Sunday, firing a sizzling four-under 68 while Ward ballooned to a two-over 74.
“I figured I had to get down to a 68 on the second day to have a chance at winning the tournament,” Loken said. “I thought if I could shoot at least four under par, I would have a chance.
“ “On the second day, I shot well on the last nine holes. I was three under par,” he added. “My game was there when I needed it to be.”
“[Aaron] had a tough first day and came back and had a great second day,” noted Kitchen Creek golf pro Steve Wood.
“[Aaron] didn’t shoot a perfect game because he was four over the first day and four under the second day,” he said.
“There is no such thing as a perfect score in golf–you can always be better and until someone shoots 18 on 18 holes, they can always improve,” he stressed.
“Greg played very consistent but had a couple bad holes on the second day–he didn’t finish the tournament the way he wanted to,” remarked Wood.
“This particular tournament was fairly important to him.”
“Nobody in Fort Frances has won the tournament in the past 10 years and I wanted to bring it back home,” said Ward, 21. “I figured the way I was playing, I had a good chance of winning.
“I was only playing for par on the second day and sometimes I didn’t even do that,” he admitted. “Aaron laid it all on the line and he got it done–that’s why he is the champ.”
Ward said he knew exactly what Loken was shooting at all times.
“I knew where [Aaron] was the entire time. I really like to know because it makes me play a harder game,” he explained. “I know what I have to do and don’t do.”
Loken, who was in the group ahead of Ward for the final round, also knew what his rival was shooting and it motivated him to get a lower golf score.
“The guys in my group were more concerned about what Greg was golfing than I was,” he laughed. “But I knew what he was shooting the whole day.
“I thought if Ward saw me shoot a few birdies, it would shake him a bit,” he added.
“I want to stress that I didn’t lose. I have lost before and I didn’t lose this tournament, I got beat,” Ward remarked. “I am not really upset about it. There is nothing I can do about it, I guess.”
Meanwhile, Ward is brushing this tournament off–just as he has with many others–as a learning experience.
“I learned that a five-stroke lead isn’t always going to be enough,” he reasoned.
Loken not only walked off the 18th green Sunday as two-time champion but with a few smaller victories under his belt. He won a skin both days, was closest to the pin on the fifth hole on Saturday, and closest at the 11th hole on Sunday.