Ogden foursome wins ‘Centennial’ in playoff

A one-time only event deserved one breath-taking finish.
The foursome of Jeff Ogden, Rick Sekulich, Rob Crowe, and Bryce Coyle won in a playoff over Robert Atatise, Robert Atatise Jr., Scott Bridgeman, and Steve Pruys to capture The Great Centennial Golf Tournament on Sunday at Kitchen Creek.
Ogden and his crew carded a score of 11-under to tie the Atatise team, then survived the heat of the playoff to win the competition held in conjunction with Fort Frances’ centennial celebrations.
Mel Larson’s hole-in-one on the par-three seventh hole helped his team of Dave Hyatt, Jim Ballard and Blake Cawston finish alone in third at nine-under.
Greg and Tanner Ward, along with Kyle Carrier and Rod Tucker, shot a combined eight-under to tie the team of Mike and Jean Dick, David Lloyd, and Donna Niskala for fourth spot.
Dave and Laura Bruyere, Wilf Cyr, and Norm Copenace fired a mark of seven-under to split sixth place with Jim and Kris Krag and their teammates, Norm and Donna Kyliuk.
< *c>Nine-iron novices
It was a day for ducks—and one to share the wealth—at Saturday’s Junior Open tournament at Kitchen Creek as three different communities ended up with championship reps in the rain-soaked event.
Steven Bryk of Atikokan was tied with Steve Pruys after nine holes, but shot a blistering 35 on the back nine for a winning score of 73—good enough for a four-shot win over Pruys in the 16-18 category.
Tanner Ward’s 79 garnered him third place, while Nicholas Nelson earned the low net title over Robert Atatise Jr. with a 73.
In the 13-15 division, Dryden’s Shaun Capovilla trailed Jamie Railian by one after the front nine, then posted a 38 down the stretch to take the overall title by four with a score of 78.
Doug Coutts, Chris Johnson, and Josh Seminiuk all shot 83s, with Coutts winning on a countback to grab third spot. Johnson ended up fourth, with Seminiuk fifth.
Mike McKay took the low net crown with a 62—four strokes better than Matt Badiuk and Patrick Kitzul.
Meanwhile, the 12-and-under bracket was the domain of the Sinclair brothers as Jordan’s score of 103 was good enough to take the overall title while Brandon’s mark of 77 earned him low net honours.
Alex McDonald finished one back of Jordan with a 104 to finish second in the overall standings while Brad McDonald was third (109).
Mike Sande and Tyler Huntley each registered an 81 in the low net category, with Sande awarded second place based on a countback.
Alex and Brad McDonald, along with Jordan Sinclair and Kitchen Creek junior instructor Brian Johnstone, will travel to Selkirk, Man. on July 9 for the Golf Supply House Pro Junior Championship.
Sinclair and Johnstone were part of the Kitchen Creek championship-winning group of a year ago at that event, which features teams from across Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.