It’s the longest annual golf tournament in the city in terms of rounds played and the 2021 edition of it wrapped up on holiday Monday.
The Yellowknife Golf Club’s August Long Weekend 54-Hole Stroke Play Tournament featured more than four dozen golfers trying their luck but only two could come out on top after the 54th hole. The men’s champion this year is Jake Roche, who carded a gross score of 224, five shots better than his brother, Carson Roche, who finished second.
“I didn’t finish the way I wanted to but I played well enough on Saturday and Sunday to give me some breathing room heading into the final round,” said Jake Roche.
Carson Roche had 10 shots to make up on the final day if he wanted to catch his brother and he got halfway there.
“If I had another 18 holes, I probably could have done it,” said Carson with a laugh.
Jake Roche and Cole Marshall shared the lead after round one with both shooting 74. Kyle Hallett was one shot back at 75 while Carson Roche had a 76.
Jake Roche, though, put some daylight between him and the rest of the field by carding a 70 - two-under-par - on day two.
“Saturday was solid but I was hitting fairways on Sunday,” he said. “I missed a lot of putts but I made a lot, too, and it was my best round of the year so far.”
In round three on Monday, Roche said he went in relaxed and made the turn in 37, making birdie on the ninth.
“I was confident going into the back nine,” he said.
But the 13th is where he began to get himself into a bit of trouble and if you’ve ever played 13, you’ll know when Roche says it’s the tee shot where a scorecard can be ruined.
“I went OB (out of bounds) on that,” he said. “I parred 14 and 15 but I lost my tee shot at 16 and ended up with a bogey.”
After a triple bogey on the 17th - a score Roche called a punch in the gut - he would par the 18th to wrap it up, though not without a rough finish.
“I knew where I was sitting and I knew I had that cushion,” he said. “I played a few bad holes but having that good lead got me through.”
On the women’s side, Colleen Pura was the leader from start to finish as she shot a three-round total of 253, comfortably winning the title. Pura shot an opening round 94 but managed to right the ship on days two and three by shooting rounds of 79 and 80 respectively.
In fact, Pura’s 79 in round two was better than close to three-quarters of the field that day.
For Roche, he managed to cross the finish line this year, unlike one year ago. He was the 36-hole leader in the 2020 edition but let it slip in the final round.
“I managed to close it out this time,” he said.
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