And so begins another year of fun and frolic at the Yellowknife Golf Club for a group of golfers who suck and who know it.
Yes, the Mediocre Golf Association - Yellowknife Chapter is back for another run in 2021 and the first tournament of the new season took place at the Yellowknife Golf Club on May 30 known as the Rebel Beach Am-Am. It’s a play on the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a regular stop on the PGA Tour. A total of 43 golfers hit the links this past Sunday to try their luck and win the big cheque of $1.12.
That lucky golfer was Rick Savard, who carded a 93 to beat Norm Sanderson, who also had a 93. If this had been normal circumstances, the tie would have been decided in a playoff but Savard was declared the winner on what could be described as a technicality.
Shaun Morris, the chapter’s president, explains how it all went down.
“Norm ended up playing from the front tees and his handicap was measured from the rear tees,” he said. “Because he did that, he wouldn’t get the extra penalty strokes to get him down low enough to win so I told him he would finish second.”
Because Savard played from the rear tees, which is where his handicap is measured from, he was given the title on account of more penalty strokes.
“They’re both senior golfers and can play from the front tees if they want,” said Morris.
Meredith Wilson won the women’s title with a score of 99, which was good enough for a tie for ninth in the overall standings. She was also the only woman to break 100 on the day.
Only 12 golfers were able to shoot under 100, something Morris said probably had something to do with the early going.
“It’s the first event of the season and people are still getting into golf shape,” he said. “It should level out as the year goes on and playing in the MGA should make them better players overall.”
In addition to the solo winners, there were awards for the best men’s and women’s team, hence the Am-Am. Chris Flannagan and Darrell Koch took the men’s title while Wilson and her partner, Leslie Goit, ended up with the women’s crown.
Morris said the two net scores, gross score minus handicap strokes, were added together to figure out who would get the nod in each instance.
The 43 golfers that took part is one of the higher numbers to start off a season, he added, but it wasn’t a surprise to see that many.
“That’s good for the first one of the season but having more than 40 didn’t shock me,” he said. “Last year, people were a bit hesitant to play because of Covid-19 and we rushed things once we got the approval to go ahead. This year, we had the dates out early and people were really eager to get out and golf.”
Next up for the MGA is The Bastards, the association’s play on The Masters, on June 13 at the golf club.