Garrett Kucher, the former captain of the Osoyoos Coyotes and one of the best players in franchise history, clearly showed his athletic talent isn’t restricted to hockey last week as he put on an awesome display of golf to claim the top prize in the CDI Pro-Am tournament at Osoyoos Golf Club. Kucher fired an impressive 11-under par over 36 holes to win top prize. Kucher, 22, says his goal, now that he’s dedicated all of his efforts into his golf game, is to try and earn a spot on the PGA tour over the next several years. (Keith Lacey photo)
American Matt Kuchar is one of the most popular golfers on the planet, but he might not be the only one millions of golf fans call “Kooch” if Garrett Kucher attains his goal of playing on the world’s greatest professional golf tours.
Kucher proved his athletic talent isn’t isolated to hockey – he’s the former popular captain of the Osoyoos Coyotes – as he proved he has all the tools to become a successful professional golfer as he put on a dazzling display of golf Thursday and Friday to waltz to victory in the 23rd Annual Canadian Desert Invitational (CDI) Pro-Am at the Osoyoos Golf Club.
After firing an impressive four under par 67 to grab the lead after Thursday’s opening round, Kucher shot the best round of his professional career on Friday with a sparkling seven under par 65 on the Park Meadows course to win his second professional tournament in 2015.
Kucher claimed the West Kelowna Open in June, only weeks after joining the Vancouver Pro Tour. He officially turned pro in early 2015 when he joined the Evolve Pro Tour in Spain, the tour owned and operated by Osoyoos’ own Wayne Hachey, who is the founder of the Desert Golf Academy and Kucher’s coach.
Kucher spent four years working in the pro shop and giving lessons at the Osoyoos Golf Club.
Kucher now lives in Chilliwack. His sponsors since turning pro are Don and Doug Mayhew, owners of First Class Waste Management, who met Kucher when he played in the CDI Pro-Am last September.
The CDI tournament features one professional playing with four amateurs. Kucher played with the Mayhew brothers, as well as husband and wife Marv and Rhonda Wiebe, who moved to Osoyoos to retire two years ago. The Mayhew brothers both own homes in Osoyoos, but still work and have family in Chilliwack.
Kucher won the tournament by three strokes over Kelowna’s Finlay Young.
Thierry Martine, another former captain of the Osoyoos Coyotes and the assistant golf pro at Fairview Mountain Golf Club in Oliver, finished in a tie for third place with Lee Alarie, who is originally from Osoyoos but is now the head professional at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf Course in Kelowna. Martine and Alarie finished with a two-day score of 143 (even par).
An obviously drained Kucher said he could not have played any better than he did on Friday.
“That’s the best I can hit it,” he said proudly after several competitors gave him high fives and handshakes. “I’m really happy … it was a special day to be able to come back to Osoyoos and play the way I did and be able to win this tournament.
“If I honestly had to name an event that I would have wanted to win during my first year as a pro, it would be this one because I spent so many special years in Osoyoos playing with the Coyotes and then working at this golf course.”
Kucher was also playing with a heavy heart as he discovered before he teed off on Thursday that a female friend had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
In her honour, Kucher and the amateur foursome he played with, all wore pink shirts and used pink drivers.
“And I’m going to keep using the pink driver in her honour for the rest of this season,” said Kucher. “I dedicated this tournament to her and fighting breast cancer. So, all in all, this tournament was about playing well, but also playing for breast cancer and enjoying a great day of two days of golf with my sponsors, who have become good friends. To play as well as I did and win the tournament makes this an unbelievable experience that I’ll never forget.”
His grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, while Don Mayhew’s mom passed away from cancer 15 years ago, so hearing the bad news about his friend provided inspiration to play his best golf, said Kucher.
Shooting 11 under par in 36 holes of competitive golf involves a lot of solid golf, but also some very good luck, said Kucher.
“You need some good bounces and the ability to find your ball when you hit the occasional bad shot,” he said. “I found a few of my wayward shots and they were all playable and that all boils down to luck.
“I hit a ton of good shots, but I also got lucky a few times and it ended up in two incredible rounds of golf.”
After a solid season on the Vancouver Golf Tour, Kucher has set his sights very high.
“Like any other professional, I want to play on the PGA tour,” he said. “I’ve just found out I’ve been accepted to play on the Gateway Tour in Phoenix and I’ll be leaving there to play on that tour in early October.
“There are many hills to climb in golf, but you’re never going to reach your goals if you’re not willing to keep climbing hills, keep getting better and putting in all the hard work you need to reach the top, which is the PGA tour.”
Because of his commitment to golf, Kucher said he’s giving up any aspirations of playing pro hockey.
After graduating from the Coyotes, Kucher was part of a national college championship team at Selkirk College in Castlegar. But since graduating college, he hasn’t played much hockey, as golf has become a full-time pursuit.
“I haven’t been on skates or grabbed a bat (he’s also a talented baseball player) since college,” he said. “I’ve committed full-time to golf and hopefully it’s going to pay off.”
Kucher said he couldn’t have achieved his goal to become a professional golfer without Hachey’s help and all of the support he received during his time in Osoyoos.
He also thanks the Mayhew brothers for sponsoring him and providing the financial freedom to turn pro earlier this year.
Don Mayhew said Kucher is a brilliant golfer and athlete, but even better person.
“We were fortunate enough to meet Garrett during this tournament in Osoyoos last year and we were just blown away,” he said. “My brother and I decided then and there that we wanted to be involved with him and agreed to sponsor him.
“He’s the type of kid who shakes the hands of every volunteer after every tournament and he’s just a genuinely nice young man and we felt he represented our company in a great way.”
First Class Waste Management has signed on to remain his sponsor for another year and Mayhew has no doubt their agreement will continue far into the future.
He also has little doubt Kucher will attain his goal to reach the PGA tour,
“I’ve caddied for him all year and the kid is just phenomenal,” he said. “He hits just as far as the big boys on the PGA tour, he has an outstanding short game, putts the lights out and is willing to do whatever it takes to reach his goals. He’s only 22 and has really just started golfing full time. I have no doubt he has a very bright future in this game.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
