Christine Jurgenson was crowned the ladies club champion after edging out three-time winner Claudia Wood by a single stroke. (Dan Walton photo)
All three major champions of last week’s Club Championship tournament at the Osoyoos Golf Club achieved the feat for the first time. And all three are also residents of Osoyoos.
The overall Men’s Club Champion was Jeff Duguid, who’s finished the tournament in second place four times over the past 12 years.
“So it’s nice to finally win one,” he said.
Duguid said his game really came together over the past month by practicing at least twice a week.
“I play with a lot of good guys – they’re all low handicappers so you always strive to be better than they are. They make you play better and it’s all about the people you play with,” he said. “Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame and this is mine”
Duguid was outstanding all weekend winning by six strokes over runner-up Greg Balogh.
Duguid shot an impressive 68 in his opening round on the tough Desert Gold course and finished with a 72 on Sunday on Park Meadows. Duguid said all aspects of his golf game were working well over 36 holes and he was never in trouble over the course of the tournament.
It is an honour to win a club championship after being a member of Osoyoos Golf Club for so many years, he said.
Stefan Beckmann, the 2017 Senior Men’s Club Champion, felt like he didn’t perform very well on Saturday, so he credits his victory to a strong rebound on Sunday.
“The first day wasn’t so great but on the second day I just had a different mindset and felt like I could stay in the fairway with my drives and make it to the green in regulation,” he said. “Both days I played with awesome people and the course was in great shape. But the difference was just wanting to have a second chance on the second day.”
But even if he didn’t win, “It was a wonderful experience to be here,” he said
This year’s Ladies Club Champion was Christine Jurgenson, who beat Claudia Wood – a three-time ladies club champion – by only one stroke.
“It was quite a battle out there,” Jurgenson said. “Claudia beat me on the front nine by one and then I beat her on the back nine by two, so I won by one.”
Jurgenson said training with and against golfers like Bryn Perry and Paule Aukema, who has captured the ladies club championship on numerous occasions over the past decade, were instrumental in preparing her for victory.
“It took a lot of calmness and determination because I’ve been working very hard on winning this title.”
Jurgenson shot 160 over two days, to edge out Wood by a single stroke.
Cole Rezka easily captured the junior club championship as he fired an impressive 146 over two days.
Alex Brunner, last year’s junior club champion, was second.
DAN WALTON
Regional Reporter
Jeff Duguid, who had finished second four times, finally captured his first men’s club championship. He’s presented with his championship trophy by club assistant pro Todd Tweedy. (Dan Walton photo)
Club assistant pro Todd Tweedy (right) presented senior club champion Stefan Beckmann with his championship trophy. (Dan Walton photo)
