The title had almost been his before, but on Sunday Jared Coyle finally lifted the top prize at the Flagstick Open Amateur Championship presented by TaylorMade Canada and adidas.
Coyle was the A Division winner of the 10th playing of the tournament in 2022 at the event annually hoisted by eQuinelle Golf Club in Kemptville, Ontario. This year he did one better and captured the overall championship after a one hole playoff with two other golfers.
Coyle, a member at Carleton Golf & Yacht Club, sealed the title with a birdie putt on the first extra hole of play, besting Brady Hall and Daniel Abraha, both members of the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston, Ontario.
“It feels great. It feels good after last year,” shared Coyle who posted rounds of 71 and 72 in regulation play, the first round being one marked by heavy rains that persisted the entire day.
“I was hitting pretty well, I just couldn’t buy a putt; couldn’t buy a birdie really”, Coyle remarked on his final round that saw him in a trailing late in the day. “I had two two-putt birdies on the front nine and was just hanging in there with pars the rest of the day.”
The new champion said it was nice to earn the trophy; he did win his club championship last year but wins prior to that harken back to his junior days five to six years ago.
He is proud to add his own name to the winners who reside on the overall trophy. “A lot of great names on there, I know Musty (Robert Mustard) and Noah Steele are on there a couple of time; they are great players.”
A For Abraha
By virtue of his better second round with a score of 71, Danial Abraha of Kingston was awarded the A Division title over club-mate Brady Hall who turned in a 72 on the final day.
Obviously disappointed by the playoff loss, Abraha, a student at Queen’s University took some solace on the trophy earned but felts he let the tournament slip from his hands a bit with a few mistakes.
“I played solid overall; I have some things I have to work on, especially my driver, I hit it out of bounds in the playoff. I just didn’t commit. It’s a learning experience for sure.”
Abraha recently advanced through the Regional Qualifying for the RBC Canadian Open and will attempt to earn a spot in the final field of the PGA TOUR event on June 4 at the Coppinwood Golf Club in Uxbridge, ON.
Cooke Wins B Division
Competition was tight in the B Division, requiring a retrogression tie-breaker between two players who had travelled south from Northern Ontario to play.
Hollinger Golf Club’s Chris Cooke was awarded the Division title based on his lower final round of 70, slipping him past Brody Dagenais.
“It was awesome. It was my first time playing the course yesterday and we kind of got to the worst of things weather-wise, but we got through it, and I played well today. It was great,” commented Cooke.
Cooke said he struck his irons well on the final day, leading to his low score, and we was happy to make the trek from Timmins to play the tournament for the first time.
“This is a great one though,” he said of the trophy he earned. “This tournament was so well put together, it’s probably the best tournament I have ever played in organization-wise. It was awesome. The course was awesome and everybody involved was amazing.”
A Truly “Nice” Guy Wins The C Division
Stonebridge Golf & Country Club’s Jason Nice prevailed in the C Division, posting rounds of 78 and 76 to win by three strokes over Manny Restrepo.
“I finished pretty strong,” Nice commented. “The front nine was really tough with the wind, so coming in, holes 6,7,8,9 – those holes were really tough and I think I was one under through those four holes so I think that was the really the difference.”
Nice says he believes his off-season work really helped his game and this win gives me a tremendous amount of confidence moving forward.
Hood Takes The D Division
David Hood of Sydenham, Ontario was the victor in the D Division. He was likely the most unlikely trophy winner on the weekend, following a day one score of 82 and with a 75 that even seemed to surprise himself.
“I started golf three years ago so this is a big feat for me. It’s good to be able to move forward from this.”
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“It was a wet first day but the weather rebounded and we ended the weekend with as fine of conditions as we could hope for,” said Flagstick Open Tournament Director Jeff Bauder of Flagstick. “The golf course showed beautifully and the comments by the players about the 11th Flagstick Open were very positive. Congratulations to Jared Coyle on his victory and joining a long list of worthy champions.”
“Once again, we appreciate all the players for making the trip to come and play from near or far. We want to thank all the sponsors – TaylorMade Golf Canada and adidas Canada for their support. I also want to thank all our rules officials, volunteers, and staff for their efforts in once again making this a notable championship on the tournament schedule.”
He added, “eQuinelle did an incredible job as the tournament host for the eleventh time. The players had nothing but great comments about the steak dinner on Saturday night. Thank you to Rick Milks (GM), Scott McInroy (Head Professional), Chris Vollett (Superintendent), and all their TMSI teams for taking care of us.”
