/ Joe McLean, PGA of Ottawa Media
The PGA of Ottawa Summer Open on the Flagstick.com PGA Ottawa Tour sponsored by COBRA PUMA Golf was hosted at the Kanata Golf Club in the Kanata sector of the City of Ottawa, Ontario on Monday, June 24, 2024.
A warm summer day with a generous cooling breeze greeted the fifty-seven PGA of Ottawa golf professionals at the Kanata Golf Club in their Summer Open competition.
Gord Percy Wins Main Division
Gord Percy from the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club posted the low score of the day at the Kanata Golf Club with a fine 1-under-par score of 69 to win the main division of the PGA of Ottawa’s Summer Open.
“It was a great day”, said Gord Percy. Gord continued, “I’m glad the weather turned around for us. This is a very tough golf course, and it can eat you up. You have to hit a lot of good shots and I didn’t get into trouble all day. I can’t believe that the course played as well as it did with all of the rain over the weekend and this morning. The course is in great shape. Now that I’ve served my term as President of the PGA of Canada, I’ve got a little more time to play and work on my game. I’ve set some goals for myself this year and this was a good first step.”
Also in the top seven and receiving cheques were Tyler Epp from the Rideau View Golf Club and Mountain Creek’s Jonathan Schaepper tied for 2nd place with scores of even-par, 70. Tied for 4th place with scores of 2-over-par 72 was Allen McGee from Edgewood Links, Brett Claggett-Woods from the Canadian Golf & Country Club, and Gregg Foley from the 19th Tee. Tied for 7th place with scores of 4-over-par 74 were Marc-Andre Piette and Lee Curry from the Camelot Golf & Country Club, Austin James from the Loyalist Golf Club, and Cameron Gall from the Carleton Golf & Yacht Club.
Graham Gunn Wins Senior Division
In the senior division of the Summer Open, GUNNGOLF’s Graham Gunn from the White Sands Golf & Practice Centre finished in 1st place in the senior division with his score of 2-over-par 72. This was Graham’s third consecutive Summer Open win in the senior division. He had previously won the Main Division of the Summer Open in 2002 and 2012.
“The golf course was in great shape”, said senior winner Graham Gunn. “It was an interesting day. Everybody had the same experience out there today according to the guys I talked to. Picture a gust when the wind blows. It went around and around. You could stand around and throw grass in the air two or three times and find the wind blowing different ways every time. With the previous day’s rain, there was no roll in the fairways. The greens were good and the ball rolled well but chips were a little precarious. I was five over on the front nine and I was thinking this is a bad day. It was unnerving hitting the ball and I asked Stan (Graham’s friend and caddy Stan Hogan) what the difference was. He thought that maybe it was the ball so I switched from a TaylorMade 1 to a 2 and I started making good up and downs, especially on the par 3 – 13th, and an eagle on the 15th. I got my par on the par 3 – 16th, which has been my nemesis. I’m not one to give up so being steady and patient helped me in my win. I relied on my experience just to keep on going.
Also receiving cheques in the senior division were Dany Lacombe from the GreyHawk Golf Club in 2nd place with his score of 4-over-par 74, Chris Bernard from the Greenvale Driving Range (76), Marc Blais from the Champlain Golf Club (77), Chris Learmonth from the Kevin Haime Golf Centre (78), Smiths Falls’ John Doolan (79) and with scores of 80, Cedarhill’s Barry Laphen and Hylands’ Marc Lacombe.
All of the competitors were impressed with the conditioning on the Kanata golf course and were thankful to COBRA PUMA Golf representative Curtis Dancy for their registration gifts and their sponsorship of the PGA of Ottawa Summer Open. PGA of Ottawa Executive Director Carol Ann Baxter thanked the members of the Kanata Golf Club through their Pro-Manager Brent Deighan for allowing the use of the golf course.
Next up for the PGA of Ottawa Golf Professionals on the Flagstick.com PGA Ottawa Tour is their Zone Championship sponsored by Srixon/Cleveland Golf Canada and presented by Nike Golf at the Cornwall Golf & Country Club in Cornwall, Ontario on Monday and Tuesday, July 15th and 16th.
