Smithers was the centre of the golf universe over the Labour Day weekend, at least for golfers living in the upper three quarters of the province. The annual Men’s Northern Open Golf Tournament took place at the Smithers Golf and Country Club from Sept. 2-to-5, with 166 golfers taking part.
Although that’s five less than last year, club pro Chris Herkel said tournament numbers are down all across the north this year.
“I think weather’s had a lot to do with it,” he said. “It’s still the most popular tournament in the north.”
Despite the weather patterns this summer, the skies held back over the length of the Northern. Clouds hovered above the course on Hudson Bay Mountain, but never let loose on the tournament.
“We had no big downpours, which was great,” said Herkel.
At the end of three days of tournament play, Kitimat’s Dave Venman took the top prize, finishing with an overall low gross of 210. Nickie Scholtz took the overall low net with 204. Following are the full results:
Overall Low Gross
Dave Venman 210
Overall Low Net
Nickie Scholtz 204
1st Low Gross in flight
Championship flight:
Dylan Kerbrat 215
A flight:
Ambrose Kelly 230
B flight:
Mike Hirak 249
C flight:
Murray Anderson 249
D flight:
Rod Szydlik 272
1st Low Net in flight
Championship flight:
Don Olson 213
A flight:
Jim Rigler 210 cb
B flight:
Ron VanDriel 216
C flight:
Jack Tarasoff 211
D flight:
Jamie Nielsen 219
2nd Low Gross in flight
Championship flight:
Jamie Moran 217
A flight:
John Boss 234
B flight:
Rob Godfrey 251cb
C flight:
Mark Grabowski 255
D flight:
Ed Maskiewich 275
2nd Low Net in flight
Championship flight:
Scott Rigler 217
A flight:
Wilf Taekema 210
B flight:
Malcolm McMillan 217
C flight:
Dale Glass 214
D flight:
Gord Sontag 220
3rd Low Gross in flight
Championship flight:
Kevin Pederson 222
A flight:
Marius Scholtz 236
B flight:
Sandy Anderson 251
C flight:
Dennis Rasmussen 262
D flight:
Ralph VanKessel 276
3rd Low Net in flight
Championship flight:
Nathan Cachia 218
A flight:
Larry Steinke 212
B flight:
Duane Mitchell 220
C flight:
Max Starr 215
D flight:
Ian Smythe 223
4th Low Gross in flight
Championship flight:
Dennis Williams 228
A flight:
Steve Kerbrat 237
B flight:
Dana Atagi 254
C flight:
Steven Samuels 263
D flight:
Joe Hirack 283
4th Low Net in flight
Championship flight:
Tanner Olsen 220
A flight:
Dave Johnston 213
B flight:
Darren Saunders 221
C flight:
Manson Kennedy 216
D flight:
Jos Konst 224
5th Low Gross in flight
Championship flight:
Grant Maskiewich 228
A flight:
Rory Little 239
B flight:
Andrew Wiesner 258
C flight:
Don Malkow 266
D flight:
Ian Grieve 288
5th Low Net in flight
Championship flight:
Bobby Smith 221cb
A flight:
Brent Timms 214
B flight:
Binh Phan 227
C flight:
Mike Leduc 220
D flight:
Jim McGregor 225
6th Low Gross in flight
A flight:
Johnny Koldyk 241cb
6th Low Net in flight
A flight:
Derek Fuller 217