When you think of the Yellowknife chapter of the Mediocre Golf Association, you don't really think of scores that would rival a regular tournament score.
The lead word in the association's name tells you so.
Darrell Koch, however, shot the best round in the history of the MGA in Yellowknife and it very nearly cost him the win.
Koch won The MGA, the association's play on the PGA Championship, on Sunday at the Yellowknife Golf Club with a gross score of 80. Because Koch played better than his handicap, he was handed seven penalty strokes, which brought him back to a net score of 87, still good enough to win the tournament by two strokes.
Shaun Morris, the chapter's president, said it was the best score ever but it was almost too good.
“If he would have shot 79, he would have been disqualified,” he said. “He shot the front nine in 38 and the back nine in 42 so just one stroke from getting the boot. We've had a couple of 81's but never an 80. Still impressive.”
No one really knew about how well Koch was doing until the round was over but Morris said people had a good idea.
“We try to keep the scores as silent as possible to keep the suspense alive,” he said. “We had two guys shoot 89 and Darrell was in the last group so imagine everyone's surprise when he comes in with an 80.”
Morris joked that if Koch keeps this up, he may be kicked out of the association and forced to join one of the professional tours.
“He could join the Web.com Tour or something,” he said.
Koch became the first repeat winner of the season, following up his win at The Bastards back in June. He received the big cheque of $1.35 for winning but it wasn't enough to catch Ryan Sheppard, the chapter's money leader. Sheppard didn't play in Sunday's tournament but still holds on to top spot with $3.65 in earnings in his five tournaments. Koch's win vaulted him up to fifth in the money order with $2.61.
Hughie Graham could have taken over top spot with a win but Morris said he didn't have his best round and only claimed two cents, which was the bottom of the tournament pay window. He remains in second place overall.
The top woman golfer was Grace Lau-a, who shot a 93, which was also good enough for a three-way tie for fifth place.
“She had a very solid round,” said Morris. “She was only one shot behind me and it doesn't happen too often we have a woman finish that high.”
Next up for the MGA is the Douche Bag Invitational, the association's version of the Deutsche Bank Invitational, this Sunday starting at 8 a.m.