Was it the irons? Or was it the putting?
Only Steve Versteeg knows but what we do know is that he's the big winner of the Yellowknife Golf Club's August Long Weekend 54-Hole Tournament.
Versteeg defeated Clem Hand in a sudden-death playoff on Monday afternoon to clinch the title. Both golfers ended up with identical scores of 234 after the final hole, which meant bonus golf was needed to decide the victor. Versteeg ended up parring the hole while Hand couldn't match it as he bogeyed giving Versteeg the win.
Versteeg said it was a bit of luck that got him over the top.
“Clem pulled his drive way off to the right but he played a beautiful second shot to get back on,” he said. “I managed to get in front of the green, Clem overshot the green on his approach, I chipped onto the green, he had a tough chip to get back on the green and I made my par putt.”
Versteeg entered the final round of play two shots back of Hand, who was the 36-hole leader. Rhys Davies was in second, one shot behind Hand, while Brad Waugh was also in contention on the final day.
Versteeg said he was just happy to be in the final group in the final round with a chance.
“I played with some really good golfers,” he said. “I never really clued in that I was close until the last couple of holes. Clem and I went back and forth and by the time we got to the last hole, I mentioned to Clem that we were tied.”
Another piece of luck Versteeg said he had was the number of putts Hand missed over the course of the tournament.
“He missed a bunch of putts within three feet or so,” he said. “He pounds the ball and is a good ball-striker but he definitely left some shots out on the course.”
On the subject of the missed putts, Hand said one of them was just pure bad luck.
“I ended up hitting some mud on the green at the fourth and the ball got stuck in it,” he said. “It happens but there was nothing lucky about the way Steve played. He was the best golfer all weekend and he was phenomenal. He never gave me any room to move at all. We were never more than a couple of shots apart and if I had to lose, Steve is the guy I wanted to lose to. Just a great guy and is all class.”
Versteeg broke out some new irons he bought the Monday prior and he said that was a big help.
“I figure I was getting about 20 extra yards with them and they helped with the accuracy, for sure,” he said.
Hand also noticed how well he was playing with them.
“I was thinking of a way to hide them on him,” he joked. “I just ran out of time.”
Versteeg's winning score was the gross total, meaning the total number of shots without the handicap. The net score takes a player's handicap into account and that title went to Nathan Zoe with a 54-hole total of 216. The women's champion was Shereen Naidu, who shot a gross total of 305 while Wendy Bisaro took the net score title with 232.
Both Versteeg and Hand claimed spots to represent the NWT at the 2019 Canadian Men's Amateur Golf Championship in Nova Scotia next August but there was a third spot up for grabs. That went to Jake Roche as he managed to outlast Brad Waugh and Euan McLean in a playoff for the final place.
Hand said he's still thinking about it but Versteeg said he's excited to have the chance to do it.
“It would be a great thing to do and a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. “I'd have to go down and play some rounds on grass courses but I'd love to do it.”