Jeff Whitfield enters the Men’s Northern Amateur Championship as defending champion, but he’s not taking anything for granted.
The Birch Hills resident defeated Moose Jaw’s Jordan Banilevic in the final to win his first Northern at Cooke Municipal Golf Course last year. He’ll look for his second straight championship when the tournament begins on Saturday, but said he expects a strong showing from the rest of the field.
“There’s a lot of really good players playing, so I think there’s a lot of guys with a really good chance,” Whitfield said.
“Cooke is in really good shape. We’re out here right now actually, so everything looks good and everybody’s excited about the tournament.”
Whitfield won last year’s final by a single stroke. There was some confusion after the 18th hole as both players thought they were headed to a playoff. Officials looked back at the scorecard and determined Whitfield won the match by the slimmest of margins.
“That’s a different way to win one,” Whitfield said on Friday. “A little miscalculation, but we got it figured out. I don’t think it takes anything away from it. It’s still a great tournament to win.”
Whitfield competed at the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur in Humboldt in mid-July, finishing tied for 37th out of a field of 117. Heading into the Men’s Northern on Saturday, he said his goal is just to play well.
“Every tournament who tee up hoping to win and hoping to play well, but I’m pretty casual going into stuff like this,” he said. “(The goal is) just to play as well as I can and hopefully have a good outcome.”
The Men’s Northern Amateur Championship begins on Saturday at Cooke Municipal Golf Course with the final round scheduled for Monday.
