It didn’t take long for Trent Kachur to leave his mark on the Sr. Men’s Northern at Cooke Municipal Golf Course.
Kachur entered the senior age category last year. On Thursday, he won the Sr. Men’s tournament for the first time by shooting three-under-par for the tournament, and finishing one stroke ahead of Brad Phelps.
“I was pretty excited (and) pretty happy,” Kachur said after receiving the Bob Hemsworth Trophy. “Golf is a funny game. You don’t really expect anything. You show up to the course and if things work out, they work out.
“It feels really good,” he added. “I played with Brad Phelps and Martin Ring in the final round and they were great guys to play with, and of course, Bob Hemsworth, he’s a legend around these facilities, so I’m extremely proud.”
Kachur entered the final day of play one stroke behind Phelps for first and one stroke ahead of Ring in third. He ended the day with a one-under-par 70, while Phelps shot a 72 and Ring a 74. That round was good enough for Kachur to leapfrog into first.
Kachur said he aimed for consistency at the start of the tournament, and those efforts paid off.
“The goal was to keep the big numbers out of the equation,” he said. “I was 69 yesterday, and 70 today, so three-under over two days is pretty good. I’m happy with it. I putted really well, and that was the key coming down the final hole.”
Phelps finished in second with a two-day score of 140, while Ring finished third at 144. Dallas Jenkins (146) and Bruce Ede (147) rounded out the top five.
Other winners included Colin Coben (first flight), Tom Ross (second flight), Dwight Desormeau (third flight), Peter MacLachlan (fourth flight), Mel Kelley (fifth flight), Jim Churchward (sixth flight), and Jim Davidson (seventh flight).
While the Sr. Men’s Northern crowned a first-time champion on Thursday, the Super Seniors division saw a familiar face sitting on top.
Glenn Pryor won the Super Seniors tournament in 2022, and two years later he was champion again. Pryor said the second win was even more meaningful than the first.
“At my age, it’s even better to win it like this when you’re sneaking up there a bit,” he said.
“I played pretty well—as well as I could. I was playing with my friend (Yvon Desgagnes), so it made it a little easier. It turned out good. That’s probably as good as I can play.”
Like Kachur, Pryor entered the final day of play one stroke behind the leader. Desgagnes led after shooting 80 for the opening round on Wednesday, followed by Pryor and Bob Friesen who both shot an 81, and Bill Cameron who shot an 82.
Friesen withdrew from the competition on day two, leaving Pryor, Desgagnes, and Cameron as the front runners. Pryor finished one stroke ahead of Cameron, and 10 ahead of Desgagnes on the day to win the tournament.
“At my age, getting up there, it was good to beat some of the younger guys,” Pryor said. “It was a battle, but we had one of our better rounds, so it was good.”
