15-year-old Nathan Wolfkamp wins Men's Club Championship
Story By Stewart Grant of the St. Marys Independent
In a final round that exhibited maturity beyond his years, 15-year-old Nathan Wolfkamp overcame a four-shot deficit on Sunday, August 25th, to win the 2024 St. Marys Men’s Club Championship by one stroke over Mark Vandenberk.
Some difficult pin positions on Saturday led to higher scoring by the field in general. After day one, Jarrett Smith and Mark Vandenberk led the tournament with rounds of 75, giving them a four-shot advantage over Wolfkamp and Eddy Seok who each shot first-round 79s.
On Sunday, this final foursome of Smith, Vanderberk, Wolfkamp and Seok started very strong right out of the gate. Wolfkamp and Smith birdied their 1st hole (#10), Wolfkamp and Vandenberk birdied their 2nd hole (#11), and Smith responded with a birdie on the following hole.
From left to right, the final foursome of Eddy Seok, Mark Vandenberk, Jarrett Smith, and Club Champion Nathan Wolfkamp shake hands after a memorable round on Sunday afternoon.
As the group made the turn towards the final nine (the traditional front nine at St. Marys), Vandenberk held a three-stroke lead over Wolfkamp and Smith. It was during this difficult stretch of holes that Wolfkamp’s consistent play pulled him even, and then ahead. With three holes to play, Wolfkamp led Vandenberk by one, and Smith by three.
The uphill par-3 seventh hole, which played as the group’s 16th hole of the day, featured two of the most dramatic shots of the final round as the leaders jockeyed for position. Lying on the upslope just short of the green, Vandenberk made a glorious pitch that found the hole for a birdie to tie the lead. Wolfkamp, who still faced a difficult, breaking 15-foot par putt from above the hole, calmly weaved the ball into the cup to maintain a share of the lead with two holes to play.
With this shot on #7, Mark Vandenberk dramatically tied the lead by holing out for an unexpected birdie.
“That was a big putt because I came even with him with the chip-in,” reflected Vandenberk on Wolfkamp’s pivotal putt.
What was now a two-man race for the title came down to the final two holes. A solid two-putt par on the penultimate hole for Wolfkamp put him a stroke ahead when Vandenberk failed to get up-and-down from left of the green. This proved to be the margin of victory, as Wolfkamp’s final round 72 (even par) was just enough to win the title.
When asked by the Independent after the round whether he had a target score in mind, Wolfkamp replied, “I wasn’t really worrying on that, I was just playing my game and let the score come to me.”
This answer was representative of the maturity and poise that the young golfer showed throughout the day.
“The kid’s good, man,” said Vandenberk. “He hits the ball a mile. It was fun to battle. His driving was spot-on today, I don’t think he really got into any trouble off the tee.”
Jarrett Smith added, “Mark and Nathan were just solid, just super consistent. Nathan didn’t miss all day.”
At fifteen years of age, Nathan Wolfkamp is the youngest player ever to win the Men’s Club Championship at St. Marys. This year, he enters Grade 11 at St. Marys D.C.V.I., with hopes to continue competitive golf at the university level following his high school years.
Tournament notes:
- There have been six different winners of the Club Championship in the last six years: Nathan Wolfkamp (2024), Darryl Sterkenberg (2023), Tom Westerveld (2022), Taylor Booth (2021), Bob Hearn (2020), and Marty Rutledge (2019).
- Kenny Hutton, with a score of 83-76-159, won the men’s B Flight by three shots over Steve Hinz. The C Flight was won by Eddy Seok (79-85-164), five strokes clear of Bob Hearn.
- In the Senior Club Championship, Rich Parsons shot 70-76-146 and cruised to a 16-stroke victory over Steve Fisher and Eric Henkemans who posted scores of 162. Tony Cabral won the seniors’ B Flight with a score of 168 while Scott Rinn was the C Flight winner with 173. In the Super Senior contest, Bill Lowe prevailed with a two-day total of 176.
- In Ladies’ play, Cheryl McVittie shot 101-90-191 to win the overall gross title by 11 strokes over Melanie Fisher and Janis Kapp who each shot 202. Kapp had the low net score with a two-day total of 148. Linda Cooke won the ladies’ B Flight with a score of 208.