Next Stop: Senior Ryder Cup Provincial Championships

Story by Pat Payton, Sports Editor for the Journal Argus

Mission accomplished!

The St. Marys Senior Ryder Cup golf team was hoping to collect at least 16 points last Tuesday at St. Marys Golf and Country Club. The local eight did one better than that – picking up 17 points on their home golf course to win the ‘F’ Division in the ‘North Region’ and clinch a berth in next month’s Provincial Finals.

The Provincials will be held Monday, September 19th in St. Catharines. Winners from 16 Regions around the province will be taking part in the ‘one-day, winner-take-all’ event.
The St. Marys team finished with 66 total points, to outlast the Pike Lake (Clifford) team. The Pike Lake contingent picked up 14 points last Tuesday to finish with a 53 points total. The other two teams, which competed in the ‘F’ Division, were from the Shelburne and Blackhorse (Kincardine) golf clubs. 

The four-match golf competition began June 14th in Shelburne, Ontario with a two-man Better Ball event. St. Marys Golf & Country Club moved into top spot with a 22-point performance at Pike Lake (June 27) and a 17-point effort at Blackhorse (July 11). Both were two-man Scramble competitions. The team from St. Marys held a 10-point lead over Pike Lake going into last Tuesday’s finale. The two-man Chapman format was used. 

Representing St. Marys were Rick Fifield, Merlin Malinowski, Jimmy Craigmile, Rich Parsons, Wayne Ross, Bob Mills, Greg Thompson and Tommy Warren. Other members of the team who didn’t play last Tuesday are Neil Dust, Mark Cuthbert and captain Jon Rittenhouse.

“We did what we needed to do today,” Rittenhouse told the Journal Argus. “We’ve made it to St. Catharines.”