Prairie Power In A Day Of Upsets

It was a day full of surprises at the first round of the PGA Championship of Canada played Wednesday at Cottonwood Golf and Country Club near Calgary.

The biggest upset of the day came when No. 1-ranked Bryn Parry, of North Vancouver lost to 64th seed Jeff Chambers, of Swift Current, Sask. Chambers battled a day of nerves and excitement in pulling an upset that many didn’t think was possible.

After struggling on the first hole, he settled into the match in a hurry, eventually getting the score to 3-up through 10 before Parry got it back to all square after 15 holes.

At 1-up going to the 18th hole, Chambers rolled in a clutch 10-footer for bogey on the final hole to seal the deal.

“It was a battle from the beginning”, said Chambers who coaches the Maple Leaf Junior Teams at International events and Saskatchewan provincial teams at national championships.

“It was the first time I met Bryn Parry and I’ve heard he’s won everything,” added Chambers.

“I was really nervous during the first few holes but then I settled in and made a few birdies. I took the advice that I give my young students and concentrated on my breathing and my shots,” he said.

Twelfth seed Mike Belbin of Royal Mayfair Golf and Country in Edmonton and No. 53 Edd Boudreau hit the opening tee shots of the new event at 7:30 am in front of the P.D. Ross Trophy.

Boudreau won the first hole and pushed the match to extra holes, but Belbin was able to dodge the Victoria native, winning the match on the 19th.

The Saskatchewan zone made its presence felt as four professionals moved on to round two, including Dean Brown, Scott Knapp, Pat Marcia and Jeff Gross.

Parry wasn’t the only top ranked player to be taken out in the first round of matches at the Championship. Other upsets included:

• Shingo Akizuki (B.C.), the 61^st seed, upsetting fourth seed Ken Tarling (Ont.)
• Mark Corrigan (Alta.), the 60^th seed, beating fifth seed Dean North (Man.)
• Myles Johnson (B.C.), the 50^th seed, upsetting 15th seed Phil Jonas (B.C.)
• Pat Marcia (Sask.), the 58^th seed, beating seventh seed Kyle German (B.C.)

The second round of the PGA Championship of Canada continues Thursday. First roumd results are below:

• Jeff Chambers (Elmwood G&CC) def. Bryn Parry (Seymour Creek) 1 up
• Dean Brown (Royal Regina) def. Scott Allred (Elbow Springs) 4 & 2
• Reg Millage (Clublink Academy At Glen Abbey) def. Geoff Kehler (St. Boniface) 3 & 2
• Scott Knapp (Tor Hill Golf Course) def. John Rushnell (Oshawa GC) 4 & 3
• Chris Barber (The Landings Golf Course/Teaching Centre) def. Lenny Cyr (Seymour G&CC) 2 up
• Ed Maunder (Deerfield Golf & Recreation Centre) def. John Hastie (Lively G&CC) 4 & 3
• Benoit Boudreau (Le Parcours Du Cerf) def. David Moro (Credit Valley G&CC) 2 & 1
• Jeff Buder (Point Grey Golf & Country Club) def. Keir Smith (The National) 4 & 3
• Shingo Akizuki (Mayfair Lakes) def. Ken Tarling (Ken Tarling’s Golf Academy) 2 & 1
• Dan Greenwood (Heron Point Golf) def. Ryan Bastien (St. Andrews East ) 4 & 2
• Douglas Morgan (The Redwoods) def. Andrew Steep (Glendale CC) 2 & 1
• Bill Walsh (The Golf Lab) def. Yvan Beauchemin (Le Fontainebleau ) 2 up
• Mark Corrigan (Pinebrook G&CC) def. Dean North (Carman GC) 1 up
• Conor O’Shea (Academy at Piper’s Heath) def. Gord Scutt (Golf Town Victoria) 1 up
• Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair GC) def. Eddward Boudreau (Arbutus Ridge G&CC) Belbin in19 holes
• Brian McCann (Academy at BraeBen) def. Daniel Garagan (Pinewood Park) 8 & 7
• Dave Levesque (Summerlea Club) def. Marc Foucault (Kingsway Parc) 6 & 4
• James Harper (McCleery Golf Course) def. Scott Dickson (Shaughnessy G&CC) 3 & 2
• Myles Johnson (Spallumcheen G&CC) def. Philip Jonas (Hazelmere) 1 up
• Matt Palsenbarg (Northview Golf & Country Club) def. Ron Kenesky (Hidden Lake G&CC) 1 up
• Pat Marcia (Royal Regina) def. Kyle German (Northview G&CC) 3 & 2
• Vincent Dumouchel (Vercheres Inc.) def. Adam Chamberlain (Gowan Brae GC) 2 & 1
• Billy Houle (Berthier Inc.) def. Todd Fiske (River Bend GC) 2 & 1
• Andrew Holborn (Coppinwood) def. Daryl Stubbs (Cove Links Golf Course) 1 up
• Danny King (Performance Academy at Magna ) def. Mike De Courcy (Scarboro G&CC) King in19 holes
• Jeff Gross def. Blair Buttar (Glendale G&CC) 9 & 8
• Darryl James (National Golf Academy @ McCall Lake Golf) def. Brian Dueck (Estevan Woodlawn) 6 & 4
• Ian Doig (Ian Doig Golf Academy) def. Kevin Black (Seven Hills G&CC) 1up
• Brett Burgeson (Country Hills GC) def. Sergej Dronov (University GC) 3 & 2
• David Zibrik (Westwood Plateau Golf Academy) def. Chris Toth (Riverside GC) 3 & 2
• David Bolton (Savage Creek GC) def. John McCann (Fairtree Golf Centre) on19th hole
• Bruce Rogerson (Brantford G&CC) def. Eric Laporte (Montcalm Club De Golf)) 2 & 1

For today’s matches, click here.