The 22nd annual One Club Wonder golf invitational was at Mountain View Golf Club in Whitehorse on Sept. 15.
A field of 36 golfers — one had to withdraw partway through the round — teed off to find out who was the best golfer using just one club.
Patrick Michael, chair of the organizing committee, said that a seven iron was the popular choice as expected.
“We had 18 players using a seven iron and the next most popular was the six iron, where we had nine players,” said Michael.
The tournament had two winners one for low gross score and one for low net score.
Jeff Wiggins was the low gross champion this year with a score of 82. Wiggins previously won in 2016 and 2010. Vic Istchenko, a five-time winner, was second with an 86, followed by Derek Wirth with a 91, Mike McInroy with a 92 and Barry Davidson with a 93.
This year’s low net champion was Istchenko with a score of 74. Istchenko was tied with Davidson, a three-time low net winner, following 18 holes and a winner was determined via a putt off.
Glenn Ford and Wirth tied for third, and Jim Connell, Garry Potter and Michael tied for fifth.
Wirth also won an award as the top putter after finishing the round with just 26 putts to his name.
Michael said the tournament’s only hiccup came courtesy of the weather.
“(It was) excellent, aside from a brief frost delay,” said Michael. “We were supposed to tee off at noon and we got off a little more toward 1 p.m., so it wasn’t too bad that way.”
The tournament itself had humble beginnings, tracing its roots back to an afternoon in October 1997 when Tom O’Hara had an idea.
“It got to October and he got seven of us together to go out on the 10th tee, each with one club, and him handing out a small bottle of booze,” said Michael. “So that’s where it started. After (O’Hara) did that, I essentially took over organization of the tournament and have been doing it for the past 21 years.”
Although the event could likely be much larger, Michael said there’s a good reason the invitational tournament has stayed below 40 golfers all but two years.
“Quite frankly, it’s really for social reasons,” said Michael, explaining that the groups tee off one after another and arrive back at the clubhouse at different times.
“It’s not too bad for most of the players to stick around for the closing ceremonies.”
The closing ceremonies include the presentation of the year’s trophies as well as the passing on of coveted the yellow sweater.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com
