Westlock’s Aaron McNelly won last weekend’s Men’s Open at the Westlock Golf Course.
McNelly’s scores for each of the three rounds of the three-day tournament were 75, 77 and 79, resulting in a total of 231. That score was two strokes better than the 233 recorded by second-place finisher, Ryan Coish.
The win was McNelly’s second at the tournament, having last won in 2007, said club golf pro Kevin Lynes.
Lynes added having players win multiple titles does not happen very often; He can’t recall more than three people doing so in the last 20 years.
This year there were 67 golfers on the course, which was down about five golfers from last year. Lynes explained the tournament is a popular event, but it often conflicts with other community events, like this year’s edition of Jarvie’s Logging Days.
Looking to the future, he said he hopes to draw 80 or more golfers to the tournament.
Despite the slightly lower turnout, Lynes said the weekend went off without a hitch.
“I was very happy with how everything ran,” he said. “Everything ran very smoothly. The weather was perfect and the guys had a great time.”
In addition to the tournament itself, Lynes said there were a few other events to fill the gaps between the rounds — the closest to the pin competition, the horse race and the scramble.
Shaun Burt won the closest to the pin event by getting his ball in the hole from 75 yards away.
Burt and teammate Jamie Matei won the horse race.
Coish and his team came out on top in the scramble.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Lynes said about the weekend and all its activities.
The tournament drew golfers from all over the province, with competitors coming from places as far away as Fort McMurray and Calgary.
