The winner of the 104th edition of the Saskatchewan Amateur Men’s Championship is a Manitoban.
Winnipeg’s Charles Boyechko entered final round play at the Amateur last Thursday afternoon at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club with a two-shot lead over Swift Current’s Jehremy Ryde and a three-shot advantage on Melville’s Mitchell Matichuk. Despite shooting four bogies on the back nine, Boyechko held onto the lead finishing with a total score of 290 (2-over) that bested second place finisher Danny Klughart, of Prince Albert, by one stroke and second runner-up Matichuk by three.
“I got her done,” said Boyechko. “It was kind of sloppy coming in. It was very windy, very tricky conditions. That’s all you really need to do when it’s windy and it’s tough, you have to do what you need to do. I definitely watched the leader board all the way along the back nine, so I made sure that I kept it in play.”
Boyechko shot rounds of 76, 69, 70 and 75 in the tournament, which barely held off Klughart who recorded scores of 74, 74, 71 and 72. In the final round, Boyechko shot for birdie on holes three, five and seven and hit bogies on four, eight, 12, 14, 16 and 17.
He said approach shots helped him the most against the wind in the final round, as he was able to hit it onto the greens and close to the pin on many of the holes. He said that helped him play stress free during the first 27 holes Thursday, Round 3 was played in the morning due to the second round being delayed one day because of extreme winds, and a clutch par on the 10th hole helped him cope with the back nine.
“I had to pitch out then I put it to 10 feet and I made my putt for par,” he said in reference to the 10th hole. “It kind of calmed me a bit. I made it three shots (ahead) instead of two. So I had a three-shot lead most of the back nine and I kind of struggled a bit coming in, but I got it done and that’s all that matters.”
Out of 85 golfers to start the four-day championship, 37, including three from Estevan, qualified for the final round. Brock Simpson made it with a three round total of 230 (14-over), Nolan Rohatyn qualified by shooting a 237 (21-over) and Daryl Donovan reached Thursday afternoon play with a three round score of 236 (20-over).
“When the wind gets up it’s tough,” said Donovan, who shot an 80 in the final round to finish tied for 31st place. “You can hit a lot of great shots down the middle that end up gross. I like the layout. It’s great. If we get our normal wind, which is 20 kilometres less than it was blowing today, then it’s a little easier. But everyone is playing the same course, so it’s not too bad.”
Simpson said the 78 he shot in the final round to put him in a tie for 18th with Saskatoon’s Tyler Frank is a disappointment. He said the Thursday afternoon score came down to one bad hole.
“That was definitely the turning point, that nine (on Hole 15),” said Simpson, noting he shot the nine on a par-5 hole.
Rohatyn made the championship with a fantastic score of 2-under in the third frame after shooting an 84 and 83 in the two previous rounds. He said going into Round 3 he knew he had to shoot under par to make the cut and a solid putting game helped him to pull it off.
“I felt quite a bit of pressure this year for some reason,” said Rohatyn. “The last time we hosted the Amateur here (2006) I made (Team Saskatchewan). I think I finished second or third. It was a lot more relaxed for some reason. I’ve played a lot of competitive golf, but I still felt the pressure of the event this week.”
Boyechko said the pressure he felt in the final round was what he put on himself to come out with a win. He said he didn’t do well at the Manitoba Amateur Men’s Championship that was held earlier in July, so he wanted this win to end his competitive golf season this summer.
“It’s the first one,” Boyechko said of the Amateur win. “I’ve come close in the Manitoba Amateur a few times, but I haven’t been able to get it done. So, it was nice to be able to win one.”
Klughart, Matichuk and Regina’s Tyler Wright, who shot a 294 (6-over), made it onto Team Saskatchewan with their play at the Amateur and will compete with the provincial squad at nationals in Toronto, August 10 to 13.
