David Price will eternally remain a part of his beloved horse race at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club.
Price, who died last October in a car accident, has been honoured by TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club’s executive and management who renamed the annual horse race the David Price Memorial. The horse race features the top 12 golfers from the first round of the three-day August Classic golf championship competing against each other in a separate tournament on the evening of the second day of the Classic.
“As soon as he started golfing in the August Classic he just really liked (the horse race),” said Taunia Turnbull, who is Price’s daughter. “People come, they follow around in their golf carts and it was just a really fun event and families could come watch. He loved doing family things, so I think that is why he loved it the most because everybody’s family could come out and watch their dads or brothers golf in it.”
Taunia’s brother Tyson grew up caddying in the horse race for his father until he was old enough to make a run for the final 12 himself and then when Price failed to make it in and Tyson did he would caddy for him. Tyson said the final spot in the horse race came down to a playoff between him and his father two years ago and that would surely have been one of Price’s highlights as the importance of seeing his son make the horse race was the same as earning a berth himself.
“Me and my dad went to Hole 8 and I had two really bad shots and then my third shot I had probably a 35-foot putt for par and he had a nice two-putt par,” said Tyson. “I thought, oh, I don’t know, this is a hard putt. I doubt this is going to go in. So, I just wung it and I ended up draining the putt and so we both went on to Hole 9.
“We actually hacked it down the ninth fairway. Both of us were just chunking shots. I think I startled him with that putt and then also I couldn’t actually believe I made the putt, so I was (the same way) with that on my shoulders. We ended up getting to the green and I made a putt and he missed his, so it made me transfer into the horse race.”
Kyle Mulligan, general manager of TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club, said the decision to name the horse race the David Price Memorial was made the moment their board of directors and management team heard he had passed away. He said the honour was bestowed because of Price’s dedication towards making golf accessible to junior players, his years of service on the club’s board of directors and his overall support of the horse race, TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club and the game itself.
“He was just a great advocate of the game of golf and not just golf in Estevan but golf provincially,” said Mulligan. “He played in multiple provincial championships. He took his son Tyson to many junior golf tournaments throughout the province. He just embodied the game of golf. He loved it. It was something that he was very passionate about and this whole weekend (of the August Classic) was the week for him to shine.”
Parnell Pidhorny, who regularly joined Price for a game, said the horse race has emerged as a major part of the August Classic in the 35 years he’s been competing in it. He said getting the chance to play in front of a crowd of cheering spectators is not something most golfers get to experience, so earning a spot on that first day is what golfers strive for.
“In a three-day golf tournament there are fewer people who have a chance of winning the whole tournament, but a player that can have one hot round on the first day and qualify for the horse race that’s the highlight of the weekend for them,” said Pidhorny. “It’s a fun event. It really is. People are out there. They’re gathered around the greens in a gallery situation like you see on TV, so it’s fun and it’s a little nerve-wracking.”
Tyson said his father would be ecstatic about having the horse race named after him. He said every year everybody knew his father wanted to make the horse race and even if he didn’t he would be at the course watching the action.
“It was always one of his favourite things to do that time of year,” said Tyson. “It would mean a lot to him and it means a lot to our family to have that named after him.”
After not making the horse race in two or three years, Price again got a chance to compete with the opening day’s top 12 golfers last year only to be knocked out on the first hole. Taunia said he was pretty disappointed with the result, but walked it off and came back to his family.
“He came and sat with (my two-year-old son) on the green and they just played,” said Taunia. “It’s a good memory of mine. I’m glad Eli was there and they played. It was the last picture we had of dad and Eli at my dad’s favourite place, the horse race.”
