Kevin Nadeau, Marc Barrette and Mark Pothier teamed up to capture the Jules Bergeron Memorial Trophy at the Hollinger Golf Club on Sunday.
Their two-round total of 118 (60 Saturday, 58 Sunday) was good enough to earn them top spot in the Championship Flight of the 2018 Maslack 3-Man Challege — four strokes ahead of the teams of Marcus Richard, Kevin Legault and Andrew Bragagnolo (59 Saturday, 63 Sunday); and David MacInnis, Gary Sullivan and Bob Chasse (60 Saturday, 62 Sunday).
During the tournament, the three-man teams played a scramble format which for those who don’t follow the sport religiously means the golfers play the best ball following each shot.
Nadeau, captain of the threesome, has been a frequent entrant in the tournament, but it was the first time for both Barrette and Pothier, a transplanted Nova Scotian.
“Our round on Sunday started off slow,” said Nadeau, whose team was one-stroke off the lead after the opening round on Saturday.
“We were a little worried. After the front nine, we were only five-under par. So, we thought we would really have to step it up on the back nine.
“We were kind of hoping to shoot nine-under par on the back nine and that’s actually what we did shoot on the back nine.
“It was awesome. We got three eagles, so it was great.”
Nadeau had a simple explanation for why his squad didn’t do quite as well on the front nine Sunday.
“Sometimes, the shots just don’t go in,” he said.
“It is what it is. Mark Pothier hit a couple of bombs that definitely helped us. He hits the ball really long, which takes the edge off. On the front nine, his driver was really terrible, but on the back nine, he was awesome.”
Pothier described the final 18 holes of the tournament as a weird round.
“The front round, we were just ham and egg all the time,” he said.
“One of us would hit it good, the others wouldn’t. One guy would be putting good, but the other guys would be putting good.
“On the back nine, honestly I don’t know what happened. Our drivers got really hot, we were putting it close to the hole and the first guy would make the putt. That makes it a lot easier, especially in a three-man scramble. The guy who makes the putt takes the edge off everyone else.”
Weather conditions for Saturday’s opening round were less than ideal, especially for the golfers in the morning draw, but the champions did not feel there was much difference between the two days.
“It was still tough today (Sunday), with the wind,” Pothier said.
“Saturday, it was raining, but it wasn’t as windy. Today was just muggy and windy.”
As well as the trio played, there were a few holes that gave them a little bit of trouble both days.
Barrette said: “No. 6, which is a par-five gave us some trouble. Usually on a par-five, you are looking for an easy birdie, but we had to settle for par.
“After that hole, something just kicked in and we tore it up from there. We started on a birdie streak and never stopped.”
While the threesome trailed by one stroke heading into Sunday’s final round, they did not do a lot of scoreboard watching.
Pothier said, “I play a lot of tournament golf and I have never focused on the scoreboard. As a group today, we had a number in mind and going into the back nine, we knew what we had to do out there.
“Luckily, we were able to bring it home and do what we wanted to do, which is not normally the case in golf, but sometimes it happens and when it happens, it is the best feeling ever.”
Barrette felt the trio had a pretty good feeling about their chances of success by the time they hit No. 14.
“Mark drove the green on a 364-yard par-four and put the ball about 12 feet away from the pin,” he said.
“We made the putt and I think that was really the turning point. Kevin and I just fed off of it and picked up our games.
“We just finished so strong.”
The 2018 Maslack 3-Man Challege is the first tournament the trio have played together, but if Nadeau has his way it won’t be their last.
“Absolutely, 1,000% I want to play with these guys again,” he said.
Pothier, who has lived in Timmins for a year now, echoed the comments of Nadeau.
“I would even come all the way from Nova Scotia to play with these guys,” he said.
His teammates noted they would even cover his plane ticket if the necessity arose in the future.
The remainder of the Championship Flight was made up of Jamie Lamothe, Cleo Labreche and Mike Boudreau, 127 (64 Saturday, 63 Sunday); Paulo Merenda, Joey Merenda and Joe Torlone ; Steve O’Donnell, Andrew Paquet and Mitchel Cote, 128 (65 Saturday, 63 Sunday); Joel Arsenault, Mark Verreault and John D’Alessandri, 130 (65 Saturday, 65 Sunday); Devin Rousseau, Pat Noel and Mike Noel, 130 (64 Saturday, 66 Sunday); David Banks, Matt Cecchini and Stephan Banks, 131 (64 Saturday, 67 Sunday); and Cory Columbus, Mike Bilodeau and Mike Columbus, 131 (62 Saturday, 69 Sunday).
Corey Bechard, one of the tournament’s organizers, noted things couldn’t have gone much better on the weekend.
“We had 60 teams, or 180 players,” he said.
“That is the maximum number of teams we could accommodate for this tournament. We had even considered cutting it down to 54, because of daylight.”
Saturday’s weather conditions did have a slight impact on the tournament.
“At about 8:30 a.m., a big storm came through,” Bechard said.
“We were hoping to not have to delay play, but we had to because there was lightning in the area and when there is lightning in the area, you are forced to delay things. There is no choice.
“The delay lasted somewhere between 20 minutes and about a half an hour.
“We tried to keep things moving as quickly as possible after that. With September golf, it is hard to play past 8 p.m.”
The rain, of course, was welcome from the perspective of grounds keepers, home owners and those battling forest fires in Northeastern Ontario.
“Our greens were really fast before the tournament, but on the weekend they were really sticking,” Bechard said.
“When people hit onto the greens, the balls were really staying there a lot, so I think it actually helped the golfers. It might have slowed down the greens for putting, but I think it may have actually improved some scores.”
Top spot in the First Flight went to the trio of Jason Batise, Rob Manila and Brady Facette, 127 (65 Saturday, 62 Sunday); followed by Pat Millette, Guy Audet and Jason Ouimette, 130 (66 Saturday, 64 Sunday); and Devin Couvrette, Marc Desjardins and Matt Maisonneuve, 130 (65 Saturday, 65 Sunday).
The trio of Ellard Beaven, Danny Del Bel and Shawn Dubeau teamed up to take top spot in the tournament’s Second Flight, with a two-day total of 130 (68 Saturday, 62 Sunday).
They were followed by Ralph Berlingeri, Lorne Jacques and Jim Martin, 134 (70 Saturday, 64 Sunday); and David Bertrand, Marty Nadeau and Jean Belliveau, 135 (68 Saturday, 67 Sunday).
Third Flight action saw Josh Towsley, Brian Derby and Kurtis Camirand team up to finish first, with a 36-hole total of 137 (70 Saturday, 67 Sunday).
They were followed by Daniel Roy, Chris Simard and Rick Gaudreau, 138 (72 Saturday, 66 Sunday); and Mitch Godin, Jim Mangan and Gordon Nesrallah, 140 (71 Saturday, 69 Sunday).
In the Fourth Flight, top spot went to the trio of John Pilon, Dino Martin and Jason Martin, 139 (72 Saturday, 67 Sunday); followed by Mario Roy, Guy Joseph and Denis Crotteau, 142 (72 Saturday, 70 Sunday); and Bill Monahan, Mike Sabourin and Cy Desjardins, 143 (73 Saturday, 70 Sunday).
Jim Howie, Dale Martin and Travis Branch teamed up to win the Fifth Flight with a 36-hole total of 145 (76 Saturday, 69 Sunday).
They were followed by Paul Gasparetto, Scott Foster and Matt Trudel, 147 (76 Saturday, 71 Sunday); and Lee McLeod, Ryan Roy and Nathan Latourelle, 150 (77 Saturday, 73 Sunday).