Once again, a huge thank you to each of the participants who challenged themselves to play in the annual Club Championships at Innerkip Highlands on August 27th & 28th. A full field of 100 players took to the golf course to seek the glory of lifting one of the five Club Championship trophies.

 

A huge congratulations to the winners of each of the five flights after 36 holes of play!

 

As the gallery watched anxiously from the patio, Atif carefully read his putt for birdie on the 36th hole on Sunday. Charlie Burke (in the clubhouse), Victor Robichaud (holed for par) and Atif were all tied at +5 with the possibility of a three-way, sudden-death playoff looming. With a confident stroke and a Tiger-worthy fist pump, Atif rolled his putt home and secured the 2022 Men's Club Championship! The Innerkip trophy is, once again, held by an Innerkip resident!

 

Showcasing the calm demeanour often found on the fairways of the LPGA tour, Lisa played back-to-back rounds at or below her handicap to solidify her place as the 2022 Women's Club Champion. Punctuating her weekend with three birdies including one on the Island Green on #5 on Saturday, Lisa secured her victory with tenacity and grit!

 

With birdies on holes 2, 7 and 16, Dan's final round 76 secured his place as the "B" flight champion bringing a second Innerkip trophy to a hometown hero. He was quoted on the patio saying "The beer sipped from the silver bowl of this trophy was the best-tasting beer I've ever had!"

 

For the third year in a row, the championships could not be decided without a playoff! With a 5-shot improvement over his Saturday round, Brett Ferguson (84 - 79: +19) forced a playoff from the second to last group with Peter Chubb. After a dramatic battle that included a chip-in for Brett on the first playoff hole (#1) to stay alive and a pair of pressure putts on the second playoff hole (#18) to keep the competition going for a third hole, Peter solidified his victory with a bogey on the third playoff hole (#1).

 

"D" Flight Champion: Austin Hayward (74 - 84: +14)
Austin Hayward shot a personal best round 74 during the first round to give himself a 4-shot lead on the way into the second round on Sunday. Austin maintained his composure and managed to fend off challengers to secure his first Club Championship win!

 

Innerkip Highlands wants to thank our sponsors, Baden Coffee Company, for their continued support of this event and their support of junior golf across Ontario. Every cup of delicious Baden Coffee sold at Innerkip Highlands doesn't just fuel your game, it fuels the future of golf!

A huge thank you goes out to the staff in each of the departments at the golf club.

• Our Maintenance team is led by Kent Rimmer and Dane Osborne. They worked tirelessly to provide us with outstanding golf course conditions for this event.
• Our Food and Beverage team is led by David Baby and Thomas Cherian. For keeping us fed and watered through the weekend and for providing just the right amount of "Birdie Juice" to calm the first tee jitters!
• Our Golf Operations team is led by Ryan Sjaarda and Hailey Scott. Their staff and ambassadors are the oil that keeps the golf course moving smoothly. The Golf Shop staff who check the players in, the Back Shop staff who get your ride ready to go, the Starters who get you on the first tee, the Player's Assistants who keep the golf course moving smoothly and our dedicated scoring team who kept the scores of our 100 players organized this weekend! A special shout-out to Hailey and Liz for their exceptional efforts this weekend.

There is still tons of great golf left to be played this season. You could even consider it practice for next years Club Championships!