Colwyn Abgrall crowned 2019 Men’s Amateur champion
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2019 (1716 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Crowds of people gathered around the 18th green at Quarry Oaks Golf Course on Thursday, waiting to see who would be crowned the 2019 Manitoba Men’s Amateur champion.
It was a narrow victory, but 22-year-old Colwyn Abgrall came out on top.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet but I’m sure in a few hours after I’m done holding that trophy and maybe having a drink or two out of it it’ll really set in,” said Abgrall.
Abgrall played with the lead since the second round of the four-day tournament near Steinbach. He shot rounds of 1-under-par 71 the first two days, followed by a pair of 72s on days three and four. In the end, the Niverville golfer finished the tournament with a 2-under 286 total, the only golfer of the 80 competitiors to shoot an overall under-par score.
Shilo Country Club’s Austin Dobrescu finished second, with a four-round total of 288 after closing with a 71. Jordy Lutz claimed third spot after shooting a final-round score of 73 to finish at 293.
“Had it going on the front nine, got one-up on Colwyn and then on the back nine I think I was just pushing it a little bit, made a couple bad swings near the end there. Could’ve did it but it just didn’t go my way this time,” said Dobrescu.
The golfers were tied at 1-under after the 16th hole, but Abgrall took the lead after a rough tee shot from Dobrescu on hole No. 17.
“I think I was a little bit quick on the next hole. I should’ve just taken more time. I’ve been hitting that club I hit on that tee great all week, I just kind of got quick on it. It happens I guess,” said Dobrescu.
This isn’t the first time Abgrall and Dobrescu have went head to head. Earlier this year, the duo faced off in the Manitoba Men’s Match Play Championship at Breezy Bend. In that matchup it was Dobrescu who came out on top, capping off his 3 & 1 victory with a birdie on the 35th hole of the 36-hole final.
Thursday’s win was a big one for Abgrall. Quarry Oaks is styled very differently from Abgrall’s home course, Southwood. By adapting from a wide-open golf course to one with narrower fairways and more hazards, he’s proven himself to be a very adaptable golfer. This was also Abgrall’s first big provincial championship win.
“Southwood, you got a lot of drivers out there. That’s not the case out here. Other than my putter my two-iron was probably my most-used club throughout the week… You just gotta keep the ball in play and I did an awesome job of that this week. I hit so many fairways and I didn’t put it in any of the desert areas, so I made it really easy for myself off the tee and yeah, made sure I stuck to the game plan.”
“(Winning) is obviously a great honour, there’s a lot of good history on the trophy. It’s an awesome feeling to have my name on there now. One of my biggest goals coming into this summer was to close this one out.”
Abgrall, Dobrescu, Lutz and the other four golfers rounding out this year’s top-seven at the championships (Josh Neufeld, Jay Doyle, Justin McDonald and Cole Peters) have been invited to represent Manitoba at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in Hammonds Plains, N.S., in August.
devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @devonshewchuk
History
Updated on Thursday, July 18, 2019 9:39 PM CDT: Adds photos