Osprey Valley hosts the G & G Shootout

On a day which saw golfers have to contend with three separate downpours during play, The Golf Town Tour's G&G Shootout at Osprey Valley Resort July 4 also produced three firsttime winners. The tournament was the seventh of 14 events in southern Ontario.

In only his second start of 2006, Andrew Wood of Thorold captured the Championship Flight with a superb round of 4-over 76 during the trying conditions. Wood got off to a hot start, recording two of his three birdies on the first two holes, then kept it together the rest of the way.

"With the weather I was trying not to be too aggressive," said Wood, who plays a lot of his golf at Welland's Hunters Pointe GC. "It's beyond what I expected. It's unbelievable."

Despite the weather, which saw heavy rain saturate the Hoot Course at Osprey Valley, seven players broke 80, including five in the Championship Flight. Miles McMulkin of Toronto finished second at 77, one stroke ahead of Mike Bondy of Morriston (Glencairn GC), who moved into first place on the Order of Merit. Ian Gibson of Toronto (Meadowbrook GC), who captured the tour's first major of the season two weeks ago at the Georgian Bay Club, finished fourth at 79 and currently sits in second place, 25 points behind Bondy and 37.5 points in front of Tom Hodgins of Newmarket (Cedar Brae GC).

Brent Walker of King City (King Valley GC) played a steady round that included only one birdie, but his 5-over 77 was good enough for a four-shot victory over Dave Watts of Hamilton (Hamilton G&CC) in the A Flight. Chad Boudreau of Brampton (Devil's Pulpit GA) finished in third place, five strokes behind Walker.

"The rain and wind made me play cautiously, which was the right strategy," said Walker, who had a runnerup finish at the season's second event at Grey Silo GC in Waterloo.

With his seventh consecutive top-four finish, Watts gained ground on Order of Merit leader Kevin Sung of Unionville (Mandarin G&CC) and now trails Sung by only 40 points. A player's top six finishes are used to determine Order of Merit points. Two-time event winner Jeff Agnew of Richmond Hill (Meadowbrook GC) sits in third place.

A cold flatstick heated up at the right time for Bryan Yeo of Richmond Hill, resulting in three birdies and an impressive round of 4over 76, tying him for the lowest score of the day and earning him the victory in B Flight in only his fourth event of the year. Rick Knibbs of Etobicoke finished four strokes back, while Al Duncan of Oakville (Glencairn GC) was eight shots behind.

"I putted well and just grinded it out," said Yeo, who recorded two of his three birdies on par 3s. "Par threes are usually the weak part of my game."

With his finish, Duncan stretched his Order of Merit lead to 65 points over Boris Fong of Richmond Hill. Jim Donoahue of Burlington (Millcroft GC), who didn't play, sits in third.

Robert Di Rosa of Toronto captured Closest to the Pin honours, with Jeremy Brimble of Whitby (Watson's Glen GC) and Manfred Cheung of Richmond Hill (Mandarin G&CC) taking home Longest Drive titles for Championship/A and B Flights respectively. All three received Second Skin Drywick Zips. Manny Serrano of Toronto was the winner of the draw for a pair of Ecco golf shoes.

Other locals in the competition included John Sheppard of Caledon (public player), 93 in the championship flight; Bolton's Patrick Lee, (public), 85 in A Flight.

Osprey Valley Resort (www.ospreyvalley.com) features three outstanding 18-hole championship golf courses all designed by Canadian golf course architect Doug Carrick. The Heathlands is a gorgeous Scottish links style layout (awarded 4 stars by Golf Digest Places to Play) that has been around since 1992. The Hoot and the Toot were developed in 2001, and add varying topography as a compliment, while offering outstanding playing conditions in an environment that is casual and upscale at the same time. The Hoot is a stunning wasteland course that beckons of Pine Valley, while the Toot is a traditional parkland course that boasts generous landing areas, difficult approach shots and penal bunkers.

The Golf Town Tour (www.golftowntour.com) is owned and operated by Fairways Golf Management Group, a division of Fairways Magazine. With Golf Town as its title sponsor and Fairways as the presenting sponsor, The Golf Town Tour offers a 14event schedule of tournaments to amateur golfers at some of the best courses in southern Ontario as well as select events at courses in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

Amateur golfers with handicaps up to 15 are eligible for competition. The Tour runs from early May until the end of September.