Aug. 24, 2019
The 2019 Canadian Open Hickory Championship was held the week of Aug. 12-16 at the Legends G&CC Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. The hickory event included a two-day road trip on Monday and Tuesday, a Wednesday scramble, the Thursday USA/Canada match (Ryder Cup format), and the Friday Championship tournament.
This year’s Wednesday scramble team with a -13 score featured Ken Plaunt, John Collins, Gary Proctor, Fuzz Bazinet and Darcy Riopka. Ken’s 3-year-old son, Blake, tagged along to read the putts. After the round, players and other invitees visited a local home for a burger and chicken BBQ, a drink (or two!), lots of tales told and a viewing of a golf memorabilia collection.
Thursday’s Casey Cup competition, with Canadian captain Gino Narduzi and U.S. Captain Robb Howard, featured a record number of 56 players. It included 27 holes of friendly US/Canada competition in a modified Ryder Cup format with nine holes of two-person scramble, nine holes of better ball and nine holes of singles match play. All met after the golf at the Golf Car Museum for a meal and tour of the golf car museum. Guests from the U.S. included Bill Reed, John Ausen, Robb Howard, Peter Herrington, Mike Sloan, Rob Alschwede, Rives McBee, Gary Proctor, John MacKenzie and Jeff Lefferts. Oh, and yes, the Canadian team did manage to eke out a victory.
Championship Friday dawned with a strong northwest wind gusting to 45 miles per hour. While it impacted the scores it couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm and camaraderie of the 68 players. The Champions division was won by Ross Kenny, with Ben Plaunt finishing second. The Senior Division was won by local player Chris Ream, followed closely by locals Kenn Looten and Gerald Oncuil. The Ladies Division was won by Elizabeth Ream and the Senior ladies title went to Fran Looten. The Chinese hickory champion was Edwin Chan. Dave Racette won the First Nations Division. This year featured a popular addition with a scramble division with eight teams vying for the title. The winners, at 12 under par, were Rob Taylor, Bill Taylor, Dave Taylor and Bob Maksymic.
Click here to read Chris Ream’s outstanding report, with photos, of the 2019 Canadian Hickory Open.