Idylwylde welcomes Ontario’s top golfers

The future of Canadian golf, right in your own backyard.

This could easily have been the catch phrase for the 88th edition of the Investors Group Ontario Amateur Golf Championship, according to local club pro, Paul Schweyer.

For the first time in event history, the crown jewel of the Golf Association of Ontario championships is being hosted north of Barrie, with Sudbury’s own Idylwdyle Golf and Country Club enjoying the prestigious feather in their cap.

And while the storylines that will play out over this week are many within the field of 156 of the province’s top golfers, Schweyer suggested it’s the “young guns” who might well grab the headlines before all is said and done.

“I can’t believe the ages within the field,” Schweyer said on Monday, as players took part in their practice rounds. “I wouldn’t be surprised if close to half of the 156 players here are teenagers.”

While he acknowledged the majority of the youngsters aren’t close to household names, Schweyer said he will not be the least bit surprised if one of this pack is standing atop the leader board when all is said and done on Friday afternoon.

“This is a golf course that is risk-reward, and I think these kids will be on the aggressive side,” Schweyer said. “There are just so many kids, and they will all be gunning. I just think for one of them, it will pay off.”

Mind you, this field is not without top end challengers with a few more rounds of golf under their belts. Rob Cowan, the son of the legendary golfer for whom the championship trophy is named (Gary Cowan), is coming off a big win in the Ontario Men’s Champion of Champions.

Dave Bunker, the event winner in 2008, is readying for his Canadian Open debut in July, having captured the Ontario Mid-Amateur tournament last month as well. Throw in the likes of Garrett Rank, the 2008 Idylwdylde Men’s Invitational champion, and it becomes quite clear that this competition has drawn the very best from across the province.

While local success would make for a wonderful headline once the four rounds of golf are in the books, Schweyer said that a top 10 finish for any of the hometown favourites would classify as an outstanding performance.

Nobody will know the course much better than the nine gentlemen who call the Idylwylde home: Vince Palladino, Yves Fraser, Jay Lauzon, Peter Demarco, Scott Lavigne, Jay Quesnel, Matt Bortolotto, Bruce Frick and Sid Segsworth.

Throw in well-known Sudbury-based golfers Jay Jewett and Ryan Willoughby and you have a collection of just under a dozen duffers who would love nothing more than to succeed on their home turf.

And what a turf this is. Already well-known in many parts of the province, the Idylwylde course is garnering the type of recognition that caused the Golf Association of Ontario to initiate the contact that opened the door for this tournament to finally make its way to northern Ontario.

While the course does not require a long-ball hitter to succeed, players can count on a challenging set of greens that are likely to be running ultra-fast, assuming the rains hold off for the most part.

Part of the beauty of a tournament of this magnitude is the reality that there is a story at every turn. In the nine decades of play since the competition was first captured by Roberts McLaren Gray back in 1923 at Lakeview Golf and Country Club, only two northern Ontario golfers have ever won the Ontario Men’s Amateur. Brothers Dave and Bill Morland of North Bay turned the trick just three years apart in the early 1960s. The defending champion, Matt Hill of Sarnia, will not be back this year, having kicked off his professional golf career with an appearance at the Memorial in early June.

Exactly how talented are these golfers on hand in Sudbury this week? Consider for a moment that in his junior year at North Carolina State University in 2009, Hill racked up eight NCAA tournament victories, equaling the record set by Tiger Woods.

Take a gander at the list of former champions and you can’t help but notice Bright Grove’s own Mike Weir, first place finisher in both 1990 and 1992. And while he no longer plays competitively in the event, Gary Cowan has made the trek to Sudbury, supporting his son, but also reminiscing about his success as a former Idylwdyle Invitational champion as well.

One of the most well-respected names in the history of Canadian golf, Cowan is a nine-time winner of the Ontario Amateur (a record) and is one of only two Canadians ever to win the U.S. Amateur. Cowan was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

And somewhere down the road, perhaps it will be one of the countless “young guns,” who first made his mark at the Ontario Amateur in Sudbury, who will look back on a long and illustrious career.

Randy Pascal is the founder of SudburySports.com.