Among the four teeing it up at 2:09 p.m. are Jim Rutledge, Sandy Harper and Jim Goddard, the exact group that represented the province at the 1975 Canadian Junior Golf Championship on the very same course.
How鈥檚 that for a wonderful recurrence?
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite cool,鈥� said Goddard, who won the individual championship that year, while Rutledge won the junior crown two years later. 鈥淲e certainly haven鈥檛 been together very much in the intervening years
鈥淚 was already in school [Fresno State] in California at the time and Rut, who was only 15 at the time, was on tour a few years later. He鈥檚 been playing for a living ever since. Sandy had a good, long amateur career, then he turned pro and he since retained his amateur status back.鈥�
Goddard and Rutledge entered this year鈥檚 Island Open late, rounding out the senior division foursome for that tee time 鈥� which includes Sandy鈥檚 brother Ian Harper.
鈥淲ednesday night over a bottle of wine,鈥� chuckled Goddard of the late sign on. 鈥淸The Harpers] were a twosome. We saw who it was and Rut said, 鈥楩antastic, let鈥檚 tear a strip off them.鈥� 鈥�
It鈥檚 all a part of the friendly banter between these storied golfers.
鈥淚 remember it well because I won it,鈥� Goddard, now the head pro at Cordova Bay, said of the 1975 event. 鈥淚t was a fairly important day in my life. I think Rut finished third.鈥�
Ontario won the team event that year and other participants in that 1975 Canadian Junior, who went on to prominent careers, included Dick Zokol and Kelly Murray.
The 2017 Island Open concludes with Round 2 on Sunday at Uplands Golf Club. A total of 96 players will be competing for top honours in the amateur, handicap and senior division.
The defending team champions are back in Kevin Carrigan and Craig Doell, who defeated Riley Wheeldon and Keaton Gudz by two strokes in 2016. Those four will tee it up at 1:09 p.m. on No. 10 as golfers play off the front and back nines starting at 12:30 p.m.
Other teams to watch are PGA Tour sa国际传媒 pro Cory Renfrew and Jarred Callbeck, who are playing with Jeff Palmer and Mike Belleau at 12:48 p.m. and Eric Wang and Isaac Weintraub at 1:33 p.m. Former Zone 5 men鈥檚 champ Dylan Bell is up at 12:48 p.m. with teammate Darren Day Jr., right after a foursome that includes Gordy Scutt and Scott Kral and teammates Brent Wilson and Steve Swonnell.
Scutt and Kral finished third last year and the Harpers won the seniors鈥� division by two shots over Don Frenette and Allan Thomson. Bob Hoeppner and Ron Nixon won the net amateur in 2016.
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