Idylwylde Invitational returns to Sudbury
Some of the province's best golfers will put it all on the line this weekend as the oldest match play tournament of its kind kicks off at Sudbury's Idylwylde Golf and Country Club.
This weekend marks the 73rd annual 'Idylwylde Invitational' and everyone looked grateful to be back on the links.
"It's such a great format with the match play qualifier with a tight bracket of 16 for the championship flight, it's always contested," said Idylwylde golf professional David Bower.
"We have always a playoff, generally speaking, for those last spots in which is awesome. We have a few spectators out there."
The tradition of the tournament is a long and storied one and it's one many in the club are proud of.
"It's an incredible history at this event -- the list of champions is incredibly impressive and includes a lot of the great amateur players that have played in Canada throughout the years," Bower said. "It's really created a name for the Idylwylde in Ontario."
Golfers were eager to hit the greens and fairways for their shot at some pretty impressive hardware.
"I grew up ball spotting on the 12th hole and just watching all the people come through, so to be able to be a part of it -- much less a champion -- is pretty cool for me considering I was just a little runt just a handful of years ago," said past champion Tristan Renaud.
Renaud, who's originally from Sudbury and is now studying in Texas, said it's comforting to be hitting the links again.
"I would say, because it's a long event and you have to get through all the different pieces of it, you have to get through the Friday and then from then on make sure you have match after match," he said. "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
Berk Keaney sits on the tournament committee and will also be playing in the coming days. He said it's nice to see everyone back after the long pandemic.
"It's so cool to get back together with old friends, renew acquaintances who come up here every year for the tournament," said Keaney. "There's still competitive golfing -- some of the other flights with the other golfers -- and then as we go down and get to the higher scores, there's more of the beer cart, laughing and having fun -- it's a great combination, a hybrid event, for sure."
"It's so great to see it back, we're all excited to be part of it, from the staff to the members, it's an exciting thing to have," said Bower. "Everybody from past Ontario amateur champions, some of the best players that have played in Ontario to all the way down to guys who are 25, 30 handicappers who are just down to have some fun."
Half of the 176 participants are members here at Idylwylde; the other half are golfers who have come from across the province.
The threat of rain also isn't getting anyone down. The tournament will wrap up on Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.