Atwill wins Amateur

When you squander a six-shot lead over nine holes, it’s a sign your golf game is falling apart.
The odds of recovery are usually slim.

Ed Atwill beat those odds on Sunday, taking a slow-and-steady approach on the first playoff hole at the season’s final major, the Canadian Tire District Amateur, parlaying a boring par into his first ever major championship.

Atwill, who began the day tied with Robert Cumming at four-under par, shot an eight-over 80 on a tough Whitewater Golf Course track, finishing the 54-hole regulation portion of the three-day tournament tied at 219 with 12-time major winner Barry Caland.

“It feels great. It’s awesome. I had a lot of fun doing it,” said Atwill, 42.

In a lot of ways, he said, he won in spite of himself.

Take the par four 10th hole for example. His first shot found the woods, so he hit a provisional, which also found trouble, leading to a second provisional.

Potentially it meant he was laying five and still not out of the woods, so to speak. But lady luck was on his side.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t feel nervous. I hit all three in the bush, but I hit them solid. But I’m glad we found (the first one) and I just had the one-stroke penalty to get myself back in play. I thought that settled me down a bit and going into the rest of that nine, I felt good,” Atwill said.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Caland, who shot 76 on the day, also found trouble, was forced to take an unplayable shot and wound up equaling Atwill with a double-bogey six. Cumming did one worse, signaling the beginning of the end for the multiple major winner, who lost four shots to Atwill on the opening nine and wound up shooting 88 to fall desperately out of contention.

But even when Atwill , who started the tournament in second flight, was bad, he was good.

On 13, the picturesque par three that stares down the Kaministiquia River, Atwill’s tee shot found the right-side bunker. He was still in the sand after his second shot, and his third barely crept onto the fringe. He sailed his first putt about 10 feet past the hole, but somehow made the winding comebacker to save double bogey and a three-shot edge on Caland, who calmly made par.

“There was a good chance I was going to make par, and to give up three with a couple of quirky, tricky, tricky holes coming in, that was a big putt for him and he made it dead centre,” said Caland, who has finished second in six of the last seven major, the only exception being his 2010 Strathcona Invitational triumph.

The two golfers parred the 14th and Caland clamored to within two on 15, saving par from the fringe while Atiwill bogeyed to fall back to three over for the tournament.

Caland then birdied the par-four 16th to pull within one and the two hit the 18th tied when Atwill’s par putt slid left on 17, leaving him with yet another bogey coming home.

Caland won the coin toss and elected to hit first to start the playoff, which began on the first hole.

Unlike Atwill, who would hit a three wood, Caland, who lost two balls on the front nine the first time out, chose driver.

“I’ve hit driver on that hole 600 times and never hit one there. It’s an easy shot and I drove it great the last half of the round. It was just a mental mistake. I thought I had the momentum going, and quickly threw it in the bush,” Caland said.

“He played the front nine great, and essentially I stood on the 10th tee thinking I’m done. Once it started slipping away from Robert I thought now I have to start thinking about second place and set goals.”

Jamie DePiero shot 76 to finish two back in third at 221, while Albert Drake had a 78 to finish at 22. Jordan Potter rounded out the top five at 224.