Skip to content

Record hunting

Barry Caland was bullied a lot on the playground as a youngster. But it didn’t make him run and hide. In fact, it just made him that much more competitive.
103617_634160812608921559
Barry Caland. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)
Barry Caland was bullied a lot on the playground as a youngster.

But it didn’t make him run and hide. In fact, it just made him that much more competitive. That fire still burns today as the 39-year-old looks to make his mark on the city’s most prestigious golf tournament and at the same time tackle its most storied career mark too.

Caland this weekend will seek his record seventh Strathcona Invitational title, which would also give him 12 local major wins, tying him with Trevor Jones for the most to date.

What he’s trying to accomplish is not lost on the man who’s captured the past three Strathcona Invitationals, equaling the late Bob Devine’s once unassailable mark.

"I can’t think about it too much like I have been. Fortunately with match play things just kind of happen … They’re fun stuff to play for rather than just a regular event," Caland said Thursday. "It adds a little excitement on a personal level."

Not that Caland needs any extra motivation once he steps up to the first tee. A fierce competitor well known for his win-at-all-cost demeanor at times on the course, it’s also what makes him one of the best match players around.

"When you hate to lose, it’s like the dog in the junkyard. I’ve always had that in me. I don’t know where it comes from. It could be from my parents. The style of match play is where my aggressive nature comes out, and I can play to those strengths instead of trying to maintain a score with everyone else." said Caland, who turns 40 two weeks after Monday’s final.

"It’s I want this hole more than you do, and I want to beat you more than you want to beat me. I really enjoy the format. It’s fun, and you don’t have to worry about what everyone else out on the course is doing."

That said, Caland would do well to at least keep an eye on one fellow competitor, Robert Cumming, his main rival for the past decade or more on the links of Northwestern Ontario.

The two are usually co-favourites entering any tournament together – Cumming edged Caland earlier this month to capture the District Open title, the season’s first major. Cumming has won the past two majors, in fact, but said what he’s done in the past has little bearing on how he’ll fare this weekend, in search of his third Strathcona title and first since 2005.

Still, a victory under his belt this year doesn’t hurt, he said.

"It is nice to have a few wins under your belt, so you know you remember how to do it and you can do it and you give it your best and see what happens."

A seven-time major champion in his own right, Cumming described his game right now as "not bad."

"It’s not great either. I’m just kind of on that edge, so hopefully I can turn it in the right direction."

Cumming acknowledged it won’t be easy to take down Caland, who seems at home at the Invitational, much like Jack Nicklaus did at Augusta National during his heyday.
"He’s had a great match play record over the last four or five years," Cumming said. "If you come up against him, you’ve just got to play a high-quality match."

Caland returned the compliment, saying Cumming is one of the district’s best ball strikers and smartest players.

"He doesn’t try to do anything that he can’t and he’s great around the greens. He may not make as many putts as he’d like, but you also don’t see him three-putt very often and you don’t see him not get up and down very often. He’s been really good for 15 years, and it’s unlikely he’s going to play bad."

Odds are when Monday afternoon rolls around, one of the two – if not both – in the hunt for a championship.




Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks