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Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

CLINCHER 鈥 Dan King drains a putt on hole 18 during the final round of the Yukon Golf Championships Sunday.

King, Baldwin crowned Yukon golf champs

Dan King shot back-to-back rounds of 77 and 75 to earn his first Yukon golf title at Mountain View Golf Club over the weekend.

By Marcel Vander Wier on July 7, 2014

Dan King shot back-to-back rounds of 77 and 75 to earn his first Yukon golf title at Mountain View Golf Club over the weekend.

The 31-year-old also won the right to serve as team captain of the Yukon鈥檚 entry into the 2014 Canadian Men鈥檚 Amateur Golf Championship, scheduled to occur in Winnipeg in early August.

King will be joined by Landon Kulych and Steve Estey at the nationals, while Rick Gingell and Dan Hogberg will serve as alternates.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice,鈥 King said following his victory Sunday. 鈥淭he last few years, I鈥檝e been playing a lot of golf so my scores have gotten better.鈥

King said taking lessons from local golf pro Jeff Wiggins a few years ago have paid major dividends in his game.

鈥淚鈥坰tarted to figure things out and shoot some better scores,鈥 he said.

Defending champion Phil Mullin 鈥 a six-time Yukon winner 鈥 did not play, nor did 2013 runner-up Blaine Tessier.

鈥淚t was kind of nice that they weren鈥檛 here,鈥 King chuckled. 鈥淚鈥坘ind of wish that they were here and that I鈥檇 beaten them, but it鈥檚 nice to finally win. It鈥檇 be different if I didn鈥檛 play well and I won, but I played pretty good, so I鈥檓 pretty happy.鈥

King said he decided to leave his driver in the bag during the final round 鈥 instead using a three-hybrid or four-iron off the tees.

The move paid off.

鈥淚鈥坖ust kept in on the fairway and made a few putts,鈥 he said. 鈥淎 few years ago, I鈥檇 only break 80 a couple times a year, so this was really good for me.鈥

As for playing in his second straight national event, King said he鈥檚 excited.

Last year, he finished third in the Yukon championship, and went on to play in his first nationals in Victoria.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play very good, but it was an experience,鈥 he recalled of last year鈥檚 Canadian championship. 鈥淗opefully this time out, I can improve on that. It鈥檇 be pretty hard to play any worse, but it will still be a fun experience.鈥

In the women鈥檚 championship, defending champion Nicole Baldwin took the 2014 crown handily, shooting rounds of 88 and 84.

The 33-year-old, also known for her curling exploits, said that despite her win, she wasn鈥檛 at her best.

鈥淚鈥坙eft some shots out there,鈥 she admitted. 鈥淚 challenged myself, but really just felt like a normal game out there. I鈥坮eally enjoy the sport, and it means a lot to win this title.鈥

Only four women competed in this weekend鈥檚 championship.

鈥淚 do wish more ladies would sign up and that there were more people involved,鈥濃坱he two-time champ said of the female division. 鈥淚t challenges you more. If there鈥檚 more ladies out there, you don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 happening in the group behind you, which forces you to bring your game up.鈥

James McGrath claimed the junior title after shooting a combined score of 176, while Tom Amson won the senior championship title with a total score of 168.

Full results from the Yukon championships are as follows:

Men鈥檚 Championship Flight

Champion: Dan King (152).

Low Gross: Landon Kulych (156); Sheldon King (167).

Low Net: Derek Wirth (145); Ron Kulych (149).

Men鈥檚 Flight 2

Low Net: Rick Gingell (137); Vance Hutchinson (141); Gord Starko (163).

Low Gross: Dave Ecker (173); Jay Jung (192).

Women鈥檚 Championship Flight

Champion:鈥圢icole Baldwin (172).

Low Net:鈥圫heila Stockton (157); Della Demers (173).

Low Gross: Elaine Sumner (222).

Junior Championship Flight

Champion:鈥圝ames McGrath (176).

Low Net: Riley Smoler (142); Bryce Anderson (159); Cameron Gingell (179).

Low Gross: Parker Olson (179); Luke McGrath (200).

Senior Men鈥檚 Championship Flight

Champion:鈥圱om Amson (168)

Low Net: Pat Malloy (149); Matt Lafferty (149).

Low Gross: Dan Hogberg (169); Vic Istchenko (171).

Senior Men鈥檚 Flight 2

Low Net:鈥圵es Wirth (144); Stan Dorosz (147); Russ Smoler (157).

Low Gross: Gord Zealand (186); Don Coates (212).

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