A foursome of golfers representing La Broquerie earned a spot in the Manitoba Regional Qualifier and will now compete at Southwood in August for a chance to head to Nationals in Cabot.
Paul Gauthier is one member of the team and he explains how the team came together this year. "There's myself, Mitch Tetrault, Leo Laramee and Steve Hildebrand. Last year, I actually qualified with three other members from La Broquerie, but it didn't work out this year because of our handicap. So, the four of us, Leo has a simulator in his back shop and we do some winter golf, that's where the conversation started. All the cards kind of fell in place, and we managed to get the team together to go to Minnedosa."
Playing that event as a team was pretty special, according to Gauthier. "It was fun," he says with a smile. "We knew we'd have to play well because we had the second lowest strokes for with our handicaps. We went out there, played the way we were expecting and we actually ended up in a two way tie with the other team and we won in a countback. We birdied the last eight holes on the back nine, and they parred the fourteenth and we birdied it, so we managed to secure a spot in the regionals for the RBC Qualifier."
As a team, Gauthier says every one was feeling good and on their game. "Everybody played really well. Every time, we never got in trouble off the tee, we always had two, three or four really good options on the greens for our birdie putts or eagles. So, it was a good team effort and everybody stepped up to the plate and performed very well."
Heading to the next event at Southwood, Gauthier says the team will do a little homework before the actual event. "We're going to try and get onto Southwood for a practice round. I've already talked to one of the assistant pro's there to see if he can get us on in August, a couple days before the tournament. With Derek (Fehr) and his team qualifying for the same tournament and being members in La Broquerie, we've already done it once where we play in an 18 hole format, all eight of us together in a scramble. We'll put a little money on the line just for fun and see who prevails. I'm sure we'll do that a couple more times before the big event."
Golf is commonly an individual sport, but Gauthier says being part of a team has been a breath of fresh air. "We've all played hockey before, so we're familiar with the team aspects of it. We encourage each other. When we make a put, we high five, fist pump and try and stay as positive as we can. Hopefully, the results pay off."
With Nationals being a little closer after the latest win, Gauthier admits that he has thought about what it would mean to go. "We've definitely thought about it," he says with a chuckle. "It's the end goal, we want to go there. We've got the pro from Minnedosa, not too familiar with him, Patrick Law, but we've heard he's a fairly good golfer, so with him on our team and if we play the way we can, I think we feel we have a fairly good shot to advance. Looking forward to it and excited. If we get there, it will be quite the golf experience for the four of us."
Right now, Gauthier says personally, he's really happy with where his overall game is at, but he's particularly pleased with certain aspects. "I've always driven the ball fairly well, but I'd say my long irons have been a real strong point. Everyone on the team brings a different aspect. We've got a couple guys that are dialed in with their irons, we're really strong off the tee, and everybody chipped in with putts at the qualifier. I think we're all feeling comfortable with our games and as a team."
The event at Southwood will be a little different than what the boys experienced in the last qualifier. "With the pro, it'll be a 5-person scramble, three drives each," Gauthier explains. "So, whosever drive you use, they can't shoot the second shot, so then you're down to four approach shots. Once you're on the green, everybody gets to putt. It's different from this last event where it was three drives minimum, so there was six open holes for drives, and everybody got to hit the second shot. Now, it's elimination, you shoot the tee shot and just the other four guys will shoot."
Being local guys, Gauthier says it means a lot to represent the community of La Broquerie, as well as the golf course. "It's an honour," Gauthier says proudly. "We've got a nice little hidden gem of a course in La Broquerie, the new owners have done a lot of great work to make it a really, really fun place to play. We're all home grown boys, we've played La Broquerie hockey and now golf, so it's dear to our hearts. We want to represent the community very well, so hopefully we can get to Cabot and have a shot at winning a National title."
The team of Paul Gauthier, Tetrault, Leo Laramee and Steve Hildebrand will be playing Southwood on August 12th.