The Athabasca Golf and Country Club hosted 124 golfers from across the province for its annual Men's Open tournament July 28-29.
However, it would be Coulton Sheets who would emerge victorious in stroke play, winning his first Men's Open title. The eight-time event participant earned a two stroke lead on day one with a score of 76, holding onto the lead by one stroke after posting a score of 80 on day two to take the title.
"It feels pretty good," Sheets said in an interview after his win. "I've been playing since I was 14. Haven't really done anything, but this year, it all came together, everything was rolling."
Sheets said although his second day was rougher, his strong start allowed him pull out the win.
"I played good on day one, made a couple of doubles," Sheets said. "Today, it was a little rougher, but it worked out."
Athabasca Golf and Country Club director of operations Geoff Dunn said the event was successful and attributed the turnout to the course's ability to attract people from out of town.
"With some of our members bringing friends out, we get a lot of participants from the city, from Calgary even," Dunn said.
The Men's Open is divided into stroke play and match play. One third of golfers vie for the stroke title and the remainder compete in smaller matches, where only holes won or lost are tracked, according to Dunn.
The option for a more casual competition also helps attract people to the event, Dunn said.
"People seem to like the match play and that's probably why you get a lot of out-of-towners to come," Dunn said. "More of a fun tournament."
Mark Kapicki also participated in this year's Men's Open and said it would bring him back next year.
"The event is outstanding. Second-to-none. We've had a really good time and that's on an off the course," he said.
Sheets said the fun atmosphere keeps him coming back to the tournament year-after-year.
"Geoff does a good job. It's actually really fun, there's a lot of good guys here," he said.
The club's next open tournaments are the Senior Open Aug. 8 and Ladies Open Aug. 18.
