MALONE — The 40th edition of the Masters North Golf Tournament is in the books and a familiar face finished at the top of the leaderboard in the two-day event held Friday and Saturday.
Ed Davis won the green jacket for the fourth time and made it three titles in the past four years when he carded an outstanding even-par 72-72-144 to top the field at the Malone Golf Club.
Davis, who won a $700 gift certificate to Plattsburgh Golf Discount for taking first, ended up five strokes ahead of second-place finisher Myles McDonald (79-70-149), who was medalist on the second day.
“There were wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour the first day,” Davis said. “A key for me is that I keep the ball low. I’m from Massena, and I played golf there along the river where it can be windy.
“There were players capable of good scores and my mindset the second day was more to get pars and make the other golfers beat me with birdies. Make them come after me.
“I did, however, play much better on Friday than I did on Saturday.”
“Ed was solid off the tee,” tournament director Willie King said. “To shoot even par in the windy conditions on Friday tells you all you need to know.
“He keeps the ball in play and is rarely in any trouble off the tee. His irons are always on or near the green and he has a great wedge game.”
McDonald, who was seven strokes off the pace following Friday’s round, made it a challenge for Davis for much of Saturday.
“I was two under through eight, but had a double on nine,” Davis said. “The front nine is there for the taking.
“He (McDonald) was playing in a group ahead of me and I was aware of how well he was playing. He hits his irons a long way and has a great swing. It’s good to be young like him.”
“Myles was the medalist on the second day and played extremely well,” King said. “He was giving Ed a run before disaster struck on the 14th hole.”
Both Davis and McDonald, ironically, are left-handed golfers.
Rounding out the top five in the Masters North field were Patrick O’Connor (78-74-152), Josh Kirby (75-77-152), Mike Patenaude (82-71-13) and Matt King (80-73-153). The top 14 won gift certificates.
“Mike has won the Malone Golf Club championship four times and came back with a nice 71 on Saturday,” King said. “Matt King and Trent Thomas both shot 73 on Saturday and Patrick shot a 74.
“It was a tough day to play Friday. The wind was swirling and not constantly in one direction. A lot of players who shot scores between 78 and 83 actually played well considering the conditions.”
The Masters North field plays from the blue tees.
DAGENAIS WINS LEGENDS
Serge Dagenais put together a 75-80-155 total to finish first in the Legends division, with nine-time Masters North champion Graham Cooke (84-74-158), Peter Malo (81-77-158) and Wayne Wright (78-80-158) are ending up tied in the second spot.
The Legends play from the white tees and the top six golfers receive gift certificates to Plattsburgh Golf Discount, with Dagenais getting one for $500.
“Serge has been close before and it was nice to see him win,” King said. “Last year he shot 76-83-159 and nearly won.
“Graham showed some of his old form by coming back to shoot a 74 on the second day, and Wayne had another strong tournament after winning the Legends last year. He shot 78 and 78 for the two days last year, and had a 78 on the first day this year.”
King was thrilled with the event as a whole.
“The greens were in beautiful shape and it was a fabulous tournament,” he said. “The Malone Golf Club does a great job every year, the staff is very friendly and enjoys having us play there.
“Club pro Scott Delair and golf course superintendent Dustin Beauregard both do a wonderful job.”
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40th-Annual Masters North Tournament
Malone Golf Club
Final results
Masters North Field
Ed Davis 72-72-144
Myles McDonald 79-70-149
Patrick O’Connor 78-74-152
Josh Kirby 75-77-152
Mike Patenaude 82-71-153
Matt King 80-73-153
Trent Thomas 82-73-155
Noah Norton 77-78-155
Chuck Voorhees II 81-77-158
Robin Weeden 83-76-159
Jim Boucher 79-80-159
Bart Van Leuvan 81-79-160
Graham Niles 81-79-160
Devin Darrah 79-81-160
Ben Honahan 82-79-161
Justin Besaw 82-80-162
Tyrell Thomas 80-82-162
Ben Couvrette 82-81-163
Zack Oakes 84-80-164
Steven Labombard 81-83-164
Regan Arnold 85-80-165
Dustin Beauregard 82-83-165
Alain Bayeur 86-80-166
Chad Welch 82-84-166
Alec Odnoha 86-82-168
Nick Bouyea 91-78-169
Jeff Fallon 86-83-169
Will Flynn 86-83-169
Austin Carpenter 83-86-169
David Kokes 83-86-169
Joey Thompson 83-87-170
Matt Davis 91-81-172
Tristin Fitzgerald 88-84-172
Andy Foster 83-89-172
Anthony Marion 87-87-174
Matt Laramee 86-90-176
Danyk Bayeur 85-92-177
Peter Laramee 90-89-179
Craig Reyell 94-90-184
Rob Fredette 97-93-190
Nick Fitzsimmons 90-103-193
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Legends Field
Serge Dagenais 75-80-155
Graham Cooke 84-74-158
Peter Malo 81-77-158
Wayne Wright 78-80-158
Brad Van Brunt 79-82-161
Brad Griffin 77-84-161
John Carver 82-80-162
Bill Fisher 79-83-162
Paul Schofield 82-81-163
Jamie Mackinnon 82-81-163
Tom Raville 82-81-163
Greg Wilson 84-80-164
Jean Crispo 83-84-167
Steve Gagnon 83-85-168
George Bouyea 84-85-169
Chuck Voorhees 86-86-172
Pierre Archambault 86-87-173
Mark Leta 93-81-174
Pierre Geoffrion 94-89-183