After the monsoon they had to endure golfing at Aspen Grove Golf Course in the second round of the inaugural three-club challenge two weeks ago, anything would be an improvement.
Dan Aviss was thankful the weather gods were smiling when 36 golfers teed off for the third and final round Friday on a warm and sunny day at Aberdeen Glen Golf Course.
Aberdeen began the round with a 9.5-point lead and the 12-member team used its home course advantage to increase the gap and win the event with 48 points. The Prince George Golf and Curling Club team totaled 21.5 points to edge Aspen Grove, which finished with 20.5.
"Our guys played very well," said Aviss, the Aberdeen captain.
"The weather was great at P.G. and at Aberdeen, but at Aspen it was atrocious. I can't believe all 36 guys from the three clubs showed up at Aspen last week because it was just brutal. Nobody wanted to be the guy who let their team down."
The teams of 12 consisted of four golfers from each of three groups, determined by handicaps -- 0-9, 10-18, and 18-and-over. The first round followed a best-ball format, the second was a modified alternate-shot round and the third was singles match play, which carried the most weight in determining the final standings.
Gary Shalansky captained the PGGCC team, while Doug Jacobson organized the Aspen crew.
"It should be a natural thing when you've got three clubs, you should play, and it turned out really well and it's going to be a yearly thing," said Aviss. "We planned it so the third day, it didn't matter how far behind you were, you still could have caught up if your singles won."
The winning Aberdeen team included: Aviss, Lionel Viscount, John Worswick, Ryan Olson, Daryl Allan, Mark Sankey, John Heaslip, Eric Hoarau, Claude Hoarau, Tyler Brough, Athol Brander, Gary Long, Mike Legg, Richard Beaulieu, Terry Edmonds, Daryl Fiddler, Bert Van Mook and Bill Runn.
The three-club event replaces what was formerly known as the HSBC Cup, an annual tournament between Aspen and P.G. club, and the Clarica Cup, which used to involve the P.G. club and Aberdeen Glen.
"It's a change for us because in the past it's just been the P.G. course and Aspen, and we just added Aberdeen to our format," said Jacobson. "Everybody had a good time and it worked out good. The only thing wrong this year is Aberdeen kind of kicked some butt."
Kawana Farms helped sponsor the Aspen group, while P.G. Floors got behind the PGGCC golfers. Aberdeen, which doesn't have a men's club, did its own fundraising to pay the tournament costs. Each club donated the green fees.
The event was open only to male golfers. The three clubs have a ladies interclub event that wrapped up Sept. 10. Aspen Grove won that with 53 points, followed by Aberdeen Glen (50) and PGGCC (44).
