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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Only one round of golf separated Scott McIntosh from $10,000 during the largest tournament to date this season at the Seven Spruce Golf Course.

Scott McIntosh scoops his ball out of the cup at hole two on the Seven Spruce Golf Course after getting a hole-in-one during the Canadian Zinc Open. - photo courtesy of Shane Thompson

McIntosh was playing on Sunday morning, the second day of the Canadian Zinc Open, when he and his team arrived at hole two during their first round. McIntosh was the last one to drive his ball.

"I seen the line was good," he said.

McIntosh and his teammates Shane Thompson, Stephen Thompson and Colinda Blondin watched the ball bounce twice on the fairway, roll across the green toward the flag and disappear.

"Shane looked at me and said, 'Did that go in?' and I said, 'I think so,'" McIntosh said.

When the team arrived at the green, Shane took a series of photos to show that McIntosh had indeed shot the second ever verified hole-in-one on the course. The first was made by Kelley Andrews-Klein on the same hole during a tournament in 2009.

It was an unbelievable feeling to get a hole-in-one, McIntosh said. That feeling would have been amplified if McIntosh had sunk his ball on his second round when Canadian Zinc was offering a $10,000 hole-in-one prize for that hole. During his second round, McIntosh hit the green again, but was approximately 3.6 metres from the pin.

"This is the best tournament in Simpson," he said.

"I'm so happy it happened at this tournament."

Seventy-six golfers participated in the two-day tournament sponsored by the Canadian Zinc Corporation. In recent years, the tournament has been the largest event each season at the course.

First place in the tournament went to the team of Owen Rowe, TG Wilson, William Michaud and Kyle Sibbeston who finished with 129, 15 under par for 36 holes.

"We had a fantastic game," said Michaud.

Unlike Saturday when they were struggling to make birdie putts, Michaud said everything, particularly putting, came together for the team on Sunday. Their winning streak began during their first nine on hole seven where Michaud made a chip for a birdie. The birdie run continued through the next five holes until hole four, which they pared.

On hole five, their 15th of the tournament, the team tied Ted Grant's team, which had played in the morning and finished with a 131. With three holes left to pull into first place, the team parred hole six, pulled ahead after birdieing hole seven and finished with a birdie on hole eight. The team was beyond ecstatic after hole seven, Michaud said. It was almost magical the way everything came together, he said.

The win was a real team effort. Someone was always able to produce was what needed on each hole, said Michaud.

Pushed into second place, Grant's team included Ryan Petrie, Trevor Kjeldsli and Alan Taylor. Finishing with 131 was a team effort, said Taylor, Canadian Zinc's chief operating officer and vice-president of exploration.

Now in its ninth year, the tournament gets better every year, Taylor said. People are excited to come to this tournament and it's great to see them enjoying themselves, he said.

The company is hoping to have some permits for operating the Prairie Creek Mine in hand before the 10th annual tournament next year, said Taylor.

Third place in the tournament was a tie between the teams of Kevin Menicoche, John Moreau, Eric Menicoche and Climate Muyambo, and Roger Candow, Dave Shaw, Arnold Hope and Steven Lenoir at 133.

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