Melanson cruises past bro to finish on top at Labour Day Open
By The Nelson Daily Sports
It was a sibling rivalry at the 2011 Labour Day Open with younger brother Jordan getting the last laugh.
The younger Melanson fired a 1-over-par final round 73 to edge older brother Brendan by five shots and capture the men’s crown Sunday at the Granite Pointe at Nelson course.
Granite Pointe club professional Jamie Stevens finished third at 150.
“I didn’t start the tournament (Saturday) playing that well . . . the first nine was pretty rough,” Jordan Melanson told The Nelson Daily Monday.
“The second day was better but it was tough during the middle of the round before I (played well) the final three holes.”
The win Sunday at Granite Pointe completed a remarkable summer on the local links for Melanson.
The twenty-something golfer kicked off the banner summer by winning the Blossom Open in Creston before taking the top prize in Castlegar at the Sunflower Open.
Then just last week Melanson finished second at the Redstone Open to Gary Janni of the host course.
The only glitch came when Melanson missed the cut at the B.C. Men’s Amateur Championship in Kamloops.
Sunday, playing in the same group with Brendan Melanson, Jordan pretty much was in control of the men’s side of the annual tournament.
He held a three-shot lead, and five over Stevens, after the opening 18 holes.
Then pretty much had his way, leading by four shots coming down the stretch despite have the second round hiccup.
“I never look at the score when I’m playing,” Jordan Melanson explained.
“I just focus on my game until the end of the round when I may need to check to determine what shots I should play.”
Dave Swain, playing the second flight, won the men’s low net title with a net 134.
A.J. Cooper of Nelson edged Gary Schmidt and Howie Hyssop by three shots to win second flight low gross. Cooper finished with a 76-75 for a 151 score.
Peter Muirhead of Nelson won low net with 139.
The Granite Pointe tournament is broken into three separate events — men’s, senior men’s and women’s.
In the senior men’s draw John Bue won the title by five strokes over Howie Ridge of Nelson. Bue finished the 18-holes with an even-par 72. Ridge shot 77.
Low net winner was Dan Siebel of Nelson with a net 64. Brad Perlstrom of Nelson was second at net 70.
In the ladies 18-hole tournament, Sherri McIvor of Nelson won the low gross title with a 92. Fellow Granite Pointe member Cathy McLaren shot a net 71 to claim the low net crown.
19TH HOLE: Jordan Melanson is now off to Simon Fraser University to begin another term at the books and will play on the Clan men’s golf team. The squad has a few weeks to prepare for its opening tournament of the NCAA Division II season. The nine-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) begins September 23rd in Bellingham, Wash. . . . The annual Labour Day experienced its lowest turnout in years.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
