Past junior champ finally has his Day

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This article was published 22/08/2022 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASAGAMING — Kolby Day’s 2020 Tamarack and golf season came to a shanking halt.

He called it quits after a stunning championship flight collapse against Jason Thorpe and blowout by Dan O’Greysik, leaving his clubs at Brandon’s Northern Pines to sell.

Fast-forward two years and the Brandonite has made a full 180. He dropped 2012 champion Dave Unger 3 and 1 to reach the quarterfinals at Clear Lake Golf Course on Tuesday.

“Feels pretty good, only took six tries but I’m glad I got to play Dave,” Day said. “He’s a good friend of mine and it’s nice to play well in a match and have it mean something.”

Day went two-and-out in the first flight last year but finally has a match victory since beating Vegas Golden Knight Zach Whitecloud in the 2015 junior boys final.

Day said he’s not the same player anymore.

“It’s all about managing expectations now for me,” he said. “It’s riding the highs while they’re high but managing the lows when they get to that point. The season as a whole or last year and this year has been a 180 since that first year in terms of my game, my mental game and stuff like that.

“I’ve definitely improved a lot.”

Day, the 14th seed, came out hot on a misty Tuesday morning, going 4 up through eight before Unger clawed back on the next two holes, then hung around and forced Day to seal it on the 17th.

Day takes on No. 6 seed Evan Nachtigall, who beat him in the Wheat City club championship a few weeks ago and posted top-15 finishes in the last two Manitoba men’s amateurs. Nachtigall dropped Carberry’s Joel Baron 3 and 2.

“That’s going to be a great match and I know he’s looking forward to it so should be a great day,” said Day.

The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw features two familiar Tamarack faces: 2013 winner Jarod Crane and perennial contender Josh McPhail.

Crane edged Jay Thiesen on the 18th in a heavyweight clash while McPhail spotted Ryan Baker two holes before tearing it up on the next 12 for a 5-and-4 triumph. McPhail said being on both sides of early leads helped him stay in control.

“Stayed in it and was able to grind back and win a couple of holes,” said McPhail, who won four straight from the sixth to ninth to build up his lead. “It felt good. It’s always good to get a win first match.”

His exclamation point was an eagle on the tough par-5 13th after blasting a three-iron from 250 yards inside 20 feet.

He’ll need more big shots on Thursday when Crane shows up after an impressive win: he and Thiesen absolutely piled up birdies and seldom won holes with pars.

“I’m looking forward to playing Jarod,” McPhail said. “Jarod’s a great guy, he’s a great player so I’m excited for the challenge.”

The other side of the bracket features medallist Nolan Ritchie and Chris Knoop, who cranked Nolan Tutkaluk and Landon Trotter, respectively (but not so respectfully), 6 and 5.

Then it’s three-time champ Kody Fawcett — who beat Dan O’Greysik 3 and 2 — and No. 13 seed Jason Curtis, who emerged from a playoff against Trent Turner.

Curtis, the slight lefty, may not hit it like the guys half his age he’s up against, but no one remains as utterly unphased by long drives as him.

“I don’t even worry about what they do,” Curtis said. “I’m playing my game and I know what my game is … I make a lot of pars and if I get in a position where my putter’s hot, I’ll make birdies too.

Curtis was 2 up with three to go and gave one away, then stood over a ball buried in the junk just over Bogey Creek to the right of the 17th green. A few minutes later, he opted to take a stroke and move it to the drop area. He made a solid up and down to stay ahead, which was big as he coughed up the final hole.

Turner, however, topped his tee shot on the playoff hole and bogeyed.

“Just put it anywhere in the fairway and you can get this thing done,” said Curtis, who did just that.

He knows his next one is as tough as they come but has a plan.

“If he gets a little quick on his swing he tends to hook it a little bit,” Curtis said with a chuckle. “I’m going to feed him a few before we go out and we’ll see how it goes.”

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