Darren Maginel wins Neepawa Senior Open

Details

Published on Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Photo by Eoin Devereux

Left to right: Darren Maginel of Clear Lake receives congratulations from Neepawa Golf and Country Club general manager and CPGA golf pro Landon Cameron, after winning the 2018 Neepawa Senior Open on Monday, July 9.

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner & Press

A first-time competitor has conquered the course at the Neepawa Golf and Country Club (NGCC), laying claim to the 2018 Senior Open title.

Darren Maginel of Clear Lake shot a two-over-par round of 74, on Monday, July 9, garnering him the top prize at the annual event. That 18-hole total was two shots better than his nearest competition, Bill Horn, Mike Penarowski and Craig Richardson, who all shot 4-over for the day.

Maginel said that this is the first year that he has been eligible to play on the Senior Open circuit, which takes place across western Manitoba throughout July and early August. He noted that he does intend on playing similar events this year in Brandon, Minnedosa and Poplar Ridge.

As for his results in Neepawa, Maginel said he was very pleased with his effort out there.

“The conditions [of the course] were really good, and I was able to find my rhythm fairly quickly out there. I was able to find the fairway consistently and after I birdied [holes] nine and ten, that got me going a little bit,” stated Maginel.  “I didn’t come into the day with any type of set expectations for where I was going to place. There were a lot of good players out there. Rod Klassen, Keith Fawcett, I play a round with those guys regularly at Clear Lake and they’re usually getting the better of me. Today was just my day.”

NGCC general manager and CPGA golf pro Landon Cameron said that it’s nice to see a few new names near the top of the leaderboard.

“I believe this is Darren’s first year in the Open, so good for him. He’s a good player and had a solid score out [on the course] today,” stated Cameron. “We had 140 golfers take part this year. That number is up a bit from last year. Our Senior Men’s event has a good following and it’s good to see players coming back year after year, as well as new players getting involved. We do what we can to make it an enjoyable outing.”

Cameron also thanked the clubhouse staff and grounds crew for the tremendous job they have done, not just throughout the day, but the entire golf season.

2018 Neepawa Golf and Country Club Senior Open Leaderboard

Championship Flight

1. Darren Maginel 74

2. Bill Horn 76

3. Mike Penarowski 76

4. Craig Richardson 76

First Flight

1. Keith Fawcett 82

2. Gary Gabbolinski 82

3. Dan Lemieux 82

4. Al McMannus 82

Second Flight

1. Grant Mckelvy 87

2. Brad Wells 87

3. Jim Lewis 87

4. John Leschyshen 87

Third Flight

1.Dave Cochrane 89

2. Mike Kirchner 89

3. Elgin Robertson 89

4. Gerald McLaughlin 89

Fourth Flight

1. Mark Diboll 91

2. Dan Flick 91

3. Fred Waddell 91

4. Jim Marnoch 91

Fifth Flight

1. Dave Soroka 93

Sixth Flight

1. Larry Hayden 96

Seventh Flight

1. Rod McGinnis 99

Eight Flight

1. Ferg Whyte 101

Ninth Flight

1. Wayne Jacobsen 107

Note: A “flight” refers to the division of golfers within a tournament. Each “flight,” consists of golfers of roughly similar skills and is determined by handicaps.