Freda wins 13th Madawaska Golf title

ARNPRIOR – Arnprior’s Perry Freda added his name to the Madawaska Golf Club Men’s Championship trophy for a 13th time overcoming strong, gusty winds during the two-day Labour Day weekend tournament.

Freda set a blistering pace on Day 1 Sunday, Sept. 1 on the Twisted Pine Par 70 course shooting three-under with eight birdies, five on the back nine including three in a row, during his opening round. The 67 put him firmly in the lead heading in to Day 2 on Monday, Sept. 2. Despite five birdies on a day that featured gusty winds up to 40 kilometres an hour, Freda could not finish below par ending with a 74 for a two-day total of 141.

The win would be Freda’s 13th Madawaska club championship and his first since 2022.

His closest competitor could not make up that difference. Arnprior’s Logan Verch came second in A Class with a two-day total of 146, including an impressive 66 on Day 2. Defending champion Kinburn’s Curtis Proulx opened the tournament with a 69 but was challenged on Day 2 and ended with a 79 for a two-day total of 152 and a third place finish.

B Class was won by Jim Killeen with Carter Verch coming second and Denis Charron finishing third. In C Class Richard Brule came first, Panmure’s Hal Grainger came second, and Steve Wilson finished third. In D Class Wayne Carty won with Leslie Forrest coming second and Chris Ledgerwood coming third.

Jim Carruthers was named the Men’s Low Net winner (handicap included).

“Fantastic turnout and fantastic weather,” Men’s Club President, Fitzroy Harbour’s Dan McCaskill released in a statement Tuesday (Sept. 3). “We certainly had some tight races in all handicap classes. We had B class decided by one stroke with Victory going to Jim Killeen over Carter Verch. We also had a C class win by three strokes with Richard Brule winning over Hal Grainger. Richard was the most consistent golfer on the weekend shooting the exact same score both days, including the same score on the front and back nines. In D class Wayne Carty narrowly edged out Leslie Forrest by two strokes,” McCaskill said. “In A class we had even people in contention including Logan Verch who shot a 71 on Day 2 with Perry Freda coming out on top. We also had a very tight race for the low net with Jim Carruthers coming first by one stroke over two players. A very exciting two-day event.”