By Drew Wilson

“Ring” around the Lobstick

Jun 10, 2011 | 12:36 PM

The Men's Lobstick, one the area's most prestigious events on the annual golf calendar gets underway Monday.

Defending champion Martin Ring of Prince Albert is among the favourites in a field of about 225 vying for the open and match play titles.

The fact there is a 36-hole stroke play tournament which includes both pros and amateurs, followed by five rounds of amateur match play makes it a must event for the top golfers from around Western Canada, Ring said.

“We see some of the top pros in the province continuing to make the trek to Waskesiu to compete against us amateurs. So the open portion is very interesting and obviously it remains such a popular spot because the golf course is such fun to play.”

The course is in excellent shape. Delisle's Colin Cobin won last week's Senior Lobstick title with a 4-under par total of 206 through 54 holes which indicates it's going to take an excellent qualifying round to make the championship flyte for match play. Distance off the tee isn't necessarily the key to victory, said Ring.

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“Yeah, the bombers can overpower the course at times but for the guys like myself that hit it average length, it's still a golf course you have to put the ball in the right spot, for me it's just a very comfortable place to play golf.”

It must be, Ring has won the match play championship four times, including two of the last three years. The only roadblock to the three-peat was Andrew Zaba who beat Ring in the 2009 final. Zaba completed the double that year also taking the Open title.

The Men's Lobstick always attracts some the best players from the province and around the west, however despite the highly competitive nature of the event, the atmosphere is very friendly, said Ring.

“It's always an exciting time of the year and I look forward to get up to Waskesiu to see old friends and obviously opponents. It's just a great competition. It's always been a great week and an exciting week.”

The first of two qualifying rounds on Monday also counts toward the Open championship for those who choose to play again on Tuesday. The second qualifying round is scheduled in between round two of the open. Match play begins Wednesday.

dwilson@rawlco.com