By Drew Wilson

Zaba victorious again at the Lobstick

Jun 18, 2011 | 4:11 PM

Andrew Zaba says he loves playing in the Men's Lobstick and it shows. For the second time in the last three years the 23 year old from Deer Valley has won both the Open and Match Play titles.

He was the model of consistency needing just 13 holes to defeat Dallas Mengel in the match play final. Staying out of trouble was the key, said Zaba.

“There was a couple missed shots out there but I was just sticking to my game trying to make pars, it worked today, unfortunately Dallas didn't play so well but I know he is a good player and he will have many good tournaments.”

Mengel conceeded the first hole after putting his approach shot in the bush and he never got his game together, said the 19 year old from Saskatoon.

“You hit a couple bad shots early in the round and it starts creeping in there, but I just didn't have it today, plain and simple, Andy played really well all day, just fairways and greens, he's tough to beat, but the way I played today it just wasn't there.”

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A combination of missed fairways off the tee, and bad approach shots by Mengel and one birdie by Zaba allowed Andrew to build a 4-hole advantage through seven. However, the turning point came on eight when Mengel missed a short putt to give Zaba a virtually insurmountable lead. It was the deal breaker, said Mengel.

“You miss a short putt and it wouldn't have been so bad if the match had been closer but it was definitely a bit of a turn there. It would have been nice to have that one for sure. You can definitely get it back, you just have to kind of try to calm yourself down but when you're 5-down through eight you've got to start trying to push it a little, you've got to start trying to make birdies.”

It was cold and windy for Championship Sunday in Waskesiu, but that wasn't a factor. said Zaba.

“I'm used to playing in the wind. I'm from Deer Valley there is a lot of wind out there. It's there, you just play in it and hope for the best.”

Winning isn't the only reason Zaba plans to return next year to defend both championships.

“I love this course, one of my favourites in Saskatchewan and I'll keep coming back for many years.”

Despite a disappointing final match there are some fond memories of the 2011 Lobstick, said Mengel.

“The first two days I didn't play my absolute best but the last few days of match play I played pretty solid. It's kind of disappointing coming out here and not playing great today but it was still fun, I had a great tournament. I made Championship Flyte final, I'm not too disappointed but I have some things to work on.”

Mengal also said it was a great learning experience to see how the veterans played the course and hopes watching them makes him a better player next year.

The tournament was plagued at times by heavy rain. A downpour caused a long delay on Wednesday and Friday's quarter and semi final matches were shortened to 9-holes because of rain. However, aside from the odd drizzle, the rain stayed away Saturday.

Prince Albert's Ron Stewart won the Championship Flyte consolation title beating Humboldt's Mike Herperger in the final.

dwilson@rawlso.com