Congratulations to Dave Fauteux and Aldis Zandbergs, the 2021 Nomad Classic Champions!
The 17th Nomad Classic was held in the middle of a recovering world from the COVID-19 pandemic. For the second time in its history, the tournament returned to “la belle province” of Quebec and the Mont Tremblant region. Fourteen *cough* vaccinated golfers gathered to take on the courses of Le Diable, Royal Laurentien, and La Bete.
Thursday afternoon’s kickoff round at Le Diable was delayed due to a torrential downpour that hit the group as it readied to tee-off. After a brief wait, the tournament started with the first golfer, Steve Way, drop kicking the opening drive 240 yds down the middle of the fairway. Whether the greens were more receptive due to the rain, or the course was more forgiving due to wide fairways, the competitors delivered low scores on the opening round as the sun came out to dry up the course. Dave Fauteux led the tournament after the opening round with a jaw dropping -7. Low handicapper Sam Masih was close behind at -6, while mid-handicapper Steve posted a -5. The tournament welcomed back former Nomadian, Aldis Zandbergs, who posted an even round, while the rest of the field posted over-par rounds.
That evening, home-cooked delights by our resident chef were on offer as teams were drafted to complete the final two rounds. After the draw, the team of Dave and Aldis were the early favourites with a combined score of -7, while the team of Steve and Tim Biehler were in second at -2. The remaining teams were well back as a two-horse race was quickly setup.
Day 2 saw the tournament head to Royal Laurentien. What was expected to be an easier round, Royal Laurentien showed its nasty side with narrow fairways, and tough elevation changes on this mountainside course which led to unexpected challenges for the golfers. Christian Ferguson posed the low-round for the day at -1, while his partner, Tim Jones, shot a +10 for an overall +9 on the day. This was the lowest team score for the day and matched their performance the prior day giving them a total score of +18. The next best team on the day was Mark Rinaldo and Nathan Greene who combined for +16. Starting the day in last place meant they were still out of the running at +40 however. The second place team of Way and Biehler were +23, while the leaders of Fauteux and Zandbergs were +18 primarily due to Dave’s struggles to post a +14. There lead over the field increased however as they led with an overall score of +11, while the next closest team was Christian and Tim Jones who jumped to second place with their +18 score, while Way and Biehler dropped to third with +21 overall.
The third and final round was played at La Bete, or “The Beast”. This course had a reputation of being tough. However, the beast was slightly neutered as the tough Par 5 second hole was shortened to a par 3 due to some course maintenance. The two low team rounds for the day went to the teams of Sam Masih and Matt Ingrassia, and Matt Kershaw and Tom Shepherd. They slayed the beast with scores of +6 overall. Unfortunately, they were well back starting for the day at +34 and +36 respectively which left them out of contention. With a 7 and 10-stroke lead over their next closest competitors, things were looking good for Dave and Aldis to go wire to wire, especially as Dave recovered from his stumble the prior day to post a +6. However, it was Aldis’ time to struggle as he posted his worst round of the tournament, a +9, to give the team a +15 on the day. The opportunity to catch them was there if the team of Christian and Tim Jones could improve their prior performances by 2 strokes overall. Tim Jones shot a respectable +6, but unfortunately his partner Christian chose the final day to post his worst score of +15, which knocked them out of contention. It was all down to the team that was in second place after day 1, Way and Biehler. With 10-strokes separating Way and Biehler from the leaders at the start, it looked like an insurmountable challenge, but Biehler ended up shooting the lights out as the only negative player for the day at 4-under. With Aldis and Dave finishing with +26 overall, all Way had to do was post a moderate score of +8 and the trophy would be theirs. Unfortunately, Way’s Titanic hit the La Bete iceberg and sank to the depths as Way posted the day’s worst score of +16. The tournament went to Dave and Aldis.
Sam Masih demonstrated consistent golf every day and took home the sandbagger trophy with 1-under score after three rounds. The next closest golfer was Tim Biehler at +12. Sam also took home the award for low gross at 242 strokes, while the two Tims, Biehler and Jones, were tied for second at 273 strokes.
| SUMMARY – CHAMPIONSHIP | ||||||
| Golfer | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | TOTAL | RANK | NC-HC |
| Sam Masih | -6 | 4 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 83/79/81 |
| Tim Biehler | 3 | 13 | -4 | 12 | 2 | 87/86/88 |
| Aldis Zandbergs | 0 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 104/101/104 |
| Dave Fauteux | -7 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 112/105/109 |
| Tim Jones | 1 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 5 | 86/84/86 |
| Tom Shepherd | 4 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 88/86/89 |
| Steve Way | -5 | 10 | 16 | 21 | 7 | 96/92/94 |
| Christian Ferguson | 8 | -1 | 15 | 22 | 8 | 89/87/89 |
| Mark Rinaldo | 12 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 9 | 86/84/86 |
| Matt Kershaw | 7 | 12 | 4 | 23 | 9 | 99/96/100 |
| Ed Ferguson | 4 | 12 | 15 | 31 | 11 | 107/104/106 |
| Matt Johnny | 8 | 11 | 13 | 32 | 12 | 111/105/108 |
| Nathan Greene | 12 | 7 | 14 | 33 | 13 | 100/98/101 |
| Matt Ingrassia | 14 | 22 | 5 | 41 | 14 | 82/80/83 |
| TEAMS SUMMARY | ||||||
| Team | Net | Members | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | RANK |
| 5 | 26 | Zandbergs / Fauteux | -7 | 18 | 15 | 1 |
| 1 | 33 | Biehler / Way | -2 | 23 | 12 | 2 |
| 6 | 39 | Christian / Jones | 9 | 9 | 21 | 3 |
| 7 | 40 | Masih / Ingrassia | 8 | 26 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 42 | Kershaw / Shepherd | 11 | 25 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 | 50 | Greene / Rinaldo | 24 | 16 | 16 | 6 |
| 3 | 63 | Ed / Matt Johnny | 12 | 23 | 28 | 7 |