There are undoubtedly a handful of putts that returning Idylwylde Invitational finalist Ryan Neil would have liked to have back on Sunday afternoon. But to be perfectly honest, given the way that Jimmy duDomaine was playing, it likely would not have made much difference.
Playing the event for just the second time, duDomaine bettered a first round loss in championship flight one year ago by a whole lot this past weekend, capturing the prestigious local tournament with a 4 & 3 final match victory over Neil (who lost to Johnny Svalina in the final last year).
Carding the low qualifier score in 2024, duDomaine was solid again on Friday, his round of 71 ranking him sixth in the field of 16, where he summararily dismissed Ryan Bastien (3 & 2 – his friend remaining at his side as caddie for the balance of the tournament), Chris Bevan (1 up) and Kurt Kowaluk (4 & 3).
Having achieved little to no success in the match play format previously, the 36 year old Hamilton native and alumnus of the McMaster Marauders varsity golf program caught a bit of a break this summer.
“I just played a lot more of it (match play),” said duDomaine, shortly after hoisting the coveted Inco Cup. “I had not played a ton of it, to be completely honest, coming into last year – and I didn’t have a good track record. Thankfully, three weeks ago, we had a match play championship at our club (Hamilton Golf & Country Club) and I made it to the finals there.”
“Having had some success definitely helped my confidence.”
In the end, however, it was a top-notch weekend in an area other than off the tees or on the greens where he traditionally excelled that spelled the difference for the affable golfer. “My chipping was the best it’s ever been,” said duDomaine.
“I just got up and down a ton of times. I made some good putts in the last round but I just saved myself (with my chips), especially in the qualifying round. I got up and down from anywhere.”
A group of five kicked off the tournament by sharing low score honours on Day 1 as Joey Kremer, Kurt Kowaluk, junior Ayrton Longe, Kyle Rank and Ryan Neil all came into the clubhouse at 70.
Rounding out the top sixteen were Alex Fowke, Vincent Palladino (Jr), Aiden Deng, Ethan Mulligan, Matt Battistoni, Ben Thornton, Marc Disano and Ryan Di Salle, the latter subbing in for his injured brother at the very last minute and recording a personal tournament best score on his home course of 71.
Round one of championship flight saw both Alex Fowke (vs Joey Kremer) and Marc Disano (vs Ryan Di Salle) require extra holes to move on, joining Palladino, Mulligan, Neil, Kowaluk, Bevan and duDomaine in quarter-final play, with Palladino and Kowaluk still standing on Sunday morning (along with the two finalists).
Down four at the turn in his semi-final against Ryan Neil (the North Bay native who captured his hometown tournament just a couple of weeks ago), Palladino managed to pull even by the 16th hole, before succumbing 2 & 1 and thwarting an incredible comeback.
While the wave of talented young golfers has been well documented at this event in recent years, the truth is that the likes of Don Martone, Mike Roberts and Vince Palladino (with his seventh title) have all donned the jacket since 2018.
“Some of the young guys – and I’ve watched them – I used to be like that,” said duDomaine.
“You get very frustrated, very down on yourself. You live and die by every shot. I don’t really do that anymore. You just come to realize that you’re going to hit bad shots. You just sort of have to bounce back.”
That perspective was only enhanced by the presence of Ryan Bastien as his caddie through the final three matches, the now Sault Ste Marie native having worked as an assistant golf pro at the Idylwylde some 15-20 years ago.
“It was a huge help having Ryan caddie for me,” said duDomaine. “He’s got more experience (on this course) than anybody. He told me a couple of times: don’t hit it long – and I hit it long. It wasn’t on purpose. You just can’t be above the hole on certain holes.”
It certainly did not hurt his cause that he was easily among the “big bombers” off the tee this year – though duDomaine acknowledged that at the top of the chart of the challenges that the Idylwylde course will present, length is not necessarily in that grouping.
“I hit it a pretty long way – and if I am driving well, I can take advantage of it,” he said. “But I didn’t have to hit my driver a ton. My hybrid was one of my best clubs this weekend and it was getting me out there far enough.”
“There are just a handful of tee shots where you are pretty uneasy, even if you’re up in the match,” duDomaine continued. “I was never comfortable with 14 all week. I must have been eight over par on that hole. There are just some uneasy shots out there – and the wind is always blowing.”
It certainly did not show in his game.
The eventual champion started quickly on Sunday and was up three by the time nine holes were in the books, with Ryan Neil not capturing his first hole until number ten. DuDomaine quickly got that one back and then nailed a pretty chip on 13 to go up five, leaving Neil with no breathing room at all.
In other match play flights, Mike Roberts needed a pair of playoff holes to get past Conor Gaudet in the first flight final, Jason Picco made it back to back victories in second flight and Gord Prisco took the third.
