On a day where the elements rendered them, for all intents and purposes, pretty much the only golfers out on the fairways of the Idylwylde golf course, the Ryder Cup twenty-four still found a way to enjoy a game they all love.
Sure, the Timberwolf eight might have enjoyed it a little more than their counterparts representing either the Lively Golf Club or the home course octet, but the simple truth is that many of these gents circle the annual tri-team event on their calendars well in advance of the competition itself.
“We look forward to this maybe as much as any tournament of the year,” noted Lively team captain Max Kallio, his team up one point coming into day three of the showdown but unable to hold off the surging Timberwolf side on the back nine of the Idy.
“We get up for it, we get excited for it, but we have a fun time too,” added Kallio. “It’s good competitive golf for three days with some of the best guys in the city. There’s not a lot that is comparable, other than the Invite (Idylwylde Invitational) if you are getting into match play.”
Indeed, the dynamics of the Sudbury Ryder, fashioned loosely along the lines of the biennial golf battle pitting the United States against Europe that dates back to 1927, are indeed somewhat unique – and apparently quite appealing.
“I love being in a team atmosphere,” noted Timberwolf veteran Kyle Lekun, coming off a 2 up victory over Chase Chatwell (Lively) on Sunday. Lekun was also part of the 2024 Timberwolf championship team, with the defending champs returning their entire roster, welcoming Curtis Tammi aboard to deal with individual scheduling conflicts.
Far more well-known in local hockey circles as a former “AAA” talent who went on to officiate both in the OHL and in the pros, Lekun suggested that it wasn’t simply the weather forecast that had his team speaking of a possible repeat triumph quite cautiously on Sunday morning.
“Going into today, we were trailing by one – and during the rounds, we were getting updates and it wasn’t looking the best,” he said. “Then, all of a sudden, everyone started winning their matches and here we are, back to back champs.”
Curtis Tammi (1up over Jean-Luc Lacelle), Alex Fowke (2 & 1 over Vince Palladino), Jay Jewett (1up over Cory Vaillancourt) and Scott Whalen (2 & 1 over Jason Picco) all earned day three victories, with team captain Brian McGarry and Joey Kremer both halving their matches (against Ethan Mulligan and Evan McLean respectively) as the Timberwolf team rallied.
For the record, Timberwolf showed the way with 10.5 points, followed by Lively (7.5) and the Idylwylde (6).
“We have a good, tight-knit group,” said Lekun. “We have a lot of different ages, but we have all golfed together, at club championships, two man events. It’s just a great group of guys.”
In fact, there is absolutely an inter-club camaraderie in play that was not nearly as evident some three to four decades ago when the Sudbury Ryder was still building its legacy.
Celebrating his 24th birthday later this summer, Alex Fowke has already participated in a half dozen Ryder Cups on behalf of Timberwolf, most often paired with younger brother Ben on the first two days of competition in recent years.
The 2025 schedule (which allows team captains the opportunity to strategically approach the matchups) would see the Fowke duo going toe to toe with the Palladino father and son pairing (Vince and Vincent) in match play rounds that served to highlight all that makes the Ryder Cup special.
“The four of us play a lot of golf together,” said Fowke, who dropped a 2up match on Friday but earned the all-square against the Palladinos in Lively on Saturday. “We knew going in they would be great matches and they turned out to be phenomenal matches.”
“Vince and Vincent are great golfers, so it’s always fun playing with them.”
Each day, apparently, would bring something a little different.
With Vincent stealing the show on Friday and Vince excelling on day two, it would come down to the tete a tete between Alex Fowke and the man who has dominated the Idylwylde Inviational like no other on day three.
“We had a little bit of a pillow fight today; neither of us would give up,” said Fowke with a smile. “There wasn’t a lot of birdies, but there wasn’t a ton of bogeys. There were some really good up and downs.”
For as much as individual match play might appeal to Alex Fowke, there is nothing like being paired with the one who has so often followed in his footsteps. “Ben was playing with a badly sprained wrist,” noted the older brother. “He was really tough for us and battled through it.”
“We’re very different players,” Fowke continued. “He’s very long off the tee and I have a great short game. We work well together. Ben and I have won the two-man twice so we’re used to playing good team golf together, with good strategy.”
“I really enjoy playing with him.”
And that speaks to another of the keys to Ryder success according to Max Kallio, a man who now features a resume that includes no less than twenty appearances in the Sudbury summer golf fixture.
“Our big thing (at Lively) is to put together a team that will gel together and have fun,” he said. “If you have a bunch of guys that are going to have fun, you’ll play just a little bit better.”
As for the challenges, it was more the side effects of the steady morning downpour of rain that had the golfers a little outside of their element.
“Not having the carts today, that was probably the hardest part,” laughed Kallio. “I don’t think too many of our guys have walked 18 holes in a while.”
Rounding out the Sunday scoreboard were:
Alex Watier (LIV) 2 & 1 Johnny Svalina (IDY)Dan Couillard (LIV) A/S Matt Dumontelle (TW)
Bryan Davidson (IDY) 4 & 3 Jordan Couture (LIV)
Dave Pinkerton (LIV) 5 & 4 David Bower (IDY)
Vincent Palladino Jr (IDY) 3 & 2 Max Kallio (LIV)
